

Not a single one of our recommend VPN providers collects this type of data, although certain free VPN services do. Online activity is definitely not something a VPN app should gather data on, provided that hiding the online activity is what most people use VPN for, in the first place. If a VPN service collects online activity, well, stay away from that service. If your VPN provider collects IPs, it should raise a red flag. People resort to VPN services in order to remain anonymous and hide their IPs. That being said, original IP address collection is far from the most popular aspect of VPN. Original IP address collection may sound like a big deal but, in reality, it really isn’t. Many VPN services collect VPN service and connection data. As a matter of fact, it is this type of data that helps the development team to improve the app’s performance.

You connect to your VPN as an “anonymous” user and these types of data are generally pooled together as a part of larger surveys. VPN service data and connection data aren’t really essential and can’t really harm you in any way. In short, this is pretty much your entire browsing history. Online activity: The sites that you visit, your searches, used services.Original IP address: Your device’s IP address, which can point to your real location in the world.Connection data: Login and logout times and dates, service usage duration, the amount of data that you’ve downloaded or uploaded.VPN service data: This includes data about the particular server you are connected to, the OS that you use (Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, Linux), and the version of the app that you’re running.Here they are, listed from the most benign to those that are the most harmful: The amount and type of gathered data, however, depends on your VPN provider.įour types of information that a VPN service can track and store exist. On the other hand, and contrary to popular opinion, some VPN providers use this gathered info in order to better optimize their service (improving it and preventing service abuse). As an internet user who wants to use a VPN, you wouldn’t like subscribing to a service that stores your browsing data. VPN providers have an option to gather info on your internet activity (an activity called logging). What is a logging policy and why does it matter? What privacy and security elements do we test for? On top of that, it uses the most secure protocol (OpenVPN), the most secure encryption standard (AES-256), its own DNS servers, a kill switch that is on by default, and did not leak any data in our tests. It does not track and store your online activity and is incorporated in the BVI, far from EU and US data retention laws and surveillance. The Good: ExpressVPN is one of the most secure and private VPNs on the market. Only 3 simultaneous connections: Although enough for most users, it only allows you to protect 3 devices at the same time.Especially when calculating the price per connection. Expensive: ExpressVPN is much more expensive than the other top-tier VPNs CyberGhost and NordVPN.Users love it: ExpressVPN has the best user rating in TrustPilot of all VPNs we’ve tested.


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