Microsoft says it is killing off Microsoft Defender VPN, which is similar to Cloudflare WARP, due to lack of usage. Also, the company believes it can reallocate its resources to focus on features that might have better engagement. In a statement to Windows Latest, Microsoft blamed “usage” and “effectiveness” of Defender VPN.
On the 1st of February, Windows Latest broke the news that Microsoft Defender VPN, which is bundled with Microsoft 365 in select regions, is retiring. This was a surprising announcement for many—not because Microsoft is shutting down a good feature, but rather because most of us had never heard of the VPN under the Microsoft Defender brand.
Microsoft and VPN? How many of you were aware that the company had a VPN service to begin with? In fact, many users are unaware that there is a separate Microsoft Defender app for Microsoft 365 subscribers, which is different from the built-in Windows Security. It is something that needs to be installed manually, and it also has a VPN feature.
On Feb 28, Microsoft Defender VPN will stop working on Windows 11, Windows 10, macOS, Android, and iOS.
“As stated within the support page, Microsoft 365 Family or Personal subscribers who have downloaded and enabled the privacy protection (VPN) feature in the Defender app will no longer have access to the feature on February 28, 2025,” Microsoft told Windows Latest in a statement.
Microsoft officials further explained that they “routinely evaluate the usage and effectiveness of its features to invest in new areas that will better align to customer needs, and the company remains committed to defending its customer’s online safety”, and this is the primary reason the VPN service is going away.
“Microsoft Defender for individuals continues to provide data and device protection, identity theft and credit monitoring (US only), plus threat alerts for customers with a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription,” Microsoft added.
Microsoft told me that it expects its customers to fall back to Microsoft Edge Secure Network, a VPN similar to Microsoft Defender VPN. However, like Defender VPN, Edge’s Secure Network is available in select regions only. And it is powered by Cloudflare, not Microsoft’s own infrastructure.
Microsoft Defender VPN shutdown was going to happen one day or another
In a way, Microsoft Defender VPN is not even an actual “VPN” because it is too similar to Cloudflare WARP, which routes traffic through nearby servers.
Microsoft Defender VPN does the same thing. It tries to protect your browsing privacy by routing traffic through Microsoft Servers, and you cannot choose the location because Microsoft assigns it automatically.
Microsoft created the VPN on top of the OpenVPN Protocol and offered a monthly data limit of 50GB per user in a Microsoft 365 personal account or family subscription.
But why is the company shutting down a potentially good VPN service? As I mentioned, it is because of a lack of engagement from users, which is a fair reason to shut down something and is an industry practice.
However, in the case of Microsoft Defender VPN, Microsoft really needs to blame itself for the slow and messy rollout.
When Microsoft 365 VPN was announced on April 22, 2024, only those in the United Kingdom, United States, and US territories were able to use it. Even in these supported countries, some users claimed that they wouldn’t see the privacy protection (VPN) toggle because Microsoft preferred to ship the feature gradually.
It turns out the gradual rollout and slow expansion combined with poor marketing efforts didn’t work out, and Microsoft Defender VPN is going away on February 28, 2025.
As of February 8, the VPN service is still not available for the majority of Microsoft 365 subscribers.
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