Summary
- Pixel users will no longer manage the Google Fi VPN through a toggle in the Google Fi app.
- Instead, Pixel users will be redirected to the “VPN by Google” within their Pixel phone’s Settings to manage the VPN.
- This change will be available for all Google Fi users on supported Pixel devices later this month.
There are plenty of benefits to Google Fi, though the extent to which you can enjoy the service depends on what plans you’re subscribed to. However, regardless of what you choose, you get a free VPN service included with every Google Fi plan, allowing you to mask your online activity and location. While this sounds like a good deal, the latest change to the Google Fi VPN is bad news for Pixel users.
Google Fi users on Pixel devices now need to follow extra steps to manage their VPN. That’s because Google will no longer allow Pixel users to control VPN via the Protect your online activity toggle in the Google Fi app. Instead, Google Fi users on Pixel will now have a “Manage VPN in Settings” option on the Privacy & security page in the Google Fi app. This new setting will take you to the VPN by Google app in your Pixel phone’s Settings to let you manage your VPN.
You might not see the change right now, as Google is planning to move Google Fi’s VPN controls to your Pixel phone’s settings on May 22, according to a new banner notification in Google Fi’s privacy page. Interestingly, as spotted by 9to5Google, tapping the “Protect your online activity” toggle brings the shortcut to manage VPN from Settings. This suggests that Google is ready to introduce the change and is currently notifying Google users about its future plans. However, it’s worth noting that VPN by Google is available only for Pixel 7 and newer and the Pixel Tablet.
Will VPN by Google be available for all Google Fi users?
This change seems to be currently limited to Pixel devices. We tested Google Fi on our Samsung Galaxy S23 devices and found out that the settings still show the old Google Fi VPN option. Of course, non-Pixel devices can’t get the VPN by Google shortcut in the Google Fi app simply because the VPN service is limited to Pixel.
However, this doesn’t mean Google can’t change this in the future. If not for making VPN by Google app, which is the company’s only VPN solution after it killed Google One VPN last year, for all Android phones, Google might replace the current Google Fi VPN toggle with VPN by Google in the Google Fi app on non-Pixel devices. We are more assertive in speculating that this might happen in the future because the company’s official documentation now lists “VPN by Google” as one of the benefits available for Google Fi users.
