What a VPN Does and Does Not Hide
Summary
An honest list of what vpn.now protects, like your IP address and local traffic, and what no VPN can hide, like logins, cookies, and malware.
What a VPN hides
- Your IP address: websites you visit see the VPN server's address, not yours.
- Your traffic on the local network: on public Wi-Fi, the operator and other guests cannot read your traffic or see which sites you visit. More on this in VPN for public Wi-Fi.
- Your destinations from your internet provider: your provider sees encrypted traffic to a VPN server, not the sites behind it.
What a VPN does not hide
- Who you are to sites you log in to. If you sign in to an account, that site knows it is you, VPN or not.
- Cookies and fingerprints. Trackers that identify your browser keep working through a VPN.
- What you type into websites. The site you submit a form to receives the data you give it.
- Malware on your device. A VPN is not antivirus.
That is why we never claim a VPN makes you anonymous everywhere online. It is one useful layer, not an invisibility cloak.
Getting the most privacy from your VPN
- Keep the VPN on whenever you are on a network you do not control.
- Check for DNS leaks now and then using the DNS leak guide.
- Use your browser's private mode for searches you do not want tied to your profile.
- Read what we store about you, which is very little, on the transparency page.
If you want the deeper background, start with what is a VPN and the VPN glossary.