Surfing anonymously and away from prying eyes has become increasingly difficult, especially if we connect our smartphone to unknown public Wi-Fi or 4G: skilled hackers or the telephone operator itself can monitor inbound and outbound traffic, thus tracing our chronology and obtaining valuable information about our habits; in the worst case we can fall victim to phishing or identity theft that can compromise our reputation on the Internet or make us complicit in cybercrime!To avoid these kinds of dangers, it is highly recommended surf on your Android smartphone with the help of a VPN, for use whenever we surf the Internet outside the home. In this guide we will show you how to set up vpn on android and which services to use in order to browse anonymously and securely on any type of Internet connection, with an eye to public wifi hotspots. It should also be noted that VPNs can be useful in bypassing any geographical blocking on internet sites, to be able to freely visit blocked, blacked out or censored sites that do not open in British.
Articolo Index
- What is a VPN
- VPN integration on Android
- Best VPN Services for Android
- Other VPN services for Android
- Free VPN for Android
What is a VPN
The VPN (i.e. Virtual Private Network) is a connection system between two devices (for example our smartphone and any server on the Internet) that offers an additional security system compared to a simple Internet connection: all traffic to and from this connection is protected with a very strong encryption algorithm, so no one can intercept the traffic we are generating as long as the VPN is active. There are several services that offer VPNs with an eye to privacy and anonymity, and allow us to connect to high-speed servers with a different output IP than the one obtained from the telephone operator: not even the latter is capable of able to monitor our traffic and we will be able to really safe and trace-free surfing on the Internet.
Obviously like anything else that works over the Internet, we will have to choose a reliable VPN service, which in turn does not monitor or keep traces of our activity and which offers a high speed, to the point of not noticing the difference compared to a "smooth connection. ". Fast servers cost money, so it is no coincidence that the best services are paid: luckily, many VPN services offer apps with free connection or limitations on the amount of traffic, more than enough for an occasional connection or to be able to try a service first. to proceed with the actual purchase.
To learn more about the potential of a VPN, we invite you to read our guide on how to connect PCs remotely and control them via VPN.
VPN integration on Android
In the latest versions of Android, VPNs are managed directly by the operating system, showing a notification whenever a new VPN service is available and showing an icon (in the shape of a key or with the word VPN) at the top of the screen, so as to to know at any moment if we are actually surfing with a VPN network.
We will not even have to make complicated configurations, since it is sufficient to install the app of the favorite VPN service, start it and accept the warning message that will appear on our smartphone.
At the moment it is possible to exploit one VPN service at a time on Android: to check the VPN services added to the system and choose from time to time which one to start, simply open the app Settings and look for the menu VPN. In the screen that opens, we can see all the VPN services configured by the various apps installed on the smartphone, plus a button for manually configuring a VPN. Given the abundance of ready-to-use services, we can also avoid manually configuring a VPN and immediately use one of the free services available in the second part of the guide.
Best VPN Services for Android
After seeing how the VPN system is integrated on Android, let's see together the best VPN services we can take advantage of on our trusty Android smartphone. We preferred to report only the services that offered a free trial version or a limited service (a certain amount of GB or time available), so that you can test all the services and decide independently which one to activate.
ProtonVPN
ProtonVPN is the best VPN service we can activate on Android, since there is no traffic or speed limit for access to its servers.
ProtonVPN app">Its policy is very transparent in this regard: servers are maintained thanks to users who sign up for a subscription, but 3 servers can also be exploited by free users, without the need to place annoying banners or other methods to earn. Obviously, those who have a subscription will have a greater number of servers available and a higher connection speed, but also by taking advantage of one of the free servers made available to the app we will be able to surf in complete anonymity and without leaving traces on the Internet. If we are interested in the subscription service, we can subscribe to the desired one here -> ProtonVPN Pricing.
ExpressVPN
One of the fastest VPN services in the world is definitely ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN app">ExpressVPN has 160 servers in 94 countries, so we can quickly and easily hide our location and IP by simply selecting the flag of the country we want to appear in. The service is accessible for free with no time limits, no bandwidth limits and with all servers available for 7 days, after which a monthly subscription is required to continue using it. If we are interested in the subscription, we can view the prices here -> ExpressVPN Pricing.
NordVPN
Among the VPNs with the highest number of secure servers, NordVPN certainly stands out.
NordVPN app">With over 5000 VPN servers around the world and technology designed to protect all types of information that is exchanged, NordVPN is undoubtedly a candidate for a prominent place in the Android VPN landscape. Just like ExpressVPN, we can try any server with no traffic limits and choosing any server we want for 7 days, after which we will have to sign up for one of the subscriptions available here -> NordVPN prices.
Avira Phantom VPN
From the manufacturer of the famous antivirus Avira comes a free and fast VPN for Android, namely Avira Phantom VPN.
Avira Phantom VPN App">The service offers a good number of VPN servers to choose from, distributed in various countries, and allows you to activate the VPN automatically every time we connect to a new Wi-Fi network, so as to immediately protect our mobile device. The free version offers unlimited access to bandwidth and server for a maximum of 500 MB per month (resets every month); at the end of the 500 MB, we will be able to continue surfing anonymously by signing up for a subscription directly from the Google Play Store, or by purchasing the subscription from here -> Avira Phantom VPN prices.
TunnelBear VPN
Another VPN service that we recommend you try on an Android smartphone is TunnelBear VPN.
TunnelBear VPN app">With this service we will be able to choose the VPN server to use directly from a map, so as to immediately obtain the desired exit IP and bypass any regional or national blocks. Just like Avira, TunnelBear VPN offers 500 MB per month of free traffic, in which we will be able to get the maximum bandwidth and choose any type of VPN server; in order to get unlimited traffic and the ability to use TunnelBear VPN up to 5 devices, we recommend that you subscribe to one of the subscriptions available here -> TunnelBear VPN prices.
Other VPN services for Android
The ones we have listed above are undoubtedly the best VPN services we can try on Android smartphones; However, there are many other free VPN services available or with more or less felt limitations, and we have decided to list them below:- FinchVPN
- Betternet Hotspot VPN
- Hotspot Shield
- Windscribe VPN
- CyberGhost VPN
- VPN: VyprVPN
Using the free services offered by these VPN apps, we will be able to surf anonymously and for free for over a year without having to pay a dollar; some services even offer unlimited browsing, we will only have to install and use them to be able to browse the Internet while respecting our privacy.
Free VPN for Android
Free VPNs for Android are excellent apps for visiting blocked and blocked sites in British or in other countries, even if they do not guarantee the security of encrypted traffic as the connection data is then used by companies to collect statistics.Among these there are at least three very comfortable, useful and without limitations, which are always worth keeping at hand, which we talked about in other specific articles:
- Opera Browser with VPN
- Aloha Browser with VPN
- CloudFlare to set up a secure DNS
To learn more about the VPNs available for PC, Mac and mobile devices, we invite you to read our guide to best free VPN services and programs for safe and free surfing.
If we want to use the TOR network on Android, we invite you to read our dedicated guide below.
READ ALSO -> Download TOR on Android to surf anonymously from smartphones
How to set up VPN on Android
