Google One VPN is going away soon. However, Pixel phone owners will still have a virtual private network, and the service will now be called “Pixel VPN by Google”.
The Pixel 8, 8 Pro, and the Pixel 8a already have a built-in VPN experience. The app doesn’t use the Google One client, and you instead get the “key” status bar icon on the right. By the way, there’s also Google Fi VPN for Google Fi subscribers.
This version of Pixel VPN is optimized for best performance on Pixel, and it ensures a fully integrated experience in your phone’s settings. It should come soon to the Pixel 7, 7 Pro, 7a, and Fold. Meanwhile, the Play Store listing of the app has been changed from “Pixel VPN by Google One” to “Pixel VPN by Google”.
The Google One icon has also been replaced by a “G”, and the screenshots also reflect the new branding. For now, though, this version is not yet available, so users with Pixel 8 and above should be expecting an update soon.
Google One VPN will instead be heading to the Google graveyard. The company is known to scrapping apps and services without much hesitation, and the graveyard is getting bigger each year. Of course, it’s great that Google is still letting Pixel owners benefit from VPN service, so in this case, the loss isn’t that big.