You’ll know it’s activated because you will see a little key icon on the top right section of the notification/status bar.
This all depends on where you live, how close you are to the data centers and your internet speed. I have absolutely no problems. And speed is not a problem, doesn’t slow down for me.
It’s likely that Google VPN makes an SSL or TLSoverUDP tunnel to Google addresses, and that many blocking policies can’t differentiate between that and other Google services. Because “all” Google is blocked in China, that makes sense.
I’ve never heard that China “aggressively” blocks VPNs. In fact I’ve heard the opposite “just get a VPN and internet works again” Admittedly my information is dated but I always felt the great firewall was more of a PR thing and ways to stop the uneducated.
Willing to share how you did it to help others?
- Most do, but more than you would like to think do not
- Even though modern browsers have HTTPS-Only Mode, it’s not enabled by default
- If you care about privacy, DNS over HTTPS is still being widely adopted and many times purposely disabled meaning that can still be intercepted
- Evil twin attacks exist and even HTTPS won’t help you there if they use SSL stripping
Source: I work in cybersecurity
Also, this was specifically about Google’s free VPN service. There are absolutely other benefits that major VPN providers offer that are worth paying for
That’s blatantly false. You should do some research before spouting off BS like that.
SSL stripping/downgrade attacks are real and happen all the in the wild. It can easily happen by connecting to an untrusted or malicious network like an open hotspot.
Run a speed test with it on and off. If there’s no significant difference, then it’s just another layer of security/privacy
IMO no unless you’re trying to hide traffic from your carrier. I have it personally set so it only enables on non-home WiFi+cellular networks. So if I connect to any friend’s or public WiFi, the VPN will turn on. Works great for travel in general.
Edit: Some more clarification… for normal surfing when you are at home or on your mobile network, there isn’t any major network security issue. When in public, you generally want VPN to avoid malicious hackers snooping at coffee shops, hotel networks, etc. So in that case turn on VPN there. I used to manually turn on my VPN when on public WiFi, but by having an automated solution I find it good enough for my use.
Plus, Google VPN is better in that most VPN services are full of bad actors misusing their services resulting in a lot of CAPTCHAs for even simple things like Google searches. Many streaming services block big name VPNs like Nord/Express, so I actually find Google better in some ways.
Oh, well I guess that just makes everything else irrelevant
Google doesn’t exactly have a brilliant track record when it comes to the data they collect on their users and the transparency by which they do
Agreed, but in this case, it’s actually open source, uses blind signing, and has been independently audited.
When you use your VPN in a coffee shop with less secure WiFi, you’re basically just switching who you trust; you either give all your browsing data to Google or you give it all to the coffee shop / creepy dude in the corner with a laptop
This is just so incorrect I’m not even going to try and explain it because you clearly don’t even understand the most basic functionality of a VPN
But I think it’s important for people to understand what a VPN actually does and crucially what it isn’t
Yes, like yourself
Ah, that’s why I don’t have it on the 6a. Used to have it with my G1 sub.
I wish it was sti; included with Google one- I mean it didn’t affect me because I literally only use my phone but I was still disappointed that they took away a feature
Except the pixel tablet which is the same generation as the pixel 7 range, bad decision by Google in my opinion,the vpn should of stayed as part of g1
Can you help me with steps on enabling it
Ads are mainly cookie based anyway, so it’s not through your VPN. The question was more about whether Google analyzes your usage data and matches it with your profile to further tune ads that are already targeting you like via your Google account.
yeah, I think it would often say I’m in Cali.
Yeah I use pixel 7. But it’s not available worldwide. They don’t offer vpn out here. Not to menrion google wallet is also not available out here.
Thanks.
I think I’ve seen that icon appearing every so often but not all the time. Still makes me wonder if it’s working.
You would think NYC is pretty close to a data center, but maybe because I use Fi