You may well have heard about using a VPN on your computer to keep your internet activity safe from snoopers and hackers, but have you ever thought about using a VPN on your iPhone? Since you're here, we're going to guess that's a yes. There are a lot of VPN uses that apply to general daily activities.
Every time you pick up your iPhone to perform a quick Google search, check a location on Maps or browse a website with Safari, it's an opportunity for your data and identity to fall into the hands of people you'd rather it didn't. The very best iPhone VPNs will ensure that doesn't happen.
While it's true that anything you do on 3G, 4G or 5G networks is pretty secure thanks to the encryption that's involved, once you bring Wi-Fi into the equation, that all changes. Unsecured, free Wi-Fi hotspots at cafes and shops are particularly troublesome, but even your ISP can take advantage of your online activity at home, selling your data to third parties for profit.
Considering a huge majority of people use iPhones and smart devices as the main way to access the internet in their free time these days, these issues are very real – and for everyone. We aren't just talking about power users here, even your Gran could benefit from an iPhone VPN.
There are many more advantages to using one of the best VPN services besides the security side of things. It'll allow you to shop smarter, bypass frustrating geo restrictions and avoid prohibitive firewalls. You can even improve your mobile gaming with the help of an iPhone VPN.
Read on for more, plus our pick of the best iPhone VPNs you should try. Like, now.
An iPhone VPN keeps your data secure
Like we said, one of the biggest reasons you should consider using an iPhone VPN is to keep your data and identity secure online. It does this by encrypting your data, masking your iPhone's IP address and re-routing your internet traffic through the VPN's servers, making it anonymous. This prevents hackers, snoopers and even your ISP tracking your online habits and using it to their benefit.
This gives you peace of mind to go right ahead and use those convenient-but-unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots, and browse openly at home, without worrying that third parties will get hold of your personal data.
Get the better of censorship with an iPhone VPN
Believe it or not, there are some countries in the world where the government has a say in the websites you can and can't visit. That includes countries like China, Russia, South Korea and Egypt, and can cover anything from social networks to local media.
That means if you're either living in or visiting these places and want to browse freely from your iPhone, you may come up against some issues accessing the likes of Facebook, YouTube or Skype. You might not even be able to access the App Store.
By using a VPN on your iPhone, you can hide your location, restoring your access to the sites you want to visit. Just be sure to do a bit of research before you go, as not every VPN is going to be capable of working around such tight restrictions.
Get cheaper deals with your iPhone VPN
When you're in the market for something, shopping around online for the best price is all part of the process. However, some companies have allegedly started using some pretty mean tricks to stop this behaviour in its tracks, by upping prices we've already looked at to panic us into a decision.
Flight and holiday companies are particularly bad for this, and it's almost impossible to know if a cost hike is down to a genuine price rise or one that's been put in place to get us to buy sooner.
By using an iPhone VPN you can rest assured that the prices you're looking at are genuine. This is because the VPN masks who you are, so you can have as many visits to the website as you like during the decision process, and it'll never know.
Use an iPhone VPN to bypass geo restrictions
Whether you fancy catching up on your favourite show from your holiday sun lounger, or are trying to while away the time on a work trip abroad, a VPN can ensure you can get access to everything you would from home.
That's because when you're outside of your home country, services like Netflix will offer up regional libraries based on your location, and some services might not work at all.
This is known as geo-blocking, and it's a pain for seasoned travellers who rely on their iPhones for entertainment when they're away from home. Thankfully if you have an iPhone VPN installed, you can mask your location and have the service you're trying to access think you're sat on your sofa at home. In fact, pick your iPhone VPN carefully and you can have a service think you're anywhere in the world.
Of course, you should only ever access the content from the country you have the right to. It's people that don't follow that advice that have caused services to get clever to VPNs, and you'll find some will be blocked. Still, dig around and you can usually find one that'll work to get your fix – just don't rely on it to still be in place for your next trip.
An iPhone VPN can dodge workplace and campus firewalls
If you're using a Wi-Fi network that isn't your own – perhaps you're at work or living on a college campus – you might have come across some browsing restrictions, which can be very annoying indeed.
This is all down to the network administrators, who will have blocked some websites or search terms to comply with their regulations.
Some of these restrictions are there for good reason, and should be respected, but others are unnecessarily heavy handed, blocking social networks and other legitimate content in the process. Some can even impose browsing time limits, which is just unnecessary for adults.
This is often the case if they've used a generic firewall or blocking tool, without customizing what's accessible. Thankfully, an iPhone VPN will help you dodge all of this by hiding your iP address, masking your location and allowing you to access the internet freely.
Improve your iOS gaming with an iPhone VPN
iPhone gaming can be pretty serious business these days, and making sure your connection is running as well as it can do is key to the experience.
A VPN can help in a number of ways. Firstly, by hiding what you're up to. This will prevent your ISP from throttling your connection, which it might do if it thinks your online activity is taking up too much bandwidth. This will basically slow down your connection, which is a killer to any online gaming experience. A VPN will hide your activity so your ISP will be none-the-wiser.
By anonymizing who you are, an iPhone VPN can also help you to sidestep any geo blocking that might prevent you playing from the same region as your friends, plus you can also evade unfair IP bans that you might have found yourself lumbered with. A VPN will help you to get back to your favorite game quicker.
Lastly, by choosing a VPN server closer to the gaming server you're using, you might be able to reduce lag to ensure your reaction times are the very best they can be.
What is the best VPN for iPhone?
When looking for the best iPhone VPN, you need to take a look at the features and pricing that are available to ensure it'll cover your needs.
For example, do you need a VPN provider with servers across the world or just in the US? Make sure your VPN of choice has you covered in that respect, so you aren't disappointed later down the line.
Next, be sure that what you're paying for will provide you with the performance you require, in terms of bandwidth (it's often limited on cheaper and free-to-access VPNs) and in terms of how many of your devices can use it.
Finally, there's cost. This will vary depending on some of the above, but you'll generally pay less if you're able to pay for several months – or even years – up front.
Based on this, some of our favourite iPhone VPNs include ExpressVPN, Surfshark and NordVPN, all of which are long-standing and reliable services, plus offer a good range of features at reasonable prices.
This is our top pick for anyone looking to get started with a VPN. It offers a great mix of speed, reliability, outstanding customer service, and affordability. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee, so give it a shot today.
With plans starting out at about 6 cents per day, it's really hard to skip over Surfshark because it's a paid service. It offers a ton of great features that you'd expect from a VPN provider, and is super simple to use.
NordVPN offers an insane amount of server locations that you can pick from and is one of the best services for unblocking streaming services. It's definitely the most well-known brand in the VPN space right now.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).
2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
