What a VPN actually does (and what it doesn’t)

A VPN encrypts the connection between your device and the internet and hides your real IP address behind one of our servers. That stops your ISP, network owner, or anyone snooping on public Wi-Fi from seeing which sites you visit, and stops websites from seeing your true location.

That one change has a lot of downstream effects, so it’s worth being precise about what it does — and doesn’t — buy you.

What a VPN protects

Your traffic on the local network: on café, hotel or airport Wi-Fi, everything you send is encrypted before it leaves your device, so a compromised network sees only scrambled data.

Your browsing from your ISP: providers can log — and in many countries sell or hand over — a record of every site you visit. Inside the tunnel, they see only that you’re connected to a VPN.

Your IP address from websites: sites see the server’s address, not yours. That hides your approximate physical location and stops your IP being used to track you across the web or target you with DDoS attacks while gaming.

What a VPN is not

It isn’t magic anonymity. If you sign into an account, that service still knows it’s you — a VPN doesn’t change what you tell websites about yourself, only what your connection reveals. Cookies and browser fingerprinting also still work; you can see exactly what your browser gives away with our Privacy Check.

It isn’t antivirus. A VPN encrypts traffic; it doesn’t stop you downloading a malicious file (though our ad and tracker blocking removes many of the paths that lead there).

Real privacy is a stack

Use a VPN alongside good habits — strong unique passwords, two-factor authentication, and keeping software updated — for real protection. The VPN covers the network layer; the habits cover everything above it.