You probably sometimes connect to a poor or unsecured public network with your smartphone. To ensure that your phone is secured while browsing on such a network, you can use a VPN. Here we show you how to use a VPN on your Android smartphone.
Want to know more about online safety? On this page we collect all articles on this theme for you.
VPN stands for 'virtual private network'. With a VPN, your connection is encrypted, whereby your phone's internet traffic takes place via its own server, with only a small amount of data being stored. You may recognize VPN from school or work, where you may have had to use it to securely log into the corporate network from your own device.
What are the benefits of a VPN?
A VPN has the advantage that you can browse almost anonymously because of the encryption. Your location is very difficult to find out, and VPN allows you to bypass certain website blocks, for example when certain content in a certain region cannot normally be accessed.
VPN is used a lot, especially in countries with strict regimes and rules, because that way the government can't just peep along.
But VPN is also very useful to make a potentially insecure internet connection more secure by encrypting internet traffic. On unsecured public Wi-Fi, it can happen that others who are also connected to that network can access your data.
VPN on Android
If you connect your Android device to a VPN, all your internet traffic will go through the VPN. So other apps also use the VPN right away, not just your browser.
You can manually set up VPN on your Android device by going to Settings > Wireless & Networks > More > VPN and add a VPN service yourself. Here you have to enter the information you received from your VPN service. This includes the web address of the service, your username and your password.
You can then turn VPN on or off or always leave it on via the notification in the top bar.
VPN apps for Android
However, many major VPN services have their own app that allows you to easily connect to the service. Many of these apps also have extra functions that, for example, improve the ease of use or security.
Hideman is a VPN service with an easy-to-use app (with built-in ad blocker) that also has a widget that allows you to quickly connect or disconnect. You can pay for the service via SMS, which is very convenient because you don't have to provide payment details.
With Tunnelbear you can use 500mb of data per month for free via the service. If you want to be able to use more data via VPN, you can choose from different plans that start at $4.99 per month. your network activities are not logged and AES 256-bit encryption is used.
NordVPN provides stable connections that are well secured. The app also has a kill switch that immediately shuts down all your traffic when the VPN connection drops. That way, no data leaks to an unsecured connection.
