There are many VPNs available that charge you for their service, so how do free VPNs make money? That’s a good question, especially considering the competition in that field. Below, you will understand how free VPNs make money.
But first, let’s talk a bit about VPNs and why you need a VPN.
The internet is one of the best creations as it provides you with unlimited access to gain knowledge and also supplies you with endless entertainment. Therefore, the internet is a useful tool, as you can get answers to almost every question you have on any topic.
Using search engines such as Google, you can ask any questions, and you will be directed to a reliable source where you will find satisfying answers.
Though it can be of help when it comes to learning, it is not as safe as it may sound.
The internet is filled with hackers, identity theft, phishing, and security leaks. So, how will you protect yourself from those malicious activities? Only with the help of a VPN.
A VPN is the only tool that gives you online privacy by creating a private internet network from a public connection. It disguises your original IP address making your online activity private.
And to make sure that you are well protected, a VPN encrypts all the data sent or received by you, making it hard for hackers, ISP and the government to detect your online activity.
As we mentioned, many VPNs offer those services at a cost, but still, other VPNs offer their services for free.
To have good features to enhance security, a VPN must invest. So, how do free VPNs make money? Could they be money from you, and if so, how?
How do Free VPNs Make Money from You?
If you are looking for a quick answer, here is how free VPNs make money off of you!
- Allowing cookies
- Showing ads
- Sharing your email
- Using your system for the benefit of premium users
- Selling your information
- Using your data for marketing
- Sharing data with their partners
- Setting data and usage limits
As long as you are looking for a VPN, you want to secure your online activity and show that you care about your personal information. So, there is that excitement of using a VPN for the first time, knowing that your online activity is protected and kept private.
But, what’s in it for a free VPN? is it all for nothing, or could you be paying with something more valuable? And, are there free VPNs?
Below is how free VPNs make money from you.
1. Free VPNs allow Cookies, Web Beacons, and Pixels to Your Online Traffic
When signing up for a VPN, you are sure that your online activity will be kept private. This means that all your online activity will be disguised, as no one will be able to keep track of your online activities.
Web Beacons and Pixels are all used together with cookies to allow website owners to know the number of users who have visited certain pages. And use them to analyze the statistics of how their site has been used. Therefore, helping websites to Track your activity.
A VPN is the only tool that can successfully stop that from happening and the reason why you pay for a quality VPN.
So, how do free VPNs make money if they do all that for free? You will be shocked to realize that free VPNs allow your IP address to be recognized and allow cookies to access your server information.
You may think you are protected, but you aren’t, as other site owners are in cahoots with free VPNs to leak your online activity.
2. Unlimited Ads
There is nothing as annoying as Ads; many people don’t like free apps because they consist of many ads. You will get more ads on free VPNs because free VPNs rely on ads to generate income. The ads will, without a doubt, interrupt your browsing experience in a disturbing way, especially if they show up in numbers.
Unlike YouTube, where you can skip an ad, some of the ads on free VPNs, you will have to watch the whole of it to continue with your activity. So, expect to wait for a minute for an ad to run.
3. Giving Your Email to Business Partners
How do free VPNs make money? By giving out your email address to third parties, including their business partners. That’s scary for you never know what your email address could be subjected to.
Some dangers can result when your email address is leaked. For example, your email could be used for criminal activities such as opening a financial account without your approval, more spam emails, phishing, Malware etc.
You should always make sure no one has the authority to share your email address, not even your free VPN service.
4. They make your servers a gateway for Paying Users
Most free VPNs available also have an option to upgrade your account to that of a paid subscription. Once you sign up for a free VPN, they let you have a taste of what you will get once you have subscribed.
So, how do free VPNs make money? You guessed right, from the paid subscription and not the free subscription.
That doesn’t look like a problem, does it? No, but the real problem comes when you realize that your device server is an exit node for paying subscribers.
That means that all the traffic made by other users will pass through your server. The danger now is that other traffic can be illegal, and all can be traced back to you.
