Google One makes a premium feature available to all, adds new layer of security

The cloud storage and device backup solution from Google is getting a couple of changes. All Google One plans will now have access to a previously exclusive premium feature and will gain a brand new security feature.

In a blog post, Google announced it’s making some improvements to how Google One members protect their personal information. One of the improvements will make VPN by Google One available to all plans, and the other improvement will protect users from the dark web.

In the past, VPN by Google One was something that only people who paid for the Premium 2TB plan could access. Family members of the subscriber could also take advantage of the benefit — up to six devices. But starting today, the company will strip that exclusivity away. According to the tech giant, in the next few weeks, everyone from the basic plan and up who live in the supported countries will have access to this service. It will also be available for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.

In addition to the VPN announcement, the Mountain View-based organization revealed it’s debuting dark web monitoring. This feature would scan the dark web for sensitive information like your name, address, email, phone number, Social Security Number, and any other information you add to your monitoring profile. If anything is found, Google says the member would be notified and given guidance on how to protect that data.

It appears the monitoring feature won’t be limited to just showing the results that matched the user’s profile either. The feature will also present related information found from those data breaches.

The dark web monitoring tool is expected to launch over the next few weeks and will also be available to all members. With these changes, it looks like all Google One users will be able to enjoy some extra peace of mind.