Pixel 7 and 7 Pro owners now have access to a free VPN

At the end of 2020, Google began rolling out its new VPN service called VPN by Google One. It’s part of the Google One subscription service, which also includes cloud storage.

However, this is only a fraction of the more expensive 2TB or 5TB tiers: those with the Basic 100GB or Standard 200GB plans don’t get it.

Another way to get access is to have a Google Pixel phone, and Google has begun rolling out VPNs for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.

You don’t have to pay to use it – it’s completely free – and there are no restrictions on data transfer, as is usually the case with free VPN services.

But there are limits, whether you pay or not. The biggest one is that you can’t choose your location, which means you can’t unblock websites or video streaming services.

Google’s VPN service is not designed for this: its purpose is to protect your online privacy and identity by replacing your real IP address with a different one and by encrypting the data sent from your device – in this case the Pixel 7/Pro – to the Internet.

This helps when you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network at cafes, airports, hotels, and other places that don’t require a password.

It’s still part of the Google One app, but you’ll find shortcuts to connect, disconnect, and snooze VPN in your Pixel 7’s quick settings.

Those familiar with VPNs can expect to find some settings, but currently all you can do is choose which apps bypass the VPN. This is split tunneling, which is useful for applications that do not work properly when connected to a VPN, such as banking applications that use their own encryption.

Despite its flaws, this is a welcome bonus for Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro owners.

You can use VPN in these countries:

• Austria
• Australia
• Belgium
• Canada
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Norway
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• United Kingdom
• United States

Unusually, Google uses its own proprietary encryption protocol for the VPN, which means you can only use it on devices that it supports. It added iOS support in February 2022.

You can learn more about how this works on the Google website.

The idea is that you leave the VPN on all the time: Google says it won’t affect your internet speed and you won’t even notice it’s connected.