I don’t engage in any criminal activities, online or otherwise, that would prompt the authorities to subpoena my internet activity. I don’t have anything to hide from my internet service provider either.
I still use a VPN daily.
A VPN can encrypt your online traffic and mask your IP address while making your connection appear to originate from a different location. Can a VPN, therefore, be used for illegal activity? Sure, it can -- but so can your iPhone, or any number of other innocuous objects. You could throw a book at someone to hurt them, but that doesn’t mean everyone with a book is an impending attacker. Most people just want to do a little reading.
A VPN is a crucial privacy tool to have at your disposal. VPNs are used by journalists, physicians, attorneys, activists, whistleblowers and everyday citizens for purposes ranging from preventing throttling to unblocking geo-restricted content.
Even if you feel you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be reckless with your privacy -- on or offline. I’m not doing anything nefarious from inside my home, but I still have blinds on my windows and locks on my doors.
Just the same, there are many legitimate reasons why you don’t want an outside entity monitoring your internet activity. Your VPN acts as digital blinds, keeping your online activity hidden from your internet service provider, network administrators, government entities and other online snoops skilled in surveillance and tracking.
Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Internet providers collect and share information about our online habits
My internet provider, AT&T, has a privacy policy that outlines an alarming amount of information the company collects when I’m connected to my home network. This includes location data, in addition to “time spent on websites or apps, website and IP addresses and advertising IDs, links and ads seen, videos watched, search terms entered and items placed in online AT&T shopping carts.” The company can then share this data with “AT&T affiliates and non-AT&T companies for advertising and marketing,” and for other purposes.
It’s the same story for most ISPs across the country. Spectrum’s privacy policy states that it collects users’ network traffic data along with “general and/or precise geolocation information.” Like AT&T, Spectrum shares this data with advertisers and, when requested, with government authorities.
... continue reading