What to Know Before Buying a VPN

A VPN encrypts the traffic between your device and a server operated by the VPN provider, and masks your IP address from the sites and services you connect to. This is most useful on networks you don't control — public Wi-Fi, for instance — and for reducing what your internet provider or local network can see about your browsing.

A VPN does not scan files for malware, and it does not make you anonymous to every service you log into — if you sign into an account, that service still knows it's you. It's a network-privacy and network-security tool, not a replacement for antivirus software. Many people run both.

Simultaneous connection limits (how many devices at once), the provider's own published no-logs policy and jurisdiction, and whether the server locations you actually need (for streaming region access, for instance) are included in your plan. The provider's own website is the place to confirm these details, since they change over time.