Is a free VPN a good idea or not?

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The use of VPNs or Virtual Private Networks has been increasing lately. Thanks to the associated benefits of these services, many people is now starting to use them. But before we delve into its types and benefits, we will explain what exactly a VPN service is and how it works.

What is a VPN and how does it work?

With a Virtual Private Network, you can surf privately and anonymously by running internet in your device(s) through a VPN service network instead of your Internet Service Provider (ISP). As a result, when the data packages reach their destination, they come from the VPN server and not from your computer.

Every device on the web is given an IP address. This is a unique address that gives the device its identity and helps identify the location from which the user accesses the World Wide Web. A VPN service hides this IP address and helps you surf the internet safely. In other words, think of a VPN as a tunnel or intermediary that routes your data from your device to its final destination. 

Which are the benefits of a VPN?

There are many benefits associated with VPNs. For example, you can easily browse geo-restricted websites and access content that was originally blocked for your region or country. Likewise, you can access streaming services, which may not be available in your area. So, you can do all activities this safely and without exposing your personal data to third parties.

Another benefit is the anonymity provided by a VPN service, preventing for example ISPs from tracking your activities or monitoring your online actions. ISPs can often collect user’s data, personal information, and browsing history, which can seriously affect user’s privacy.

Moreover, with a VPN service you can also surf through a public Wi-Fi with greater security. So, these are some of the great benefits associated with these VPN services and as a result, they are in huge demand today.

Is a free VPN a good option?

It is true that we can find free and paid programs for almost every type of service. For example, editors of text, images, videos, etc. This does not directly mean that free software is bad or unsafe. However, when it comes to VPN, things change.

A VPN service provides several servers that the user connects to. This will cost the company logically a lot. So, where do they get their profit from if they offer this kind of services for free?

Privacy issues

One of the main reasons is that they can trade on our data. Users' personal information has great value on the web. It can be used to include us in spam campaigns, to send personalized advertising or even to sell it to third parties.

So, a free VPN can bring this problem. This may involve collecting browsing data which is later sold to third parties and therefore generates economic benefits for them.

Low quality service

Another reason why it’s not so good to use a free VPN is of course the low quality of the service. This can happen for several reasons. One is that the free version will offer very limited performance and slow speed.

Another reason is that it will offer fewer options. Paid VPNs usually have different servers in different countries, which allows us to connect to them and bypass geo-restrictions. If we choose a free version, the most normal thing is that they will offer a few servers. Therefore, a paid service with a reasonable price per month can bring you more benefits to surf the internet safely. 

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