Google Fi Expanding VPN to iPhone Users Starting This Spring

This article needs to be updated. It implies that WiFi calling is supported on iPhones. It most certainly is not.

“Google today announced that it will be expanding Google Fi's built-in VPN service to the iPhone starting this spring, providing iOS users with another option to ensure that their connection is secure and private on a cellular or Wi-Fi network.”
 
bbplayer5 said:
Its more so Verizon/ATT/TMo doesn't see what you are doing.
Click to expand...
Version, ATT, TMo are all telecommunications companies, and as such have much stronger rules and laws to follow about privacy and freedoms of speech than does Google. Even though they are all bad companies tightly tied to the FBI, NSA, etc. I would trust them before Google every time.
 
DaPhatty said:
This article needs to be updated. It implies that WiFi calling is supported on iPhones. It most certainly is not.

“Google today announced that it will be expanding Google Fi's built-in VPN service to the iPhone starting this spring, providing iOS users with another option to ensure that their connection is secure and private on a cellular or Wi-Fi network.”
Click to expand...


I’ve been using Wi-Fi calling for a number of years. I don’t have any cell towers near me and I was stuck having a land line because I couldn’t depend on calls to my cell phone at home. I haven’t had a non-Apple phone since the 4s. I don’t remember when Apple phones got WiFi calling but they have had it for a number of years.

Make a call with Wi-Fi Calling - Apple Support

With Wi-Fi Calling, you can make or receive a phone call if you have a Wi-Fi connection in an area with little or no cellular coverage. Learn how to make a voice call using Wi-Fi Calling.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
 
Sure, it protects you from outside snooping, but who protects the user from Google's snooping?
 
I used GoogleFi for a couple of months last year. Ended up switching to Mint.

Fi had too many issues- lost calls, voicemail problems (yes I still use voicemail) and no support for WiFi Calling. Not sure if these have been addressed.
 
For the life of me I don’t understand why Apple hasn’t built out a robust VPN service of its own that can be used across the full spectrum of its devices… my only assumption is that the government would have a complete fit about it lol
 
Suckfest 9001 said:
I love that most people posting here probably use Google’s DNS without even knowing it.

hey remember that time apple got caught sending our siri recordings to a third party? pRiVaCy
Click to expand...
I use Cloudflare, not sure how private that is.
 
This is the kind of news that makes a lot of Googleites happy. They get even more Google with their Apple products.
 
subjonas said:
How can websites track you if using a vpn (and not signed into the website)?
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You're signed into another website or have signed in previously to a website that uses Google/Apple/Microsoft analytics while using that VPN, instantly linking your VPN connection to you.

Example:
  • You have a Windows computer that. You turn the VPN on, Microsoft still transmits telemetry, which it then sells the information or allows access to it by other companies. Your IP address changed but your device ID did not. The connection between your unique computer identity and the new IP address going through the VPN is now forever tainted.
  • You signed in to your Gmail/YouTube/Facebook account. You signed out after. Google / Facebook still have the record of your unique identity logging in to their service from a new IP address and now you are being tracked.
 
This sounds like the VPN Onavo that Facebook, your friendly spy once brought on to this cursed land, to spy even the you weren't using Facebook
 
Apple Crusader said:
You're signed into another website or have signed in previously to a website that uses Google/Apple/Microsoft analytics while using that VPN, instantly linking your VPN connection to you.

Example:
  • You have a Windows computer that. You turn the VPN on, Microsoft still transmits telemetry, which it then sells the information or allows access to it by other companies. Your IP address changed but your device ID did not. The connection between your unique computer identity and the new IP address going through the VPN is now forever tainted.
  • You signed in to your Gmail/YouTube/Facebook account. You signed out after. Google / Facebook still have the record of your unique identity logging in to their service from a new IP address and now you are being tracked.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Aren’t vpn providers supposed to switch up and mix around ip addresses?
 
Having a google run VPN is just as bad as any of the Chinese owned VPN's. Express VPN is out of Hong Kong and ownership is secret. about 1/2 the VPN's are said in reports to be Chinese. Scary. Google=NSA spying. so... I'd avoid even using an android phone or their apps.
 
