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A virtual private network (VPN) service is a proxy server marketed to help users bypass Internet censorship such as geo-blocking and users who want to protect their communications against
data profiling Data profiling is the process of examining the data available from an existing information source (e.g. a database or a file) and collecting statistics or informative summaries about that data. The purpose of these statistics may be to: # Find ou ...
or MitM attacks on hostile networks. A wide variety of entities provide VPN services for several purposes. But depending on the provider and the application, they do not always create a true private network. Instead, many providers simply provide an Internet proxy that uses VPN technologies such as
OpenVPN OpenVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) system that implements techniques to create secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It implements both client and server appl ...
or WireGuard. Commercial VPN services are often used by those wishing to disguise or obfuscate their physical location or
IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two main functions: network interface i ...
, typically as a means to evade
Internet censorship Internet censorship is the legal control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Censorship is most often applied to specific internet domains (such as ''Wikipedia.org'', for example) but exceptionally may ...
or geo-blocking. Providers often market VPN services as privacy-enhancing, citing security features, such as encryption, from the underlying VPN technology. However, users must consider that when the transmitted content is not encrypted ''before'' entering the proxy, that content is visible at the receiving endpoint (usually the VPN service provider's site) regardless of whether the VPN tunnel itself is encrypted for the inter-node transport. The ''only'' secure VPN is where the participants have oversight at ''both'' ends of the entire data path or when the content is encrypted before it enters the tunnel. On the client side, configurations intended to use VPN services as proxies are not conventional VPN configurations. However, they do typically utilize the operating system's VPN interfaces to capture the user's data to send to the proxy. This includes virtual network adapters on computer OSes and specialized "VPN" interfaces on mobile operating systems. A less common alternative is to provide a
SOCKS A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...
proxy interface. In
computer magazine Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as networking and the Internet. Most computer magazines offer (or offered) advice, some offer programming tutorials, reviews of the latest technologies, and advertisements. ...
s, VPN services are typically judged on connection speeds, privacy protection including privacy at signup and grade of encryption, server count and locations, interface usability, and cost. In order to determine the degree of privacy and anonymity, various computer magazines, such as ''
PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online-only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tec ...
'' and ''
PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...
'', also take the provider's own guarantees and its reputation among news items into consideration. Recommendation websites for VPNs tend to be affiliated with or even owned by VPN service providers. In 2024, 1.6 billion people will use VPNs. By 2027, this market is projected to grow to $76 billion.


VPN use cases

* Accessing geo-restricted content. VPNs allow users to bypass regional restrictions by hiding their IP address from the destination server and simulating a connection from another country. For example, users in regions with limited streaming libraries can use VPNs to access content available in other locations, such as accessing
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
US from abroad. * Protecting data on public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi networks, such as those in cafes or airports, often do not provide isolated encryption for each connected device. In those cases, VPN services can provide a certain level of protection. When in use, potential eavesdroppers on the network can only observe that a connection to the VPN server is made by a user's device. As of June 2025, however, approximately 98% of human-generated internet traffic was encrypted using TLS through the HTTPS protocol, as estimated by
Cloudflare Cloudflare, Inc., is an American company that provides content delivery network services, cybersecurity, DDoS mitigation, wide area network services, reverse proxies, Domain Name Service, ICANN-accredited domain registration, and other se ...
. When TLS is used, network eavesdropping can only point out the IP addresses or hostnames a user is connecting to. Interception of network requests by a bad actor in the form of a
Man-in-the-middle attack In cryptography and computer security, a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack, or on-path attack, is a cyberattack where the attacker secretly relays and possibly alters the communications between two parties who believe that they are directly communi ...
will most likely result in a certificate warning in being displayed in the user's browser, as described in
IETF The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet standard, Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster ...
RFC 5280. SSL stripping (the practice of downgrading a connection to unencrypted HTTP), however, doesn't always result in a browser warning, although this has been partly mitigated by the implementation of HTTP Strict Transport Security. Hence, this use case of VPN services is subject of discussion. * Ensuring privacy for
activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
and
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
s. Activists and journalists working in restrictive or authoritarian regions often use VPNs to maintain anonymity and protect sensitive communications. VPNs mask IP addresses and encrypt data, ensuring safe access to information and secure communication channels.


Criticism and limitations

Users are commonly exposed to
misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...
on the VPN services market, which makes it difficult for them to discern fact from false claims in advertisements. According to
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded ...
, VPN service providers have poor privacy and security practices and also make hyperbolic claims. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' has advised users to reconsider whether a VPN service is worth their money. VPN services are not sufficient for protection against
browser fingerprinting A device fingerprint or machine fingerprint is information collected about the software and hardware of a remote computing device for the purpose of identification. The information is usually assimilated into a brief identifier using a fingerprint ...
.


Common misconceptions

* A VPN service does not make one's Internet use private. Users can still be tracked through
tracking cookies HTTP cookie (also called web cookie, Internet cookie, browser cookie, or simply cookie) is a small block of data created by a web server while a user is browsing a website and placed on the user's computer or other device by the user's web br ...
and device fingerprinting, even if the user's IP address is hidden. * A VPN service can log the user's traffic, although this depends on the VPN provider. * A VPN service does not make the user immune to cyberattacks. * A VPN service is not in itself a means for good Internet privacy. The burden of trust is simply transferred from the
ISP An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non ...
to the VPN service provider. * A VPN service is not a VPN. VPNs allow you to access a private network from a remote location as if you were in the same place. VPN services do not grant access to private networks.


Legality

In March 2018, the use of unapproved VPN services was banned in China, as they can be used to circumvent the
Great Firewall The Great Firewall (GFW; ) is the combination of legislative actions and technologies enforced by the China, People's Republic of China to regulate the Internet domestically. Its role in internet censorship in China is to block access to selected ...
. Operators received prison sentences and were penalized with fines. Russia banned various VPN service providers in 2021.


Comparison of commercial virtual private network services


Privacy

''PC Magazine'' recommends that users consider choosing a provider based in a country with no
data retention Data retention defines the policies of persistent data and records management for meeting legal and business data archival requirements. Although sometimes interchangeable, it is not to be confused with the Data Protection Act 1998. The differe ...
laws because that makes it easier for the service to keep a promise of no logging. ''PC Magazine'' and ''
TechRadar ''TechRadar'' is an online technology publication owned by Future plc. It has editorial teams in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia that provide news and reviews of tech products and gadgets. It was launched in 2008 and expanded t ...
'' also suggest that users read the provider's logging policy before signing up for the service, because some providers collect information about their customers' VPN usage. ''PC World'' recommends that users avoid free services as a
rule of thumb In English language, English, the phrase ''rule of thumb'' refers to an approximate method for doing something, based on practical experience rather than theory. This usage of the phrase can be traced back to the 17th century and has been associat ...
and said free services either sell their users' browsing data in aggregated form to researchers and marketers, or only offer a minimal amount of data transfer per month.


Technical features

Notes


Encryption

Notes


Definitions

The following definitions clarify the meaning of some of the column headers in the comparison tables above.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:VPN services Virtual private network services Internet privacy