VPN Encryption & Location Spoofing

VPN Encryption & Location Spoofing

When your VPN is active, all your network traffic, whether from browsers, apps, or iOS itself, gets encrypted before it leaves your phone. This encrypted data stream travels to a server owned by the VPN company, where it's decrypted and sent on its way.

Encrypted web traffic isn't the only reason you need a VPN like the one we provide.

See You're Not Using a VPN? Bad Idea

With a direct, no-VPN connection to a website, your IP address not only identifies you to that site, but it also identifies your geographic location. Ad-trackers, snoops, and government agencies can use that IP address to track what you do online. When you're using a VPN, however, the IP address that others see is that of the VPN company, not your own.

See How to Find Your IP Address

The best VPN companies maintain servers all over the world. On one hand, that means that when you're traveling you can find a nearby server, and nearby typically means faster. On the other hand, you can spoof your location by choosing a server in a faraway country.

Try doing that and visiting the Google website; you'll find that it comes up in the language of your apparent location. Journalists embedded in repressive countries and political activists working against those repressive regimes have long relied on VPNs to communicate safely with the outside world. Of course, you may be breaking local laws just by using a VPN. For example, Russia has banned the use of VPNs, claiming a need to block terrorist activities. Russia is also working on a system to detach from the internet at large, ostensibly to protect against cyberattack.

Russia's not alone. China banned the use of VPNs last year, though some still manage to connect. China's internet censors have displayed their power by blocking use of the letter N. The big Chinese ISPs have been tasked with blocking unauthorized VPN use, while letting businesses continue to use their internal VPNs.

It's not uncommon for online streaming services to offer content in one region, but not another. Offerings from Netflix and Hulu differ by country. Brits can watch BBC shows for free, while the same shows require a subscription in the US. Spoofing your location with a VPN can get you access to shows not normally available to you.

See VPNs and Net Neutrality

But take care: Location spoofing may violate your terms of service. In addition, companies like Netflix are cracking down on VPN users. More often than not, streaming isn't an option when your VPN is running.

Despite Wi-Fi and cellular security issues, privacy concerns, and the other potential benefits of location spoofing, too few people protect themselves and their traffic with a VPN. In fact, in our survey on VPN usage, 71 percent of respondents had never used a VPN. If you fall into that group, don't worry! We've got a whole feature on how to set up and use a VPN.

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