Are VPNs safe and can it protect your online activities?

VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, can help keep your data safe online by hiding your real IP address and encrypting your traffic. It protects your data on public Wi-Fi, lets you bypass censorship, and secures you from third-party tracking.

However, with so many providers claiming to be secure, how do you know which ones to trust?

Follow this article where I’ll explain what VPN security is and how it ensures your online privacy and security. I’ll also show how to test if your VPN is keeping you secure and areas a VPN doesn’t cover.

What makes a VPN safe?

A VPN is safe when it uses unbreakable encryption ciphers, modern tunneling protocols, and ensures a no-logs privacy policy. Let’s review all features that make a VPN secure in more detail.

VPN protocols

VPN protocols are sets of rules that determine how data is encrypted and transported between your device and a VPN server. Because VPN protocols rely on different encryption techniques and data transport methods, they impact speed, security, and connection stability in different ways.

WireGuard is one of the most widely adopted protocols which offers the best security and speed ratio, making it excellent for everyday use.

OpenVPN, on the other hand, prioritizes security and flexibility, so it usually isn’t as fast as WireGuard.

Some VPN providers offer proprietary protocols, like NordVPN’s NordLynx (based on WireGuard) and Lightway (developed by ExpressVPN). Such protocols usually follow modern standards to improve speed and stability.

No data breach history

A good indication that a VPN is secure is if it hasn’t had any recent data breaches, which you can find out with a simple google search. If a VPN had experienced a breach, it could indicate weak security and put your data at risk. Instead, look for reputable providers that provide changelogs and address any vulnerabilities.

Advanced encryption

Encryption is what turns your internet data into unreadable code, creating a “tunnel” between your device and a VPN server. This way, no third parties can intercept or read your data.

Secure VPN services use current modern encryption ciphers, such as AES-256 or ChaCha20. They protect sensitive data, like financial details, passwords, and browsing activities from ISP or authority surveillance and hackers.

Kill switch

Safe VPNs offer a kill switch feature, which shuts down your internet connection in case the VPN accidentally disconnects. This prevents your IP address and activities from leaking unexpectedly.

Audited no-logs policy

A VPN is safe if it offers a no-logging policy, which ensures the VPN provider doesn’t keep your data.

Most VPNs do track some data, like the VPN features you use, your username, or CPU and RAM to recommend the fastest servers for you. However, what’s important is that they don’t track your IP address, browsing activities, or traffic logs.

Also, always check whether the privacy policy has been audited by independent firms. Audits by other parties help verify that the VPN provider is actually no-logs and not just a marketing bluff.

Advanced security features

VPN safety levels can also be enhanced with additional features. For example, DNS and IPv6 leak protection helps ensure your data is always secured, while ad and tracker blockers keep you safe from accessing malware. While not all advanced features are essential, they add an extra layer of protection.

How does a VPN secure you?

A VPN is primarily a privacy tool that hides your real IP address and encrypts your data. It protects you in multiple ways:

• Keeps you safe on public Wi-Fi. Unsecured networks allow anyone to see your personal data. A VPN hides your real IP address and encrypts your data, so no attackers can intercept it.
• Allows bypassing censorship. A VPN lets you access the internet freely by changing  your location. Once you connect to a server in another region, you can access content, including news sites or streaming services, that are only available in that country.
• Secures you from third-party tracking. Since a VPN hides your IP address, your Internet Service Provider (ISP), threat actors, and even the government can’t track what you’re doing online. It also becomes harder for advertisers to build an advertising profile about you.
• Protects you from cyber threats. VPNs protect you from man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, which hackers use to read your data, even financial details, on public networks. It also secures gamers from DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, which are IP-based and disrupt your experience.
• Offers security for businesses. Many organizations use VPNs to ensure only people connected to the company network can see it. Plus, it helps employees access the company resources when they’re working remotely.

VPN security features

Aside from concealing your IP address and encrypting your data, VPNs usually offer some useful features for extra security. Let’s review the main ones in detail – I’ll show how they look on NordVPN as an example.

