Verizon has announced that it's going to offer a VPN service for mobile devices. It's called Safe Wi-Fi, and it will cost $3.99 a month.
The service will only be available to Verizon customers using iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, however. Each account with Safe Wi-Fi can enroll up to 10 devices in total. The carrier is also offering a free 30-day trial for anyone interested.
How To Avail Verizon's New VPN Service
To avail the service, customers just need to log into their My Verizon app, and go the "Products and Devices" section. There, scroll down to reach the new "Safe Wi-Fi" option. According to The Verge, the feature didn't appear during its test, even though the app has been updated to the latest version. Perhaps Verizon is still in the process of rolling it out to all users.
Verizon's VPN comes with a built-in ad blocker as well, although it's unclear if that means ads will be blocked on sites such as Yahoo or AOL, which are both owned by the carrier.
Why Customers Might Think Twice About Verizon
The offer certainly sounds tempting, but it's easy to imagine that many will skip this considering Verizon's tendency to frustrate users by introducing constraints that greatly impact user experience and satisfaction.
For example, Verizon customers once fumed at the carrier because it was discovered to be deliberately throttling YouTube and Netflix well before users even hit their 22 GB throttling limit. Another source of frustration is the fact that its unlimited plans change constantly. Just this past June, it unveiled three new "unlimited" plans that weren't actually unlimited at all.
Sure, throttling probably won't be a problem with the Safe Wi-Fi service since the VPN will be based on Wi-Fi, but customers may still feel hesitant trusting a company known for suddenly introducing changes that often don't make sense and sometimes even seen anti-customer.
That being said, $4 a month seems pretty decent considering what other companies charge for VPN. By contrast, ExpressVPN, a popular choice on Android, costs nearly $7 per month — and that's if users pay for 15 months upfront. As The Verge notes, it'll probably appeal to families who travel a lot, especially in countries that require VPN, including China, Cuba, or Saudi Arabia.
Thoughts about Verizon's VPN offer? Do you trust the carrier enough to use another one of its services? As always, if you have anything to share, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!
