Google’s own-brand VPN is coming to your iPhone

Google has revealed it is rolling out its VPN service to iOS devices, after a successful launch on Android last year.

The VPN forms part of the company’s Google One subscription package, which also includes cloud storage, phone backup and various other benefits.

As is the case on Android, the Google One VPN will only be available to iOS users that subscribe to one of the Premium plans, the cheapest of which costs $9.99/£7.99 per month and comes with 2TB of storage. These plans can be shared among up to five people, all of whom will have access to the VPN.

VPN by Google One

VPN by Google One first went live last year as an Android-only trial in the US, but has since expanded to a variety of other countries around the world – and now to an additional platform too. Given Apple is the world’s second largest smartphone manufacturer, the arrival of the iOS version will expand the pool of potential users dramatically.

Although Google’s VPN does not offer the range of features or depth of server options provided by services like ExpressVPN or NordVPN, the company has been working to introduce new facilities since the initial launch.

For example, VPN by Google One received a whitelist facility late last year, which lets users mark out a group of applications that are allowed to bypass the VPN.

In the blog post announcing the iOS version, Google also called attention to a new feature that guards against privacy compromises caused by VPN connection dropouts, as well as the option to temporarily turn off the VPN using “snooze” functionality.

“Privacy and security are always core to everything we make. Our systems have advanced security built-in to help ensure no one uses the VPN to tie your online activity to your identity,” wrote Google. “We’ll keep adding more security features to our Premium plans, so you know your data is safe.”