Almost every user faces confusion deciding whether they should get a paid VPN when there are free choices available. Although both will complete their jobs, free VPNs are slow, offer ads and limited servers, and sell your data to advertising platforms to generate revenue, which means they aren’t totally free. In contrast, paid VPNs charge subscription fees but protect your security and privacy.
This guide covers the security risks of free VPNs in detail and explains why paid VPNs are better than free ones.
What is a Free VPN?
A free virtual private network is a VPN that offers its services without any cost. Although it looks like an attractive option, is it really? At the very least, a free VPN should provide several features to its customers, including reliable servers and encryption protocols so that you remain hidden on the web, but these features may vary among service providers.
A VPN offers a server network that requires multiple employees and a significant amount of capital in order to sustain itself in the industry. But, as noted above, free VPNs offer their services at no cost, so how do they cover these expenses? Let’s find out.
What Methods Free VPNs Use to Generate Income?
Every company, including a VPN, runs for a purpose, which is to make money. If a VPN provider claims the service is free, remember they have expenses to meet. They will charge you differently if you don’t pay them, and all the problems start here.
Monitoring and Breaching Your Private Data
Many internet users think their data isn’t worth it; nobody can utilize their online activity because it’s worthless. However, it’s totally wrong. Your data is worth more in this world.
Free VPN service providers collect your private data and sell it to advertising platforms or data broker companies to generate revenue and fulfill their expenses. The data they sell includes what device you use, your location, what type of content you browse, what you buy, and how much time you remain online.
Showing Ads
Free VPNs also bombard users with ads. It is one of the companies’ most popular techniques to cover their expenses. Advertising companies pay the VPN provider whenever a VPN customer views it. If the VPN has over a million users, the revenue it gets from ads is enough to cover the costs.
Also, some free VPNs continuously bombard users with ads after a few minutes, which is annoying. In addition, some ads prevent users from closing them, and some contain malware that can affect your device and breach your privacy.
Pushing Users to Upgrade to the Premium Plan
Many Free VPN service providers offer a few features and pressurize users to opt for the premium plan. VPNs are not the only industry that is using this strategy. Other companies use this technique too, to get paid users.
Security geeks recommend internet users to always keep their VPNs on. This measure can help them to stay safe while using the internet. However, if you are using a VPN with limited features and data caps, you will probably need more free data within two days. Therefore, you will either need to upgrade to the premium version or use it occasionally to save free data.
Are Free VPNs Safe?
No, free VPNs aren’t safe. They use obsolete VPN protocols due to a lack of funding. In addition, they can also leak your data by selling it to external organizations to generate revenue or due to low-quality protocols. If you use a free VPN, hackers can easily access your data.
Moreover, reports show that over 2.5 billion Android users are at risk of data leaks since they use a free VPN. Therefore, we always recommend using a premium VPN like ExtremeVPN that encrypts your data and offers high-end internet protocols to keep you safe while using the internet.
Disadvantages of Using a Free VPN
Weak Security
VPNs are meant to provide security while using the internet. However, some free VPNs lack this. Due to fewer servers and infrastructure, they have weak data encryption. Hence, whenever you choose a VPN, ensure it offers robust encryption; otherwise, it will be easy for cyber attackers to prey on you.
Slow Speed
Free VPNs offer limited features and servers due to a lack of capital. You won’t see any of the advanced cybersecurity techniques used in a free VPN, like you get them in a premium VPN. Servers of free VPNs are mostly slow and not good for streaming, gaming, and browsing.
Poor Privacy
Free VPNs sell your data, like online activity, device information, and location, to data brokers to generate revenue.
Why Premium VPNs Beat the Free Ones?
Paid VPNs are much more pleasing than free VPNs. They offer subscriptions and charge their users for using the service. They invest the money collected from subscriptions in introducing new infrastructure, enhancing security, and adding new features to provide better services to their users.
Like other businesses, paid VPNs focus on attracting long-term customers. Therefore, they take care of everything and provide the best user experience to keep them engaged and maintain an attractive reputation in the industry.
For this reason, free VPNs can’t beat premium VPNs in terms of security, speed, privacy, and accessibility.
A high-end premium VPN like ExtremeVPN provides the most advanced cybersecurity features, including military-grade encryption, split tunneling, a no-logs policy, round-the-clock customer support, fast-speed servers, and more.
You can subscribe to paid VPNs without fear of losing money. Almost all the top-notch premium VPNs offer a money-back guarantee policy, and you can get your money back if you don’t like the service.
They offer every single thing that they have promised. However, free VPNs don’t offer such advanced features, so they don’t make any promises.
