Is it possible to be monitored if you use a VPN?

Is it possible to be monitored if you use a VPN? All of your inquiries will be answered.

Yes, even when using a VPN, you can be monitored in various ways. By leaking DNS or selling your data, a low-quality VPN may even facilitate tracking.

Is it possible to be monitored if you use a VPN?

On the internet, maintaining privacy is getting increasingly difficult. That’s why consumers use VPNs to protect themselves from digital eavesdropping, tracking, data collecting, unwanted advertising, and cybercriminals. But, if you use a VPN, can you be tracked? It’s a reasonable question to ask (well done, you). And I’m here to give you an answer.

When we talk about tracking, what exactly do we mean?

It’s critical to first grasp the meaning of tracking in this context. It consists of three elements:

Is it possible for someone to see that you’re using a VPN?

What information do they have at their disposal?
Is it possible for them to see what you’re doing on the internet?
Let’s have a look at it.

Is it possible to be monitored while using a VPN?

Yes, a VPN can be used to track you. It is, however, considerably more difficult — and much depends on what you, the user, do. Here’s how tracking might look when you have a VPN on, based on the parameters mentioned in the section above:

There are a few ways to detect whether or not you’re using a VPN.
When you share personal information online, it is the quickest method for it to spread.
Knowing what you do online is dependent on malware, cookies, and logging into accounts, in addition to knowing that you’re using a VPN.

Of course, that’s just a gist of how tracking can appear or be accomplished. What are the several ways that you can be monitored online?

Here are some of the most frequent ways to be tracked online, some of which can even overcome a VPN:

Malware
Installing malware on your device by accident might lead to serious problems such as the theft of personal information or even fraud.

Your real IP address is visible to the websites you visit unless you use a VPN, a proxy, a Tor browser, or any other privacy protection tool. Find out what IP address you have.

Cookies
Whether you use a VPN or not, advertisers may track you across the internet via cookies. If you don’t want your browsing habits remembered and stored on the internet, major browsers like Google Chrome allow you to prevent cookies.

Fingerprinting in the digital age
Fingerprinting, which is more intrusive than cookie-based tracking, creates a digital portrait of you by using your computer settings, software, web browser preferences, and other such items.

DNS hiccup
DNS leaks can happen when a VPN or a DNS is not set up correctly and when your device gets hacked. By disclosing your online activity, these leaks potentially jeopardize your privacy. Use a VPN that gives you its own DNS addresses to avoid DNS leaks.

Doxxing
Doxxing is a malevolent behavior in which people reveal private information about another, such as their home location or workplace.

Getting access to your accounts
Even if you use a VPN, Google recognizes you when you connect to your personal Google account and watches your actions on the Google ecosystem.

Putting information out there on the internet
Even if you use a VPN, if you walk around the internet stating, “I’m John Q. User, here’s my true home address,” that information gets public.

An IP address isn’t the only identification on the internet, as you can see. As a result, a VPN isn’t the only way to protect yourself from online attacks. Aside from antiviral software, we should be vigilant about what we share and click on the internet.

Who might be able to tell you’re using a VPN?

You won’t be able to hide the fact that you’re using a VPN from everyone online. However, some people are capable of doing so. Who has access to this data and how do they view it?

Who are they?

Hackers; your ISP (Internet Service Provider); websites or apps (for example, Netflix).
How to do it:

Because your ISP provides you with internet access, they can monitor the connections you make through their servers. It doesn’t mean there are big letters proclaiming that you’re using a VPN, but they could possibly connect the dots based on IP addresses and encrypted traffic.
If you’re using a VPN, several apps and websites won’t let you use their services. They can detect it by blacklisting IP addresses that many people use to connect all over the world. Because this IP appears suspicious to a service provider, it is blocked.

If you connect to a fake open Wi-Fi created by shady people, hackers can see that you’re using a VPN if they try to access your data through an unsecured network (e.g., a public Wi-Fi without a password).
It’s crucial to remember that your ISP or another internet provider discovering you’re using a VPN isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That’s because they won’t be able to see what you’re doing on the internet.

