A virtual private network (VPN) is the colloquial term for a service which offers proxy servers, allowing users to mask their connection, though it's important to note that not all services share the same level of encryption or privacy. They are not actually a 'one-step solution' for privacy.¹⁾²⁾

Most people generally use VPNs to circumvent geo-blocked pages or government censorship, hide some activities (e.g. piracy) from their ISP or MNO, and mitigate MitM attacks on public networks.³⁾ You might've heard that they could be used on streaming services, but some have wisened up over the years, and will usually be able to tell by your IP history anyways, so please be wary of such claims.

If you are meticulous, you could look into a VPN's 'no-log' policy, protocol (e.g. OpenVPN, WireGuard), jurisdiction (i.e. preferably not Fourteen Eyes and no key disclosure laws), whether port forwarding is offered, and how deep packet inspection is dealt with. However, this is the wrong place for such questions, consider a self-hosted VPS or SSH SOCKS5 proxy or something.

When you search for VPNs, you will probably be overloaded with options and find a 'review' site that may be sponsored or written by an overpriced service that should be avoided. To alleviate this issue, below is a compact chart of VPN services, things of note (e.g. mobile apps, jurisdiction), and one attempt to provide their pricing plans and number of servers, though this stuff is prone to change since October 2024.

^{Key(s): ✔️ - Self-published app for iOS and Android. ⚠️ - Self-published app for Android only. 🛠️ - Requires third-party app or settings.
5E/9E/14E - Country is considered to be a member of the Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes. KDL - Country has key disclosure laws.
I do not consider a 'money-back guarantee' to be a free trial!}

• CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access (PIA), Zenmate - These were acquired by the British-Israeli company, Kape Technologies, which previously developed adware.⁴⁾
• HideMyAss (HMA) - British^5E jurisdiction. Notably infamous for the LulzSec Fiasco in 2011.⁵⁾⁶⁾
• Hola VPN - Israeli jurisdiction. Major botnet vulnerabilities reported since 2015.⁷⁾⁸⁾⁹⁾
• Hotspot Shield - Statesian^5E jurisdiction. Had a major vulnerability that leaked user data in 2018.¹⁰⁾
• NordVPN - Lithuanian jurisdiction. Data breach in 2018, delayed reporting it.^11)12)13)14)
• Opera Free VPN (Opera VPN) - Come on. You can do better.

• If you want a personal recommendation: I use Mullvad VPN, but only infrequently.

• Do I need a VPN? - A quick tool from IPVN, challenging the aggressive marketing for VPNs.
• DNS Leak Text - This is used to double check your IP, set up a kill switch, etc.