How and When to Use a VPN

Virtual private networks (better known as VPNs) are supposed to make your web browsing and other online activities more private by hiding the data going to and from your phone or PC. 

But as The Wall Street Journal reports, VPN software doesn’t always stop internet-service providers, hackers and even the VPN companies themselves from collecting lodes of user data. 

When you’re online, your internet-service provider knows your location, the apps you download, the websites you visit and how long you stay on each site. Companies that provide internet service might use that information about you to improve their products, but they can also sell it to marketers.