Are Free VPNs Safe? Why You Should Be Cautious When Downloading 'Free' VPNs

When it comes to protecting your online privacy, free VPN software can seem like an attractive option. After all, who wouldn't want to enjoy complete anonymity without spending a penny? However, the truth is that free VPNs often come with significant limitations and risks.

'Free VPN Software for Mac'

Our top-rated VPN is ExpressVPN, but if you're looking to save some money we'd recommend Surfshark. If you want the best experience possible, we'd recommend signing up to a paid provider. Almost all impose some sort of data limit, speed caps, and restrict you to a handful of servers at best.

What's more, these could be harvesting your data – exactly the opposite of what you want from a VPN. Beyond any risk to your privacy, though, it's important to understand that every free VPN comes with limitations, even the good ones. While there are a few decent ones, they're vastly outnumbered by dubious, ad-filled apps with no background and no privacy policies.

It all boils down to which free VPN you choose. View Deal (opens in new tab) for our top-rated providers.

Don't think it's worth your money? Just claim a full refund – no questions asked. While they are paid products, they include 30-day money-back guarantees, which allow you to trial them risk-free for a month.

The three providers below – ExpressVPN (opens in new tab), Surfshark (opens in new tab) and NordVPN (opens in new tab) – are our highest-ranked VPNs overall. Just make sure to do your research and choose wisely – and don't expect to be able to unblock streaming sites.

However, if you're just looking for infrequent basic protection, they can be useful tools to have at hand. It's a fact of life that you get what you pay for, and no free VPN for PC or mobile can match the best VPN services. Many are known to sell your data, and often provide no VPN protection at all.

It's also worth mentioning that if you're thinking of downloading the first free VPN you find on the App Store, don't. The best are 'freemium', meaning that you'll get unlimited usage of a restricted version of the full paid product. However, as is to be expected, there are actually very few free VPNs that are worth downloading, and even those are significantly restricted in terms of servers, speeds, and general performance.

Free VPNs have to support themselves somehow, so it's important that you understand exactly how the provider can afford to offer its services without taking your money. A free VPN sounds perfect – complete online anonymity without spending a penny. But beware: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Free vpn software for mac