Microsoft joins forces with Cloudflare now to integrate a VPN into the Chromium-based web browser, Edge, to protect the privacy and information of its users.
As Cloudflare announced in an official press release, the company, together with Microsoft, is integrating the so-called Cloudflare Proxy, a VPN service limited to 1 GB of traffic per month. The service, which is still classified as “Preview”, will soon be rolled out in waves to participants in the Insider program.
Microsoft has also commented on the new feature, which will be called “Microsoft Edge Secure Network”, on the official support website. The feature appears very similar to Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 service.
Microsoft Edge Secure Network will offer the same features that we have already seen in other VPN services. When activated, it will encrypt your internet connection to help protect your data from online threats like hackers, protect you from online tracking, and will let you browse with a virtual IP address that masks your IP and replaces your geolocation with a similar regional address.
Once available, the Microsoft Edge Secure Network can be activated directly from the browser settings. When in action, it will be identified by a shield icon that will appear to the right of the address bar.
It is still unknown what plans or payment options Redmond will offer when the free data quota is consumed per month, although there will surely be more details in this regard in the future. There is also no accurate data on when this new function would be available; For now, it’s only accessible to a handful of Canary build testers as part of a “controlled release.”
Microsoft Edge is not the first browser to provide a VPN service. For a long time, Opera has incorporated a free VPN, and Mozilla released a commercial VPN service in 2020.
