VPN by Google One Is Coming to Windows PCs and Macs

Google’s mobile virtual private network service is branching out. Once a perk bundled with the search giant’s cloud-based subscription storage solution, VPN by Google One is now available to all Google One subscribers across Windows PCs and Macs (you need to pay for the $10-per-month 2TB plan to get access).

Like other popular VPNs, VPN by Google One encrypts your data and reroutes web traffic through proxy servers. However, it lacks the feature that makes other services so useful: the ability to choose your connection location to circumvent regional restrictions and access content not available in your country. Instead, you’ll get a randomly selected server based on your device’s current location.

It also doesn’t support the industry-standard OpenVPN protocol, and doesn’t offer a dedicated app to manage connections. The company says it’s auditing its own proprietary protocol with third-party auditors, and plans to add support for other standards in the future.

On the plus side, the VPN’s minimalist design is incredibly easy to use. It has next to no settings or menus, and only has a single toggle to enable it. There’s even a “Snooze” option that pauses the VPN for five minutes, and integration with Android’s system-wide kill switch means that it’ll automatically shut down your Internet connection should it ever lose its connection to the Google server. That said, the VPN isn’t nearly as functional as many other free or premium options, and a third-party security assessment has found that it could be vulnerable to data collection by Google.