What is a VPN?
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. At its simplest, it puts an encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server before your traffic heads out to the internet.
So instead of connecting directly to a website, your device first connects to the VPN server, which then connects to the website on your behalf. The website sees the VPN server's IP address instead of yours, while your ISP mainly sees that you are connected to a VPN rather than the individual websites you visit.
Think of it as taking your normal internet traffic, putting it inside a private tunnel, and giving it a different exit point on the internet.
Here is the same visit to a website, once without a VPN and once with one. Keep an eye on what your ISP and the website get to see.
Without a VPN
With a VPN
How a VPN works
Step by step
Your device connects to a VPN server
When you switch the VPN on, the app on your phone or laptop connects to a VPN server and the two agree on a secret key. From then on, everything you do online goes through that one connection.
Your data gets encrypted
Before anything leaves your device, the VPN app encrypts it with that key. Your request for a website, and anything you type into it, turns into scrambled data that only the VPN server can unlock.
It travels through the tunnel
The encrypted data still passes through your Wi-Fi router and your ISP like any other traffic. They can see that you are connected to a VPN server, but not what is inside or which website it is for.
The VPN server visits the website for you
The VPN server unlocks your request and sends it to the website on your behalf. The website sees the VPN server's IP address, so as far as it is concerned, that is where you are connecting from.
The reply comes back the same way
The website sends the page back to the VPN server, which encrypts it and returns it through the tunnel. Your device unlocks it and the page loads, usually with only a small delay.
A VPN moves who can see your traffic
It does not make your traffic disappear. It changes who gets to see it, and the VPN provider takes over much of what your ISP used to see.
What a VPN does and does not do
A VPN does
- Hide the sites you visit from your Wi-Fi network and ISP
- Show websites the VPN server's IP address instead of yours
- Make public Wi-Fi at cafés, airports and hotels safer to use
A VPN does not
- Make you anonymous, since logins and cookies still identify you
- Protect you from malware or fake login pages
- Hide your activity from the VPN provider itself
A VPN changes who can see your traffic and where it appears to come from. It does not make you invisible, and you are trusting the VPN provider with much of what your ISP could see before, so it is worth picking one you trust.
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