As of February 28, Microsoft Defender customers will lose access to the VPN that came with the subscription. Billed as “the privacy protection feature,” it included in the subscription isolated Microsoft 365 applications for additional security. It was released in 2023.
Why did Microsoft remove the VPN feature?
“Our goal is to ensure you, and your family remain safer online,” an anonymous Microsoft employee wrote in the end-of-support notification. “We routinely evaluate the usage and effectiveness of our features. As such, we are removing the privacy protection feature and will invest in new areas that will better align to customer needs.”
Reading between the lines, the statement may mean the VPN did not see wide customer adoption. Its VPN did not let customers choose a location for their internet connection, meaning it could not be used for one of the most common consumer use cases: streaming country-gated media.
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No other features of the Defender will change.
Do Microsoft 356 users need to take any action?
Microsoft 365 users do not have to take any action, although Android users might want to. It will remove the VPN feature from Windows, iOS, and macOS users automatically. Android users can remove the profile from their device if they prefer. Keeping the profile will neither negatively impact the device nor keep the VPN active. To remove the VPN profile, go to Settings > VPN > Microsoft Defender and tap the name to remove it.
The new price includes Copilot in Microsoft 365
Windows Central, which spotted the end-of-support notification for the VPN, pointed out Microsoft increased prices for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions just a few days ago. The increased price comes with adding the generative AI assistant, Copilot. The $1.99 monthly Basic plan, which does not come with Copilot, was not affected by the price hike.
Microsoft Defender requires a Personal or Family subscription. It provides:
- Data and device protection.
- Credit monitoring in the U.S. only.
- Identity theft monitoring in the U.S. only.
- Threat alerts.
Similarly to its price increase, Google increased the cost of Workspace by a few dollars to make the Gemini chatbot available by default.
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