Ordinarily when you use an app, access a website, or send someone messages, you’re doing so with an IP address that can reveal certain information about you, such as your location. Information sent over the network can be viewed by other people connected to the same Wi-Fi if the data isn’t encrypted, as well. This isn’t a big deal if you are, for example, updating your blog from the comfort of your own password-protected home Wi-Fi network.
However, if you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network such as the ones offered at libraries and coffee shops, browsing the internet without a VPN could be a security and privacy risk. As with other VPN services, the Google One VPN helps mitigate this risk by encrypting the data and shuttling it through its own servers, as the company explains in a support document.
As a result, the websites you visit while connected to the VPN will see the IP address related to Google’s server rather than the IP address from, for example, the coffee shop. Because the information is encrypted, other people connected to the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi won’t be able to snoop on your activity, either.
