But what is a VPN for? (And do you actually need one?)
The ads say you're in danger without a VPN. The truth is more boring: it's useful in three specific situations, and in all the others it's a subscription you don't need. Here they are.
- Level
- beginner
- Time
- 6 minutes
- What you need
- Nothing, just curiosity
If you watch videos on YouTube, you’ll have heard an influencer say that “without a VPN, hackers can see everything you do”. It’s one of the most widespread ads on the internet, and one of the most exaggerated. Let’s look at what a VPN really does, and when it makes sense to pay for one.
VPN (Virtual Private Network): a service that runs your internet connection through an encrypted "tube" to a computer owned by the VPN company, and from there to the website you want. Your network provider no longer sees what travels inside the tube, though it still sees that the tube is there, how much traffic goes through it and which company it leads to; the website sees the VPN computer's address, not yours.
What it really does
Two things. The first is that it takes the list of sites you visit away from whoever runs the network you are on, and by that I mean your mobile carrier, the café Wi-Fi, your employer. That holds as long as the requests your phone makes to turn site names into addresses also travel inside the tube, which serious services do by default but hand-made setups easily miss. And the fact that you are using a VPN stays visible, along with the timing and the volume of traffic.
The second is that it makes websites believe you’re in another country, the one where the VPN computer is. That’s it.
What it does NOT do
It doesn’t make you anonymous. The VPN company knows exactly who you are and what you do, and you’re just trusting them instead of your carrier.
It doesn’t protect you from viruses or from scams. Tap a phishing link with the VPN on and the scam works just the same. And it isn’t there to “protect your banking”, since serious sites already use the padlock (https), which encrypts the data between you and them anyway, VPN or not.
The three cases where it’s genuinely useful
- You want content that's only available in another country. A streaming catalogue while you're on holiday, your home country's TV while you live abroad. It's the most common use and the most honest one.
- You're in a country that censors the internet, or on a network that blocks sites (some company or school networks). The VPN gets around the block.
- You don't want whoever runs the network to know what you're doing. For example, you're on a hotel Wi-Fi doing something private. Worth noting that on padlocked sites they'd still only see "went to that site", not what you typed.
Using public Wi-Fi to check email or your bank is not as dangerous today as it was ten years ago: almost everything is encrypted with https. A VPN adds little in that case.
What it costs and which one to choose
Reputable VPNs cost a few euros a month on a yearly plan. Look at the renewal price, though, not just the first year, because the difference is often double.
I’d be wary of the free ones: nearly all of them pay their way by showing ads or reselling browsing data. Exceptions exist, and they’re the ones that live off paying subscribers and publish third-party audits, but they are few and you have to look them up by name. If you have an iPhone with iCloud+ there is “Private Relay”, which hides from whoever runs the network what you browse in Safari, but it isn’t a substitute, because it doesn’t make you appear to be in another country.
You need one if you travel often and want your own content, or if you're on networks that block or monitor what you do. If you only use it "for safety" at home, you're paying a subscription for protection you already have, and I'd keep the money.