The sides of using free VPN
Free VPN
By providing their services, VPN providers incur certain expenses, such as server costs, network administration, customer support, security, software development, etc. Additionally, like any other business, VPN services pay taxes. Given this, one might wonder: is a free VPN possible in principle? If so, what`s the incentive for the VPN provider?
In reality, free VPN services do exist, but when considering their use, it`s best to take into account all the nuances and potential consequences beforehand. So, free VPN can be conditionally divided into two categories:
- 1. Trial period of using a paid VPN. These include options with payment and the ability to request a refund within a certain period. It is implied that you can use the full version of the paid service for free for a limited time, usually up to a month.
- 2. Free VPN without a trial period restriction, but with numerous disclaimers and usage limitations. We will examine these limitations in more detail below.
With a trial period during which you can request a refund, everything is clear: you get a full-service experience, including the choice of any available server from the VPN provider, the best VPN protocols and security technologies, customer support, etc.
But with free VPN, the situation is different. Here, you will likely have to deal with low stability and weak privacy protection when using the service. You may encounter the following technical restrictions and usage conditions:
- 1. Forced advertisement viewing. Upon each connection to the VPN server, it will be mandatory to watch an advertising block. There`s also the possibility of displaying ads directly during your internet session.
- 2. Limited server selection. While paid VPN services offer the possibility to connect to dozens or even hundreds of servers worldwide, free services may offer you only a choice of two or three servers, or no choice at all.
- 3. Low connection speed. In most cases, the speed of the free service is not suitable for online gaming, torrents, or streaming video even at moderate quality.
- 4. Internet traffic limit. If this limit is exceeded, either the service will stop working or the connection speed will be significantly reduced.
- 5. Time-limited connection session. In some cases, you may use the service without speed restrictions, but the connection to the VPN server is established for a limited time, for example, fifteen minutes. After this time, the connection is disconnected, and you need to reconnect.
- 6. Unstable connection. Your session may be interrupted at any time, requiring you to reconnect.
- 7. Outdated VPN protocols. In practice, this means that traffic encryption cannot be considered reliable and secure.
- 8. Lack of customer support. Simply put, if you encounter problems with the operation of the free VPN, you should not count on customer support.
- 9. Privacy. As compensation for providing their services for free, a VPN provider may share data about your internet activity with third parties, receiving remuneration for doing so.
In summary, it can be said that free VPN can be useful if your goal, for example, is a one-time bypass of content geo-blocks. Using it on a regular basis is unlikely to be convenient and safe. If you see negative reviews about using a VPN somewhere on the Internet, they are almost always related to free services. If you don`t want to spend money on a VPN, we still recommend getting a paid subscription from a reputable VPN provider, and then take advantage of the full refund option before the trial period ends. This would be a more rational decision from the standpoint of your user experience and security.