Microsoft has announced it will be pulling the plug on Defender VPN at the end of the month, encouraging users to seek alternative services. The decision is part of the company’s strategy to realign its security and privacy tools with customer needs.
The built-in feature, Microsoft Edge is known as Defender VPN, which is designed to give protection for privacy. However, there are many significant limitations attached. It comes with a 50GB monthly data cap and reduces speeds to 256 Kbps after crossing this limit, so it cannot be used for heavy browsing or streaming. More so, the VPN tunnel would automatically be bypassed by applications like WhatsApp, Facebook Video, YouTube, Netflix, and TikTok by Microsoft.
On the support page of Microsoft, they explained the shutdown by saying, “We regularly review how our features are used and work. As a result, we are retiring the privacy protection feature and will be investing in other areas that are more in line with customer demand.
Even though Defender VPN is being discontinued, Defender’s web protection on iOS will continue using a VPN-based approach for anti-phishing. Microsoft 365 subscribers in the U.S. will also be able to continue enjoying benefits like credit monitoring, up to $1 million in identity theft insurance, and reimbursement for stolen funds of up to $100,000.
For current users of Defender VPN, nothing will need to be done on Windows, iOS, or macOS. It will simply stop working. Android users, though, must remove the VPN profile from their device manually.
As is the case for Google that, in turn, shut down Google One VPN service way back in 2024 with low demands being cited, such a development portends to bigger tech giants and their likely eventual withdrawal of similar in-house services as VPN provision becomes better flexible, safe and streaming effective to consumers as users seek single specialty third party vendors.
For users who want alternatives, there are more robust options, including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and ProtonVPN, offering higher speeds, region unlocking, and stronger encryption. As Microsoft and Google have exited the VPN market, competition among independent VPN services is expected to grow even fiercer, which would help consumers get better privacy-focused solutions.
Although Microsoft’s Defender VPN was never a real alternative to more premium VPN services, its removal is part of a change in the orientation of the company on online privacy. Now, as Microsoft turns its focus to security aspects, users are urged to look into more extensive VPN solutions for surfing anonymously and protecting themselves online.
