VPNs encrypt your internet traffic to protect your browsing activity from prying eyes. We recommend everyone use a VPN when connected to the internet. Here’s why:

• Browse anonymously online and prevent websites from tracking you across the internet
• Access censored content and use the internet without restrictions
• Stop internet service providers from seeing which websites you visit and selling that information to advertisers
• Block untargeted government surveillance

VPNs are also useful for:

• Streaming and accessing geo-blocked content
• Gaming and avoiding bandwidth throttling which slows down your connection
• Secure P2P file sharing

The most important thing to evaluate when choosing a VPN provider is whether it is trustworthy. Here are some criteria you should evaluate:

• Does the VPN have a strict no-logs policy?
• Is the VPN based in a country with strong privacy laws?
• Is the VPN open source and independently audited?

Once you’re sure you can trust your VPN provider, you can consider other features based on what you need the VPN for, such as advanced security features, support for streaming, or ad blocking.

VPNs encrypt and route your internet traffic through a secure tunnel to a VPN server run by a VPN provider (such as Proton VPN). This protects your online security and privacy by:

• Preventing your internet service provider from tracking your online activity
• Blocking websites you’re visiting from seeing your real IP address
• Preventing P2P peers from seeing your real IP address
• Stopping criminals from hacking your public WiFi connection
• Making it impossible for commercial public WiFi hosts to track and sell your browsing history

Almost always, yes. In restrictive countries that don’t want you to bypass their censorship systems, access to proxies, VPNs, and Tor is often blocked, but simply attempting to bypass these blocks is rarely a crime. However, if you commit a crime while using a VPN, it's still a crime.

With our 30-day money-back guarantee, you can trial our premium Plus plan risk-free. If you’d like to cancel for any reason, simply cancel your subscription and request a refund within 30 days to receive a full refund.