Server network

Reputable VPNs offer large server networks, ranging across dozens of countries. You can choose any location to secure your IP address, hide your data, and access geo-restricted content.

Some VPNs even offer RAM-only servers. This means that your data is wiped out with each reboot, so there’s no way for your ISP or government authorities to request your data.

Kill switch

A kill switch is a security feature that all high-quality VPNs have in common. It shuts down your internet connection if the VPN connection drops. This feature helps ensure that your data doesn’t accidentally leak without you knowing.

Some VPNs, including NordVPN, also offer an app-level kill switch, which turns off selected apps if the VPN disconnects.

Malicious ad and tracker blocker

Some secure VPNs also offer a malicious ad & tracker blocker to ensure a safer browsing experience. It blocks suspicious ads, trackers, and, with some VPNs, even malicious websites.

This feature is usually named differently depending on the VPN, like Threat Protection on NordVPN, Clean Web on Surfshark, and NetShield on Proton VPN.

Double VPN

Double VPN servers are specialty servers that route your traffic through two different VPN servers instead of one. It enhances privacy by encrypting your data and masking your IP address with two servers, making it harder to trace activities back to you.

It’s a great feature to enable when you want extra privacy, but note that in some cases, it may affect speed slightly more.

Traffic obfuscation

Traffic obfuscation is a feature that makes your VPN traffic look like normal internet traffic. It’s helpful to use in regions that are highly restrictive, since it conceals the fact that you’re using a VPN. This makes it harder for firewalls and ISPs to block VPN usage.

How to test if your VPN is secure?

To know if your VPN is actually secure and protecting you, you can do a few things. Here’s what you should try:

• Check the connected status. Open the VPN app and look for the “Connected” status to know if you’re actually connected.
• IP leak test. Google “What’s my IP?” and use any free tool to check if your IP address is that of the VPN server. If it shows a different location instead of the approximate physical location, then the VPN isn’t securing you.
• DNS leak test. You can use any free tool online, like BrowserLeaks, to check for DNS leaks, which would mean that your VPN doesn’t properly encrypt your DNS requests.
• Check if security features are enabled. Ensure you’ve enabled basic VPN features, like a kill switch. If you need extra privacy, then you can also use double VPN or obfuscated servers.

How safe is a VPN?

I came across a Reddit post where users ask “how safe is a VPN?”, questioning whether your IP address can be tracked back even when using a VPN, and wanted to discuss it further.

To put it simply, a VPN hides your IP address, so your online activities can’t be traced back to you by your ISP or other parties. However, your IP address can be tracked in other ways. Here’s what they are and what you can do to prevent it:

• Browser cookies. Websites use browser cookies which can lead back to your location. That’s why it’s recommended to clear cookies and cache before using a VPN.
• DNS leaks. Some weaker VPNs can experience DNS leaks, so choose trustworthy providers. For example, West Coast Labs' 2025 testing report showed that NordVPN, Proton VPN, Mullvad, Norton VPN, and ExpressVPN all had zero DNS and IP leaks.
• Logging. Some less reliable VPNs log user data, defeating the purpose of a VPN in the first place. That’s why it’s crucial to choose no-log VPNs that have been audited by independent firms.
• Accounts. While your IP address can’t be tracked back through your social media accounts, your activities on those platforms are still tied to you.
• GPS data. On smartphones, your IP address is hidden when the VPN is on, but apps that use GPS data, like Google Maps, Waze, or Strava, can still know your actual location. To prevent your GPS data from being used, you need to alter app permissions on your phone.

Final thoughts

A VPN keeps you safe by encrypting your data and hiding your real IP address, so no third parties, including your ISP, threat actors, or government agencies, can track your activities. It keeps you safe on public Wi-Fi, protects you from DDoS and MitM attacks, and allows bypassing censorship.

However, a VPN doesn’t hide your activities on social media platforms because you’re identified through your profile, even if your IP address is hidden. Plus, some apps on smartphones require GPS data to function, so your location is still accessible to them unless you change permissions.