Most tech-savvy individuals – and even some who aren’t – are quite familiar with a virtual private network (VPN) and what it can do. However, even though VPNs are an established part of modern technology, there continue to be innovations. There are uses for VPNs that have been developed in recent years that weren’t around or widely used a few years ago. In the next handful of years, there are bound to be even more use cases discovered and developed. To help VPN users keep up, here are some of the new and emerging ways to use a VPN.
Discount Shopping
Given inflation and other sources of financial strain on people, it’s more important than ever to find the best deals and discounts when shopping. It’s also vital for people to realize that prices aren’t the same everywhere. Many websites alter the price of goods based on your location. There are also different taxes to be paid based on your location when purchasing items online. This can hold true for everyday items as much as high-priced travel and vacations. However, savvy shoppers are figuring out that with a VPN, they can change their IP address to a location that isn’t being hit hard by inflated prices or is experiencing a temporary discount. For anyone on a tight budget or looking for the best price on a big purchase, using a VPN can lead to a great deal.
Accessing Social Media
The world of social media can be a tricky one. For starters, some countries are blocking or banning certain social media sites. Even some of the most popular sites like Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp have been banned in at least a handful of countries. For some, this leaves a VPN as the only way to access these sites. It can be as simple as routing your data through an IP address in a country where people are free to use any social media site. There is no telling what sites could be blocked in the future, making it essential for people to use a VPN so that they don’t lose access to certain sites, causing their presence on those sites to disappear.
Playing Casino Games
Online casinos are exploding in popularity worldwide. There are almost countless options for fans of card games like poker, slot machines, and other casino games that are now easier than ever to play online. The only caveat is that many online casinos are tied to specific locations since these platforms aren’t legal everywhere just yet. This creates the need for a VPN in order to access online casinos in different states or countries. For example, if online casinos in the UK offer a game that isn’t available in other countries, the only way to play that game is with a VPN that can access UK sites. Therefore, VPNs can give fans of casino games almost unlimited access to online casinos anywhere in the world.
Avoid Censorship
Many of us take freedom for granted sometimes, forgetting that censorship exists in some countries. Similar to social media sites being blocked in certain countries, other websites can be censored by governments in order to restrict access by ordinary people. The only way to bypass this type of censorship is with a VPN that connects to servers in a country where there is more freedom. It’s always unclear what form censorship will take in the future, which is why VPNs remain an important tool for getting past any attempt to censor data and information.
Banking Security
The more people gravitate to online banking, the more hackers and nefarious actors will try to gain access to bank accounts where they don’t belong. While most big banks take cybersecurity seriously and have the resources to protect critical data, accessing a bank account online always carries some level of risk. This has made using a VPN for online banking activity a virtual necessity. By using a VPN, you keep your actual IP address hidden, preventing an outside party from monitoring your activity and gaining access to your account. Therefore, everyone banking with a VPN will have peace of mind that their money and financial data are safe.
Integrating AI
While this isn’t necessarily a specific use case, there is no question that AI is disrupting VPNs the same way it’s disrupting just about everything else in the world. With AI and machine learning, VPN performance can be improved greatly. AI can help with predicting traffic and serve loads, as well as behavioral analysis. This can help VPN users become more efficient in various ways and continue the search for new use cases.
