Your VPN is probably doing way more than you need it to — here's what actually matters

Your VPN is probably doing way more than you need it to — here's what actually matters Kanika Gogia / MakeUseOf By  Jorge Aguilar Published May 30, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT Aggy is a writer and editor who has worked for many high-traffic digital publications. He's a technology and gaming fanboy who has been a writer, editor, consultant, and computer animator. Sign in to your MakeUseOf account Add Us On Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap It is easy to get lost reading through various privacy policies and marketing pages when trying to choose a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Once you realize how much it is needed , you have to deal with the confusing marketing material. There are too many websites with claims about military-grade protection or total anonymity, and it is hard to tell what actually keeps you private and what is just noise. Most of the time, the features being pushed do not solve the problems they claim to fix. You don't need marketing buzzwords to protect your traffic. You just need to focus on a few features that actually impact your security. Related I stopped using browser VPNs after this—and you should too You should avoid browser VPNs for security and performance reasons. Posts 4 By  Afam Onyimadu Privacy and performance are important You should understand what keeps you private Jack Mitchell / MakeUseOf No logs is a marketing term I see all the time, with no standard definition to enforce it. So every provider can define it however they need. You need to look for evidence to distinguish marketing claims from a true no-logs policy, starting with independent third-party audits. Audits from cybersecurity firms or accounting agencies evaluate the server configurations and code to confirm that no data is being recorded. The best verification com