Most free mobile VPN apps are dangerous, even if they are highly rated by millions of users. Why? This is because according to the recent security research in the US, 40% of free VPN apps that are available in Play Store are embedded with malware. Tested with various antivirus programs, these free VPN apps are exposed to have hidden malware inside the apps, while fooling the users into thinking that they are browsing the internet privately.
Taking Care Of Your Mobile Security
Many mobile users are not willing to pay for apps that they can download on Play Store. It is the same when they are trying to find a VPN service for their mobile devices. They will try to find free VPN services that they can use, so that they can unblock online restrictions in their mobile devices for free. Unfortunately, many of these free mobile VPN services have a hidden agenda, and they are not simply there to help protect the internet activity of their users.
Many cases of fraudulent activities have been found after the users decided to use the free mobile VPN services, starting from stealing your data, sending spam emails, showing random advertising, and unauthorized login attempts. Here are the reasons why you should not use a free VPN for your mobile devices:
1. When It Is Free, You Are The Product
There is nothing really free in the world of virtual private networks. Remember that a company needs to pay an ongoing charge to maintain their private servers, and there is no reason for them to give the service completely free, unless there is a big catch. The big catch here usually involves turning their free users as a product for the company in order to really monetize their service. It actually means that the VPN company will use the user’s data and sell it to the third-party, and often, the data they sell are the sensitive information of their users.
2. It Allows Third-Party To Track Your Internet Activity
Free VPN service providers, especially on mobile devices, have been known to embed hidden tracking data into their apps. This is the fact that has been confirmed by many security researchers. It means that free VPN on mobile devices is not the best way for you to stay anonymous on the net. You are actually giving your browsing data and internet activity to the third-party, which will then utilize such data to bombard you with advertising, hijack your browser, send malware to your device, and other unscrupulous activities.
3. It Is Embedded With Malware
A security research has been done to analyze more than 250 free VPN apps on Android, and the results were astonishing. More than 40% of free VPN apps actually have malware hidden within their apps, ready to attack the users when they use the apps. Some of the malware is used to steal your bandwidth, while some others are used to steal your sensitive data, such as your credit card information. Considering that most online banking activities are done via mobile devices, you should be more aware about this fact.
4. It Doesn’t Work At All
While 40% of the free VPN apps have malware embedded into the app’s source code, another big chunk of the free VPN apps that are available for mobile devices are simply fake apps. They actually do nothing. They only show you the app interface resembling a legit VPN application. When you tap to connect to the VPN servers, it shows the graphical interface just like any other apps, but what really happens is that it does nothing. It is there to fool millions of people into downloading it, so that they can show ads within their apps and make money off the ads.
5. It Is Slow With Nonexistent Customer Support
Of course, there is a very small percentage of free VPN apps that truly provides you with security and protection for your browsing activity. They make money off the ads that are displayed on their apps, but they don’t have any malware embedded or malicious intention toward their users. You can actually use these apps safely on your mobile devices, but there is one big catch. The servers are painfully slow, and there is no customer service provided for the apps at all. The reason why the VPN connection is so slow is because they are sharing the connection with lots of people at the same time, and there is nothing you can do about it.
Those are the reasons why you should not use a free VPN for your mobile devices. If you want to take care of your mobile security, it is better for you to use a real VPN connection that not only offers privacy and security on your desktop, but also for your mobile devices as well. Those free mobile VPN apps are not worth the risk at all.
