Microsoft 365 subscriptions now include a free VPN - here's how to use it

Microsoft 365 subscribers looking for a VPN to protect their internet connections can now turn to a free option available with Microsoft Defender. In a new FAQ on its website, Microsoft described the privacy protection now included with Defender for individuals with a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plan. Available in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, the VPN works not only in Windows but on MacOS, Android, and iOS.

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Offering 50GB of monthly data, the VPN will encrypt your internet traffic and hide your IP address on public Wi-Fi or untrusted networks. The tool will alert you if your Wi-Fi connection isn't safe and let you add trusted networks to the list to avoid the alerts. You can easily turn the VPN on and off, see how much data you've used for the month, and view the number of days left before your quota gets reset.

Not bad for a free product. But there are a couple of downsides.

You can't choose a specific server region for the VPN. The tool automatically picks the closest Microsoft server for you. Yep, that means it's not much use if you want to spoof your location to make it seem like you're in another country.

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Plus, the Defender VPN excludes certain streaming and social apps that may be bandwidth-heavy. These include YouTube, TikTok, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Facebook Video, Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify, YouTube Music, and Whatsapp.

With privacy always a concern, Microsoft said that the VPN won't store your browsing data, history,  personal details, or your device's physical location. But it will collect certain anonymized service data to help the company improve the product. This data includes such info as how long the VPN was in use, how much bandwidth was used, and any Wi-Fi hotspots detected as malicious.

If you've already installed Microsoft 365, the Defender app should've come along for the ride. If not, you can download it directly from the Microsoft Store. After first launching the app, you'll be asked to sign in with your Microsoft account, presumably to make sure you have a valid Microsoft 365 subscription. Once you're in, the Dashboard displays a section for the VPN where you can turn it on and off and otherwise manage it.

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As an added perk, those of you who subscribe to Microsoft 365 Family can share your security status with the family organizer who manages the subscription and access. This option shares only security and identity threat monitoring and not any details about your device or personal files.

To install Defender and use the VPN on a different platform, head to the installation page and select Android, iOS, or Mac depending on your device. The page also explains how the service works on each operating system.

The Defender VPN is barebones compared with most third-party VPNs. But it's worth considering if you're a Microsoft 365 subscriber who needs a basic but effective way to safeguard your Wi-Fi connections.