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A virtual private network (VPN) service provides a proxy server to help users bypass Internet censorship such as geo-blocking and users who want to protect their communications against data profiling 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 or WireGuard. Commercial VPN services are often used by those wishing to disguise or obfuscate their physical location or IP address, typically as a means to evade Internet censorship 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 proxy interface.

In computer magazines, 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 and PC Magazine, 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.

VPN Use Cases

• Accessing Geo-Restricted Content. VPNs allow users to bypass regional restrictions by masking their IP address 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 US from abroad.
• Protecting Data on Public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi networks, such as those in cafes or airports, are often unsecured and susceptible to hacking. VPNs encrypt users' internet traffic, protecting sensitive data like login credentials, financial information, and personal communications from potential interception.
• Ensuring Privacy for Activists and Journalists. 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 on the VPN services market, which makes it difficult for them to discern fact from false claims in advertisements. According to Consumer Reports, VPN service providers have poor privacy and security practices and also make hyperbolic claims. The New York Times has advised users to reconsider whether a VPN service is worth their money. VPN services are not sufficient for protection against browser fingerprinting.

Common misconceptions

• A VPN does not make one's Internet use private. Users can still be tracked through tracking cookies and device fingerprinting, even if the user's IP address is hidden.
• A VPN can log the user's traffic, although this depends on the VPN provider.
• A VPN does not make the user immune to hackers.
• A VPN is not in itself a means for good Internet privacy. The burden of trust is simply transferred from the ISP to the VPN service provider.

Legality

In March 2018, the use of unapproved VPN services was banned in China, as they can be used to circumvent the Great Firewall. 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 laws because that makes it easier for the service to keep a promise of no logging. PC Magazine and TechRadar 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 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.

Notes

1. As claimed by provider unless otherwise noted.
2. ^ There is no mention of Avira's VPN logging policy in their privacy policy. However, it is stated in an FAQ section that neither traffic nor IP addresses are logged on their VPN service. It is also stated that bandwidth is logged. When visiting Avira's website, the visitor's IP address is logged by both Google Analytics and the CrazyEgg tool.
3. Hotspot Shield claims to collect "anonymous, aggregate data about which websites you visit and which apps you use."
4. "We DO NOT keep any record of your browsing activities, connection logs, records of the VPN IPs assigned to you, your original IPs, your connection time, the history of your browsing, the sites you visited, your outgoing traffic, the content or data you accessed, or the DNS queries generated by you." However, in 2017, PureVPN provided connection logs including IP addresses to the FBI for use in a criminal investigation.
5. Name and e-mail is required for every payment method.

Technical features

Notes

1. The support team may be willing to whitelist your email provider's SMTP server upon request.
2. Only on free plan.
3. With the exception of one virtual server located in Antartica.

Encryption

Notes

1. ChaCha20-Poly1305 for all devices except for Windows, which does not support it and therefore uses AES-256
2. Only on iOS 8 and earlier. All other supported devices and operating systems use AES-256 (CBC).
3. iOS 9 and later use 2048 bit. iOS 8 and earlier use 1548 bit. All other supported devices and operating systems use 4096 bit.
4. iOS 8 and earlier use SHA-1. All other supported devices and operating systems use SHA-256.

Definitions

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

Anonymous payment method

Whether the service offers at least one payment method that does not require personal information. Even if a service accepts a cryptocurrency like bitcoin, it might still require that the customer hands over personally identifiable information (PII) like their full name and address.

Bandwidth

Whether the users' bandwidth is logged while using the service, according to the service's privacy policy.

Diskless

Whether the service's server hardware is connected to hard drives, according to the service provider. If the servers are diskless, the service provider should be unable to log any usage data.

First-party DNS servers

Whether the service provides its own domain name system (DNS) servers.

Kill switch

Whether the service has the ability to immediately sever your connection to the Internet in the event that the VPN connection fails. This prevents a user IP address leak.

Logging

Whether the service stores information about their users' connection or activity on the network, according to the service's privacy policy or terms of service. If logging isn't mentioned in those sections but denied somewhere else on the website, the particular table cell will be marked as "No" in yellow and include an explanatory note.

Privacy Impact Score

An indicator of a website's usage of potentially privacy intrusive technologies such as third-party or permanent cookies, canvas trackers etc. The score can be in the range from 0 to 100, where 0 is minimal privacy impact (best) and 100 is the biggest privacy impact (worst) relative to other web sites. The score also has a simplified letter and colour presentation from A to F where A is "No cookies" and F is "Score above three standard deviations from the average". The metric is developed by WebCookies.org.

Obfuscation

Whether the service provides a method of obfuscating the VPN traffic so that it's not as easily detected and blocked by national governments or corporations.

Offers WireGuard

Whether the service provider offers the WireGuard tunneling protocol.

SSL rating

The service's website's overall SSL server rating according to Qualys SSL Labs' SSL Server Test tool.

Supports Obfsproxy

Whether the service has an implementation of the Tor subproject Obfsproxy.

References

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60. "PureVPN's Privacy Policy". 2016-01-15. None of the following records are stored by PureVPN' ... DNS queries generated by the user
61. "PureVPN's Privacy Policy". 2018-07-30. None of the following records are stored by PureVPN' ... Connection timestamps
62. "PureVPN's Privacy Policy". 21 April 2021. We keep track of the total bandwidth consumed by a user to make sure everybody is getting the highest speeds and the best possible experience from our product.
63. "PureVPN's Privacy Policy". 2018-07-30. Archived from the original on 2018-07-30. From here on forward, we do not keep any records of anything that could associate any specific activity to a specific user.
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122. "Why can't I send email when on the VPN? / Private Internet Access". 2017-10-31. Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2017-12-27. Any VPN provider that does not retain logs must block outgoing SMTP traffic due to rampant spam associated with usage of VPN services. With that said, we can whitelist (allow) any outgoing email server that a) require authentication, and b) is correctly setup so as not to be an open relay.
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124. Private Internet Access™ is default secure from this vulnerability since we use real bare metal servers.
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132. "PureVPN P2P File Sharing - Break P2P barriers anonymously!". 2014-07-08. Archived from the original on 2018-01-03. Furthermore, we have blocked P2P on some of our servers as per changing Global Web Policy. We don't allow p2p/filesharing where it's illegal by law named United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Canada, Australia etc.
133. "PureVPN Servers". Virtual Servers and When you Should Use them?. 2017-11-11. Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. PureVPN has never denied using virtual servers. To make matters simpler, an update on our Server Location page will state which servers are virtual and which are physical.
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• Virtual private network services
• Internet privacy