Using a VPN can’t make you anonymous online. Your ISP still knows you’re using the Internet.
Of course, connections between your device and the VPN server are encrypted. This means anyone monitoring your connection, like your ISP, would find it almost impossible to read your traffic to know which websites you’re visiting.
Connecting to the Internet via a VPN server also masks your real IP address, so sites you visit won’t be able to trace the location of your device that way.
These VPN security features improve your online privacy but don’t mean you’re an anonymous VPN.
In this guide, we’ll explore some ways in which your anonymity can be undermined even if you’re using a VPN. You’ll also learn to boost your online privacy.
What’s the difference between online anonymity and online privacy?
When your device connects to a VPN server, it does so via one of several VPN protocols, such as OpenVPN or WireGuard.
Although your data is encrypted, if your network manager or ISP monitors data packets entering or leaving your device, they can usually detect the use of these protocols and work out you’re using a VPN based on the type of encryption.
This means you have strong data protection, but it’s usually obvious you’re using a VPN, so your online activity isn’t anonymous.
Certain protocols are harder to detect, such as those that connect to obfuscated servers.
For example, hide.me’s implementation of OpenVPN uses traffic obfuscation to make packets resemble ordinary HTTPS data instead of those that use VPN encryption.
How can you be identified online?
Even if you’re using a VPN, there are ways your online activity can be linked to your identity. These include:
Deanonymizing Data
If you sign up for a VPN service, you most likely have to provide an email address and payment information.
This means if the provider is compromised and/or subjected to a subpoena, your account can be linked to your identity.
Of course, you can create a new email address to use specifically with your VPN. Alternatively, use a secure email-forwarding service like DuckDuckGo Email protection.
Instead of using your credit card to sign up, you should choose a VPN provider that accepts payment anonymously, like cryptocurrency.
For instance, hide.me accepts subscription payments in Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Solana, Tether and USD Coin.
Fake Freebies
If you’ve already noticed that your payment information is linked to your VPN account, you may be tempted to sign up for a “free” VPN service to stay anonymous.
However, free VPNs aren’t as good as paid ones. VPNs consume huge amounts of bandwidth and network infrastructure. If a provider is offering their service 100% free, they’re likely paying the bills through selling your user data and/or injecting ads into your VPN traffic. Both of these undermine your online privacy.
There’s a difference between entirely “free” VPNs and paid services, which also offer a free plan like hide.me, which offers servers in eight different locations.
Hazardous Hotspots
If you’re using Public Wi-Fi, bad actors who are also connected to your network can ‘sniff’ data packets and try to read your traffic. Some cybercriminals even set up ‘honeypots‘: free wireless hotspots deliberately designed to steal your data.
Using a reliable VPN will boost your Wi-Fi security, given that all your traffic is encrypted.
DNS Dilemmas
Certain providers encrypt the VPN connection between your device and the server but still allow DNS requests to be handled by your ISP. This is known as ‘DNS Leak‘ and can be used to monitor your browsing history.
The best VPN providers, like hide.me, offer DNS Leak Protection by sending all requests to the VPN server to protect your browsing history.
Fingerprinting Fails
When you connect to the Internet via a VPN server, your IP address appears to match that of the server, making you harder to identify.
Certain websites get around by ‘fingerprinting’ information about your device, such as your screen resolution, supported languages and hardware configuration. Certain VPN-friendly browsers like Brave have built-in anti-fingerprinting features.
Kill Knowledge
It stands to reason if you’re not connected to the VPN, then your IP address and traffic can easily be monitored. As such, if your VPN client isn’t running or incorrectly configured your privacy could be at risk.
This is why the best clients have a built-in ‘kill switch,’ which blocks all traffic if your VPN connection drops for any reason.
Privacy Policies
Almost every VPN service claims to have a strict no-logs policy. In other words, the provider says they don’t store any identifying information about you on their servers, such as your IP address.
This is very easy to say but if a provider lies and does store your data, your online privacy could be compromised. You can reduce the chance of this happening by choosing a service like ours, which regularly submits to independent audits of its no-log policy.
So what does a VPN hide?
As we’ve learned, using a correctly configured VPN will encrypt all traffic between your device and the server.
Even if a network manager or ISP monitors the data packets, they’ll only see encrypted information: not which sites you visit nor which web apps you use.
As you connect via the server, the IP address of your device also remains hidden. This provides you with better privacy, as even if a site logs the IP addresses that connect to it, it can only trace you as far as the VPN server.
Can I use Tor to be anonymous online?
No internet privacy tool can completely hide your online presence. Still, Tor does its best to provide anonymity by encrypting your traffic and passing it through multiple ‘relays’ run by volunteers. The Tor Browser is also deliberately designed to resist other cyber threats as it has features for ad-blocking, tracker blocking and malware protection.
Still, Tor has its own privacy issues. ‘Exit relays’ used to access the regular Internet can be abused by bad actors to harvest your data. Some ISPs also actively block Tor connections.
If you plan to use Tor, make sure also to use a VPN when you connect. You can also avoid malicious exit relays by only accessing Tor hidden services (.onion addresses).
Can there really be anonymity online?
No one can be entirely anonymous at all times when using the Internet. Even if you use privacy-friendly browsers, public Wi-Fi, VPNs, and Tor, an adversary with sufficient cybersecurity resources could piece together details of your online activity over time.
Still, this argument works both ways. If you put in the time to protect your online privacy like choosing the right browser and a reliable VPN, you can make life much more difficult for government surveillance and anyone else who wants to steal your data.
We love bringing you this content and hope it helps keep you safe and secure online. Feel free to share it with your friends, too.
Here at hide.me we are all about internet freedom, and we are happy to be in a position to bring that to everyone. That is why we give you a 30-day money-back guarantee on our Premium plan. No questions asked and no logs recorded.
If you have any questions, please feel to contact our 24/7 support team either at support@hide.me or via live chat.
