At one point in time, if you ever watched any tech or “techfluencer” video of any sort on YouTube or just any social media video in general, you are probably familiar with VPN’s, such as SurfSharkVPN and NordVPN. VPNs, or a Virtual Private Network, is when a secure private connection is established over a public network, through "tunneling" through the VPN’s servers, so the user can browse as if from the VPN’s servers and not their computer's IP address. While it does have its benefits, such as protecting from hackers when connecting to public VPN’s, restricting what your ISP can see of your browsing history, bypassing censorship, etc., allowing for a more private experience, is it really as private as advertised?
Well, the simple answer is usually no. While your ISP cannot see your history and data, you can still be identified by cookies and browser fingerprinting, logged-in accounts, and if a VPN doesn’t have a “no-logs” policy, well... your VPN. However, even the best “no-logs” VPNs don't guarantee 100% anonymity. By choosing to use the internet, the user should understand that everything can be traced back to them, even through extreme security measures, for nothing is truly anonymous in today’s connected world.
In addition, while many advertisements for VPNs do say that your browser history can be truly private, the truth is that even VPNs with “no-logs” policies are not exactly a guarantee. For example, in the early 2010s, many might have remembered Hotspot Shield, which was one of the most downloaded VPNs in the world with a guaranteed “no-logs” policy, but it was later found that it was intercepting and redirecting web traffic to partner websites to make money and was using tracking cookies to share user info with third-party advertisers. In addition, on Facebook or Instagram from 2013 to 2018, Onavo Protect, a claimed VPN, was actually a corporate spyware owned by Facebook to monitor what users did outside Facebook. Even worse and more controversially, Hola VPN used the user as an “exit-node” for other users (in other words, strangers might have been using your internet to do what they wanted).
However, even big-brand, well-known VPNs such as ExpressVPN, considered trustworthy after the 2017 Turkish server seizure, where they proved they had no logs, were acquired by Kape Technologies, known for adware and scareware, and their CIO, Daniel Gericke, was fined $1.6 million by the DOJ for helping the UAE hack into devices of activists and journalists. Surfshark in 2022 merged with Nord Security (part of NordVPN), making customers worry that they might reduce their transparency after attempting to create a VPN monopoly.
So... are all VPN's lying? No, some like Mullvad and ProtonVPN (especially Mullvad in the cybersecurity world for high-profile clients) are known for being safe and actually backing up their claims. When choosing a VPN, remember that if it’s “free” and “unlimited, the VPN is likely paying with your data, especially since VPN servers are expensive to run. Furthermore, if they have vague “no-logs” that was not audited by reliable auditors like Deloitte or PwC, then it might not be true and while big companies like Kape Technologies that now owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and PIA still have good VPN’s, their reputation for adware and scareware might still be a warning sign to look for something else. Remember, VPNs do not guarantee absolute privacy (even if you choose a good and trusted VPN), but it is still important to remain cautious and protected when doing so. VPNs are great for a more secure network, but absolute privacy is never guaranteed.