VPN Vs. Proxies: Which Is Best For Everyday Users?

Protecting your privacy when browsing the internet is a necessity rather than an option. While the websites you visit have privacy policies, you are still being tracked across multiple websites by advertising networks and the websites themselves. It doesn't take long for your profile to be built and your browsing history to be monetized.

There are several solutions to consider when protecting your privacy online, with VPN and proxy servers being the most prominent ones. Both serve a specific function: to mask your actual IP address and prevent websites from tracking you. Which is better? How do the two compare? This article addresses these questions.

VPN Or Proxy?

There is no simple answer to this question, but most users will find proxies the more suitable solution for their needs. Proxies perform better and offer better features that help protect your online privacy. Due to its OS-level nature, a VPN is more suitable for applications requiring advanced security or one-to-one tunneling due to its OS-level nature.

Proxies offer two additional benefits for everyday users: a lower service cost and better integration with browsers and favorite apps. You don't have to spend a fortune to get a reliable and secure private proxy service, and the options are endless. You should also learn more about private proxies if you're unsure.

A VPN For Everyday Use

A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a way to connect to the rest of the internet through an intermediary. You use tunneling to connect to the VPN server and then browse the internet as if you were using the VPN server as your device. Websites will see the IP address of the VPN server, but they will not be able to track your IP address directly.

While a VPN is easy to use and can be suitable for everyday users, there are concerns surrounding the use of VPNs for privacy. VPNs log your web activities too, and not all VPN providers are clear about their logging policies. With a VPN, you also have limited IP addresses to use. On top of that, you will also be logged when you choose to use a private VPN IP address.

What VPN services are not telling you about data logging can in fact, harm your internet privacy. Recent reports also confirm that the "zero log" policy advertised by many VPN service providers is not entirely true and can be impossible to verify independently. There is also the fact that a VPN forces you to reroute all the traffic from your device.

On the upside, all VPN traffic is encrypted, and connection to the VPN server from your device is secure. This is the advantage of connecting on the device or operating system level rather than on an application level. The key here is finding a reliable VPN service provider with a good reputation for upholding their "zero log" policy.

Considering Proxies

An alternative involves using a proxy server to route traffic and protect your privacy. Unlike VPNs, proxies can be used on an application level. This means you can still use your personal connection for services like unified communications or logging in to corporate servers while protecting your privacy browsing the web using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or other browsers.

Proxies may not offer the same level of encryption as VPNs, but they provide additional advantages that more than make up for the application-level nature. For starters, there are now rotating proxies that automatically cycle your public IP address. This adds an extra layer of privacy to your web browsing experience.

You also can use private proxies, which are designed to safeguard proxy users further. Private proxies have clearer privacy policies, better transparency about logging and traffic routing, and even better performance, in general. Thanks to the multiple backbones they typically use, private proxy servers can easily prevent websites and ad networks from tracking your online behavior.

Performance is a huge advantage here. Compared to VPNs, proxies are more reliable and perform better in general. There is no need to encrypt and decrypt data packets, and the whole system doesn't rely heavily on the device's performance. In fact, many proxies let you browse the web faster and more reliably.

This is because proxy servers also incorporate compression, reverse caching, and other technologies that serve two purposes: boost performance (and improve browsing experience) and better protect proxy users from tracking and privacy risks. The combination is better suited for everyday use, making proxies the more suitable option for most.

In the end, which option is best depends on your specific needs and use cases. Now that we have compared the two, you can make a better and more informed decision.