5. Free VPNs share your information with 3rd Parties
Some of the free VPNs won’t give any chance for 3rd parties to track your internet activity. If this is the case with your current free VPN, be on the lookout, as your free VPN service could be the one leaking your information.
And as a result, getting money from it. Remember the phrase those who hurt you the most are the ones closest.
6. By Setting Limits
Free VPNs also consist of a paid subscription. They want you to subscribe to enjoy other features that are not available for free.
It’s a good marketing strategy, as you will realize that you are restricted from accessing other blocks that are only available for paying subscribers. Therefore, deciding to upgrade your account. So, it’s not a completely free VPN.
7. Selling User data
How do free VPNs make money? By using your information for marketing and advertising purposes. Since a free VPN is not getting money from you and needs to be in business, they try other ways.
The tactics they use in search of revenue are dangerous for you, especially because they log in to your data and share it with marketing companies. They do that so that the advertisers can know what kind of ads you will receive once online.
So, every time you look for something online, the free VPN will collect that data and share it with advertising companies.
In countries that spy on their citizens, a VPN can be forced by the government in that region to surrender all the information in their possession, including data. So, if the free VPN logs in to your data, it will be stored, and now all your data will be in the hands of the government.
8. Leak your Data with their Marketing Partners
You want to keep your data private, the reason you have taken the step to subscribe to a VPN, whether free or paid. You want to protect your data because you are aware of the dangers that lie ahead if you ignore them.
How would you feel if the tool you thought would protect your data is responsible for leaking it? You will be disappointed, and that’s what many free VPNs out there do. They share your data with marketing partners to generate income.
So, you may think it’s a free VPN, but it’s not because it’s selling your most valuable information to its marketing partners.
So, is there a 100% free VPN? There are a few VPNs out there that are free, but the good ones are always open. They let you use their service for a short period for free secure VPN service, and then you will have to pay for their service, which you can select for your different devices, like free VPN for your android and MAC.
The good thing about an open VPN is that they value your personal information and wouldn’t share it with anyone. All they want is for you to taste what they are offering in their services, and if you are interested, you can go ahead and subscribe.
But why do free VPNs pretend to be free, and they are making money from you in a real sense?
The Reason Free VPNs Use Shady Tactics
Everything is all about making money, and that is what drives free VPNs. And for a free VPN to make money, someone has to pay them. Obviously, they are not charging you a cent cause if they did, it wouldn’t be a free VPN. So how do they survive? They get their money from advertisements.
For an advertising company to be successful, they must know what you like most to decide the kind of advertisement that would interest you. Now, this is where a free VPN comes in. It sells your online data to advertising companies without caring about your safety and privacy.
They use this tactic to make money from their users by selling their data information, including their privacy. The more users a free VPN has, the more they will sell their user’s data to an advertising company. So, more money for them.
Reasons Why You should opt for a Paid VPN Service
Are free VPNs safe? Free VPNs are not safe, as many VPNs struggle to provide the security levels that you need. You will need a VPN that improves its level of security, and many free VPNs don’t keep up with paid VPNs.
You can’t compare a free VPN with a paid one, for the gap is too big in almost everything. A paid VPN such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark cares about your personal information, and not even they can access your data, leave alone share it.
A VPN like NordVPN consists of a service known as “No-log.” The service makes sure that no records of data are stored about your online activity; not even NordVPN can access them.
So, how does NordVPN make money? They have advanced features to ensure your online privacy and charge you for it.
Conclusion
The internet is part of our daily lives, the reason we can’t imagine a world without it. It is helpful as it consists of helpful information and also provides us with entertainment. But unfortunately, many have taken advantage of the internet to snoop on others.
Therefore, it is recommended that you keep your personal information private while performing any online activity. The best tool for that is a paid VPN.
There are plenty of options out there, but avoid using free VPNs if you care about your personal information. If you still want t save some bucks, here are safer free VPN options but keep the following statement in mind: How do free VPNs make money? From you.