Youll rarely experience spy-movie stealth or the constant frustration of corporate geofences. How 24 hours connected to a VPN changed my perspective
on personal data security

Date:
Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:43:20 +0000

Description:
I put the reality of using VPNs to the test, and the results weren't what I expected

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Id hoped this article would be a bit more exciting to write. Instead, I've just been left with a sense of safety that's a little dull, but satisfying nonetheless.

Between the House of Lords voting to restrict their use for children and streaming services taking VPN services to court , these tools are often
framed as a legislative nightmare. For the average user, though, youll rarely experience spy-movie stealth or the constant frustration of corporate geofences.

Instead, youll have a tool that you install, turn on once, and forget about.

Dont believe me? I just spent 24 hours with every device I own connected to a VPN in support of Data Protection Day 2026. Here are some of the most common VPN myths I encountered and dispelled throughout the day. Youre constantly going to be victim to data breaches

Surfshark data shows that nearly 58 billion data points have been leaked since 2004. Whats often forgotten, however, is that one leaked email address, username, or password provides more than a singular data point. This means
the number of people affected is lower than the raw data suggests.

Since a VPN encrypts your data, its often recommended to help prevent being impacted by such breaches. While this is trueall you need to do is turn it on to be protectedthe reality is that you wont actually see the VPN doing anything during your day-to-day browsing, and it can't prevent every type of data breach.

If your data was already compromised in a historical breach, a VPN cannot
stop the resulting spam. It also can't improve the internal security of the platforms you use every day. If a service you use suffers a server-side leak, a VPN won't prevent your stored data from being misused. It protects your
data while using the web, but it cant secure the destination. Youre being watched on public Wi-Fi

As with most things, navigating public Wi-Fi is often a case of "better safe than sorry." However, most VPN providers will tell you that youre always unsafe or constantly being watched while connected to one.

There are some truths to this. If you happen to connect to a truly malicious hotspot designed to harvest data, they are likely harvesting your data for some devious means.

But if youre simply using the free Wi-Fi at a train station to send a quick message, youre hardly likely to be at risk. The irony is that you have
likely already handed over your personal data just to get online, as many public networks now require a name and email address just to get online.

In these instances, a VPN can only do so much. Yes, it will encrypt your data to prevent hackers from intercepting your session, but no, it wont prevent your local metro station from knowing where you live or how to contact you. Plus, youll rarely see any such protection; once its turned on, a VPN will just do what it needs to silently. Youll never see ads or trackers again

Almost all the best VPNs now include ad-blocking as part of their packages, even on their most basic plans. While these providers promise an ad-free
haven of clean browsing, the reality is rarely that simple.

Ive tested NordVPN and Proton VPN most recently, and in our intensive testing and my day-to-day experience, neither has been entirely perfect. NordVPN blocked 54% while Proton VPN blocked 88% . This means that while your experience is generally improved, the occasional "leak" of a banner or pop-up makes it easy to forget the blocker is even running.

If youre keen to see just how helpful theyve been, many providers now track how many ads and trackers their systems block. While it seems interesting, theres no telling just how many they missed, nor how many they will catch in the future.

Its also important to remember that most ads arent malicious; theyre just annoying. Malicious ads are more often than not found on
less-than-trustworthy websites, so if you keep your online traffic clean, youll likely be fine regardless. The ultimate set and forget tool

In short, VPNs are dull and that's one of their greatest strengths. They sit in the background of your phone, tablet, or computer, and can be forgotten.

However, whether you notice them or not, they are constantly working to keep you secure. It might not be everything you hoped and dreamed of, but youre definitely safer for it.

They make it near-impossible for criminals to intercept your data online thanks to next-level encryption, and some are even equipped to protect you against quantum computing threats already.

A VPN isn't a guaranteed shield against every online risk, but it is as vital a safeguard as a complex password. Best of all, unlike a password, its one of the few security measures you dont have to remember to use every single time.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/youll-rarely-experience-spy -movie-stealth-or-the-constant-frustration-of-corporate-geofences-how-24-hours -connected-to-a-vpn-changed-my-perspective-on-personal-data-security


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