You’re split over trusting a Google VPN service

That got us wondering whether you’d actually trust a Google VPN service in the first place. So we posed this question last week and here’s how Android Authority readers answered it.

Would you trust Google to be your VPN provider?

Results

This was a popular poll, accruing over 5,500 votes to date after being posted on October 8. It turns out that the most popular option was “no,” as 43.08% of respondents said they wouldn’t trust Google as their VPN provider.

Some readers noted in the comments that they simply didn’t trust large corporations like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. Others also took umbrage with Google’s business practices in general.

Meanwhile, 34.53% of surveyed readers said they would trust Google to be their VPN provider. One reader noted that Google’s solution was tightly integrated on Pixels, while others said they trusted this solution to hide traffic from their ISP.

Finally, 22.39% of polled readers said they weren’t sure about trusting Google to be their VPN service. Google already knows plenty about you, but we can see people weighing this fact against the convenience of using a service from a familiar brand.

Comments

• naduh: To be fair, I don’t trust majority of companies especially conglomerates like Amazon, apple, Google and Facebook
• daftrok: Google/Apple/Amazon/Facebook are all just privatized surveillance for the US Government. You don’t trust any of them with any flow of information.
• RichSPK: I think it depends on what you intend to do with your VPN. Trusting them to keep your passwords and banking info secure is different from trusting them to keep your search for abortion providers out of police hands.
• Albin: The whole point of a VPN would be to prevent Google and anybody else with any ulterior interests from having any access to transmitted user data and metadata. Full stop. Of the usually suspect FAANG Monsters, only Apple and Microsoft might credibly offer something from a business model not based on repackaging or resale of user data. (Off the top, would be much more inclined to look at Mozilla’s service, being impressed with Firefox’s implementations of other privacy features, including fully effective DoH.
• meh…: Google is basically today’s Standard Oil Company, in all the worst ways.
• Shizuma: “minimal logging” That answers your question right there, if you’re going to use a VPN then there’s no reason to use one that does any logging at all, a VPN that does any sort of logging isn’t trustworthy
• Jordi Mas: “Then there’s the fact that Google says you can’t change your IP location to view content that isn’t available in your country.” Why else would you want a vpn then?
• crftd: I might actually trust Google more than my ISP so I’ll use it as a free option over running around absolutely naked. But that’s probably it.
• ZeroKool: I actually used it for a while. If you own a pixel, it just feels more integrated than using an additional app just for that service. As far as trusting them. Well, as was stated, they already snoop through your data on a daily basis. But, unless you’re doing some highly illegal sh”t, there’s no reason not to use this one versus any other, unless you are specifically trying to access geo-restricted content.
• Taskman: Obviously yes, but for hiding my IP from my ISP. Nothing else. Obviously not to keep me safe/protected is hiding ads or moving my metadata. Better VPN for that out there
• Banana969: I mean everyone already uses Chrome for browsing anyway, a Google VPN would still hide any data from your ISP.