When you visit the official website of some VPN providers, you might notice that they often mention about VPN logs. Some service providers might not make it obvious in their homepage, but they will let you know whether they are keeping some kind of logs in the VPN services or not. Good VPN providers will always make it obvious that they have a no-logging policy to let the users know that their data is safely protected and stay anonymous.
However, almost all free VPN services are keeping logs from their users. They will not mention anything about it in their homepage because they are doing it. They are logging your activity even in your private connection. Some honest service providers might tell you that they are keeping some kind of logs in their service, and the users need to be aware of that when using their private connection. So, what are VPN logs? Here are some things that you need to know about it:
1. Connection Logs Vs. Usage Logs
There are two types of VPN logs. The first type is connection logs and the second type is usage logs. The connection logs deal with tracking of your connection details when using your private network, such as your real IP address and private IP address, as well as the time stamps for your connection activity. It also deals with the tracking of data or bandwidth-related activity, such as the amount of data that you are transmitting over the private connection. On the other hand, the usage logs deal with tracking of your browsing activity, such as the websites that you visit, the files that you have downloaded, and the applications that are used with the private network.
2. Most Free VPN Will Log Your Activity
As you can see, using a VPN service that logs your activity is no different from being tracked by your ISP or government. This is because all of your browsing activities are being monitored by the VPN service provider, which makes it no longer private for you to use. Unfortunately, there are lots of free VPN services that will log your activity, even for the free services that are provided by reputable VPN companies. So, be aware of this.
3. VPN Logs Make Your Private Browsing No Longer Private
While the reason many people use a VPN service is to avoid being tracked by the government and ISP, as well as keeping their online activity private and anonymous, this is not the case when they use the virtual private network services that log their activity. This is because when they use such services, they might be able to escape from the monitoring of the government or ISP, but they cannot escape from the monitoring of the private network service providers. It makes their online activity no longer private, and it beats the purpose of using the private connection in the first place.
4. They Keep Your Log To Comply With Government Regulations
Most VPN services have to keep their user’s logs not because they want to spy on their users, but because of the government regulations. If the services are operating in the countries where every company needs to comply with the government’s rules of data retention, then there is no way such private connection companies can avoid the government regulations. In that way, they have to apply the monitoring process for their VPN users. Of course, most of them will keep the user’s data private, but in the cases where the government need such data, the VPN companies will give the user’s data to the government.
5. It Is Better To Choose A VPN With No Logging Policy
Knowing that VPN logs are no better than ISP tracking or government monitoring, it is always better for you to choose a virtual private network service that has a strict no logging policy. You can usually see this feature on the official website of the private network provider, which you should check if you really care about your own online privacy. By choosing the service that has no logging policy, you can ensure that your online activity is always private and anonymous.
Those are the things that you need to know about VPN logs. Remember that not all VPN providers have the strict no log policy for their service, so you have to know which ones are providing you with the real online privacy protection and which ones are not. Only use the virtual private network service that ensures a strict online privacy and security protection for their users.