Free VPN information arranged in the form of facts is one of the best ways you can quickly learn about free VPN. While many users of paid VPN services actually know about the decision they make, free VPN service users use them because they are cheap.
Free VPN Use You to Make Money
There is one thing you need to know when using a web service that is free of charge – such a service is using you to make money, and free VPNs are not an exception. No matter how you want to look at it, setting up VPN servers, developing VPN applications, IP addresses, and even managing the end product cost money, and as such, no person or even an organization will provide you that free of charge. You might be wondering how free VPN services make money, right? There are many ways depending on the business model of the VPN service in question.
Let take a look at Hola VPN, for example. This service is free of charge, but you will need to allow the service to use your IP and Internet connection. It is one of the major sources of IP for Bright Data mobile and residential IP Proxies. The same principle is used by NordVPN free service.
This speaks volumes – it is really never free, just that they lease out your IP address to paying customers on the Bright Data proxy network. There are other ways aside from using your device as a proxy or node; some can also illegally sell your data.
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Free VPN Are Noticeably Slow
VPN companies will make you want to believe that they are fast and help you increase the speed of your Internet connection. The reality on the ground is that VPNs are slow – even slower than proxies because of the additional encryption.
However, this does not mean the speed difference between when using a VPN and when you are not using one should be noticeable anytime you are making use of a VPN service. If it happens, you can actually tell the difference, and it is quite big, then such a VPN service can’t be said to be a high-quality VPN.
And for free VPN services, you are sure to experience a slow Internet connection, and there is not without reason. Even though a free VPN service will want to make money off you, setting up a high-quality VPN server is one thing they will not do.
In some cases, they do not even have control over the speed as they are products of hacks. In all, when you set out to make use of free VPNs, just know that you will be dealing with a slow Internet connection – you can be lucky to be hocked to a fast faster, but in most cases, that does not happen.
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Some of Them Work
There is one popular piece of advice among paid VPN service providers and VPN reviewers – they will always advise against free VPN because they do not work. While you might want to believe that, I need you to know that not all free VPN services are bad as they claim.
It might interest you to know that there are free VPN services that actually in terms of using it for what you intend to use them for – the only problem is that you will have to think of privacy and other shady services. I have used free VPN services to access YouTube, Facebook, and other major platforms in the past without any major issues.
The fact that people are still using them means that against the advice of experts, there are some free VPN services that actually work – but there are dark sides to them.
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Most Free VPNs Have Compatibility Issues
If you ask me, I will tell you that if there is one fact you need to know about free VPN services, then that fact has to be that most of them have compatibility issues. When I say compatibility issues, I am talking about how well they work on specific web platforms. One thing you need to know is that every web platform has a different anti-proxy/VPN system that helps them to detect and block traffic routed through a VPN server. You can have a VPN that works on YouTube but will be detected by Instagram.
Generally, only a few VPN services have attained such a level of compatibility that they work with all platforms. However, in the case of free VPN service, you will have a hard time getting a free VPN service that will be compatible with most of the popular web services. This is because free VPNs get detected and blocked easily as opposed to paid VPN services that can evade detection and subsequent blocks. The best you can have is a free VPN that works only for a few sites and gets detected in others.
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Location Coverage is Highly Limited
One of the beauties of VPN is that they help you appear to surf the Internet from locations you are not. That is, you can be in the UK, and by connecting to a VPN server in the US, web services will treat you the same way users from the US are treated as you would be accessing their service with a US IP address. This opens up the opportunities of accessing web services closed to users from your location.
If that is what you need a VPN for, then I will advise you to either look at the supported locations for the free VPN you are about to use or simply ditch the free VPN for a high-quality paid VPN. This is because location support for VPN is small as they cannot afford to have VPN servers in many locations.
Another major setback associated with free VPNs in terms of location coverage is that they might be lying about the locations they support. I have had instances whereby I will want to surf from the US, and then when I use an IP lookup tool, I will see a different location. While this can be seen as a glitch in some cases as a glitch, in some, it isn’t – the services are only playing a game.
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Free VPN Are Legal
Have you ever asked yourself if using a VPN service is legal or you could be doing something illegal without you knowing? If you haven’t, it is high time you do. Whether free or paid VPN, you need to know that depending on your location, VPN can be legal or illegal. However, most locations allow the use of VPN. Take, in the United States and the UK, VPNs are legal.
Most other countries also allow the use of VPN, and there is no legal implication for using them except you use them for a fraudulent act. However, there are a few countries in the Middle East and Asia that do not allow the use of VPN, such as China.
Unfortunately, that it is legal does not mean you will have a free pass. Most web services do not allow the use of VPN on their platforms, and they do have systems in place to detect and block traffic routed through VPN servers. That’s the reason free VPN has a hard time, as they are more susceptible to detection because of their low quality.
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They Can Be Malicious
At the beginning of the article, I stated that free VPNs could make you the product with which they make money. Well, for many, this wouldn’t even be considered a malicious act provided they are told before, and a provider like Hola makes that known to users.
Well, making money off you without your consent is the least of malicious acts that some free VPN engage in. how about being sniffed? Many free VPN services do not encrypt the traffic of their users, and they can view the content if any web request is sent via their VPN server. This means that they can see what you do, get your login details for specific sites, and even track your activities online. Some sell your data to companies, while others would inject ads into pages you access.
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No Active Development is Put into Them
Even the best software developed by a world-class team has an active team of developers working to make it better. However, for free VPN service, most of them are usually the brainchild of one person or a team of few people and are usually done and left – set it and leave it kind of model.
This is not unconnected to the fact that most of these services, even though they make them money, do not make them a sizable among of money that will keep them invested in others to make them better.
This means that updates are not rolled out as at when due, which is common with most free software. It also means that there won’t be a responsive customer service agent you can speak with at the time you need to.
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They are Hated by Experts and Professionals
If you have been listening to expert advice, you must have reached the conclusion that free VPN should be avoided like the plague. While you might want to say that reviewers are overstating the bad sides of free VPN service – you cannot argue for its good side other than it is free of charge.
For reviewers, it is expected that they will dislike free VPNs because they cannot earn a commission for recommending them. But what would you say of professionals that give free VPN bad reviews?
No serious company or individual will want to make use of VPN – they disappoint more than they appease.
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Free VPNs are Not Worth it
Well, we have come to the end of the fact article on free VPN, and we would be wrapping it up with the fact that free VPN software is not worth it even though they work. Functionality aside, would you compromise your security because of a few dollars?
Except if you cannot afford to pay for paid VPN services, I will advise against using free VPN as they come with more disadvantages than advantages.
That’s Myths and Truths about Free VPN before you use it!
There is a lot you need to know in other to make a choice whether to use them or not, and these have been discussed in the form of interesting facts above.