Microsoft has surprisingly announced that it will discontinue the “Privacy Protection (VPN)” feature in Microsoft Defender at the end of the month, to focus on other features.
In its announcement, Microsoft provided a detailed explanation as to why the feature is being discontinued. It revealed in its statement that the feature was not widely used, and the company wanted to focus on other features.
“Our goal is to make sure you, and your family, stay safe online. We regularly evaluate the use and effectiveness of our features. As such, we are removing the privacy protection feature and will invest in new areas that will better align with customer needs,” read Microsoft’s announcement confirming the removal of the VPN feature.
Privacy Protection is a VPN service integrated within the Microsoft Defender app for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS platforms, available through the “Microsoft 365 Personal and Family” subscription.
Users will get 50 GB of data every month to maintain their privacy when using public Wi-Fi hotspots.
Privacy Protection features on Android
Source: Microsoft
In September 2024, Microsoft expanded the use of a VPN feature in Defender that automatically detects insecure connections and provides the option to enable them, improving protection against Man-in-the-Middle (MiTM) and Evil Twin attacks.
Although “Privacy Protection VPN” will be discontinued on February 28, 2025, Microsoft provided a statement that device protection, identity theft prevention, and credit monitoring (US only) will still be available as usual.
For Adroid users, it is highly recommended to delete Defender’s VPN profile from their device, as leaving it unchanged will affect their network browsing capabilities after the end of support date. As for Windows, iOS, and macOS users, there is no need to take any action.
To delete Defender VPN profile, please go to Settings->VPN->Profiles->Microsoft Defender->click info and delete. Please note that these steps may vary depending on the Android version or OEM.
The removal of “Privacy Protection Defender VPN” comes on the heels of Microsoft 365’s subscription price increase last month. This price increase reflects the integrity of AI-powered features, such as Copilot to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
Source:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-kills-off-defender-privacy-protection-vpn-feature/
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/end-of-support-privacy-protection-vpn-in-microsoft-defender-for-individuals-8b503da5-732a-4472-833a-e2ddca53036a
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/microsoft-killing-off-vpn-microsoft-174652282.html
https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/microsoft-cfo-urges-employees-to-focus-amid-recent-ai-developments
https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/03/microsoft_defender_vpn_killed_off/