INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Google Project Fi wireless service is getting a major update today that introduces an optional always-on VPN service and a smarter way to
switch between Wi-Fi and cellular connections.
By default, Fi already uses a VPN service to protect users when they connect to the roughly
two million supported Wi-Fi hotspots
Now, Google is expanding this to cellular connections, as well
&When you enable our enhanced network, all of your mobile and Wi-Fi traffic will be encrypted and securely sent through our virtual private
network (VPN) on every network you connect to, so you&ll have the peace of mind of knowing that others can&t see your online activity,& the
team writes in today announcement.
Google notes that the VPN also shields all of your traffic from Google itself and that it isn&t tied to
your Google account or phone number.
The VPN is part of what Google calls its &enhanced network& and the second part of this announcement is
that this network now also allows for a faster switch between Wi-Fi and mobile networks
When you enable this — and both of these features are currently in beta and only available on Fi-compatible phones that run Android Pie
— your phone will automatically detect when your Wi-Fi connection gets weaker and fill in those gaps with cellular data
The company says that in its testing, this new system reduces a user time without a working connection by up to 40 percent.
These new
features will start rolling out to Fi users later this week
They are off by default, so you&ll have to head to the Fi Network Tools in the Project Fi app and turn them on to get started
One thing to keep in mind here: Google says your data usage will likely increase by about 10 percent when you use the VPN.
