According to a recent survey, the use of VPN services in the United States and the United Kingdom has skyrocketed.
The numbers show that VPN services have indeed become a mainstream product in today’s times.
The survey was performed by Wombat Security to figure out if the recent Investigatory Powers Act in the U.K. and the ISP rights in the U.S. have made any significant changes in the usage of VPN services in both countries.
New Laws Imposed in 2017
This March, the U.S. Congress repealed an important online privacy law and granted internet service providers the freedom to sell their customers’ browsing habits and other data to third-party buyers such as advertisers.
This created an uproar amongst the public because individuals did not want their personal data being shared with corporations.
Similarly, the Investigatory Powers Act was passed in the U.K., which gave authorities the freedom to increase their online surveillance capabilities.
While on one part this might seem like a necessary move, especially given the criminal activities currently taking place on the internet, this act also infringes on the online privacy rights of citizens.
Do People Use VPNs?
In the Wombat Security survey, more than a 1,000 people were asked about their dependency on VPN providers.
Surprisingly, almost 65 percent of people in the U.S. said that they use VPN programs on a personal and professional capacity, whereas in the U.K., nearly 44 percent of people said that they use it.
And 23 percent of U.K. citizens said that they knew about the advantages of such a service but still refrained from using them, whereas only 16 percent of U.S. citizens claimed to not use VPN.
This clearly shows that the people in the United States have integrated the use of VPNs into their daily online lives.
The survey also showed that 33 percent of people in the U.K. and 19 percent of people in the U.S. didn’t even know what a VPN was.
This huge spike in the usage of VPNs is mainly due to the dangerous online environment we all live in today. With each day, more and more people are getting hacked.
Various online scams such as phishing scams, malware attacks and digital identity theft plague the internet today.
Moreover, entire organizations and large corporations are being targeted as well.
This type of intrusion has led people into using services like VPNs, which allow them to stay invisible on the internet.
Utilizing such a service can be beneficial for a variety of online activities such as shopping, protecting your personal data while using public Wi-Fi, getting rid of geo-restrictions and safeguarding yourself from prying eyes.
You’re Never 100% Safe! Use VPN with Caution
Despite the rising popularity of VPN services, it is also important to note that not all such services are effective.
Like any other product out there, there are good ones and bad ones. If you truly value your online privacy, it is essential to find and use only effective and well-tested services.
Most of the free VPN services don’t help you in safeguarding your privacy as much as you think they do. It is wiser to opt for an affordable, but paid service to get the real benefits.