VPN Myths Debunked, 10 Things People Get Wrong

There is a lot of misinformation about what VPNs can and cannot do. Here are the ten most common myths, corrected with evidence.

Myth 1: A VPN makes you completely anonymous

False. It hides your IP and encrypts traffic but does not hide your activity on accounts you are logged into.

Myth 2: Free VPNs are just as good as paid ones

False. Free VPNs monetise by selling your browsing data, injecting ads, or selling your bandwidth to other users.

Myth 3: VPNs are only for criminals

False. Used by journalists, activists, remote workers, travellers, and anyone who values privacy. Legal in most countries.

Myth 4: VPNs completely prevent hacking

False. A VPN protects network traffic but does not prevent malware, phishing, or server-level data breaches.

Myth 5: VPNs are illegal

False in most countries. Legal in the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia. Restricted in China, Russia, North Korea, Iran.

Myth 6: VPNs always slow your connection to a crawl

False with modern providers. Third-party benchmarks commonly report a modest speed loss with WireGuard-based protocols such as NordLynx; results vary by server and connection.

Myth 7: Your ISP cannot tell you are using a VPN

False. They can see you are connected to a VPN server, just not what you are doing through it. Obfuscation hides even this.

Myth 8: All no-logs policies are the same

False. Only independently audited policies are verified. NordVPN has been audited six times by Deloitte. ExpressVPN has completed 23 independent audits.

Myth 9: A VPN protects you from all cookies

Partially false. A VPN hides your IP but does not clear cookies or prevent fingerprinting from sites you are logged into.

Myth 10: You only need a VPN on public WiFi

False. Your home ISP also monitors and may sell your browsing data. A VPN prevents this at home too.

ProtonVPN’s owner, audits and prices are in the ProtonVPN review.