The pros and cons of using a Virtual Private Network - could they be doing more harm than good?

Our personal experience with the downsides of using VPNs

We’ve been to 10 countries so far this year and plan to be in about 10 more by the end of the year (failing at slow travel, but so enjoying seeing so many new places!). A VPN - or Virtual Private Network - has been a part of our travel toolbox since we left Washington, DC in 2021. We typically pay about $40 per year - first for SurfShark and now for Nord. And these subscriptions have offered us some valuable services. But, there are some signicant pitfalls with VPNs that we were totally naive about when we started out and in some cases, the services have caused more harm than good.

So, here’s what I would have told my younger self before hopping on the VPN bandwagon without understanding what we were getting ourselves into.

You can’t read a travel blog or watch a travel related YouTube video without someone promoting their favorite VPN (or at least the VPN sponsoring that video) and offering an amazing coupon for your first 1-2 years of service. I’m sure you’ve heard the pitch - VPNs protect you from malicious actors, particularly when you are traveling and using public WiFi. And an added benefit is that you can use a VPN to gain access to your favorite streaming shows by connecting to a server located in the country from where you want access to streaming content. Then just navigate to the streaming service's app or website and start streaming as you normally would. Easy peasy.

But are there downsides to using a VPN? We honestly never asked ourselves that question, and we should have before starting to use this powerful, and sometimes damaging, tool.

We just assumed that if everyone else had a VPN, we must need one too. And while we’ve benefited from being able to watch US TV shows and movies from multiple countries, and we haven’t been hacked even after using multiple public WiFis around the world, we’ve actually encountered numerous - and pretty serious - problems as a result of using a VPN.

So, let’s first talk more about the advantages of using a VPN.

Pros of Using a VPN

1. Enhanced Privacy and Security

VPNs create an encrypted tunnel between your device (phone, tablet, computer) and the internet, safeguarding your data from potential eavesdroppers, especially on public Wi-Fi networks. This encryption ensures that your online activities remain private, protecting you from hackers and malicious entities.

2. Bypassing Geo-Restrictions

By masking your IP address, VPNs allow you to access content that might be restricted in your region. This feature is particularly useful for streaming services or websites that have region-specific content. For example, we wanted to download YouTube videos to watch online for our recent flight from Kotor, Montenegro to Helsinki, Finland. YouTube prohibits downloads while in Montenegro. But we were able to log into a US address through our VPN and voila - we were able to download.

3. Protection from ISP Tracking

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can monitor your online activities. Using a VPN hides your browsing history from your ISP, ensuring that your data isn't collected or sold to third parties.

Ok - that all sounds really important and valuable. And it is. But What are the disadvantages?

Cons of Using a VPN

VPNs, while offering encryption and privacy benefits, also have some significant drawbacks. Let’s explore the disadvantages and issues with VPNs in more detail:

1. Potential Legal Issues

In some countries, using a VPN is currently illegal or restricted. It’s likely no surprise that China, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Russia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, and Venezuela currently ban or restrict VPNs.

But did you know that the same is true for Uganda, Oman, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, and the UAE?

Map by Proton VPN

Additionally, Bahrain, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan have a recent history of banning or restricting VPNs. So always ensure that you're aware of and comply with local laws regarding VPN usage.

2. Not Complete Anonymity

While VPNs enhance privacy, they don't guarantee complete anonymity. Websites can still track you using cookies, browser fingerprinting, and other tracking technologies. Moreover, if you're logged into services like Google or Facebook, your activities can still be monitored.

3. Trust in VPN Providers

When you use a VPN, you're transferring trust from your ISP to the VPN provider. Some VPNs might log your data or share it with third parties. It's crucial to choose a reputable VPN service with a strict no-logs policy. This can be true for both paid and free VPN services, but be particularly wary of free VPNs.

4. Reduced Internet Speeds

Encrypting and routing your traffic through a VPN server can slow down your internet connection. While premium VPNs strive to minimize this impact, some speed reduction is often inevitable. That can be particularly challenging on public WiFi services that were slow to start with.

