Advice Request Google One VPN

[Jonny Quest]

In any case, there's no such thing as a "no-log" VPN...
All it takes is for the police to raid the provider's house or a court request, and the VPN will give it all away.

The only one that has really proven this is Mullvad, but it's often blacklisted because they don't always renew their IPs...

I was reading the Privacy policies of Nord (current subscription) as well as Mullvad's, and the list of Nords compared to Mullvads was an eye-opener. Needless to say, I bought a 3-month subscription to Mullvad, which I'm running right now. Speed is very good, ping 39, download ~280- 320, upload 11.09 compared to Spectrum's default ping 12, download 369, Upload 11.17.

Nord Account

Encryption-powered security at your fingertips.

my.nordaccount.com

Privacy policy

Information about how we handle personal data in relation to GDPR.

mullvad.net

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

In any case, there's no such thing as a "no-log" VPN...
All it takes is for the police to raid the provider's house or a court request, and the VPN will give it all away.

The only one that has really proven this is Mullvad, but it's often blacklisted because they don't always renew their IPs...

With Ram only servers a simple cold restart will flush them although you have to take into consideration how many servers they have and how often they are restarted, this does not mean the company itself is trust worthy though with that information, I do not know much about mullvad, im just simply stating that trusting blindly is kinda silly. Do some research and learn about them if possible as they do not present much information, which makes this even more difficult to trust.

It states here in the spoiler that the company remains separate from its owner, would a user care to wager on that, i certainly wouldn't.

Spoiler: Example on PCMag

 

[Jonny Quest]

With Ram only servers a simple cold restart will flush them although you have to take into consideration how many servers they have and how often they are restarted, this does not mean the company itself is trust worthy though with that information, I do not know much about mullvad, im just simply stating that trusting blindly is kinda silly. Do some research and learn about them if possible as they do not present much information, which makes this even more difficult to trust.

It states here in the spoiler that the company remains separate from its owner, would a user care to wager on that, i certainly wouldn't.

Spoiler: Example on PCMag

View attachment 279620

It's like Ziff Davis with all that he owns (VPN providers @15:12 of the video) and has his fingers into, then we're supposed to believe and trust all of their (PCMag) reviews as being totally unbiased?

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

It's like Ziff Davis with all that he owns (VPN providers @15:12 of the video) and has his fingers into, then we're supposed to believe and trust all of their (PCMag) reviews as being totally unbiased?

Exactly, there is more of that going on than meets the eye. Glad you did research and seen.

Don't just take the word of that website though.

Spoiler: Kape

Private Internet Access - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[CyberTech]

The only one that has really proven this is Mullvad, but it's often blacklisted because they don't always renew their IPs...

Really? can you send a link? i'm interested.

 

[Shadowra]

Really? can you send a link? i'm interested.

Try connecting to a streaming service like in Japan or other Wireguard

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

Im just going to leave this here, something to contemplate with any of the services. The bold underlined speaks volumes of what companies can do and not divulge. Research, and be careful what you trust software wise, its as important as the links you click.

After merging with Kape Technologies, Private Internet Access became one of many privacy software products offered by the corporation. Along with Private Internet Access, Kape also offers Cyberghost, Intego, Webselenese and Restoro. Previously Crossrider, a UK-based company, Kape Technologies changed their name in 2018 in order to go under a type of rebranding and "escape a strong association to the past activities of the company" through which they had issues with their previous image being associated with traffic manipulation. After purchasing various other VPN services, Kape Technologies purchased Private Internet Access in order to "aggressively expand their footprint in North America

 

[Imranmt]

VPN by Google One is shutting down for good

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR

• Google is discontinuing VPN by Google One.
• The service will be shut down later this year.
• Pixel users will still be able to access Google’s VPN on their Pixel 7 and newer models.

Google has announced that it’s shutting down VPN by Google One. The company is informing Google One users of its demise through an email. One of our team members also received the email in which Google does not specify an exact shut-down date for the Google One VPN service but says that the benefit will be phased out “later this year.”

Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
Google launched VPN by Google One as an alternative to other popular virtual private networks like Nord VPN and Express VPN. It is available on all Google One plans, including the cheapest $1.99/month one.

In its email, Google says it’s phasing out VPN by Google One to make way for more in-demand features and benefits. The company also confirmed to 9to5Google that it is discontinuing the VPN feature because “people simply weren’t using it.” Existing users of the service will be redirected to third-party alternatives.
Meanwhile, Google says Pixel users will still be able to access Google’s VPN through Pixel settings if they have a Pixel 7 or newer model.

VPN by Google One is shutting down for good

Google is phasing out VPN by Google One in favor of other features and benefits it intends to provide Google One users.

www.androidauthority.com

 

[Cleo]

Okay. This is sad. It was the only VPN I know that worked with TwinGate on PC.

