Google VPN failed to convince users

In 2020, however, Google added another useful feature, namely the VPN service. Unfortunately, this one did not "catch on" among users.

Photo: Google

Google is ending its VPN by Google One service, according to a vague customer email seen by Android Authority, less than four years after it was launched in October 2020. The email did not say when that would happen , but only that the VPN service will be discontinued "this year".

Subscription prices for the Google One VPN service start at $1.99, and it is available on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows operating systems. The company told 9to5Google that it was shutting down the service because "people just weren't using it." Perhaps its customers were simply spoiled for choice, as this is actually one of three VPN services provided by Google, in addition to the VPN offerings still available through Google Fi and Pixel devices from the Pixel 7 onwards.

VPN by Google One is the latest offering to be thrown into the infamous "Google Graveyard" just weeks after cloud storage service Google One announced it had hit the 100 million subscriber milestone. In an email announcing the shutdown, Google mentioned that the VPN is being shut down to "focus on delivering the most sought-after features and benefits," which may have something to do with all the Gemini AI stuff the company is packing into Google One.