I understand why people would want to use a VPN to change their location and access region-specific content. I also understand that it is a good way of hiding your activity from your internet provider, but aren’t you just re-routing your connection via the VPN provider’s network?
Is this inherently better for data privacy? Or are you just choosing to trust somebody else (the VPN provider vs your internet provider) with your data?
In: Technology
If you roam around a lot – coffee shops, airports, etc – it MIGHT have some value to your privacy if you suspect something is up. Your internet provider has an idea of what you’re doing, but arguably so does that coffee shop and airport as well.
But most of the internet is already encrypted. As an evil ISP employee, I can see that you are visiting Facebook, and downloading large quantities of data. I can infer that this means you’re watching a video. Transmissions are minimal, so you probably are not sending anything, like photos of your own. But that’s the extent. I can’t see what you’re doing, only who with (as a big company like Facebook) and how much. I certainly don’t know who your friends are.
A VPN adds more protection. Now said evil ISP employee (me) knows you are using XX VPN service… and that’s it. And yes, now XX VPN service knows you’re downloading videos from facebook even if I don’t. Etc.
All that said, don’t forget about other security concerns. Your ISP can’t see your friends, but if you’re actually in an airport which has security cameras or just people wandering around, beware someone or something behind you just looking at your screen. No VPN or encryption can protect against that. Software only provides so much protection.
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