A VPN app is called to protect our privacy by masking the IP address and encrypting the data we send and receive. But while safeguarding us, can it see any of our sensitive information like passwords and the content we share? This concern bothers some users, so we decided to answer this question.
The short reply would be — no, both a VPN for Chrome and a standalone VPN app for desktop and portable devices can’t see any of your personal data. But to elaborate the answer better, let us tell you about all the data a VPN can and cannot see.
What data a VPN app can access?
Just like any other service, a VPN needs to see some data to function properly, and you can’t avoid that. The comforting news though is that it can’t see any personal content. Here is the data a VPN provider can access.
Your IP address
It would be impossible for you to hide your IP address from a VPN provider because it needs to know the source of outcoming packets to route them back and forth. Knowing your IP, a VPN service can forward your connection to its servers, encrypt your data, and send packets you’ve requested back to your device.
Your login credentials for the VPN service
Any service always knows your login and password for the account you use with this service. In most cases, employees won’t have direct access to this data as it will be encrypted. Yet, it’s stored on the servers of this service, otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to log into your account. That’s precisely the reason why we advise users to come up with different passwords for different services.
A VPN app is not an exception. You need to log into it, so you will create an account. And your login data will be stored on the servers of the provider. Although, you shouldn’t be worried because the chances that someone wants to hack the servers of a VPN provider are low since there is not much user data stored there. And if someone will have this weird idea, they will face strong protection and encrypted information which will look like complete gibberish.
Data on the use of VPN services
This information helps the provider to improve its services to offer you the best VPN extension or app possible. Any service does that — collects data on user behavior to find any issues and fix them to make the experience better.
Information about connections
A VPN provider gathers data on user connections such as the time when they were conducted and their duration. It’s necessary for the service to be compliant with the laws that regulate the activity of such applications.
Your messages you exchange with the provider
If you contact your VPN provider with some questions or issues you face using the service, all the messages you exchange with an assigned specialist will be stored on the servers of the provider. It’s necessary for improving communication. But also, a provider might need the logs to protect itself if it faces some legal accusations.
What is hidden from a VPN provider?
As you can see, a VPN service doesn’t collect any crucial information. And for sure, it doesn’t have access to the following data.
Your passwords
We’ve mentioned that a VPN provider has access to your login data for this particular VPN service. And that’s it. The vendor is not able to see any other passwords you use to log into other services. Additionally, a VPN provider can’t see what you type.
Your communication
A VPN encrypts all the data you send and receive so well that even the provider itself can’t see it. VPN servers will understand that you’re requesting data from a particular server, but they won’t know what it is.
The content you store on your device
VPN providers can’t see the local data on your gadget. There is no chance for them to get any access to it. So you can be sure your VPN app doesn’t view your personal photos, for example.
An important note
Everything we’ve described in this article is based on our own Privacy Policy and on the policies of other reliable VPN providers. There is a reason why iNinja is considered one of the best free VPNs for Android, iOS, and desktop devices — we don’t gather more information than we need, and we don’t sell the gathered data to advertisers. You can read all the details in our Privacy Policy to be sure about the information we keep on our service and the ways we protect it.
However, there are some providers who would exploit you and your data. Usually, such vendors don’t have a clear privacy policy or it’s completely nonexistent. In theory, a VPN service can collect more data than we described in this article, and that’s the reason why you should read the privacy policy before sticking to a particular provider.
