The Google One VPN service is heading to the Google graveyard
www.theverge.com
At least Google still provides two other VPN services...
      • fluckx@lemmy.worldEnglish
        191·
        8 months ago

        I actually discovered some interesting things in google play music back in the day. The play random music button actually had a few golden moments too.

        Spotify just… Feeds me what I’m already listening too. The discover weekly suggestions are usually useless for me.

        YouTube music is just worse than GPM too.

        • Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          3·
          8 months ago

          This was back in the day but I remember Pandora being good at discovery. There’s cracked apks you can get so you don’t get ads.

          • BeMoreCareful@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            8 months ago

            Honestly, they made some sort of deal and then got access to major labels some years ago and lost a lot of its magic.

            I did find some great stuff with Pandora back in the day though.

        • ForgottenUsername@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          8 months ago

          YouTube music is just worse than GPM too.

          In like every way, they really missed what was good about GPM.

          And the way they constantly jam YouTube Music down your throat, demonstrates mistakes were made.

    • SatyrSack@lemmy.oneEnglish
      2·
      8 months ago

      I doubt that’d ever become standard for them. Parts of the code for these discontinued products often get cannibalized by other Google products.

    • Jako301@feddit.deEnglish
      381·
      8 months ago

      That’s just your bubble. Most VPN users just want to circumvent geo restrictions.

      Besides that, the general VPN “propaganda” is that it encrypts your traffic and no-one can see it. The average user gets baited by that and doesn’t care to look further into it.

    • BreakDecks@lemmy.mlEnglish
      10·
      8 months ago

      The only real use for Google’s VPN was as an extra layer of security when connected to an untrusted network or open WiFi.

    • Album@lemmy.caEnglish
      32·
      8 months ago

      It makes just as much sense as most popular vpns. The main difference is you know you don’t trust Google. Do you think something like nordvpn is any different? There’s no guarantee for what they’re doing either.

  • ryper@lemmy.caEnglish
    451·
    8 months ago

    Maybe the news about the Windows client changing DNS settings was too much bad publicity?

    A VPN would naturally route all your traffic through a secure tunnel, but you’ve still got to do DNS lookups somewhere. A lot of VPN services also come with a DNS service, and Google is no different. The problem is that Google’s VPN app changes the Windows DNS settings of all network adapters to always use Google’s DNS, whether the VPN is on or off. Even if you change them, Google’s program will change them back.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      8 months ago

      Google products are always at risk if being killed. Then again, products from small companies are always at risk of being bought out and killed.

    • TJA!@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      But jamboard was worse than all other whiteboard services. Since it did not get any new features for years it was just a matter of time it was going to be discontinued

      • ABCDE@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        8 months ago

        It is/was integrated and simple for students to use and link to. What others do you like?

  • april@lemmy.worldEnglish
    131·
    8 months ago

    I liked that they had special privacy tech other VPNs don’t have but they didn’t allow you to choose the location so it was unusable for me.

    I want my VPN location to be my actual location so that the weather app doesn’t mess up and show the wrong city.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    71·
    8 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Google is shutting down its VPN by Google One service, according to a vague customer email seen by Android Authority, less than four years after it was rolled out in October 2020.

    The email doesn’t specify when this will happen, only that the VPN service will be discontinued “later this year.”

    Subscription prices for Google One’s VPN start at $1.99, with availability on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows.

    The company told 9to5Google that it is killing the service because “people simply weren’t using it.” Perhaps its customers were simply spoilt for choice, given this is actually one of three VPN services provided by Google alongside the VPN offerings still available via Google Fi, and Pixel devices from the Pixel 7 on up.

    VPN by Google One is the latest offering to get tossed into the infamous “Google Graveyard” just weeks after the Google One cloud storage service announced it had hit a 100 million subscriber milestone.

    Google mentioned in its shutdown email that the VPN was being phased out to “focus on providing the most in-demand features and benefits,” which may relate to all the Gemini AI stuff that the company is shoving into Google One.

    The original article contains 196 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 0%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!