EdT said:
I’ve been using Wi-Fi calling for a number of years. I don’t have any cell towers near me and I was stuck having a land line because I couldn’t depend on calls to my cell phone at home. I haven’t had a non-Apple phone since the 4s. I don’t remember when Apple phones got WiFi calling but they have had it for a number of years.

Make a call with Wi-Fi Calling - Apple Support

With Wi-Fi Calling, you can make or receive a phone call if you have a Wi-Fi connection in an area with little or no cellular coverage. Learn how to make a voice call using Wi-Fi Calling.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
Click to expand...
Wi-Fi calling on iPhone has been around forever. I think at least the past five years.
 
subjonas said:
Thanks. Aren’t vpn providers supposed to switch up and mix around ip addresses?
Click to expand...
You can connect to different hop points, depending on the VPN provider you may have a larger or shorter IP address pool. It should be noted that the IP address that you show up as is the VPN endpoint (aka the server / exit node), the IP address is not specific to you.

Furthermore, using a computer which sends telemetry will make it very easy to identify you as you choose different VPN endpoints, for companies such as Microsoft or Google. Using a web browser which you synchronize the profile for convenience defeats the purpose of using a VPN and if you use a VPN to avoid tracking, it's probably best to use a live Linux distro that you do not ever sign in to personal accounts with. It is best to randomize your NIC address prior to connecting to a WiFi network just to be extra safe.

I really dislike how VPN companies advertise that they keep you safe and anonymous, it's not true. You also have to trust the VPN provider to not host malicious customers that might be able to infiltrate the network and sniff network traffic of other users, nor to pass on records to the government or to not keep records at all.

There is a sub-Reddit dedicated to VPNs and they have a master spreadsheet with info on whether the VPN provider is located in the five/fourteen eyes countries, do they keep logs, etc. It's a good resource to pick a provider if you use a VPN for anonymity, but being anonymous takes a painful transition in how you browse the internet.

Even visiting the same websites in a specific order or at certain times of day can be used to identify you (e.g. if you use the restroom every day at 5PM and watch YouTube videos from certain channels, it IS possible to deduce you from a pool of people.
 
Apple Crusader said:
You can connect to different hop points, depending on the VPN provider you may have a larger or shorter IP address pool. It should be noted that the IP address that you show up as is the VPN endpoint (aka the server / exit node), the IP address is not specific to you.

Furthermore, using a computer which sends telemetry will make it very easy to identify you as you choose different VPN endpoints, for companies such as Microsoft or Google. Using a web browser which you synchronize the profile for convenience defeats the purpose of using a VPN and if you use a VPN to avoid tracking, it's probably best to use a live Linux distro that you do not ever sign in to personal accounts with. It is best to randomize your NIC address prior to connecting to a WiFi network just to be extra safe.

I really dislike how VPN companies advertise that they keep you safe and anonymous, it's not true. You also have to trust the VPN provider to not host malicious customers that might be able to infiltrate the network and sniff network traffic of other users, nor to pass on records to the government or to not keep records at all.

There is a sub-Reddit dedicated to VPNs and they have a master spreadsheet with info on whether the VPN provider is located in the five/fourteen eyes countries, do they keep logs, etc. It's a good resource to pick a provider if you use a VPN for anonymity, but being anonymous takes a painful transition in how you browse the internet.

Even visiting the same websites in a specific order or at certain times of day can be used to identify you (e.g. if you use the restroom every day at 5PM and watch YouTube videos from certain channels, it IS possible to deduce you from a pool of people.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. It’s a sad state of affairs that privacy and convenience are at such odds today. I’ll have to consider what’s most important to me.
 
iShater said:
No thanks, i don't need any more Google in my life either.
Click to expand...
I've heard that before, it didn't end well!

Google & Amazon need to be put in check. They are too dominant. Try browsing the web by blocking ANY Google and Amazon IP address, it'll crush your soul.
 
IlluminatedSage said:
Having a google run VPN is just as bad as any of the Chinese owned VPN's. Express VPN is out of Hong Kong and ownership is secret. about 1/2 the VPN's are said in reports to be Chinese. Scary. Google=NSA spying. so... I'd avoid even using an android phone or their apps.
Click to expand...
In find this a bit ironic given that most of Google services are banned in China while Apple is building a data centers in China to placate the Chinese government.
 
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