Cloudflare launches new VPN with emphasis on speed

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The company's VPN service will use Google's QUIC protocol for faster speeds and less lag

Image Credit: Cloudflare (Image credit: Image Credit: Cloudflare)

Cloudflare is bucking the trend of revealing a fake product on April Fool's day by actually releasing a new VPN service designed to be as fast or even faster than a traditional mobile connection.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have grown increasingly popular among consumers and businesses as they help keep your data private and your connection secure. However, since traffic from your device goes through someone else's servers before reaching the web, VPNs generally tend to slow down your network connection.

Cloudflare has found a way around this by incorporating Google's QUIC protocol into its new mobile-only VPN, Warp.

The company's CEO Matthew Prince explained why it decided to develop and launch its own VPN service, saying:

"We wanted to build a VPN service that my dad would install on his phone. If you tell him that it will make his connection more private and secure, he'd never do it. But if you tell him it will make his connection faster, make his phone's battery last longer, and make his connections more private, then it would be something he'd install." 

Warp

Mobile users can sign up for the new service, dubbed Warp, through Cloudflare's mobile app 1.1.1.1 beginning today but it could take a few days to become operational.

Warp will provide a faster browsing experience than traditional VPNs thanks to the QUIC protocol which the company has decided to utilize instead of TCP which was first introduced in 1981. In internal tests at Google, QUIC led to 30 percent less “rebuffering” for YouTube users and once fully implemented the new protocol should improve browsing speeds across the internet as a whole.

While Google supports its own version of QUIC in Chrome, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is still working on a specification for the new protocol so that it can be used by other companies as well.

Cloudflare has 165 data centers in 76 countries and Warp will rely on this same network of servers. The new service will also make it easier for the company's customers to access their data as it is already cached on its servers.

In addition to the free version of Warp, Cloudflare plans to offer a paid version that will be even faster according to Prince.

Via Wired

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Anthony Spadafora
Anthony Spadafora

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.