Whenever we go online, our activity is tracked, monitored, recorded and analyzed, while the associated data is shared, bought, traded and sold. The digital crumbs we leave in our online footsteps are abundant, and maintaining any semblance of privacy on the internet is a continuous challenge.
The natural response to such an alarming lack of privacy is to put up walls, retreat into a shell and try to become anonymous. It’s that reflex that many VPNs build their marketing around, peddling inflated claims about how their product can make you completely anonymous online. But complete online anonymity is a myth.
To be fair, not all VPN companies are pushing this false narrative -- CNET’s picks for the best VPNs are all very clear about what their services can and can’t do. But too many companies, including a few high-profile VPN providers, continue to keep the myth alive.
Even a VPN provider as established and well-known as CyberGhost continues to promote this dangerous falsehood. The company boldly states on its website that its service can help users “go completely anonymous and surf the internet without privacy worries,” and that they can “enjoy complete anonymity & protection online” with CyberGhost.
Enlarge Image CyberGhost makes dangerous claims about anonymity on its website. CyberGhost/Screenshot by CNET
To be fair, CyberGhost does mention in an FAQ section tucked away at the bottom of its home page that “no VPN service can make you 100% anonymous online,” but the messaging from the company is nonetheless confusing and avoidable.
This isn’t just a case of harmless exaggerated marketing -- it’s reckless. Using a VPN while under the impression that it’s a silver bullet for online anonymity can put you in a bad spot, even if you have nothing to hide. If you use a social media platform to share sensitive information online with someone, or if you’re an investigative journalist in a region whose government practices oppressive digital surveillance, you’ll still be at risk, even with a VPN.
You can’t simply throw good judgment and all other basic privacy principles out the window just because you think your VPN gives you an all-encompassing invisibility cloak on the internet whenever you switch it on. It’s time to dial back the hyperbole and be clear about how a VPN can and can’t protect you online, starting with why all this talk about data matters.
Your information is out there, and almost everyone wants it
Whether used by governments to spy on citizens and adversaries or by companies like Google and Meta to profit off of user data, the internet has been an incredibly efficient surveillance tool for decades. It was only after former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations in 2013 that the public really began to grasp the extent of the online surveillance and internet privacy issues in general came more to the forefront.
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