Author: sparta

If you have significant worries about privacy while navigating the internet, you might have come across the idea of utilizing a VPN for protection. VPN, which stands for Virtual Private Network, serves as a method to prevent external parties from tracking your online activities and effectively enhances the security of your connection. Setting it up on your mobile device is not overly complex, typically requiring just a straightforward app installation. Interestingly, one of the most dependable free VPNs for Android is actually integrated into the device and developed by Google. Named VPN by Google, this no-cost VPN service is a distinctive feature available on Pixel phones starting with the Pixel 7.

Similar to regular VPN services, VPN by Google establishes an encrypted and private connection via Google’s VPN servers rather than connecting directly to the internet. It masks your true IP address and location, replacing them with the server’s IP and location. This is what shields you from malicious entities and sites that wish to acquire your location information.

However, unlike other VPN platforms, VPN by Google comes with certain restrictions. Firstly, it does not permit you to select which server to link to. For example, you can’t opt for a Japan-based server, so you won’t be able to access content that’s restricted to a Japanese audience. Moreover, a Google account is necessary to utilize the VPN service. VPN by Google is also functional only in 30 designated home countries (the country associated with your Google account). These include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Singapore. It does function in additional locations while traveling, enabling usage in places like the Bahamas, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and even Antarctica.

How to activate the free VPN by Google on your Pixel phone

Activating VPN by Google on your Pixel phone is quite fast and straightforward through the Settings on your Pixel device. Follow these instructions:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose Network & internet.
3. Click on VPN.
4. Under the Built-in section, select VPN by Google.
5. Review the permissions.
6. Enable Use VPN on mobile network if you wish to activate VPN while on mobile data.
7. Click Use VPN.
8. Select Allow if you want VPN by Google to send you notifications.
9. Wait for the VPN to establish a connection.

Once you spot the key icon on your Android screen, it indicates that the VPN service is operational, and you’re set to begin browsing. To simplify the process of pausing and resuming the VPN later, you can add it to your Quick Settings. Here’s how:

1. Access Quick Settings by swiping down from the top of the screen.
2. Tap the pen icon.
3. Press and hold the tile for VPN by Google.
4. Move it to your preferred location in the upper section of the screen.
5. Press the back arrow to save your adjustments.

You should now see the VPN tile in your Quick Settings. Long-press on the tile to open the VPN by Google settings page, or simply tap it to pause or resume the VPN service.

How to set up VPN by Google on your Pixel

Although Google’s free VPN service may not be as feature-rich as many other VPNs available, it still provides some degree of customization. Here’s how you can set up VPN by Google to better meet your requirements:

1. Open Settings.
2. Navigate to Network & internet > VPN.
3. Select the gear icon next to VPN by Google.
4. To keep the VPN service perpetually active, enable Always-on VPN.
5. To ensure your device does not go online without initially connecting to VPN, activate Block connections without VPN and press Turn on to confirm.
6. Return to the VPN page.
7. Tap on VPN by Google.
8. To pause the VPN service when you’re connected to specific Wi-Fi networks:
– Under Advanced settings, navigate to Pause VPN on selected networks.
– Tap on the saved networks where you wish to prevent the VPN service from operating.
– Press the trash icon to remove the Wi-Fi network from the “pause” list.
9. To stop certain apps from utilizing the VPN service, allowing them to connect to the internet normally:
– Choose Exclude selected apps.
– Select the apps for which you do not want VPN running.
– Remove any app from the “excluded” list by tapping the trash icon.
10. To check the app information:
– Go to Notifications.
– Adjust the notification frequency under Notifications.
– Modify the permissions via the Permissions option.
– View the amount of mobile data used by the VPN service by tapping Mobile data usage.

Any adjustments made in the configuration will be automatically saved and applied whenever your VPN is active.

your TV’s HDMI port keeps track of your viewing habits through devices connected, such as game consoles and media players. 

To disable data tracking via HDMI on a Roku smart TV, go to Settings > Privacy > Smart TV Experience. In that section, you will find either “Use info from TV inputs” or “Automatic Content Recognition (ACR),” switch it off. By turning off these settings, you will limit the data being gathered and shared across your Roku streaming sticks and standalone devices.

your intelligent TV is monitoring you and your viewing habits. Realistically, it’s not the sole device or platform where this occurs. What’s more concerning, at least according to a lawsuit from Texas, is that it is allegedly happening without your approval. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is filing a lawsuit against five television manufacturers — Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL — asserting that these companies are employing ad-targeted spyware to track what viewers are watching. The lawsuit alleges that, through Automated Content Recognition (ACR) technology, firms “capture images of a user’s television screen every 500 milliseconds,” to monitor what they are viewing or engaging in. Subsequently, TVs “send that data back to the company without the user’s awareness or consent.”

You may recognize ACR as the technology enabling companies to observe what you view on devices connected to your TV’s HDMI inputs. The Texas lawsuit also claims that television companies profit by selling the data they gather to “target advertisements across various platforms.” However, in pursuit of this profit, these companies are accused of jeopardizing user privacy and sensitive information. “This behavior is intrusive, misleading, and illegal,” states Paxton. He emphasizes that individuals’ “basic right to privacy” will be safeguarded in the state. While “Big Tech” is referenced, Paxton specifically calls out corporations “linked to the Chinese Communist Party,” who ought “to have no right to illegally document Americans’ devices within their own residences.” He also notes that Hisense and TCL are headquartered in China.

In light of breaches of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Attorney General is pursuing damages of up to $10,000 for each infraction, and up to $250,000 for violations impacting individuals aged 65 or older. The state is also expressing interest in injunctions to prevent data collection, selling, and sharing while the lawsuits are in progress.