So I got a VPN because I don’t like jut how tracked we are on the internet. I’m not like doing anything where I need to worry about the government or state actors but I believe as a principle you should have some anonymity on the internet. Google shouldn’t need to know everything about me. But I went to test my location when connected using my-location.org and it straight up was my exact address even when connected to a VPN. Do i really have to use Tor or Tails for everything just to get the most basic privacy? Why am I paying money each month to appear in a different location even if it knows I am not?
A VPN is useless for protecting your privacy unless you change your online habits. If you log in to your Google account, they’ll know exactly who you are, and they’re one of the companies that tracks you across different websites.
I’d also argue that browsing without a VPN can be sufficiently anonymous, since your ISP assigns you a random IP address, so any website can’t really tell you apart from your neighbours, or anyone in your town, based on your IP address. It’s the information you volunteer, as well as your habits, that gives you away, and VPNs can’t do anything about that
You need to turn off “Enable location access” in your browser. Your browser can use other means of location based services ASIDE from your IP address. That is how they get your exact location.
EDIT: When I visit my-location.org, everything is blank. This is because I disabled location access globally via my browser AND windows 11.
I mean a VPN mainly protects your data from being snooped on by others on your network or by your ISP. Once it leaves the VPN server, though, the destination site can still see your activity. It’s all about keeping your browsing private on your end. If you’re curious about which VPNs have solid privacy policies, you can compare many different VPNs in the VPN comparison table. A helpful spot to compare options.
Ok, I am gonna go out on a limb here. My guess is that you don’t like how tracked you think you are on the internet, but you have little understanding of a.) what is being tracked, and more importantly, b.) why it is being tracked.
Tracking is not, per se, bad. How you are tracked and what is done with that data is way more important than the fact that you are being tracked.
Instead of spending your time chasing down a VPN, spend your time looking into privacy and how to boost privacy. A VPN is only one tool, there is no silver bullet here, only mitigating factors.
Did you allow my location to get your location? Basic permissions 101 there
Start by using Brave browser.
If you have the protections set up in Brave or another Chrome-based browser, as well as ad-blockers, they override your VPN. I disabled mine, and my VPN works perfectly.
When I turn my VPN on and go to my-location.org it lists the location of the VPN server.
Prove me wrong, but I think the VPN Provider’s ISP can see your real IP too, because your connection has to go through it to reach the VPN provider.
And they can see encrypted data being sent back to your IP from the VPN provider.
So both your own ISP and the VPN provider’s ISP has your real IP.
ChatGPT thinks this is false, but I can’t see it as anything but true. How would you hide your IP from a connection that has not reached the VPN provider yet? You can’t.
What’s the point of a VPN if the other side still knows my location and IP?
They don’t know your real, actual IP that is used in the data communication.
If move your Wi-Fi devices far away from your computer and all other Wi-Fi devices are also switched off and use a raspberry pi and turn it to a router and then add a vpn on it, then make your Wi-Fi device far away from your computer but your raspberry pi in a middle of both so you can still use your raspberry Pi router then you can change the location to somewhere else and your computer will think your at that location as well!
How hard is it to locate someone who is using a VPN blocker ? They’re using my details to create fake accounts but can’t seem to be tracked as they are using VPN blocker. Any ideas?
This should be a pinned post for this sub. Using a VPN and what it actually achieves is often misunderstood by posters.
this guy needs to learn how to make bulleted lists
edit: thanks for the info tho lol
What vpn do you provide if I may ask?
I’m generally good with computers but admittedly computer networking was my least favorite class. It was a slog to get through so all these terms were thrown around so I like kinda know them but I guess had some misinterpretations. Like I knew that most of the advertising around VPNs was bull but the way I thought it worked was:
- Device talks to Wireless Access Point.
- WAP talks to ISP.
- ISP talks to website and gives the WAPs info to site.
So I thought a a WAP talked to a VPN to ISP to website so I thought the end user would see your location as where your VPN was but I guess there are other ways around that
Someone is impersonating you online and hiding behind a VPN service? If the police can’t help you, then tough luck
I don’t. The info is taken from a vpn provider who’s been around for a while. It’s a cut and paste off their site.
Basically a VPN hides your traffic from your ISP, that is about it.
I dramatically cut down on the amount of tracking that I encounter. It cost me nothing. I stopped using Twitter, I dramatically cut back on Facebook (only use it for arranging group rides for the most part), deleted a ton of apps.
I am less tracked. I am also more isolated. In reality most people could reduce their footprint but choose not to.
Life is a trade off.