Why You Should Avoid Free VPNs

The market for VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) has surged in the last few years when cybersecurity becomes a real concern of most Internet users. A VPN does not only bypass geo-restrictions but also help us browse the Internet anonymously and protect the privacy.

When you browse the web, your web traffic is encrypted and even your Internet service provider can’t see what you are viewing. They will just know that there is a connection from your computer to an IP address of your VPN’s server. Moreover, the websites you are viewing also can’t track your real IP address; They will think you’re in the location of the VPN’s server. When you use a paid VPN service, you will be able to choose a server among many cities or countries around the world. That’s how you can bypass censorship and you now can use free public WiFi networks with no worries.

Although your service providers and websites can’t spy on your information, you’re not completely safe because you have to trust your VPN service now. A recent investigation pointed out that a majority of free VPN services are linked to China and have ambiguous privacy policies. They might collect your online activities and even sell them for advertising purposes. Therefore, I’d highly recommend you to stay away from free VPNs. The paid VPN services are much more affordable now and they won’t capture activity logs or connection logs.

For instance, the VeePN service costs around $69 per year; They don’t collect your activities and your connection is encrypted to prevent snooping from ISPs, hackers, or governments. The app is available on a variety of platforms like Windows, MacOS, Android, or iOS. It also has some notable features like unlimited traffic and bandwidth, supports up to 10 simultaneous connections, and they have over 2500 servers in 48 locations around the world.