What does a VPN mean on my phone? (for beginners)
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If you’re wondering what “VPN” means on your phone, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s explain exactly what it is and what it represents.
What does a VPN mean on my phone?
A VPN is a program that you can run on your phone to better encrypt your data and hide your activity from your ISP. When you turn it on, you will see a small “von” icon in the top corner of the screen. Typically, you would use an app from the VPN provider to use these settings.
This is the short and accurate answer. Let’s dive into more detail about what a VPN is, when it’s recommended, and how to use it.
What is a VPN on the phone?
Let’s start by defining what a VPN is.
VPN means “Virtual Private Network“.
It is another way of saying that you will be connected to the Internet through a private connection. By this, we mean a secure connection in the way it is encrypted and hidden from other people on the network and your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Your ISP can be AT&T, CableOne, Comcast, etc.
When you use your phone (or any other device) without a VPN, your browser history will be logged and saved by your ISP and they will know exactly what websites you have visited and much more.
More and more people are interested in data privacy, and for good reasons. There have been examples where ISPs have sold information about the whereabouts of their customers to large advertising companies in order to target ads based on your activity.
But most importantly, you also get better security when logging into unsecured wifi networks in places like:
- cafes
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- schools
- etc.
When you do this, you are vulnerable to attacks from hackers and people who try to sniff out your passwords, personal data, credit card information, etc. This is more common than people think!
But we’ll get back to that in a second.
Let’s first see what it looks like when the VPN is active on your phone.
What does the VPN mean in the top corner of my screen?
When you see this VPN logo in the top corner of your mobile screen, it means that you have an active VPN connection running.
The VPN software can be set to start automatically when you turn on your phone or you may have activated it yourself.
The VPN logo usually appears in a small box like the example above. When you see the logo, you can do in your phone settings to see where the VPN is coming from and what software it is running through.
Here’s how to check it on the iPhone:
- Go to settings
- Click “General”
- Scroll down to where it says “VPN”
Here you can see if it says “Connected” or not. If you see the square VPN icon at the top of the screen, it means that the VPN is active. The type of VPN you are using will appear on this screen. Here’s how it currently looks on my iPhone because I’m using a VPN called ExpressVPN:
You can also see the logo at the top of my screen above.
How do I turn off a VPN on my phone?
If you want to turn off VPN on your phone, just go in here:
- Go to settings
- Click “General”
- Scroll down to where it says “VPN”
- Switch the active VPN to “Offline”
Another way to do this is by opening the VPN app from the VPN provider. In the above case, it will be an app from XpressVPN or Windscribe. When you open the app, you can simply tap the big on/off button in the middle of the screen.
You have now deactivated the VPN and will no longer browse over an encrypted connection.
For an Android phone, you can do it in a similar way. you go to:
- Go to settings
- Click “More” under “Wireless & Networks”
- Choose the VPN you find
- Switch the connection to “Offline”.
And of course, you can also open the VPN app on your Android device and turn off the VPN there.
What does a VPN do on my phone?
The VPN software will work in the background to make your internet connection secure. By default, all of your internet activities will be logged by your boss or your ISP. This is not the case when using a VPN.
Moreover, you are less vulnerable to hacker attacks when you use your phone outside the home. When you jump into open wireless networks, it’s very easy to see what you’re doing.
It only takes a few minutes to access your data when you are on a public Wifi of an experienced hacker!
Believe me, I know how it is done and how easy it is. Anyone with technical skills that they learned from the Internet (as I did) can access your data. Especially when using public wifi on the bus, in a restaurant, in a hotel lobby, at an airport, etc.
A VPN will protect you in all these situations by making sure that everything you connect to and from the internet over wifi or while using cellular data will have a very high level of encryption.
Do I need a VPN on my phone?
If you use your phone on an unsecured wifi in places like coffee shops, hotels, airports, etc., you will benefit from using a VPN. VPNs are very cheap and will make it very difficult to access your private information which can be stolen quite easily on these low security networks.
Today it is very easy to steal personal data and the results can be very frustrating for the victim!
I took a fairly extensive course on how hackers work and how they usually get hold of private data like passwords and other personal data.
It is very easy to hack a wifi router in a public place!
So, as always, the answer depends on what purpose you’re using your phone for.
I never use my phone without a VPN when I’m in an airport, coffee shop, restaurant, etc. I’ll make sure my VPN is on so it’s impossible to see what I’m typing and the passwords I’m using installed on my phone.
How does a VPN secure my phone?
The VPN will run in the background and make sure all the traffic between you and the internet is encrypted. Other than that, it will also change your IP address so that the websites you visit cannot know who you are or where you come from.
Let’s mention exactly how a VPN will make your phone more secure:
- VPN encrypts your data
This makes it more difficult for strangers to snatch your data and information. Your data will be sent by VPN providers’ servers, and they add a thick layer of security around your data, so it’s nearly impossible for you to be hacked. - VPN hides your search history from your Intenet service provider
Usually, your ISP will log all of your whereabouts so that they can see exactly which websites and web services you have used at all times. This can be a problem for many reasons that we won’t get into here. Let’s just say that there have been many examples where governments and private companies have gained access to people’s personal data. - VPN hides your IP address
In fact, the VPN will give you another IP address. This makes it almost impossible to know who you are and where you are. This can be a huge plus if you want to access US websites that are only accessible to Americans. By choosing a VPN server from the United States (two clicks for you in the VPN app), you can change your location to the United States
What are the best VPNs for phones?
We are comparing the best VPNs of the moment. And all the serious players in this market also have great apps for iPhone and Android.
Click here to see the comparison and find out exactly which VPN providers you should use with your phone!
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