5. Increased Data Consumption

VPN encryption can lead to slightly higher data usage, which might be a concern for users with limited data plans.

6. Limited Protection Against Malware

VPNs primarily protect your data in transit but don't offer protection against malware or phishing attacks. It's essential to use additional security measures, like antivirus software, to stay protected.

Yeah, those all sounds pretty bad. But what is that like in the real world? Our story:

Air Canada - I was flagged by the airline as a fraud risk two months ago in the middle of booking our June flights from Vienna, Austria to Mexico City while logged into a VPN. We were staying in a short term apartment rental in San Miguel de Allende. My default is to turn on my VPN whenever I use financial accounts online and I don’t personally know how secure the WiFi may be. My Air Canada account was locked right after I had transferred a huge number of American Express points to Air Canada to take advantage of an amazing deal for essentially two “free” flights in business class. I had to call the airline and talk to 2 agents before finding out why I had been locked out and what to do next. I had to submit a photo of me holding my passport to the fraud department for Air Canada to unlock my account. The process took two days… and thankfully that smoking points points/miles deal was still available when I was able to get back into my account.

Iberia, Volaris, and Viva Aerobus - these Spanish and Mexican air carriers will not even allow their websites to load on my computer, tablet, or phone if a VPN is turned on.

Apple iPhones - we recently spent a lot of quality time at the Apple Genius Bar in- Charleston, SC when my new iPhone went kaput. Our Apple Genius, Harold, told us that “99% of the iPhone issues I see are because someone installed a free VPN and didn’t know it would mess up their phone.” He said we were one of only two people he had ever met with a legitimate reason to use a VPN.

Hulu, Prime, Paramount+, and Peacock - these streaming services regularly detect we are using a VPN and deny our ability to log in using US VPN addresses. We’ve also heard Netflix and Disney+ are also actively detecting VPNs and denying access to content, but in our experience, these have been easier to bypass. We can sometimes get in by logging in and out of these streaming services using various VPN locations in the US until we get lucky… or sometimes not.

Empower (formerly Personal Capital) & Bank of America - we use Empower as a personal finance dashboard. It works great … except we get caught in a never ending buffering cycle when using a VPN to log in. Log in works in seconds when we turn off our VPN - so this really defeats the purpose of using a VPN to log into sensetive financial services. And while we personally haven’t experienced any issues directly with our banks or investment firms, we’ve read reports that Bank of America will block connections from VPNs.

But the worst one we’ve experienced so far….

Google Voice - this is a very popular, essentially free, but critical, VOIP service for many travelers, expats, and nomads to get or maintain a US phone number, particularly for 2FA with financial institutions. But using a VPN could potentially get you shut out and your phone number confiscated by Google Voice. I lost my US phone number of over 15 years after using Google Voice with a VPN on Christmas day, 2022 in the middle of wishing friends and family a happy holiday. Suddenly, everything Google stopped working - including the email address associated with my Google Voice account. I as finally able to regain access to my email later that day, but I was completely shut out of Google Voice and Google’s only response was that I was permanently banned from use of their service and that they did not have to provide any additional explanation. I appealed twice to Google over the following weeks (the maximum number of times allowed), and twice to the US Federal Trade Commission, and I was denied with no explanation. I have since learned that Google Voice is designed to be used primarily within the United States. Attempting to use it with a VPN while physically located outside the US could trigger Google's anti-fraud or anti-spam measures, potentially leading to account suspension or termination.

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So should you or shouldn’t you use a VPN?

Treat a VPN like a power saw - when you do use one, make sure you know what the heck you are doing. VPNs can offer enhanced online privacy and help you access restricted content. However, they're not a one-size-fits-all, plug and play solution. Understanding their limitations and dangers is important to ensure you don’t have any surprises online while trying to be safe and secure. If you're on a home WiFi network and don't have concerns about your ISP tracking your activity, a VPN might not even be necessary at all.