In essence, when you click on links or download files from a site, no one will know it’s your activity. Instead, they'll see the IP address of your VPN provider, helping to protect your privacy. When you then start searching online, the websites you visit and your own internet service provider - ISP, for short - won't see your IP address. The VPN is the key to hiding your IP address and shielding your online activity from snoops.īefore visiting websites, you'll log into your VPN provider’s service.
To connect to the internet through a VPN tunnel, you'll first have to sign up with a virtual private network service, better known as a VPN. How? A VPN tunnel connects your smartphone, laptop, computer, or tablet to another network in which your IP address is hidden and all the data you generate while surfing the web is encrypted.īy connecting to websites through a VPN tunnel - and not directly - you can help keep businesses, government bodies, hackers, or other snoops from tracking your online activity or viewing your IP address - which, like your actual address, identifies your location - while you’re online.Ī VPN tunnel is useful when you’re logging onto the internet using public Wi-Fi at hotels, coffee shop, or library. A VPN tunnel is an encrypted link between your computer or mobile device and an outside network.Ī VPN tunnel - short for virtual private network tunnel - can provide a way to cloak some of your online activity.