Best VPN for Mobile – 7 Benefits of Protecting Your Phone

Now that people from all over the world are working from home, VPNs have become a hot topic. Everyone knows the significance of VPNs for working from home on laptops and desktops, and there’s the expected debate about which VPN is best and why. However, there is one question that often gets ignored in these debates: Should you use a VPN on your smartphone?

The simple answer to this question is a big YES (hence the capitalization). This article delves into the nitty-gritty behind our answer. First of all, we’ll discuss the significance of mobile security for every user. Afterward, we’ll delve into the unexpected benefits of having a VPN on your mobile device. In the last part, we’re going to share our recommendation for the best VPN for mobile phones and the reasons we prefer it to other VPNs on the market.

Let’s start with a few basics! 

What is a VPN

VPN means a Virtual Private Network. In non-technical terms, a VPN is a middleman between you and the internet. Like a guard or a gatekeeper. We think it’s a lot easier to understand if you think of it that way.

When you connect with a VPN service, it sends and receives internet traffic on your behalf, essentially becoming a gateway. The traffic is encrypted so that only the two parties communicating have access to use it. This means that, while the VPN is acting as your middleman/security guard, nobody can look at your online activity. Security is the most important benefit of using a VPN service.

Despite this, most of the time, when people mention a VPN, they’re often referring to the (also excellent) benefit of this feature: that it protects your identity by intercepting all traffic. When you use a VPN, the services you’re using think that the traffic isn’t coming from or going back to your location but from the location of the VPN server. Many VPN services also allow you to select from multiple servers around the globe, all of which you could use as your fake location of origin.

Before we get into discussing the best VPN for mobile phones, let’s talk about why it’s so important to have one.

The Importance of Mobile Security

Smartphones have changed our lives; whether it’s our location information, official communication, social media interactions, internet banking, or other online transactions, every aspect of our life is different (and often better) because of them. And since they’re so useful for literally everything, we end up sharing very sensitive data on these devices. That is why these tools have become the prime target for cyber attacks, but the best VPN for mobile phones will dramatically reduce your risk while browsing.

Let’s take a look at these vulnerabilities individually:

Location Data

Perhaps the most private thing on your smartphone is your location data. It links your physical self with the digital you. Sure, various mobile apps (like Google Maps) utilize this data and make life easier for you. But the problem arises when apps that don’t need your location want it (Hey Goodreads! we’re looking at you). Now imagine a hacker getting access to your location data when you are not at home. It’s easy to imagine how that can turn into a problem.

Official Communication

Official correspondence is mostly something we do for work, which, as any tech-savvy company knows, puts the business’s confidential internal information at risk. However, when we use mobile phones for official communication, we handle it very casually. We are often messaging on apps like Slack, responding to emails, and sharing office documents through various online channels.

This can be very potentially dangerous for any business. Imagine a competitor getting hold of your consumer trends and other sensitive information! This is why so many companies mandate that you have a VPN for working from home. Ideally, this should include the best VPN for mobile phones.

Social Media

According to the Digital 2020 July Global Snapshot of DataReportal, 3.91 Billion social media users access different social sites via their mobile phones. Further, 99 percent (!) of the total social media users utilize a mobile phone. These numbers are enormous. By using these platforms as delivery mechanisms, hackers can steal user information like photos, addresses, banking information, passwords, and tons of other potentially damaging data.

Mobile Banking

Similarly, in 2018, a Citi Mobile Banking Survey showed that 31 percent of consumers in the USA utilize mobile banking apps. This was one of the biggest uses of mobile phones, only trailing behind social media users (55 percent) and weather checkers (33 percent). The situation is very similar across the globe – especially the developing and emerging markets. People prefer making their transactions online rather than visiting banks physically. 

Given the risk involved with mobile banking, we’d recommend using the best VPN for mobile you can find.

eCommerce

Last but not least, mobile phones have changed the way people shop. More and more people are opting for eCommerce instead of visiting stores in person. The US eCommerce sales have increased by a record jump of 44.4% in Q2 of 2020. In December last year, a survey by mobile video ad network AdColony showed that smartphones are the most popular choice for online shoppers (56 percent). These numbers must have continued to increase steadily up to today. 

All this discussion brings us to one conclusion: mobile security should not be taken lightly. In fact, it is one of the most important things you need to be considering right now, and only the best VPN for mobile will do. 

Benefits of Using the Best VPN for Mobile on Android or iPhone

There are many benefits of using the best VPN for mobile service on your phone. We’re only discussing a few in the following paragraphs. Read on!

