A VPN is a program installed on your device that redirects your internet connection through its own servers around the world. This allows you to virtually change your location online, with the effect of making you more anonymous, and tricking sites like Netflix into showing you content that’s blocked in your country.
A VPN also encrypts your traffic, which means that even if it’s intercepted, your activity can’t be seen. That goes for hackers, your government, and even your internet service provider – a VPN lets you browse in total secrecy.
This also allows you to access sites that might be banned by your ISP – perhaps that’s YouTube or TikTok at school, or Western news if you’re in Russia or China. In short, the best VPN makes the internet a freer place, and allows you to do what you want, when you want to do it.