VPN Articles and News

Google VPN? Search Giant Looking to Incorporate Within Android

By Paul Liu
Sunday, August 9th, 2015

If you are an Android user who is constantly worried about the security of your personal data every time you connect to public wireless networks, there might be some good news for you in the offing. As per the reports published by several reputed tech websites, Google is all set to introduce its own VPN service in the near future. If the search giant indeed goes ahead and rolls out the service, Google VPN will be a game changer as far as mobile VPN market is concerned plus it would also cause tremendous upheaval in the VPN industry.

As per the details made available by tech portals, Google has included a new (albeit hidden) VPN like app (called Google Connectivity Services) within the latest stock build of its Android Operating System (Android Lollypop 5.1+). By using an app like QuickShortCutMaker, tech analysts were able to run the following activity within Android

com.google.android.apps.gcs/com.google.android.apps.gcs.WifiAssistantOptInActivity

When the above activity is launched, a dialog box pops up which informs the users that they are about to connect to Google VPN which will transmit their data in a safe way. While the app does redirect to a VPN menu, it currently does not actually connect to any VPN server or service. This suggests that the service is either just an experiment, is not yet ready for the masses or Google doesn’t want anyone to figure more about it.

There are several theories going around regarding why Google wants to introduce its own VPN service. Since Google is expected to roll out its very own wireless service in the near future (having announced it at Mobile World Congress), the planned VPN solution could provide a blanket of security for the users of the new service. Since Wi-Fi networks are not known for their security, the VPN service could act as a trump card that would help Google attract more customers for its wireless service. On the other hand, some tech analysts believe that Google VPN is actually designed for corporate users who use Android for Work and are looking for a secure way to transmit their enterprise data. Yet another theory suggests that the service is designed to combat security threats on the internet especially the ones that propagate via open Wi-Fi networks.

Even if Google unveils its VPN service in the future, it may not be available to everyone. Reports suggest that the feature would be available only to Android Lollypop users who currently account for less than 2% of the overall Android market. In addition, the service may be restricted only to certain manufacturers and devices which would further limit its appeal.

Finally, there is the question of whether tech savvy users would want to use Google VPN at all. Google is well-known for collecting vast amounts of data from its users and the practice goes against the “No Logging” policy followed by major VPN service providers. While the company has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of its VPN service, many tech experts believe that the service would make its debut pretty soon.