Browserbased VPNs to try for privacy
Brave
Rather than being just a simple proxy service, Brave's builtin browser VPN for iPhone and iPad delivers a full encryption experience. Strong security often comes at the expense of speed, but not so when paired with Brave Browser's lightning speeds.
The browser feature, called Brave Firewall + VPN, is actually a combination of its VPN and its Brave Firewall protection software which blocks malicious websites and trackers more thoroughly than most of its competitors. And unlike most other browser-based VPNs, Brave Firewall + VPN offers full device encryption. It runs $10 per month or $100 per year, and a single subscription can be used on up to five devices.
Firefox
Mozilla's VPN experience has been a bit confusing. First, its standalone VPN was known as Firefox Private Network, and then Firefox VPN. Then Mozilla released an addon, changed the standalone's name to Mozilla VPN, and called the addon Firefox Private Network. Phew.
But never mind the early confusion. The Firefox Private Network addon is a proxy service that's worth checking out if you want a light layer of privacy while browsing on public WiFi. It doesn't offer fulldevice encryption the way the standalone Mozilla VPN does, but it doesn't drag your speeds down as much either. It's also easy to use: It's single, onoff switch makes it a breeze to operate.
And, yes, it's completely free of charge. While we usually would never recommend using a free VPN, again, this isn't really a VPN: It's a proxy service that offers extra privacy, not the full VPN suite of tools. If you want to really cover your tracks by upgrading to a full VPN, you should always use a paid service with a proven privacy track record. Check out our favorite VPNs here: www.cnet.com/news/bestvpn/#ftag=CAD187281f.
Chrome
Chrome doesn't have a native VPN built into it. Instead, you'll need to use browserbased extensions from your preferred VPN to get the same effect.
We recommend using the Chrome extension from our Editors' Choice VPN service, ExpressVPN. You can also use it on Firefox, Edge, Brave and Vivaldi browsers. You'll still need to have downloaded the full ExpressVPN app, but the lightweight browser extension allows you to streamline your VPN use to just geolocation changes and a couple other core privacy features.
In October of 2020, Google launched its own standalone VPN as part of its $100 annual bundle package for Google One subscribers with a 2TB account. If you're already a Google One user and simply looking for an extra layer of protection while using free public WiFi, this VPN could be a great fit.
If you're interested in keeping your browsing and usage data private from corporations and government entities, however, we'd urge you to consider carefully Google's long, storied history of sharing and collecting user data before you use any of its products.