I’ve had this amazing Pixel feature for 4 years, but I just started using it

When the Google Pixel 7 launches in 2022, it comes with a number of interesting features like face unlock, Super Res zoom, an LTPO display, and a special camera edition. However, one feature I didn’t pay much attention to was the included free VPN service.

I don’t usually need a VPN in my personal life, but I’ve had to use it a few times for work. Living in France means that some US-focused websites don’t load, don’t show proper pricing, or don’t give me the same information. However, I have access to NordVPN through work, and for the longest time, that was enough for me.

And since I live in France and most of my travels are in Europe, my current data plan works abroad too. No need to connect to public Wi-Fi over a slow airport network or any other insecure network provided by a hotel, train or café. I just stuck to my 4G or 5G connection, knowing I wasn’t taking any risks by going on an open network.

However, recently I have encountered more and more situations where I had to give in and join public networks. Air France started allowing free Internet access on its European flights, meaning I can work, browse or talk to my friends while in the air. Some trains I took passed through areas of poor reception for long periods of time, forcing me to connect to their onboard Wi-Fi. I found myself in a hotel room where the roaming partner selected by my SIM card was not getting a good signal and I had to revert to the room’s network. And I visited some expos where I had to connect to local Wi-Fi to get their audio guide.

The first time this happened, I felt a little weird until I remembered that my Pixel 10 Pro XL had a built-in VPN. I turned it on, and I knew I could use my phone a little more intuitively because my connection was now private, secure, and safe from whatever network provider I was currently relying on, as well as potential hackers.

After that, it has become second nature to me to immediately enable my Pixel’s VPN whenever I’m near public Wi-Fi. I also taught this trick to my husband, who didn’t know this feature was also available for free on his Pixel 7 Pro. And since then, I’ve started using public networks a little more than before, instead of just relying on data everywhere. If I can backup some of my Google Photos photos during a trip before I get back home, or save my battery a little by not forcing my phone to be on data all the time (and we know how terrible data connectivity is for the Pixel’s battery life), why not use it?

Since the Pixel 8 and 9 series, Google’s VPN has been separated from Google One and has become exclusive to the Pixel, integrated into the Pixel experience and free to use. Google has also added some additional features to make the VPN more customizable.

On reaching Settings > Network & Internet > VPN > VPN by Google > Use VPN by GoogleOr using the Quick Settings tile, you can access two important settings. One lets you exclude certain apps from using the VPN, the other lets you exclude specific networks as well.

As for apps, this is a pretty straightforward list that you can look through and add exclusions from, especially if you notice that some app is misbehaving or refusing to load when connected to the VPN. For networks, you’ll need to allow location access, and then look at the list of all your known Wi-Fi networks to see which one is secure. Your home network should be safe to leave out, and in general, I would recommend leaving mobile networks out as well. Unless you know that you are using an unsecured service provider.

Of course, I wish Google would put more effort into this built-in VPN. I’m sure the company has enough servers to allow us to change the country, for example, or to make sure that the hotspot created from my phone is also protected by the VPN. I would also like a warning when the VPN disconnects, or even a kill switch that pauses the connection until I confirm I’m okay to switch back to the unsecured network. These would be excellent additions to the basic digital security features I rely on every day with my Pixel.