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Google One will kill its VPN service later this year
Pixel users will remain unaffected by this change
Google launched its own VPN service in October 2020, initially bundling it with premium 2TB+ Google One plans. Over the years, the company improved its VPN service by expanding its availability to more markets and bundling it with cheaper One plans. Despite its limited use case, getting access to a free unlimited VPN with a Google One subscription was a nice perk to have. But in typical Google fashion, the company is killing its VPN service for good "later this year" due to low usage.
Google One: The AP guide to Google's premium cloud storage service
Running out of Google Drive storage. Google One offers a lot of storage and some other awesome perks
An important parameter of any device is internal storage. It doesn't take much to fill it with apps, pictures, and videos. Since most devices don't come with SD card slots, you can only store apps and files on the device's internal storage. This is where cloud storage platforms, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive, come into play. These services provide storage space without physical alterations and are often free of charge.
Fitbit Premium and Nest Aware could soon be wrapped into Google One
One subscriber in the UK received an email detailing the integration
If you subscribe to Google One, you already enjoy benefits like expanded cloud storage, dark web monitoring, and family sharing options with other account holders. However, you may not be able to justify the cost if you’re already satisfied with the amount of free storage you get by signing up for a free Google account, for instance. Maybe you don’t use Gmail or other Google products enough to warrant a subscription. Now, it seems that the company might be integrating more benefits that could finally win you over.
Why won't Google increase its 15GB free storage?
Google thinks 15GB is enough for most people, and it might not be wrong
Google surprised everyone when it upped the storage in Gmail from 1GB to 2GB in 2005, and the company was one of the few services that offered such a large amount of storage for storing emails. As the years went by and the industry kept evolving, the software giant settled for 15GB of storage, shared across the entire Google account.
I want Google One to have more storage tiers, not fewer
There’s no sane reason for jumping a whole 10x from 200GB to 2TB
The Google One subscription delivers excellent value for all your storage needs. You not only get the cloud space you pay for, but Google also bundles some handy Google Photos editing features and a safety tool that monitors the dark web for your personal details. Google One is a feature-packed service with many perks that go up well against Apple iCloud+. However, it doesn’t come without issues. Its real problem isn’t the feature list, but the storage options themselves.
Google One 5TB+ subscribers get free access to Gemini Advanced
You don’t need to downgrade your Google One storage to try Gemini Advanced
In early February, Google renamed Bard to Gemini and rolled out a new AI Premium Google One plan with Gemini Advanced access. Besides offering access to an advanced version of Google's chatbot, the new plan packs the same benefits as the existing 2TB storage tier but at double the cost. Notably, Google did not bundle or provide access to Gemini Advanced with its 5TB and higher storage plans — a surprising move given these tiers are so expensive. Google is now compensating for this by offering an extended free trial to Gemini Advanced with its 5TB and higher Google One plans.
Google One may soon include Nest Aware
Meanwhile, Nest Aware is getting more expensive internationally
Google One was initially mostly a way to get more storage across Google services, but the company has slowly but surely built its subscription out to include more features. It now offers a VPN, Google Photos editing tools, rebates on hardware products, and, most recently, access to Gemini Advanced. It looks like Google is on track to add Nest Aware to its one subscription to rule them all.
Google One is hiding its 200GB plan in favor of AI-powered premium tiers
Google only shows 100GB or 2TB for many, nothing in between
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Google One just celebrated 100 million subscribers this week along with introducing its new 2TB AI plan with Gemini Advanced. In the midst of the festivities, the company tried to sneak in a change to its plans that means a big disadvantage for those who are only interested in a little bit of storage. It looks like Google removed the $3 per month 200GB plan, making you jump right to 2TB if you run out of storage on your 100GB plan.
Google One now has as many paid subscribers as YouTube
The number is still nowhere close to that of Apple
Google recently celebrated a significant milestone for its paid YouTube services. At the beginning of this month, the company announced that YouTube Music and Premium had crossed 100 million paying members. While impressive in itself, that's still less than half of Spotify's 210 million paid subscribers. Within days of celebrating this milestone, another paid subscription from Google has crossed the 100 million subscriber user base: Google One.
Heads up: Gemini Advanced is only available to the main family member
Other members on the Google One AI Premium plan won't get access
If you have even a glimmer of interest in Android, Google, or artificial intelligence, you’ve no doubt learned about Gemini. The old Google Bard is no longer, as Gemini is now the rebranded name for the Google AI that has grown from its nascent stage to a true ChatGPT competitor over the last year. New apps, a new landing page, and more have been pushed forward by the rebranding, with Gemini even firing warning shots towards Google Assistant. It’s available for free for anyone with a Google account. If you want more advanced features, you can subscribe to Gemini Advanced, but don’t expect others in your Google One family plan to get access.
