A Microsoft support page revealed that the Edge browser is set to receive a security upgrade in the form of a built-in VPN powered by Cloudflare.

As XDA Developers reports, the new VPN feature is called “Microsoft Edge Secure Network” and should work the same as Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 service. When enabled, it will encrypt all data and keep your location private using a virtual IP address. Cloudflare will only collect diagnostic and support data from the service and this data will be deleted every 25 hours.

The support page explains how Secure Network is a free service, but data usage is limited to 1 GB per month. It’s unclear if Microsoft will offer a way to increase the data limit with a subscription. Maybe this will become an additional feature offered with an active OneDrive or Microsoft 365 subscription?

It seems that this support page appeared earlier than expected by Microsoft, because no one, not even those enrolled in the Microsoft Insider Program, can try the VPN yet.

Free VPN services aren’t new, but Microsoft offers one by default in a browser installed with every copy of Windows will affect other VPN providers. Why would consumers download another free VPN when they already have access to it on your PC? Microsoft Edge isn’t exactly a popular browser choice, and this built-in VPN’s feature set will be quite limited, so the impact on other services should be minimal.