Protect your online activity

For Android phones:

Important: Your phone must use Android 9 or higher.

1. Open the Google Fi app .
2. Scroll to “Phone settings.”
3. Tap Privacy & security.
4. Turn Protect your online activity on or off.
5. In the pop-up, tap Got it  OK.
6. When the status bar shows the VPN key , you're connected to the VPN.

For iPhone:

Important: Your iPhone must use iOS 13 or higher.

1. Open the Google Fi app .
2. Scroll to “Phone settings.”
3. Tap Privacy & security.
4. Turn on or off Protect your online activity.
5. In the pop-up, tap Got it Allow.
6. Enter your device passcode or fingerprint.
7. When the status bar shows , you're connected.

If the VPN still isn’t on:

1. Check internet speed and connection.
2. Restart your device.

Important: When you're in a country or region that doesn’t allow VPN, you get a notification in the Google Fi app.

When the VPN isn't available on your iPhone, you get a notification on the "Privacy & security" page in the Google Fi app. The VPN may not be available if:

• Your Wi-Fi or current network blocks VPNs. To fix this problem, connect to a different network.
• Servers may experience issues. After the problem is fixed, the VPN restarts automatically.

Android: If the VPN icon  is in the status bar, the VPN is on.

iPhone and iPad: If the VPN is in the status bar, the VPN is on.

On Android phones, if you turn on another VPN while the Google Fi VPN is on, the Google Fi VPN automatically turns off. If 2 VPNs try to use the same connection at the same time, you may experience connectivity issues.

To turn off the other VPN on an Android phone:

The Google Fi VPN is only available on Android OS 9 or up or iOS 13 or up.

Learn how to check for Android updates.

Learn how to check for iPhone or iPad updates.

Most apps connect through the VPN when it’s on. But, some apps can bypass the VPN so they can work correctly, like smart home device apps and streaming services.

If a streaming service app doesn’t work with the Google Fi VPN on but other apps do, check if it’s a VPN issue. Check if these are both true:

• The status bar VPN key  is displayed.
• The streaming error specifies a “VPN” or ”anonymous proxy” issue, like “It seems like you’re using an anonymous proxy or VPN.”

If both circumstances are true, make an exception to force the app to send its traffic outside the VPN:

1. Open the Google Fi app .
2. Scroll to “Phone settings.”
3. Tap Privacy & security Show details Manage advanced settings.
4. Turn off Exceptions allowed.
5. Tap Add an exception.
6. Select the app that you don’t want to use the VPN.
   • If you make an exception, the app always sends traffic outside the VPN.
7. If the streaming service still doesn’t work, turn off the VPN.
8. If the issue persists, contact Google Fi support.