Commercial VPN services are being aggressively marketed to non-technical users, but routing all traffic through a third-party VPN simply shifts trust from your ISP to the VPN provider — who may be equally or more untrustworthy. Before using any VPN, users should research the provider's jurisdiction, legal obligations, business model, and security practices. Alternatives discussed include relying on HTTPS for data confidentiality, using Tor for stronger anonymity, or self-hosting a VPN with WireGuard or OpenVPN on a rented VPS. Pre-bundled VPN features in browsers like Opera and hardware like Purism's Librem 5 are criticized as irresponsible. General advice includes using an adblocker, sticking to HTTPS sites, and scrutinizing every piece of installed software.
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