Summary
- Say goodbye to Atlas VPN and hello to NordVPN as the former shuts down and merges with its parent firm, Nord Security.
- Smaller players in the VPN industry are folding, leaving bigger providers like Nord Security with more control of user data and potentially monopolizing the market.
- Atlas VPN subscribers will be migrated to NordVPN, with access to all premium benefits until their current subscription expires.
There are boatloads of free to use VPN services available on the Google Play Store, but not all of them strike the perfect balance between features, ease of use, and user security. We swear by a handful of VPN services, but Google recently shut down its offering bundled with Google One subscriptions. News of another shutdown just broke, and we are sad to see Atlas VPN go.
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Atlas VPN is a competitive service offering conveniences like passwordless logins and support for unlimited devices with subscriptions priced at just $1.70 per month. However, late in March, the company updated its website and announced an April 24 shutdown date. The company’s 6 million users will be migrated to parent firm NordVPN’s service (via PCWorld).
The shutdown and mergers highlight a worrying trend
NordVPN’s owners, Nord Security, purchased Atlas VPN outright in 2021, and promised to allow the company to continue operating with the Atlas brand name. However, Atlas’s shutdown announcement that was online on its website at the time of writing cites insurmountable challenges linked to advancing technological demands, rising costs, and a competitive market as driving factors for the decision to shut shop.
This shutdown points to a worrying trend in the VPN industry where smaller players are folding, making the bigger service providers like Nord Security even stronger, potentially creating a monopolistic market. Currently, Nord owns some of the most popular services, like NordVPN and SurfShark. Another example is Kape Technologies, formerly known as Crossrider, which owns ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN. While consolidation like this builds a stronger industry, it also breeds monopolistic pricing, and gives consumers limited control over how their data is handled.
For now, Atlas VPN subscribers should find a NordVPN password creation link in their linked email inbox. This would allow them to continue using all the premium benefits on NordVPN until their current subscription expires. All auto-renewal instructions have been suspended and the migrating subscribers as well as free-tier users will be prompted to subscribe to NordVPN instead.
