A VPN is a must-have if you want security and privacy on the internet. Every time you connect with a server, you give up valuable information like your IP address and location. If you’re on public WiFi, a snoop can monitor your web traffic simply by connecting to the same network. If you’re using Google Chrome, or any other web browser, you need a VPN to keep your personal data private. Here are the best browser extensions to give you a VPN for Chrome free.
Why A VPN for Chrome Free?
Today’s web browsers are built to protect you as much as they can. Companies know that we, the users, want to have control over our personal information, what companies track, and the kinds of ads we see.
Chrome’s Built-In Security Features
Google Chrome has several security features to customize who can see your private data. To customize these settings, you need to open preferences. Then scroll down to the bottom of the menu until you find “Advanced.” When you click on that, you’ll see “Privacy and Security.”
Sync
Sync settings are ways that Google tracks your browsing habits. With these, privacy is a trade-off. The more you secure your data, the fewer features you get from Chrome, especially between multiple devices.
Allow Chrome Sign-In
When you sign in on a Google service, it automatically signs you in for Chrome. Google wants to use your browsing data to improve its search engine and sell ads. If you don’t want Google to connect your browsing data to your Google account, turn this feature off.
Do Not Track
This setting sends a “Do not track” signal to every website you visit. Google says, however, that some websites will still track some of your data for their own purposes.
Payment Methods
Chrome has an option to store your payment methods, like credit cards, on your browser. This feature decides whether Chrome can send that information to a website you visit so you don’t have to fill out the forms by hand.
Manage Security Keys
A security key sets up two-step verification to keep hackers out of your account, even if they have your password.
Site Settings
This menu controls what websites can access what data from your browser. It includes data like your location and features like your computer’s camera. It also manages cookies, which are the biggest privacy concern. Cookies can track you even if you don’t go to someone’s website.
Clear Browsing Data
You can use this feature to clear all the stored browsing data for a period of time. This can clear your browsing history, cookies, saved passwords, and the like. You can clear everything or clear it within these timeframes:
- The last hour
- The last 24 hours
- The last 7 days
- The last 4 weeks
A VPN For Chrome Free
While these security features are nice, they only protect your data once its on your computer. Whenever you connect to a site through Chrome, you will still give out your location and your IP address. A VPN for Chrome free will also keep that private. Plus, it also encrypts the traffic as it leaves your device, so no one can snoop on you.
VPN for Chrome Free
There are a couple ways to set up a VPN to keep your private data private. One way is to use a browser extension, which will give you a VPN for Chrome, free. Here are five of our favorites.
Windscribe
Windscribe is a fantastic VPN service that offers both a free and a paid subscription. The free service has server sites in 10 cities around the world, and it limits your traffic to 2 GB a month. Windscribe has a couple of other cool features, too. Cruise control automatically changes your server location when you try to access content that’s regionally blocked. It also can create a “secure link” that scores a website’s privacy practices.
Avira Phantom VPN
Avira Phantom VPN is another VPN for Chrome free that also has a paid service. The free service has unlimited data, but you can’t access all their servers around the world. We counted only 15 servers and all in the United States and in Europe. Avira also allows you to use the free service without creating an account. If you want privacy, that’s the way to go!
Hotspotshield
Hotspotshield comes from a company that believes everyone should have internet privacy. The nice thing about this extension is its options. I have one of the most detailed and customizable menus among VPN for Chrome free.
Hotspotshield also goes a step further for privacy. They have several blocker features that block trackers, analytics, cookies, and the rest. Best of all, there’s a feature, “Sword,” that sends fake browsing data to tracker sites tricking them!
You can use Hotspotshield without an account, and it has unlimited data on the chrome extension. For all its great services, this extension is very aggressive in selling their premium service. It gets annoying quickly.
TunnelBear
TunnelBear focuses on your security. They have an independent, and publically available, security audit so you can trust them. They also are one of the easiest VPN’s to use, because they focus on having a simple VPN.
So, while services like Hotspotshield give you lots of options, it’s also complicated. TunnelBear is simply plug-and-play. The free service limits you to 500 MB a day, which isn’t very much. They also have only 6 locations, and they are all in Europe and the United States.
DotVPN
DotVPN is on our list, but we’re not as impressed with this one as the ones above. It’s a VPN for Chrome free, but that free comes with a price: The free service is a lot slower than their paid service, and there are fewer locations. It gives unlimited data, though.
DotVPN also has a rather confusing menu. It looks beautiful, but it’s more difficult to use than the others on this service. While it’s still good, it’s not as good as those above.
Conclusion
A VPN is necessary if you want privacy on the internet. VPN for Chrome free extensions are great options for VPN service while using that browser. Just remember that a Chrome extension only protects your traffic through the browser itself. If you use a different browser or an app that accesses the internet, the Chrome VPN does not protect that traffic.
The only way to use a VPN to protect all your traffic is to download a VPN app. Why use a VPN for Chrome free extension at all? Several of the Chrome extensions give unlimited data, but their desktop/mobile apps do not.
Either way, use one of these VPN’s to protect your data while use Chrome to browse the internet.
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