Microsoft has confirmed Microsoft Defender VPN (privacy-protection feature) is being retired on Windows 11, Windows 10, macOS, Android, and iOS. Starting February 28, 2025, the Microsoft Defender VPN feature will stop working, and Microsoft will turn it off for everyone. But why is it getting removed? Likey due to low usage.
In a support document spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft confirmed that the privacy protection (VPN) feature within Defender is going away on February 28, 2025.
According to the document, once Defender VPN reaches end-of-support, you’ll need to manually remove the VPN profile from your Android phone if you have ever used Defender VPN. In the case of Windows, macOS and iOS, no action is required.
For those unaware, Microsoft Defender VPN is one of the lesser-known features because it was exclusive to Microsoft 365 subscribers in the United Kingdom, United States and US territories. It never rolled out across the world, and Microsoft also didn’t turn it on for everyone in the US on the same day, as the company preferred a staged rollout.
The staged rollout limited the reach of the feature, which had its own shortcomings. For example, it wasn’t a typical VPN because you couldn’t choose your location. When I asked, Microsoft told me that Microsoft Defender VPN tries to figure out the nearest Defender VPN server to your location and establish a secure connection.
It’s a lot like Cloudflare WARP, which also connects you to the nearest Cloudflare server with the intention to protect your identity.
The idea behind Microsoft Defender VPN was to protect your identify (IP address, exact location), and secure the network connection.
At the time of the announcement, Microsoft said the company believes “privacy is a fundamental human right” and that the addition of VPN (privacy protection) is very important for Microsoft Defender users.
Microsoft also promised that Defender VPN would arrive in new regions, but that never happened, and now the feature is being retired.
Microsoft Defender VPN didn’t appeal to masses
While I don’t have the numbers, it looks like Microsoft Defender VPN wasn’t used by the majority of the users.
First and foremost, it was only offered via the Microsoft Defender app, and many aren’t even aware that an app like this exists. Also, the feature was exclusive to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers.
According to Microsoft, VPN support is being removed because the company wants to focus on features that everyone uses frequently. Based on the “usage” and “effectiveness” of Defender VPN, Microsoft has decided to kill the privacy protection feature, and there are no alternatives available.
“Our goal is to ensure you, and your family remain safer online. We routinely evaluate the usage and effectiveness of our features,” Microsoft noted in the support document we spotted. “As such, we are removing the privacy protection feature and will invest in new areas that will better align to customer needs.”
Microsoft clarified that other features remain affected, so you can still use Device Protection, Identify Theft, and Credit Monitoring in the United States.
As I mentioned at the outset, Microsoft officials had nothing more to share beyond what’s already documented.
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