Does a VPN Hide Your Search History?
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If you’re concerned about internet privacy, you’ve probably wondered: Does a VPN Hide Your Search History?
On the surface, it looks like they do.
Many VPNs guarantee you a secure and anonymous online experience any time you surf the internet, and most of them claim that they will keep you safe on any connection.
The truth is that it really isn’t that simple.
The Internet is a complex place, and it can be difficult to understand the connections and dates a VPN can keep you safe.
Does a VPN Hide Your Search History? Yes, but not all the time
The short answer is: VPN Hide your search history, But not all the time.
To put this into perspective, you’ll need to understand how the Internet works.
Let’s say you want to search for something online. The information you provide is transmitted from your browser to a local router, and is sent back to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once it reaches your ISP, it is redirected to your intended destination.
Then there are two histories: your browsing history, or what sites you visit, and your history search history, or What search queries do you enter into a search engine like Google.
Using a VPN only hides your browsing and search history at certain points in this chain:
Why won’t a VPN hide my search history from Google?
Using a VPN does not hide your Google search history for two reasons: cookies and Google account login.
In addition to collecting search queries, Google also tracks your online activity using cookies. These cookies are stored in your browser when you visit certain websites.
VPNs do not handle these cookies.
(Image credit: The Drum) Whether or not you use a VPN, cookies can still track your online activity
Also, it won’t matter much if you’re doing a Google search when logged into a Google account, while using a VPN.
Google can still associate search queries with your Google account and easily associate your searches with you.
More importantly, Google is so integrated into our daily lives that a VPN is not enough to hide your search history.
If you are using an Android mobile device without a VPN or logged into your Google account on a separate computer, it will still display your search history.
Does a VPN hide my search history from my ISP?
Yes. Using a VPN means that your ISP cannot decrypt the content of your internet traffic, nor can it know where the traffic is going to or from.
Note however that your ISP can still see the time you tried to connect to the VPN, as well as the IP address of the VPN server you’re connecting to.
Does a VPN Hide My Search History from Employers?
Not real. While employers can certainly monitor your search history as your ISP does, your manager has many ways to keep your tabs.
Depending on your company’s privacy policy, some companies may install keylogger software or other employee monitoring tools on company devices.
Most companies have app audits that prevent VPNs from being installed
The VPN will not prevent you from logging your keystrokes, nor will it hide webcams recording you during business hours.
It’s also unlikely that you’ll be able to use a VPN to hide your search history from employers anyway. Most employers perform app audits on company devices, which prevents you from even installing a VPN in the first place.
Does a VPN Hide My Search History on Browsers?
A VPN does not hide your search history no matter what browser you are using.
Browsers have their own internal settings that VPNs cannot influence. Your search history will still be logged even if you use a VPN IP address and change to a default location.
To hide search history on browsers, you will need to manually manage your search history and toggle the correct browser privacy settings.
To prevent browsers from logging your search history, use Incognito mode.
The best way to do this is to simply go into private browsing mode. If you’re using Chrome, that means stick to incognito mode.
Additionally, consider switching browsers entirely. Highly recommend privacy proponents DuckDuckGo, a web browser that does not log your online activity.
Does a VPN Hide My Search History on Routers?
If you’ve ever bypassed your school’s internet to play some online games, you probably know the answer to this already.
(Image Credit: ExpressVPN) VPNs hide your online activity, but your network administrator can still see certain signals.
Yes, a VPN hides your search history on routers. Internet traffic between you and the VPN server is encrypted, so everyone, including your local router, can only see that there is information being sent and received.
But there is a catch – network administrators can still determine your actual IP address by tracing the source of the encrypted traffic. So, while your online activity will remain a secret, the fact that you have done something subtle can be revealed.
VPN logs and search: Other things to consider
VPNs hide your search history most of the time. But before installing any VPN, there are some important points to note:
Tip 1: Make sure your VPN doesn’t leak
VPNs can “leak” your actual IP address when you connect to virtual servers instead of anonymous VPN servers.
Faulty VPN connection may also leak your internet traffic, rendering your VPN useless.
To check if your VPN is leaking, you can do a DNS leak test for free.
Run a free DNS test to check for possible VPN leaks.
When you visit the page, you will see the IP address. Check if this IP address and location match your actual address. If you are using a VPN and they are the same, your VPN has a “leak”.
Tip 2: Check your VPN’s privacy policies and look for past violations
Not all VPNs are created equal. Some VPNs value user privacy more than others, while a small handful quietly collect your data without your consent.
In fact, it’s more than just a handful. Just this month, a group of Hong Kong-based “no-log” VPN providers leaked more than terabytes of sensitive user data. Not only were the users’ email addresses exposed, but their payment information and passwords were also publicly leaked on the Internet.
The lesson here is that you should never take a VPN’s privacy claims at face value. Always check a VPN’s features to make sure you’re getting a good deal, even if it’s just a simple feature like 24/7 hiding your search history.
Protect your privacy the right way with VPNs today
At the end of the day, using a VPN alone can hide your search history on most occasions. For maximum privacy, you should always use a VPN with a private browser/browser in private mode.
Protect your privacy online today with VPN Vault.
Don’t have a VPN yet? Browse privately today with VPN Vault.
So, does a VPN hide your search history? Most of the time, yes. But always make sure your VPN isn’t leaking, and that your VPN actually works as intended – or your search history won’t be private at all.
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