this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2025
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Privacy
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It's kind of sad, that people still believe that VPN is a safe option. Sure, it ads a layer, but anyone who wants to know who you are, can find out by your fingerprints, your accounts, anything you put out there. So if you do anything but light surfing, then you are not anonymous with VPN.
VPN is worth it just to stop the letters from your ISP.
For some, maybe. I've never gotten a letter from any of my ISPs.
What does that sentence even mean without context?
Safe against whom? I'm pretty convinced a VPN is safe against :
I'm pretty convinced might be safe against larger scale surveillance :
I'm pretty convinced might NOT be safe against professional individual surveillance :
So... no I don't think anyone can make your VPN pointless. Clearly the random person sitting next to me in a cafe can not. Only few people with the technical expertise or power can do that. None of that matters though if you already volunteer your information elsewhere publicly on private platforms like Instagram or YouTube though.
You certainly are "pretty much"... :-)
So, what do you do, since you don't trust your family? Seems pretty much suspect there... or pretty much paranoid.
You are not safe against any of those you mention. Don't you know what VPN does, and does not?
You are pretty much NOT safe against large scale surveillance.
Thanks for backing me up, with the last thing you wrote. And then please go read up on what VPN actually does, and does not.
alright then, keep your secrets
I always keep my secrets. :-)
I have also linked to a couple of articles that touch on what I'm talking about...
You were given a list of scenarios above that list where vpns are useful. It seems you're the one who don't know what you're talking about.
I was given a list where someone thought it would be useful... Now go read up on VPN, and you'll see why that list was a "pretty much" wrong. ;-)
I think you are the one thst does not get what it does.
Under no circumstance does that mean it is not worth getting one. Particularly dependent on where one lives.
It certainly does - if you don't know how to actually use it in a proper way, because then it becomes totally meaningless to even have VPN... No matter where you live. Please read up on what it does and does not!
https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/7-dangerous-vpn-myths-you-probably-believe
https://www.tomsguide.com/features/are-you-really-invisible-when-you-use-a-vpn
Yes locks on your door are pointless because if someone wants to break into your house they're going to do it once way or another, especially if you leave the window open
This is a dumb take.
You are right, your take is really dumb. So why do you share it?
A dumb take is, to pay for something you might get nothing from. But hey, you do you... VPN-providers are happy for people like you.
You just described every form of insurance.
And which VPN provider is it you're getting "nothing" from? There seems to be a budding market for VPN's out there, lots of people are paying for them and continue to do so, why do you think that is? Because the whole world is stupid and it's a pointless waste of money? Or because they are actually in fact getting some kind of use from them?
VPN's have a myriad of uses, you're focusing on some ambiguous nation-state attacker tracking you down for whatever reason. Meanwhile, quite a lot of users would just like to watch porn without having to submit ID. I'd say they're getting plenty of use out of their VPN for that.
Do take the time to read the comments, so you get the context.
As I already said, if you don't know how to keep your usage of the internet private, then you will not be private with a VPN either. VPN doesn't keep you private. It will help you to attain a little more privacy, but only is you use it right.
Please don't tell me what I am focusing on, when I haven't even said it... Making straw man arguments is low. Lying is low...
I literally quoted you, so don't try playing the "I never actually said that" card.
It's ironic that you're now complaining about context and strawmen when you yourself started it with the whole "anyone who wants to know who you are..." argument. This mysterious "anyone" is the ultimate strawman because they're anonymous and all encompassing. Meanwhile, you have zero idea what anyone wants from their VPN's so you're making the broad, sweeping statements while lacking any context yourself.
Facebook got my precise location just using my IP, I decided to create a fake account to use FB market place, they warned me about an "unknown login", it's the first time I've seen this, usually websites only know approximate location, but this time just by knowing my IP they hit exactly the small town where I live, instead of near towns which is the normal. I suspect they had my IP from other devices allowing location in the same network (same wifi), then they could safely associate that IP with my exact location even tho I didn't enable any GPS any time.