A VPN is a great privacy tool. It can protect your internet browsing and unblock restricted content. What exactly can a VPN hide? Is it possible to hide all of your browsing history from ISPs or routers?
While a VPN can hide most things, there are some that are more difficult to conceal. There may be exceptions when it comes to hiding online behavior. Let’s find out what VPN can do to hide your online behavior and what it cannot.
What does a VPN hide?
VPNs are used to protect your privacy and security online. It protects your online identity from hackers and snoopers as well as advertisers in certain cases. It protects your online activity with strong encryption.
What a VPN hides?
- Your true IP Address
- Your location
- Browsing from ISP
- Surfing for Employer
- Torrenting and Pe2P
- Personal Data
Your Real IP address
When you connect to a VPN server it hides your true IP address from websites that you visit. All internet traffic on a VPN is routed first to a VPN server and then it reaches its destination. VPN servers mask your real IP address by using their IP address.
If a VPN has no logs and no IP leaks, it will protect your IP. No logs can be stored on a VPN server and any browsing activity cannot be linked back to you.
A VPN cannot reveal your IP unless it leaks it. It could be due to a poor VPN configuration or accidental disconnect. It is a serious privacy problem if your VPN leaks your IP while connected to it. You should switch to a better VPN provider.
Your Place
Once you connect to a VPN server, your location is virtually changed. Your IP address is what websites use to determine your location. Thus if your IP changes, your location changes too.
You can unblock geo-restricted content by having a different location. These could be apps, websites or streaming libraries such as Netflix.
Your location might not be completely hidden when you use a VPN. If you use more advanced tracking techniques, this may occur. This could happen if a website uses tracking cookies, or your browser’s Geolocation API.
Browsing at ISP
VPNs are a great privacy tool. They can hide your browsing activity from your ISP. Strong encryption ensures that all connections are secure from prying eyes.
VPNs hide all the websites and apps you visit. ISPs cannot see what you are downloading or streaming. You can bypass ISP throttle and increase internet speed in certain cases.
Surfing From Employer
Your employer can also be hidden from your surfing activity by using a VPN. A VPN can hide all activity online from your employer if you are concerned about that.
It can hide your online activities and bypass blocked websites. A VPN can be used to bypass restrictions placed by your employer on certain connections.
Learn more about hiding your online activities from your employer.
Torrenting and P2P Activities
You could be caught if you download music, movies, or software. Many countries prohibit torrenting or sharing copyrighted materials. P2P streaming sites like Popcorn Time also require a VPN.
VPN protects your P2P traffic against ISP, government and torrent trackers. VPN can help you avoid getting into trouble when downloading files or streaming videos. It uses your IP address to connect to the VPN. This makes it impossible to track you down.
Personal Data
VPNs protect all of your personal data with strong encryption. A VPN makes it impossible for anyone to see the personal data you send. Hackers, snoopers, and ISPs who attempt to intercept your connection will only be able to see gibberish data.
Semi-anonymous access to websites is also possible. VPN connects to your website on your behalf, but they don’t know it is you. Most websites recognize you by your IP address, which can be virtually altered when using a VPN. Social media and websites that require you to log in with your account might be an exception.
Can a VPN hide history from a Router?
To log all IP addresses and connection to websites, routers can be installed. All browsing activity can be logged on routers. A VPN allows you to hide your browsing history from routers by encrypting all your internet traffic. By masking all connections, the router can only see connections to a VPN server’s address.
Installing a VPN directly on your router is another way to hide your browsing history. It is crucial to specify the DNS addresses that will be routed through a VPN tunnel.
The majority of home routers don’t have much memory so they cannot store large amounts of logs and historical data. However, ISPs, employers, and enterprises may have access to all of your internet traffic data. A VPN could hide visited sites from these routers as well.
Can a VPN hide your identity
VPNs are privacy tools, but not anonymity tools. Although it can mask your identity, some websites may still be able to identify you. Your identity can’t be hidden from websites that require you to sign in, such as social media and e-mail. It will however anonymize you from websites that don’t require any personal information.
Can a VPN hide your browsing history?
VPNs can mask your browsing history up to a point. This is done by routing all traffic to a VPN server, hiding your history. However, your browsing history and searches are also stored by the VPN. VPNs do not have access to your browser settings, and cannot hide your local history.
Can VPN hide MAC address
VPNs don’t mask MAC addresses. Although it doesn’t do this, websites still know your MAC address. It’s used to connect your device to the first router you encounter. Because it is used to communicate with adjacent devices, a VPN does not have to hide your MAC.
Learn more about hiding your MAC address using a VPN.
Conclusion
VPNs hide your IP address and location. They also encrypt all data sent over the Internet. This protects you from online threats like file downloads and torrents. It conceals your browsing history and protects you from hackers.
Here are the top VPN services:
|
Rank |
VPN Service |
Rating |
Website |
|
1 |
 |
||
|
2 |
 |
||
|
3 |
 |
||
|
4 |
 |
||
|
5 |
 |