Secure Use of Public WiFi

Smartphones are frequently used to access public WiFi networks. Even on password-protected grids, your device is visible to other connected users. For example, a hacker can access the same public metro network you are on, and hack the traffic, including yours. However, if you are using a VPN on your smartphone (whether Android or iOS), the encrypted data will be harder to hack. This way, a VPN allows you to have secure use of public WiFi networks.

Protection of Online Transactions

When you use online banking apps, you’re putting your entire life savings on the line. Online shopping and purchasing apps like Amazon, Shopify, and Groupon present a similar threat. As you send your private financial information over the internet, you can never be a hundred percent sure of its security. While these companies utilize their own protection mechanisms, these mechanisms have been known to fail. Using the best VPN for mobile gives you another layer of protection with unique encryption protocols.

Voice and Video Chat Security

Mobile phones are often used for voice and video calls – unless you’re among the increasingly common group of people who are averse to making calls. So all of your chats – whether voice or video – over Google Hangouts, Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp, Facetime, and even WiFi calls, etc. can have unwanted listeners. The best VPN for mobile help with video and voice chat security. It ensures no unauthorized person or organization (not even your ISP) can just sneak in and record your conversation. 

Location Privacy

Broadcasting your location when you’re out of the home can be problematic. VPN servers effectively hide your location and stand in as your representative on the interwebs. Since your geographic data comes from another place, your actual location remains hidden from any hackers or organizations. Most of all, the best VPN for mobile services does not keep a record of your location. Therefore your records remain permanently hidden.

Circumvent Geo-Restrictions

Another benefit of having a VPN on your mobile phone is circumventing geo-restrictions. Some services and websites can only be accessed from specific locations. To do this, your default connection utilizes local servers in the region to determine your location. It means you cannot access some home content while traveling and international content while at home.

On the other hand, the best VPN for mobile allows you to server-switch to any location you want, opening a whole new selection of videos and music on sites like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube.

Stop Targeted Ad Campaigns

Digital marketers use different tools to collect personal user information such as a person’s Facebook likes, Twitter shares, recent Google searches, and so on. Based on this information, they send you specific advertisements. Using the best VPN for mobile can help you cut them off from your personal information and stop any targeted ad campaigns. Plus, it keeps your interests or searches history hidden from prying eyes. 

Eliminate Corporate Data Breaches

When working away from home, you may need access to crucial corporate information. These files and folders require a safe connection to protect corporate data and eliminate any breaches. Many organizations will not even allow you to log into the network without proper safety (each organization has different security protocols). A top-tier, best VPN for mobile employs different encryption techniques to lessen the chances of a data breach, thus protecting you from leaking valuable company info.

Our Recommendation: Best VPN for Mobile Phones

Now that you understand the significance and benefits of having a VPN for your mobile phone (Android or iOS) let’s turn to a frequently asked question: What’s the best VPN for mobile devices? After thorough research and testing various VPN services, we have come to the conclusion that IPVanish is the best available option. Here’s why:

1. The primary reason we prefer IPVanish, as the best VPN for mobile over other VPN services is that it follows a stringent no-logs policy. This may come as a surprise, but not all VPN services offer this service. Most of them keep a record of your online activity and oftentimes share that information with third parties, like advertisers or law enforcement agencies when and if needed. IPVanish is different. It guarantees that your online activity remains hidden from any third party. 

2. We’ve listed all the secondary reasons below: 

• Very user-friendly and easy-to-install apps for all of your devices
• Instant access to the world’s fastest VPN (no joke!)
• More than 40,000 shared IPs, 1,500+ VPN servers in more than 75 locations worldwide
• Unthrottled speed
• 256-bit AES encryption to keep your data safe
• SOCKS 5 web proxy
• Access to censored apps, services, and websites
• Utilizes IKEv2, OpenVPN, & L2TP/IPsec protocols
• Unmetered connection
• 24 hours a day, 7 days a week friendly customer support
• 30 days money-back guarantee

Final Thoughts

In our opinion, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be using a VPN on your smartphone. In fact, it is often more important than having one on your PC. This is because your smartphone has more private information (such as your tracked location) than your laptop (or desktop) will ever have. So, download IPVanish, the best VPN for mobile, and be safe!

To be clear, even though we have our own vote for what is the best VPN for mobile, and we feel pretty strongly about it, almost any paid VPN will be better than nothing. Free VPNs are dangerous and we do not recommend them to anyone.

If you need some extra help our guide will show you how to install a VPN on any device.

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