I recently changed my Google One plan after getting an offer of "2 months free" with their Gemini AI plan.
Gemini AI is better at coding than ChatGPT 3.5. But it's so woke it's unusable for other things and it doesn't keep context very well.
If I asked for a code snippet which I ran and showed Gemini the output... it had no idea what I was talking about unless I labelled my response: "Here's your code output.."
I asked it to sort some strings and one happened to have the pattern of an email address and without telling me, Gemini replaced it with "[email address hidden]".

I tried to get Google Support to cancel the Gemini plan but they won't and said it's on my account until October. I also forfeited the last 6 months of my old Google One plan
they said since Gemini is monthly and more expensive. By the end of a struggle session of a support chat, I managed to get them to fully refund the Google One 2TB yearly plan although they said it was a grace. Google.... #####.

 

[Freki123]

Maybe recheck if your DNS server was changed.

Users say Google’s VPN app “breaks” the Windows DNS settings

Does Google's app really need to constantly reset all Windows network interfaces?

arstechnica.com

 

[Digmor Crusher]

Never tried it but don't imagine its a big loss. Not sure I trust Google to hide my internet traffic.

 

[Practical Response]

Never tried it but don't imagine its a big loss. Not sure I trust Google to hide my internet traffic.

I have to ask a silly question, do you trust Google to do searches with them?

 

[Digmor Crusher]

I have to ask a silly question, do you trust Google to do searches with them?

Do I trust them...no, do I use it....yes.

Difference to me is that is if someone needs to use a VPN its because they want to hide their IP address for an specific reason such as illegal torrents. My Google searches are very vanilla and could care less who sees them.

 

[Practical Response]

Do I trust them...no, do I use it....yes.

Difference to me is that is if someone needs to use a VPN its because they want to hide their IP address for an specific reason such as illegal torrents. My Google searches are very vanilla and could care less who sees them.

What if they just want to use a vpn to encrypt all data from the system and apps for an extra layer of protection and are not worried about hiding with an IP although have the added benefit of an alternative.

I'm just asking because how does one really know if any of those companies can be trust worthy.

If one wants to have a legitimate reason to question whether or not to use googles vpn it would best be suited by stating it's lack luster in features you find in more robust solutions. There are no granular controls, one can not even simply pick which servers to use, other than a toggle that picks close by servers or a broader choice to toggle for more privacy. The encryption is solid without leakage.

How do I know, as I have been using it for many months now, after reading up on companies that bought up Cyber Ghost, PIA, express VPN. All 3 of those are now owned by a company Kape Technologies aka the notorious creator of some data-huffing ad-ware, Crossrider.

So basically what I'm getting at is one is best suited to not assume and try things, research for themselves, because you'd be amazed at what you find.

 

[Digmor Crusher]

What if they just want to use a vpn to encrypt all data from the system and apps for an extra layer of protection and are not worried about hiding with an IP although have the added benefit of an alternative.

I'm just asking because how does one really know if any of those companies can be trust worthy.

If one wants to have a legitimate reason to question whether or not to use googles vpn it would best be suited by stating it's lack luster in features you find in more robust solutions. There are no granular controls, one can not even simply pick which servers to use, other than a toggle that picks close by servers or a broader choice to toggle for more privacy. The encryption is solid without leakage.

How do I know, as I have been using it for many months now, after reading up on companies that bought up Cyber Ghost, PIA, express VPN. All 3 of those are now owned by a company Kape Technologies aka the notorious creator of some data-huffing ad-ware, Crossrider.

So basically what I'm getting at is one is best suited to not assume and try things, research for themselves, because you'd be amazed at what you find.

You make some valid points, however my point was that Google loves to gobble up your data, that point alone is the reason I would not use their VPN. I have no idea if it is a quality VPN or not and have no intention to find out. Their are better and more private options. That is all, I prefer to keep my posts short and to the point.

 

[Practical Response]

You make some valid points, however my point was that Google loves to gobble up your data, that point alone is the reason I would not use their VPN. I have no idea if it is a quality VPN or not and have no intention to find out. Their are better and more private options. That is all, I prefer to keep my posts short and to the point.

I was adding to your point of how do you trust the others, how would you know for sure you can? I use Google every day with android and of course their services like maps, email ect, why wouldn't I trust that over more 3rd party who knows what.

 

[Cleo]

It wasn't hard to connect the Google VPN desktop app to different countries by changing my DNS settings. Many sites that block VPNs still work with the Google One VPN desktop app. The main one that I use is Amazon Prime. The Google One VPN was one of few popular VPNs that explicitly stated that they didn't track users and was noted for that in a Naomi Brockwell lecture. It wasn't perfect. They never solved their problem with systems with more than one network adapter running or manually set network metric values. It did work in conjunction with other desktop VPN apps since Google's was a virtual adapter with VPN passthrough. I suppose that's why it worked with Twingate. I certainly saw some positives and some negatives from my experience.