Privacy and VPN tools
Straight answers about what a VPN does, what it costs you in speed, and what it will not protect you from. Every tool here works in your browser and none of them needs an account.
Tools
- VPN speed impact
Your VPN is on and everything feels slower, but you do not know by how much.
- VPN troubleshooter
Your VPN says it is connected but something is not working.
- Public Wi-Fi check
You are about to use a cafe or airport network and want to know what actually matters.
- IP and connection
You want to see what your connection looks like from the outside.
Guidance
- Does a VPN slow your internet?
Yes, a little — and here is how much is normal and how much is worth fixing.
- Why does my VPN keep disconnecting?
The usual causes, and why a kill switch can look like the internet failing.
- Is public Wi-Fi safe?
Safer than the warnings suggest, for reasons worth understanding.
- What can a VPN actually hide?
A short, specific list — and a longer one of what it cannot.
- What can your internet provider see?
Less than you might think, more than they need, and what changes it.
- Free VPN versus paid VPN
What the free ones cost you instead of money, when one is genuinely fine, and what paying actually buys.
- How to test a VPN fairly
Most VPN speed comparisons measure the wrong thing. This is how to avoid that.
Choosing a VPN
- Do you actually need a VPN?
What it does, what it does not, and how to tell which situation you are in.
- Which VPN is fastest?
Mostly decided by your line and the server, not by the logo on the app.
- A VPN for public Wi-Fi
A narrower case than the warnings suggest — and a real one.
- Covering a whole household
Connection limits, running it on the router, and what that costs you.
- Comparing providers
Why there is no league table here yet, and what to measure instead.
Being built
- Browser privacyComing soon
You want to know what your browser reveals about you to every site you visit.
- DNS privacyComing soon
You want to know who can see which websites you look up.
Nothing on this page is sponsored, and no VPN has paid to appear here. If that changes it will be labelled clearly, and the free advice will stay complete without it.