Microsoft Defender has a VPN, and if this is the first you're hearing of this - and you wouldn't be alone in that - well, the discovery comes a bit late, as the news here is that the software giant is ditching this feature.

The 'privacy protection' feature which provides very basic VPN coverage
Microsoft Defender is a solid enough option for security that's left in place as default coverage in Windows for less tech-savvy people who don't know much, or indeed care much, about antivirus apps.
It has a built-in VPN feature called 'privacy protection' which rolled out last year (actually from late 2023). Microsoft implemented it as a basic service, as you might imagine, with no server choice, so it's just a simple switch to hook you up to the nearest server and provide encryption for your data being sent online (and anonymity for your IP address).
Note, however, that the VPN was only given to Microsoft 365 subscribers, and only ever rolled out in the US and UK.
A wider rollout was anticipated at some point, but seemingly the VPN hasn't seen much use in those countries, given that Windows Latest spotted Microsoft announcing that it's dropping the feature in a support document.
Microsoft wrote that:
"Our goal is to ensure you, and your family remain safer online. We routinely evaluate the usage and effectiveness of our features. As such, we are removing the privacy protection feature and will invest in new areas that will better align to customer needs."
So, it's the end of the line for Defender's VPN come February 28, the end of this month, across all platforms, meaning desktop (Windows and Mac) and mobile (Android and iOS).
This won't affect you other than not being able to use the feature anymore, although Android users may want to remove the VPN profile that'll be left on their device (this doesn't apply to other operating systems).
To do this on an Android smartphone, Microsoft provides the following instructions:
- Go to the Settings app in Android
- Search for 'VPN' in settings
- If you've onboarded to privacy protection, you should see a 'Microsoft Defender' VPN profile in the list of VPN profiles
- Use the info icon to tap on it and remove it