Say whatever you want – no one likes having a lot of apps on their iPhone.
While iPhones are versatile and relatively robust (well, maybe not their screens), having a lot of apps drains your smartphone’s CPU and battery. So why would you want to add an iPhone VPN to the list?
Truth be told, it’s not so much a matter of wanting as it is of needing. And yes, we do think the importance of having an iPhone VPN warrants calling it a need! TheVPNShop.com compares iPhone VPNs to allow you to make an educated decision on which VPN suits your needs.
What is a VPN?
If you’re not already familiar with VPN technology, here’s a quick introduction.
Virtual Private Networks are exactly that – a private network with protocols setup to make sure no one can see the data being shared.
(Except for the people who need to, of course.)
Many businesses use private networks (which are now more commonly referred to as intranets) for internal documentation. Employees have to log into a work account to access this documentation, which includes information about the company and their services that the public doesn’t need to know.
A VPN works in kind of the same way. It basically hides your IP address and encrypts all of the data you’re sending and receiving from your iPhone. This way, only you and the servers you’re communicating with (whether it be a website you’re visiting or an online game you’re playing) can see that data.
Essentially, the VPN acts as a middleman to help keep your private data private and your personal identity relatively anonymous.
1. An iPhone VPN Helps You Stay Safe on Public WiFi
Public WiFi seems great – mostly because it’s free. And when you’re in a pinch, that convenience really is awesome!
But it comes at a price.
Most public WiFi networks are unsecured, which means connecting to them leaves you totally vulnerable to digital eavesdropping by others on the same network.
It’s also surprisingly easy for cybercriminals to perform WiFi spoofing, whereby they make their device look like a WiFi connection. When you connect, instead of using the venue’s WiFi, you’re actually sending all your online data through the hacker’s computer.
This makes it absurdly easy for them to swipe information like your login details and credit card details.
However, when you add an iPhone VPN to the mix (and even if cybercriminals are intercepting your data packets), all they’re going to see is a bunch of indecipherable gibberish.
Thank you VPN encryption!
2. It Can Also Help You Avoid Phishing Attacks
One of the more subtle, yet malicious ways cybercriminals take advantage of unsecured public WiFi is by using it to send malware to other devices on the same network. It’s not as easy as sending a text, of course – but it can be done in a number of ways.
And they don’t need you to be connected to public WiFi to perform phishing attacks.
Phishing attacks are a form of Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) cyberattacks, the same way WiFi spoofing is. However, instead of routing your online connection through their own device, cybercriminals redirect you to fake websites that look similar to legitimate ones.
Once you log in, they have your account details. Bye-bye savings!
A VPN isn’t going to protect you from all phishing attacks. You’re still going to need to use antivirus software, password managers, 2-factor authentication, and good old common sense.
But a VPN can boost that protection.
Let’s say you’re surfing online and try to visit Twitter. Without a VPN, anyone snooping on your online activities can see what you’re doing. They might step in and redirect you to a phishing site that looks and acts like Twitter, but is really just helping them steal your login details.
Add a VPN to the mix and the encryption standards ensure the cybercriminals don’t know you’re trying to connect to Twitter. They make a guess and redirect you to… PayPal.
You’re immediately going to be suspicious and leave the site. You wouldn’t even need to check the URL and see it’s not really PayPal.
Plus, some of the best iPhone VPNs have built-in firewalls that won’t even let the phishing site load in the first place!
3. Your ISP – and Apple – Won’t Be Able to Spy on You
Are you ready for a couple of (potential) shocks?
Your ISP is actively spying on you. Everything you do online is routed through their servers – and they’re legally allowed to sell that information to anyone willing to pay.
They don’t even need to tell you what they’re doing or get your permission to do it. You just have to trust the only thing they’re doing is selling your browser history to advertisers.
Except – that’s definitely not all they’re doing…but more on that in a second.
You probably also think Apple is a great champion of individual user rights, especially when it comes to online privacy. After all, the company’s been known to make huge splashy headlines every time a government agency wants access to an iPhone’s data.
But it’s a complete sham. It’s nothing more than very clever marketing.
Granted, an iPhone is more secure and more privacy-oriented than most alternatives, like Android. But here’s the thing: Apple has been actively handing user data over to the NSA for years.
In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked classified NSA documents in the public’s best interest. The leaks showed just how all-pervasive government surveillance is, not only in the US but globally.
They also showed ISPs and companies like Google, Microsoft, and – you guessed it – Apple are members of a surveillance initiative called PRISM. And PRISM is all about collecting your private data and handing it over to the NSA to make their surveillance efforts that much easier.
You can’t stop them from doing this, unfortunately. But you can make that data harvesting virtually useless by using a VPN to securely encrypt all your data.
4. Sweetening the Deal
Now that you know why you need an iPhone VPN, let’s briefly mention some of the other benefits that will sweeten the deal for you:
- Your ISP isn’t just spying on you – when they decide you’ve been using too much bandwidth, they start throttling your connection. A VPN stops them from seeing what you’re doing online, which can help prevent throttling. This isn’t guaranteed though!
- What is guaranteed is you’ll be able to bypass geo-location blocks by connecting to a VPN server in any country of your choice (assuming your provider has one available, of course). And that means you can watch shows or even play games that aren’t available in your region!
- Similarly, a VPN will allow you to bypass online censorship. It doesn’t matter if that censorship is imposed by your school/workplace’s firewall or by the government. You might not think this is important if you’re not living in a country like China, but you’ll be surprised at just how many websites and iPhone apps are censored in the US and UK too.
Do You Really Need an iPhone VPN?
As I’m sure you can appreciate, the answer is most definitely a resounding YES!
Here’s the problem though: which VPN should you use?
Most people don’t know what to look for in a reliable VPN. And unfortunately, that’s only made it easier for fake iPhone VPN apps to crop up.
Fake or otherwise bad VPNs are also often promoted by VPN comparison sites that care more about making money than helping you find the right provider.
This is a major issue legitimate VPNs are actually working together to help stop, because it’s putting your online privacy at risk and giving the industry a bad name.
Luckily, there’s a VPN comparison site that doesn’t tell you which iPhone VPN to use.
TheVPNShop.com simply makes recommendations, helps you understand what you should be looking for, and then gives you absolute control over which VPN providers you want to compare so you can find the best iPhone VPN app for YOUR personal needs.
