VPNs are getting increasingly popular and Black Friday is the best moment of the year to get one of the best VPN apps yourself at a bargain price if you haven’t yet.
Some of the top providers are seriously dropping their pricing with their Black Friday VPN deals, becoming even better value for money. Not convinced, yet? I’ve worked with VPNs for years, here are my top six reasons why you should get a VPN this Black Friday before it’s too late.
1. The cheapest deals you can get
Let’s start with the obvious – on Black Friday, you can get some top-tier VPN providers for a very low price.
This year, for example, even ExpressVPN – a long-time entry among our list of tried and tested best services – has entered the Black Friday deals market for the first time with a jaw-dropping discount of up to 82% on its normal prices.
TechRadar’s favorite pick NordVPN has also seriously axed its prices, alongside our best cheap VPN provider, Surfshark, Private Internet Access (PIA), PrivadoVPN, Proton VPN, and some other big names.
2. Take back control over your online privacy
Every time you access the internet, you leave behind digital footprints that can be traced back to you. These include the device you’re using, your approximate location, your IP address, and your browsing history.
A VPN hides your IP address, routing your connection through one of its many servers. Doing so ensures that your online activities remain (pretty much) anonymous. At the same time, all of your data is routed through an encrypted tunnel that prevents hackers, your internet service provider (ISP), your workplace or school, and even the government from accessing the content of what you do online.
Using a VPN is especially crucial when connected to public Wi-Fi as hackers may exploit these unsecured networks to compromise your device.
3. Enjoy international streaming
From Netflix and BBC iPlayer to Amazon Prime and Now TV, all streaming platforms apply geo-restrictions on their content catalogs. This means that, depending on where you are in the world, you’ll be able to watch different programs.
This is where a streaming VPN comes in handy. By spoofing your IP location, you can use your streaming service to keep up with your favorite shows while you’re traveling abroad by connecting to servers in your home nation.
To watch US-based content, for instance, all you need to do is connect to a VPN server in New York, L.A., or any other available city. Likewise, pick one scattered across the United Kingdom if you wish to browse through the BBC iPlayer library.
4. Boost your gaming performances
Online gaming has certainly make this activity way more fun, but can also put gamers’ privacy and performances at risk.
Malicious players have increasingly been using DDoS attacks, for example, to slow down other players by flooding their IP addresses with junk traffic. Hackers may be joining these platforms to hunt for your personal data, too. ISPs might also throttle your bandwidth speeds to manage network congestion.
Again, a gaming VPN can help you stay protected when playing online while squashing ping and latency for maximum performance.
5. Access restricted content
Masking your original IP address and approximate geographical location is even more important if you live somewhere with harsh government restrictions.
While the likes of Russia, China, and Iran enforce strict censorship on their national internet, increasingly more governments worldwide are blocking popular social media platforms during times of political turmoil. Both Mozambique and Mauritius have restricted social media access recently for the first time, for example, with France becoming the first Western democracy to block TikTok in New Caledonia (France’s overseas territory) during antigovernmental protests.
Whether you’re traveling or living in a country at risk of censorship, a VPN is your master key to keep enjoying a free web by bypassing all geo-restrictions within a couple of clicks.
6. Not just a VPN
Subscribing to one of the top VPN providers on the market right now also means you’re getting way more than just a VPN service. As digital threats get more diversified, providers have been adding new tools to offer all-round protection.
Getting NordVPN or ExpressVPN, for example, also means you will be able to enjoy reliable password manager and tracker-blocker tools. Both companies even launched a new identity theft protection service recently, NordProtect and Identity Defender respectively.
It’s worth mentioning that NordProtect only comes with the provider’s more expensive plans, while ExpressVPN’s ID suite comes free of charge alongside the feature-packed VPN for all new customers signing up for ExpressVPN’s new 2-year plan – which is currently a bargain thanks to Black Friday sales.
If you want to check out this year’s Black Friday VPN deals and find the savings for you, check out our full guide before it’s too late.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.