Top 5 reasons to use a VPN
If you’re looking for a way to protect yourself and your data online, or perhaps you don’t want your ISP to track your every move, using a VPN is the best way to go about it. While many people are familiar with VPN clients for their computers, mobile VPNs are becoming more essential than ever since most of our private communication and data passes through our smartphones.
There are many VPNs to choose from, so finding the best Android VPN can be a bit tricky. Some services are free, some are paid-for, some come with bandwidth limitations, so you’ll probably need to identify your needs before choosing a service.
What is a VPN?
To know what a VPN is, we need to know the basics of how the internet works. When you visit a website, the connection is essentially between you and the website. This means that the website, based on your IP address, knows where you’re from and in some cases, might even be able to ping your exact location.
By using a VPN, your data is routed through the VPN’s servers which are then sent to the website, meaning that the website thinks that the originating data is from the VPN and not you, ultimately protecting your identity and location. If you’re wondering why you should use a VPN, here are the top 5 reasons why you should consider it.
Hide Your Internet Activity
To surf the web, you need an internet connection will is provided by your ISP. This means that all the websites and things you do online are known by your ISP, which some of you might be a little uncomfortable with for privacy reasons. By using a VPN, it ensures that what you do online will be more or less cloaked.
Bypass Online Censorship
In various parts of the world, depending on the local laws, there will be some websites that might be blocked for political, social, or religious reasons. By using a VPN, it allows you to bypass those restrictions set in place which are usually done on an ISP level, giving you the opportunity to access content that would have otherwise been blocked.
Access Content From Other Countries
Have you ever come across a video online that says that it is not available in your region? This can be annoying and in this day and age of globalization, you would think that geo-restrictions would no longer be a thing. By using a VPN, you can trick a website or service into thinking you’re in another country and thus granting you access.
A popular use of VPNs is to access online streaming services such as Netflix, where tricking the service into thinking you’re in a different country, you’ll be able to access a very different catalog of TV shows and movies that may not be available in your region.
Safely Use Public WiFi
You have probably been told multiple times in the past that while public WiFi is convenient, it might not necessarily be safe. Passing your data through a VPN, which is encrypted, hackers who are looking for victims through public WiFi will not be able to gain access to your data or see your activities.
For Whistleblowers Or Journalists
If you’re a whistleblower or a journalist and you’re trying to gather facts and research potentially sensitive topics online, not using a VPN could be dangerous as sometimes what you search for online can be flagged, especially if it’s being passed through your company’s servers.
It can also be handy for journalists who are working or living in countries with oppressive regimes or heavy censorship, where using a VPN will help protect their identities and online activities.
Choosing a VPN
If how you use the internet fits any of the reasons we mentioned above, then perhaps it might be time to consider using a VPN. As we said, there are many VPNs to choose from, but if you’re using an Android device, Surfshark VPN could be worth taking a look at. Surfshark’s VPN service is available across multiple platforms, not just Android.
Not only does it help secure your privacy online, but it comes with a host of other useful features too. This includes the ability to block intrusive popups and ads, cleaning up suspicious links so that you don’t click on them, and also help to prevent phishing attempts. Surfshark also boasts AES-256-GCM encryption and there is also a safety feature called Kill Switch, where it will automatically kills your internet connection if your VPN connection drops. If you’re interested in learning more, you can head on over to its website to download Surfshark APK.