Google VPN service spotted hidden within Android 5.1

Android 5.1 features a number of tweaks and changes to Lollipop, but a whole new Google service has also been spotted lurking within the operating system running on a Nexus 6. Although not functional right now, Google appears to be working on a VPN (virtual private network) service.

If you have Android 5.1 installed on your own Nexus 6, you should be able to spot a new system application called “Google Connectivity Services”, located in the list of apps installed on your handset. I won’t go through all the steps of discovery, you can check out the source link for that, but eventually getting it to run reveals that this is a Google VPN application, designed to protect users connected up to an open Wi-Fi network. You can go all the way through to a setup screen, however connections don’t seem to be working at this time.

This could all be linked to Google’s wireless carrier service, which is said to rely heavily on open Wi-Fi connections when cellular services from T-Mobile and Sprint are not available. Keeping your personal data secure when connected to an open-WiFi network is quite an important feature, which is where the Google VPN service likely comes into play.

On the other hand, there’s also the possibility that this is a left-over feature that may never launch. Interesting though.