Travelling can be a pain when you find that certain sites are blocked or when you can’t find Secure Wi-Fi anywhere.

Whether you’re traveling for fun, work, or an emergency, keeping yourself secure online should be your top priority. 

Luckily, VPN apps can secure your online Connection and protect your information from being stolen online. Here’s how a VPN can help you stay safe out there. 

It hides your online activity.

Unfortunately, some countries ban certain websites and speech online, which could land you in hot water if you accidentally say the wrong thing on a platform under government surveillance.   

A VPN hides everything you do online by sending your data through an encrypted tunnel. Neither the government nor the ISP, hotel, bar, or building can see what you’re doing, which is great for protecting yourself in unknown territories. 

Another benefit worth mentioning is that a VPN also hides your IP address, which is used to identify your device and location on the internet.

So, nothing can be linked to you personally either.    

It makes public Wi-Fi safe. 

Finding an internet connection when you’re in a bazaar in Delhi or trekking in Norway isn’t easy.

When you do, you’re not going to wait around. But, take a minute to secure yourself before you connect. 

Internet connections are unsecured by default, which means that hackers who might be lurking in the network could steal your data.

You’re also in danger of the people sitting near you because someone could hijack your connection and get into your device.

Once they’ve hacked your device, they can spread dangerous malware and spyware, which could unravel your digital life.

If you switch on your VPN app, it’ll secure your connection instantly, keeping you safe from data theft. 

It unlocks Netflix.

OK. So we know that the whole point of traveling is to get away from the daily grind of TV shows, but sometimes you need a good movie on your rest days.

You might not know this, but the content on Netflix changes depending on what country you’re in. Likewise, BBC iPlayer, SkyTV, or HBO can only be viewed in certain countries.

Geo-restrictions like this can all be bypassed with a VPN since VPNs let you spoof your location. One of the lesser-known things a VPN does is change your location.

The best VPNs give you plenty of servers around the world to connect to, which makes websites think you’re based in that country.

So, if you want to watch BBC iPlayer in Cuba or Sky Sports in Australia, all you have to do is connect to a server in that country from the VPN’s inbuilt menu.

You can also discover some incredible foreign films this way. 

Get cheaper flights and shopping deals.

One of the other benefits of being able to change your location is cheaper Shopping Deals. And who doesn’t need that?

If you need to book a flight ahead from Spain to Morocco, it might be cheaper if the website thinks you’re a customer from Spain. 

This might sound unfairly discriminatory, but websites track your location and habits with cookies, which is how they decide what prices to show you.

(They can tell whether you’re a returning customer, whether you’ve booked or not, and where you’re booking from).

So, because a VPN hides your activity, it also prevents website and ISP tracking, including your searches.

No matter how many times you search for flights, they won’t suddenly hike the prices up based on what you search for. 

Ready to get a VPN? 

With so much of our lives tangled up on the internet, like our finances, health records, and social security, online protection is about protecting yourself.

Scammers may spend months building a profile on you by collecting pieces of your identity online, while online surveillance is only getting worse. So, it’s best to get a VPN before you go off into the world. 

One of the more popular choices is NordVPN, which you can use on up to 6 devices – from smartphones to laptops.

They also have a massive global network of servers in 59 countries, so you can still enjoy top speeds wherever you might be. NordVPN is currently on offer with 68% off, which works out at the same price as a cup of coffee per month.

If you’re about to set off on your next adventure, remember to take care of the seemingly small things too.

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This story is brought to you in partnership with NordVPN.

Last Updated on May 13, 2021 by Dave

The post Why You Should Use a VPN When You Travel appeared first on Go Backpacking.