Google Bard is dead, long live Google Gemini
The Gemini Google One plan and dedicated mobile app are also here
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Multiple leaks in recent weeks indicate Google Bard is on its way out. While the company's AI chatbot is not going anywhere, it will get a Gemini rebrand. And if a recently leaked Bard changelog is anything to go by, the name change could go any day now. Alongside this branding tweak, Google was rumored to launch Gemini Advanced, bringing more powerful generative AI capabilities to its chatbot using its Gemini Ultra AI model. While Google's announcement is yet to go live, the new Gemini rebranding, a dedicated mobile app, and the Gemini Advanced plan in Google One have all gone live.
A VPN (virtual private network) is integral for keeping your identity hidden while browsing the web. It's also useful for accessing geo-restricted content. There are many affordable VPNs on Android. Google One subscribers get access to Google VPN for free, in addition to the numerous benefits the subscription offers.
Google One VPN on the Pixel 8 series won't clutter up your notification shade
The VPN implementation is changing for the better
Staying safe online is challenging in the modern digital landscape, but Google makes some of the best Android phones with built-in privacy features. Google One VPN comes installed by default on Pixel phones to protect your IP address from prying eyes on the internet, but it can be a little annoying to use, with a persistent notification in the status bar. With the Pixel 8 series debut earlier this month, Google is changing the way its VPN service is implemented, saving you valuable space in the status bar.
Fi members will soon get easier access to Google One
You won't be billed separately for your Google One subscription if you have Fi Wireless
If you subscribe to several Google products and services, you might find yourself frustrated when you need to switch apps to manage your account. Even if you use the same account across multiple Google products, a lack of integration can make it difficult — if not impossible — to handle everything at once. Now, Google is looking to simplify matters for users of at least some of its services. Those who have Fi Wireless will soon be able to manage their Google One subscription from one account page.
Google One's VPN will use local servers to make location-based services more accurate
This is like the polar opposite of a country selector
Google's in-house VPN, which is a part of its Google One subscription, is a bit different in philosophy to other VPNs. While most other VPNs allow you to transport yourself to any part of the world you want, Google's own VPN doesn't believe in that. There's no country or region selector, and instead, you just fire it up and get to browsing again. It's meant to shield yourself and your IP address online, and it's probably the most solid option if you don't really need to hop around countries for any reason. And if you've ever wondered whether this would change, it will not — in fact, the servers you'll connect to are now getting even closer to you.
Your Google One Premium subscription could get you priority access to Search Labs
Jump ahead in the queue courtesy of your Google One subscription
AI-related announcements from Google dominated this year's I/O conference. The company plans to new AI-powered tools and features to almost all its products to help boost your productivity. Given the sheer number of experimental features that Google is working on, it can be hard to keep track of and sign up for them. That's why the company announced Google Labs, which will act as a single entry point to try Google's various AI experiments. This includes Search Generative Experience, which currently has a waitlist, but your Google One Premium subscription can help you get ahead in the queue.
Google One's VPN could be about to get much better at hiding your location
More choices for better privacy
Late last year, Google gave Pixel 7 owners free access to the company's VPN, and then bundled the service with all tiers of Google One back in March. Google VPN is a fine option for those who simply want to cover their traces online, and it could be receiving an update that will make it better at hiding your location.
Google One expands VPN to 100GB planholders, offers new dark web ID fraud monitoring
More VPN for everyone!
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Google really wants people to sign up and pay for Google One — in addition to cloud storage, a subscription offers credit rebates for Google Store purchases, discounts at hotels, premium features in Google Meet calls and Google Photos editing, and, if you pay for 2TB or more of that storage, a VPN service. Today, though, more people will be able to use that VPN and every Google One member will be able to keep tabs of whether their personal information is circulating around the dark web.
Google's free VPN offer has finally started reaching Pixel 7 phones
Google One for the Pixel 7 is available in 17 countries, but not Singapore or India
Google's Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are only a few months old, but have already cemented their positions among the best Android phones you can buy today. Both are loaded to the gills with new hardware and software features, but there's one that's been conspicuously missing. Back when the phones launched, Google promised that owners of the new Pixels would eventually get to enjoy free Google One VPN for five years — and now that offer is finally rolling out.
Google One is among the top five VPN providers we suggest you check out, although it has only been available on smartphones and tablets so far. For months, Google promised its VPN service would make its way to desktop, eventually. Around a week ago, the company announced that Windows and Mac users can start downloading the VPN client, and the service is now fully operational.