Google Will Provide Free Dark Web Monitoring, Kill Its Paid VPN This Month

Google is getting rid of two features for its Google One subscription offering. The tech firm has picked a date to ditch its paid VPN for Google One, officially sending it to the Google graveyard June 20. It's also making its dark web reports, previously only available for One subscribers, available to anyone with a Google account for free.

Google says the reason it's getting rid of its One VPN is because it hasn't seen enough interest in the service. "With the focus to provide the most in-demand features, VPN by Google One is discontinued," a support page explanation reads.

This VPN will automatically disconnect once it's shut down and alert users that it's no longer working. Google is recommending that Windows and macOS users also uninstall and delete the app from their devices.

The company will continue to offer those with Google Pixel phones a free built-in VPN offering separate from the paid One VPN, however. Users with a Pixel 7 phone or newer have access to Google's free VPN, which can automatically connect or disconnect based on the network selected and can be managed in the phone's settings menu. Google's free VPN for its Pixel phones uses cryptographic "blind signing" to mask your web traffic. Those without Pixel phones looking for a good VPN alternative will find lots of options, though some free Android VPN apps have raised serious security cybersecurity concerns for years.

Google's dark web monitoring will now be a free service, and the company will provide information about whether your Google-related data has surfaced on the dark web on your "Results about you" account page. If you want Google to check for more than just your Gmail address and password, however, you'll have to provide them with that information.

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If you'd prefer to monitor your internet privacy without using Google, other sites and platforms—like Have I Been Pwned, MalwareBytes, and Proton—also offer data breach checks.