When you use a VPN to connect to the internet, your ISP is only aware that you’re connecting to a VPN server. When you connect to a server, the service sees the server’s IP address rather than your own, thus your true IP address isn’t visible.

Is it possible to hide your VPN traffic?

Your web traffic is hidden by a VPN, while your VPN usage is hidden by an obfuscated server. It’s similar to an invisibility cloak, sometimes known as a stealth VPN.

Where do you go to “obtain” those cryptic servers? Some premium VPN companies, including BLOGVPN, use them. Camouflage Mode is the name given to this feature by BLOGVPN.

Obfuscation is useful for getting through VPN barriers, such as China’s Great Firewall.

Is a free VPN a feasible privacy option?

No, it isn’t. When free VPNs are compared to paid VPNs, the free ones are less secure. Secure VPN solutions necessitate a significant investment of time and resources, which free VPNs simply do not have.

However, maintaining a VPN requires dollars. If people don’t pay for the service, how do they make money? It usually signifies that your personal information is being sold to advertising and marketing firms. These free apps can sometimes be so intrusive that they collect more information about you than just your online habits, transactions, and visited websites. Some people may know your full name, phone number, and even your home address.

If you’re worried about being tracked when using a VPN, I recommend avoiding free solutions.

Is it possible for the government to track you using a VPN?

They can, albeit it is difficult and they are unlikely to want to. The fact is, that federal authorities aren’t interested in casual VPN users. For them to be interested in someone’s VPN behavior, there must be a legal basis.

When federal officials suspect someone of committing a crime, they request connection logs from an ISP. They may approach a VPN provider after detecting VPN connections. If a VPN doesn’t store any logs of its users’ data, it won’t be able to give it away even if it wanted to.

Authorities rarely approach VPN companies because they have a variety of other tools at their disposal to track down a possible criminal. The US government recently revealed that it sends “keyword warrants” to Google, requesting that the internet giant submit names of users and IP addresses that searched for specific words online.

So, while a VPN will keep your IP hidden, if you use your own Google account, it will be recorded. Again, privacy and security are reliant not only on technological methods but also on your own attentiveness.

Is it possible for Google to track you if you use a VPN?

If you use your own Google account to surf with a VPN, Google can monitor you. So, if your Gmail account is [email protected], and you don’t log out when using a VPN, Google tracking remains unaffected. Even though Google doesn’t know your IP, all of your account activity can be tracked just as simply as if you weren’t using a VPN.

This is true for any web service to which you must log in. Pinterest is more concerned with connecting all of your Pinterest activities than with tracking your IP address.

Is it possible for the authorities to follow you if you use a VPN?

The short explanation is that the cops are unable to monitor your real-time traffic. To undertake any sort of tracking, they’ll need to gain your ISP’s permission to release your traffic logs. They may also try to contact your VPN provider to obtain your connection information.

We have a post about police VPN tracking if you want a more detailed explanation.

Is it possible to be traced passively if your VPN disconnects?

If that happens, you are more vulnerable to tracking. When you disconnect from a VPN, your data is no longer encrypted, and your true IP address becomes visible. When you disconnect from a VPN, your ISP has access to your IP address’s activities (e.g., the websites you visit), making you a much easier target for tracking.

The so-called Kill Switch option that certain VPN companies provide is one answer to this problem.

Final thoughts: Can a VPN be used to track you?

It’s difficult, but not impossible, to answer this question. Whether you use a VPN or not, if someone truly wants to monitor you online, they will most likely find a means to do so.

A VPN, on the other hand, protects your browsing behavior. Even those who are aware that you are using a VPN (for example, your ISP, websites you frequent, or even hackers) are unable to access your data, real location, or important information. However, choose a VPN like BLOGVPN that has transparent privacy and no-logs rules.

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