Tons of online articles talk about the advantages of using a VPN, and some even mention the drawbacks.
Unfortunately, many of them keep it pretty vague.
And more specifically, it doesnt clarify when you should and shouldnt use a VPN.
VPNs Secure Your Internet Traffic
When you use a VPN, it encrypts your internet traffic.
Lets say you use a VPN to connect to youtube.com.
Public Wi-Fi networks dont use encryption, so hackers can easily monitor everything.
Keep in mind that your IP reveals sensitive data, including your country, city, and ZIP code.
This way, youll be less likely to be targeted with personalized ads.
VPNs Bypass Firewalls
VPNs are great for accessing blocked websites on restrictive networks like at work or school.
Some VPNs can even access restricted websites in countries that censor the internet.
VPNs do this by allowing you to communicate with the internet via a VPN servers IP address.
Basically, you connect to the server fand use its IP to jump into the blocked websites.
you could bypass a firewall this way because the VPNs IP doesnt have any firewall restrictions linked to it.
VPNs Improve Your Streaming Experience
Many streaming sites are only available in certain locations.
The same goes for certain TV shows and movies that are broadcast on streaming platforms.
This is due to copyright and licensing regulations.
A good VPN can mask your geo-location data.
For example, a US VPN server could access Netflixs US library.
There are tons of great VPNs for streaming on the market, but I personally likeExpressVPNthe most.
VPNs Improve Torrenting
VPNs are essential for protecting your privacy while torrenting.
Only the IP address of the VPN will be visible.
This prevents malicious actors from using your IP address to track your location.
Your ISP can throttle your bandwidth because all of your traffic goes through its online grid.
But a VPN can prevent bandwidth throttling.
It encrypts your web traffic, which makes it unreadable so your ISP cant monitor it anymore.
Due to that, it cant selectively throttle your speeds for certain online activities.
VPNs Could Improve Your Gaming Experience
Using a VPN while gamingmight stabilize or even lower your ping.
Basically, youd need to connect to a VPN server thats in the same country as the gaming server.
You could also use a VPN while gaming to:
8.
This happens because many prices are location-based.
For example, they might charge someone from a higher-income country more because they know they can afford it.
Its a lot of trial and error, really.
VPNs Slow Down Your Speeds
Using a VPN will very likely slow down your original internet speeds.
Thats mainly due to the distance between your equipment and the VPN server.
The bigger the distance, the longer it takes for your gadget and the server to exchange data.
Whats more, the VPNs encryption-decryption process also influences the slowdown.
The good news is thatmost top VPNs provide fast speedsbecause they optimize their services.
Basically, they:
2.
VPNs Cost Money
To use a good VPN, youll need to get a paid subscription.
There are also free VPNs out there.
Its tempting to use them, but keep in mind that many free VPNs dont provide good value.
Youre better off with a full-featured premium option like ExpressVPN.
Some Countries Ban & Block VPN Usage
In certain countries, using a VPN might be against the law.
Whats more, very few services are able to circumvent government-imposed VPN blocks (ExpressVPNis one exception).
Some examples include routers, certain smart TV models, and gaming consoles.
So, it blacklists the IP.
The solution to this is to usea VPN with dedicated IP addresses.
Thats an IP address that only you use, so the banking platform wont flag and blacklist it.
To use a dedicated IP, youll normally need to pay for it.
Online platforms use CAPTCHA requests to protect themselves against spam and malicious actors.
Unfortunately, search engines and websites might flag shared VPN IP addresses as malicious.
So, they force the VPN users using said IPs to complete CAPTCHA requests.
This can happen very often.
The only way to prevent this is to use a VPN that has a dedicated IP address.
VPNs Might Increase Battery & Data Usage
VPN apps could add to your devices battery and data consumption.
They increase battery consumption because you have to leave the VPN app running in the background.
And they eat up more data because the VPN constantly exchanges encrypted and decrypted data with the web.
Theres no industry standard for how much a VPN increases battery and data consumption.
In such situations, its best to only use the VPN when you really need to.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the pros and cons of using a free VPN?
The only pro is that the free VPN doesnt cost anything upfront.
Its much better to just get a premium VPN instead, likeExpressVPNfor example.
What are the pros of using a VPN on home Wi-Fi?
The main advantage is that VPNs stop your internet service provider fromthrottling your bandwidth.
VPNs also improve your streaming, gaming, and torrenting experience, and secure your web traffic.
If youd like to try a VPN for your home web connection, I recommend checking out ExpressVPN.
Why should I use a VPN on public Wi-Fi?
The main reason to do this is tosecure your web traffic.
When shouldnt I use a VPN?
There arent many scenarios where it makes sense to not use one.
Also, some people avoid VPNs when connecting to their banking sites, asmost bank sites block VPN connections.
Read more about the best VPNs in 2025
