VPN as a global mainstream – Hi-Tech – Kommersant

In 2022, the number of VPN users worldwide reached 1.2 billion, and the global market for these services exceeded $43 billion. Soon there will be even more users. Last week it became known that the line of the latest smartphones from Google Pixel 7 will receive a free VPN before the end of the year. In September, South Korean corporation Samsung announced that the Pure VPN service will be integrated into the secure Wi-Fi protocol on Samsung Galaxy mobile devices.

Demand creates supply

By data industry media citing Google white papers, one of this year’s biggest mobile launches, the Pixel 7 line of smartphones, will get a built-in free VPN development service in December. Google. The Internet giant previously announced a VPN for new devices, but it was not known when it would be available on devices.

Citing unnamed sources, it is reported that free VPN support on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones will last about five years, which is enough for the smartphones themselves to grow old and fall into disuse.

Recall that five years ago, in October 2016, Google released the very first model of their Pixel smartphones. However, Google’s built-in VPN may not be available in all countries. For example, this service may not work in India, where the authorities have recently lawaccording to which VPN service providers must store and, at the request of the authorities, provide them with user data.

At the beginning of October it became knownthat corporation Microsoft tests new feature called Microsoft Edge Secure Network. This is a built-in VPN service based on Cloudflare developments. Microsoft Edge Secure Network will encrypt the user’s Internet connection to protect their data. The service will use an IP address from the nearby region, there will be no option to select the geolocation of the VPN service. The first 1 GB of traffic will be free, you will need a Microsoft account to use it.

At the end of September, a South Korean corporation Samsung Electronics announced about partnering with developer PureVPN. As part of the joint project, Samsung will equip its Secure Wi-Fi protocol for Galaxy mobile devices with PureVPN’s Enhanced Privacy Protection (EPP) add-on service to protect user data.

The South Korean manufacturer believes that the EPP user data encryption system “will provide users with an additional layer of protection.” In turn, PureVPN Vice President Bilal Salim Khan said that “we are very proud to partner with Samsung at a time when digital security and the protection of user data are being given increased attention around the world. This is an unconditional right of all Internet users, so we are pleased that Samsung has taken this initiative in the mobile device market.”

Attack defense

Until recently, VPN services, invented back in the late 1990s, remained a niche product. However, since the mid-2010s, their popularity has been growing. By the end of the second decade of the 21st century, the number of VPN users was already in the tens of millions. Further growth only accelerated – by the end of 2020, users from 85 countries of the world committed a total of 277 million downloads and installations of certain VPN services, and by the end of 2021 this number has more than tripled to 785 million downloads.

In 2022, the number of VPN users worldwide is already estimated at about 1.2 billion. estimated Surfshark, the global VPN market is now worth about $43 billion.

• Surveys of researchers show that the top reason people use VPNs most often is concern for the safety of your personal data – 43%.
• In second place is the desire to have access to streaming services – 26%.
• In third place – 12% – the desire to maintain their privacy on the Internet.

The concern of users about the security of their data on the Internet can be explained by the increased activity of cybercriminals and other intruders: if in 2015 only in the USA a total of 240 thousand people suffered from their actions, then in 2018 – already 320 thousand, and in 2020 – 540 thousand.

Not surprisingly, analysts expect the VPN market to continue to grow, at least for the foreseeable future. By forecastsby 2027 the global market for such services will double – to $ 87-92 billion.

• The world’s largest VPN market is North America: at the end of 2021, its share of the global volume is 35%.
• At the same time, the maximum level of penetration of VPN services is fixed in Qatar – 69.7%, in second place UAE with 59.5%, in third place Singapore from 49%.
• The minimum level of penetration of VPN services is noted in South Africa (four%), Japan (1.5%) and Madagascar (0.8%).

Sometimes there are spikes in VPN usage in some countries. So, for example, at the end of September, the demand for VPN services in Iran increased by 2164% compared to the same period of the previous month. it data research resource Top10VPN. The demand for VPNs has increased since the start of the protests in Iran and is associated with internet outages and blocking of some services. According to Top10VPN, demand peaked on September 26, when it grew by 3082%. Since then, high demand has continued – it is still almost 2000% higher than the normal level.

Swiss company Proton also reported a 5,000% increase in demand for its VPN service. According to Cloudflare and NetBlocks, the first Internet outages were recorded on September 19 – a few days after start of protests, which were caused by the death of a girl detained by the morality police for wearing the hijab incorrectly. Since then, interruptions in the operation of telecommunications networks have continued.

Internet researchers believe that now the VPN market is at a stage in which investment in it, although actively increasing, still does not catch up with the growth rate of user interest. Google Trends Analytics showsthat over the past eight years, user interest in certain aspects of VPN services has at least doubled. By data Statista, in the US and UK alone, 41% of those surveyed said they use a VPN at least once a week, and 36% every day.

“These data may indicate that VPNs are no longer necessarily used on a specific, individual occasion, but are fully integrated into the very process of using the Internet by a mass audience,” says Justine-Alexandra Sava, an IT market security expert at Statista.

Evgeniy Khvostik