Google fans rage ‘I’m so angry’ as two popular app benefits are being ‘phased out’ – the first will vanish in weeks
SOME Google One users have been frustrated with the service as two popular app features are being phased out.
Google One is a subscription service developed by Google that offers expanded cloud storage and other benefits.
Now, two well-liked features are being retired: free shipping on photo prints and the Google One VPN.
Google One users are expressing their frustrations on social media after the company's announcement.
"Received this message from Google One about changes to my subscription (located in US)," one thread reads.
"If they're 'expanding access' of some features to all users AND phasing out other benefits all that's left is cloud storage and a 3% Google store discount which is a joke," they added.
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The user reasoned that Google needs to adjust its subscriptions if all they're going to offer is "bare bones features."
"Between this and Google Podcast app being shut down, I'm officially over it," they said.
Since going live three days ago, the thread amassed dozens of upvotes and responses.
"I'm so angry at them for removing the VPN," one person remarked.
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"Instead of improving it or implementing useful stuff they are giving us photo editing tools no one cares about and making things free for all Google Photos users?" they continued.
"Truly someone explain to me what is the point of a Google One subscription other than storage, I couldn't care less about their photo/video editing AI tools," they concluded.
"Man, I JUST found out about the VPN and it’s been great to have. I don’t need anything crazy…" a second person said.
"Just want to be able to listen to Soondcloud while at work and it was nice to have this easily installed on all my devices," they added.
"We are going to strip away features and not drop the price or increase your storage space," another user echoed.
"I'll be stopping my subscription when it runs out. Already looking for more private Google Photo alternatives," they added.
Google Incognito Mode – how does it work?
Here's what you need to know...
- Incognito Mode is extremely useful, because it can stop your browser saving information about what you do online to your computer
- For instance, any websites you visit while in Incognito Mode won’t show up in your browsing history
- You also won’t store any new cookies linked to your own identity (read our cookies explainer here) – these are small computer files that let websites know if you’ve been on their page previously
- It also won’t save any site data – for instance, if you’re logged into a website, you’ll be logged out in incognito mode
- Or if you want to search for something on the internet, but don’t want websites to constantly serve you ads for that product in the future, Incognito Mode will prevent those sites from knowing you were interested in an item
Howwever, not all users are upset about the changes, saying that the platform is mostly for storage.
"Google One was always mostly about the storage you need for Photos and Drive, which are still reasonable," one person said.
"All other perks are there just to sweeten the deal," they added.
The free photo shipping benefit is set to vanish on May 15 for users in Canada, the UK, the US, and the EU.
It's a major blow to Google One users who relied on the perk to get their memories delivered to their doorsteps for free.
Google One's built-in VPN is also being phased out later this year.
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and it’s a tool you can use to browse the internet safely.
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A VPN extends a private network across a public network, allowing users to share and receive data without the prying eyes of nefarious third parties.
Google One starts at $1.99 a month, and increases based on a user's storage needs.