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Verizon offers its own VPN app, because nothing's fishy about that
- Verizon Safe Wi-Fi is a new VPN app for Android that will anonymize your internet usage and block ads.
- The service costs $4-per-month and supports up to ten devices.
- It seems like a significant conflict of interest for a telecommunications giant to offer a VPN service.
Today, Verizon launched a new VPN app called Verizon Safe Wi-Fi, exclusively for Verizon customers. As you would expect, the service anonymizes your internet browsing on Android and iOS devices. It also is an ad-blocker.
Verizon Safe Wi-Fi is designed to work on public Wi-Fi networks and will set you back $4-per-month, which gets you service on up to ten devices.
It’s a little surprising that Verizon is offering a VPN service and ad blocker, although I guess it’s kind of par-for-the-course now. At this point, are there any companies not involved in the VPN industry? Heck, even PornHub has its own VPN now.
The real question is whether this service will have many adopters. Since Verizon owns multiple brands that make money off your internet browsing habits — like Oath, Yahoo, AOL, and your frickin’ Verizon Wireless data plan — the company providing a way for you to hide those habits seems like an astounding conflict of interest.
I can only speak for myself here, but I would be worried that Verizon would anonymize my browsing through the VPN, but then remove the anonymization when visiting Verizon-owned properties. I would highly suggest poring through the Verizon Safe Wi-Fi terms of service before handing over any of your cash for this product.
While $4-per-month is not a bad deal for a VPN/ad-blocker combo, there are literally hundreds of companies out there that can provide you with VPN services at a comparable cost while not simultaneously providing you with the internet service you’re going to use it on.
Now, where is my tin foil hat?