Google today announced some privacy improvements to its Fi cellular service. While its VPN was introduced more than two years ago in late 2018, it appears that it has been in beta the whole time. After making a bunch of performance improvements, Google says the VPN is out of beta on Android.
VPN is also expanding as it comes to iPhone. All Google Fi subscribers who use iPhone will start seeing a VPN this spring.
If you are not familiar with VPNs, it means a virtual private network, and if there is one thing you need to know about it, it is that it enhances your security and privacy. It gives you an encrypted connection, so even if you are on an insecure network, Google offers you a layer of protection. It also means that sites cannot track your location because they cannot see your actual IP address. A lot of VPNs tend to compromise when it comes to speed, but that’s exactly what Google claims has improved.
And the fact that it comes to iPhones is quite a problem. iOS is an area Google has strived to achieve parity with Android on its Fi network. In fact, originally called Project Fi, it didn’t even support iPhones at all (officially) until late November 2018, two weeks after announcing the service’s VPN. Until then, iPhones had not supported some major features such as carrier switching; Presumably, that’s not a big deal now since Google Fi exited T-Mobile, Sprint and US Cellular networks, and the previous two companies merged into one.
The other thing Mountain View is announcing today is a new Privacy and Security Center, which is coming to the Fi app on Android devices. It aims to help you learn about the privacy and security features that you will find on Google Fi, and which you can manage, such as a VPN. Other promoted features, which aren’t new to today’s announcement, include blocking spam calls, which Google says blocks tens of thousands every day, and protection against theft techniques like SIM swaps, where someone might try to reset your phone number to a different SIM card. And use it to access your accounts.
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