Is Google's free VPN still around, and which phones can use it?
Summary
It is, but only on Pixels. Google's help center says Pixel 7 and later phones and the Pixel Tablet get VPN by Google built in, at no extra cost, in the countries where it's offered. The VPN that used to come with Google One subscriptions no longer has a page on Google's sites, and the current help pages don't describe a Google VPN for other phones or computers.
Where it works and who qualifies
You need a personal Google Account or a Workspace account, and a Workspace admin can block access. Some supervised accounts, including children's accounts, aren't eligible. The account's country, which Google shows next to "Country version" on its Terms of Service page, has to be on the supported list.
That list has 32 countries or regions: the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and 20 EU members. If your home country is on it, the VPN keeps working when you travel, except in places missing from a separate list Google keeps of travel destinations.
The VPN may also refuse to run on a rooted phone, one with an unlocked bootloader, one on a beta or unofficial Android build, or one that's behind on security updates.
Turning it on, and what it leaves out
Go to Settings, then Network & internet, then VPN, then VPN by Google. Read the disclosures and tap Use VPN. From then on it connects automatically every time you join a network.
Google is upfront that "not all network data from your device is protected by the VPN." Hotspot and USB tethering, push notifications, Wi-Fi calling and other IMS services, work profile apps, and apps that send traffic straight over Wi-Fi or cellular all go around it, as does any app you add to the exclusion list. Pixels also look for apps tied to your mobile carrier and suggest excluding them; excluded apps use the IP address your carrier assigns.
It won't change your location, either. Google says you "can't change your IP location to access online content that isn't available in your region."
What Google says it logs
Google says it "will never use your VPN connection to track, collect, or sell your online activity," and that your traffic and IP address aren't associated with your account. It does keep some minimal aggregate logs for quality of service, and the phone may send anonymous usage data, such as battery impact, back to Google. None of this changes how other Google products collect data. Chrome, for example, may still save your browsing history to your Google Account.
Sources
Related on this site
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Written by Kaz (pen name). Published September 28, 2026. The facts above come from the vendor and standards pages listed under Sources. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.