Benefits of Using a Premium VPN
Below are the advantages of using a premium VPN like ExtremeVPN:
Wide Network of Servers
ExtremeVPN boasts over 6500 servers in 78+ countries worldwide, ensuring each server provides fast speed and helps users experience a smooth browsing experience. Our VPN also offers multiple servers for various purposes, including:
- Obfuscated Servers: These servers help users from countries with extreme internet restrictions to enjoy the internet freely
- VPN Over TOR: Provides an additional protection layer while accessing websites with .onion domain names.
- P2P Servers: Helps in sharing files over the internet securely.
Robust Privacy
Unlike free VPN providers, ExtremeVPN adheres to a strict no-logs policy, ensuring users that it doesn’t keep their data or sell it to advertising platforms or hackers. In addition, it provides DNS and IP leak protection that protects your information from prying eyes.
Military-grade Encryption
While using the internet, it is necessary to protect your data using a VPN. It will encrypt your data and safeguard you from third-party attackers while using public Wi-Fi or the internet. Hackers can easily access your data, monitor your online activity, and use it for illicit purposes without encryption.
ExtremeVPN offers 256-bit AES encryption that encrypts the user’s data by creating a virtual private tunnel and changes it into jabbering so no one can exploit it.
Unlimited Bandwidth
There is no such thing as bandwidth restriction in premium VPNs. They allow you to use unlimited data and enjoy high-definition streaming and gaming without buffering or lag issues.
Moreover, paid VPNs like ExtremeVPN offer optimized streaming, gaming, and P2P file-sharing servers. These servers let you enjoy the content and safely share your data.
Bypass Geo-restrictions and Internet Censorship
Many streaming enthusiasts face the problem of geo-restrictions because both free and paid streaming platforms are unavailable in some regions. In addition, some streaming platforms, like Netflix, offer different content in different regions. A premium VPN is the only hope for streaming fans to bypass the geo-restrictions and enjoy streaming their favorite content.
Additional Features
- ExtremeVPN offers an automatic kill switch to protect users’ data.
- ExtremeVPN is compatible with multiple OS and devices. In addition, you can use a single account on up to 10 devices simultaneously and keep yourself secure.
Difference Between Free VPN and Paid VPN Regarding Security & Privacy
| Free VPN | Paid VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Extensive Server Network | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Masks IP Address | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Fast and Reliable Connections | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Robust Data Encryption | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Unlimited Data | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Special Servers | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Simultaneous Connections | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Live Customer Support | ❌ | ✔️ |
What is the Best VPN for You?
People who want to save money prefer a free-of-cost VPN, but they are unaware of the privacy and security risks of using a free VPN.
Many free VPNs offer limited services in the free versions, forcing you to upgrade to the paid version. In addition, they also earn by bombarding you with ads and selling your private data to advertising platforms or data brokers.
In contrast, if you don’t want your privacy to get compromised and want to save yourself from a huge loss in the future, opt for a paid VPN, like ExtremeVPN. They are subscription-based platforms, but remember, premium VPNs charge customers to cover the expenses of the advanced infrastructure they provide for the premium service.
Is Getting a Free VPN Better Than No VPN at All?
No, both have different risks. Having no VPN service will only expose your IP address to your ISP and government. However, as mentioned above, a free VPN stores and sells your data to other platforms.
Below is the comparison of a no VPN and a free VPN and analyze which saves you from privacy threats:
| No VPN | Free VPN |
|---|---|
| Doesn’t offer high-end encryption. You can only use basic encryption from the HTTPS websites you access. | Provide some VPN encryption, but don’t like paid VPNs. |
| The websites you access and other third parties can monitor your online activity. | Only the VPN can see your online activity and other data. |
| You will encounter ads, and some ads might contain malware. | It also shows ads that may contain malware, but to generate revenue, it can sell your data to hackers or data brokers. |
Is ExtremeVPN Free?
ExtremeVPN is a subscription-based VPN service that offers a 7-day free trial for newcomers when they download the app on their devices through Google Play or the Apple App Store. In addition, for your ease, it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee policy. So you can subscribe to it without any fear of losing money.
Our VPN offers various subscription plans, including a 1-month, 6-month, and yearly plan. You can subscribe via PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and other payment methods.
This investment is many times better than the loss you will face in the future, which includes data or privacy breaches, ransomware, and more. ExtremeVPN continuously adds more features and enhances its services due to its high demand. We are sure you won’t regret subscribing to it.
Are Firewalls More Secure than Most Free VPNs?
Yes, it’s true. Firewalls can protect your device from malicious threats, so they are better than free VPNs. However, both tools have separate functions. For example, a firewall blocks all kinds of suspicious access requests that are made to or from your device — this way, it works like a shield against hackers.
In contrast, a VPN hides your IP and encrypts your connection so that no third party can trace you online. Although paid VPNs offer the best quality encryption, free VPNs are still a long way behind.
Note that a firewall alone can’t protect your security; you need to have both tools working. The VPN will protect your data, and the firewall will protect you against attacks.
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