Hi everyone, Kevin here. Today, we are going to look at the five best free VPN providers. This way, if you’re in China, Russia, or Turkey, you’ll still be able to watch my videos for free. To come up with this list, I installed just about every single free VPN provider out there, and some are definitely better than others.
Source: YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@KevinStratvert
First, we’ll look at: what even is a VPN? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages? And yes, there are some definite drawbacks. Then we’ll look at who some of the best free providers are. All right, let’s check this out.
So, first off, what even is a VPN? VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and at a very simple level, when you use a VPN, your Internet service provider (like Comcast or Verizon) no longer knows what websites you’re visiting. Also, the websites that you visit only know the location of the VPN server; they can no longer see your actual city and country.
OK, but why use a VPN? Well, there are three main benefits to using a VPN. First, it may give you access to additional entertainment content. Here, just as an example, you can see how much content is available in various Netflix markets. In Slovakia, you get over 7,000 movies and TV shows compared to the US where you get under 6,000. So, if you could fake your location to connect through Slovakia, you can watch more movies and TV shows. Second, you can also get around local censorship. For instance, if you live in China, you don’t have access to YouTube, the New York Times, or even Facebook Messenger. But if you connect to a VPN, the government only knows that you’re connecting to a VPN, allowing you to use all of those different services. As an example, one of my favorite YouTubers, Jeff Su, is based out of China and he’s building up his own YouTube channel. Thanks to the magic of VPN, we’re able to enjoy his content. Third, you also get some security and privacy benefits. Your internet service provider no longer knows what websites you’re visiting. But doesn’t the VPN know what websites you’re visiting? Most VPNs claim that they don’t keep any logs; however, this could be changing. For instance, in India, the government is now mandating that VPN services keep logs. So, depending on your market, this may change.
It sounds like there are some good benefits. Are there any downsides to using a VPN? Yes, there are a few. First, you have to install an app on your computer, which will consume some system resources. Also, because you’ve now introduced an extra step every time you head to a website, there will be a bit more latency. Your upload and download speeds won’t be as fast.
Now that we know what a VPN is and what some of the benefits are, let’s look at some of the free options:
- Opera web browser: This is a chromium-based browser, like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, and has a VPN built directly into it. It’s entirely free to use. Interestingly, Opera is now owned by a consortium of Chinese investors, a country where people don’t have internet freedom. Yet, they made a VPN for their browser.
- Psiphon: Originally developed in the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, its main goal is to help you get around internet censorship.
- Proton VPN: Owned by a Switzerland-based company, Proton Technologies AG, they are the same company behind ProtonMail, a very popular end-to-end encrypted email service.
- PrivadoVPN: A play on “private”, this Switzerland-based company started in 2019 and has a very nice free offering.
- HotSpotShield: Owned by a Boston-based company called Aura, this app is probably my least favorite of the bunch.
All right, that was a quick look at some of my favorite free VPN providers. Let me know if I missed any good free providers down below. Also, I’d love to hear: why are you using a VPN? What is the main motivating factor? To watch more videos like this one, please consider subscribing, and as always, I’ll see you in the next video.
