How to use a VPN on iPhone

With increasing government regulations around the world against available content, and various streaming services increasingly locking content behind geo-paywalls, more and more people are turning to VPNs.

Setting up a VPN used to be complicated, but in the past decade, the process has become incredibly streamlined. Here’s how to set up and use a VPN on your iPhone.

What is VPN for?

A VPN is a virtual private network. VPNs act as a private encrypted tunnel for all network traffic. This means that even your ISP cannot see the websites you visit, when you use a VPN to browse the web.

Traditionally, using a VPN has been about privacy and security. Recently, people are using VPNs to protect their physical location and appear as if they are another part of the world, to avoid local content restrictions.

For example, you can use a VPN to access streaming services that are not usually available in your region. Likewise, VPNs have become very popular in the UK recently after new laws were introduced that force websites to hide content with adult themes, unless users verify their identity. Instead of identity verification, people use a VPN to appear as if they are visiting from outside the UK, meaning none of the restrictions apply.

Choose a VPN app for iPhone

To use a VPN on iPhone, you first need to choose a VPN provider. VPN providers usually vary in server locations, speed, and how much they charge, but they all mostly do the same thing. Here are some recommended options to choose from:

Once you have registered for an account with one of the above-mentioned providers, download the company’s corresponding app from the app store on your device. Log in to your account within the app. VPN settings for quick access in the system are now available.

Before enabling a system-wide VPN, use the application to configure service-specific features. This includes things like choosing your virtual location. So, if you’re actually in the US but trying to pretend you’re from Algeria, choose an Algerian server in the app’s UI.

Most apps also have automatic “fastest connection” options if you don’t care about geo-masking, but just want to improve the security of your device.

How to enable VPN on iPhone

• After installing the VPN app, open the Settings app on your iPhone.
• The VPN row will appear in the first group of settings in the list on the main page of the Settings app.
• Toggle the VPN toggle from off to on.
• When enabled, the VPN indicator will appear briefly in the status bar. Open Control Center to see the VPN icon later to ensure that the VPN service is still active.

You can now use your iPhone as you normally would. All your internet traffic will be routed through the VPN service, ensuring that all traffic is blocked and hidden from prying eyes.

You may need to force quit and restart apps like Reddit for geo-detection to take effect. For example, Reddit now hides its “anonymous browsing” mode if it sees that a user is coming from the UK. But if you run your VPN with your country’s server set elsewhere, and then quit and restart the Reddit app, Anonymous Browsing will be available again.

You can disable the VPN at any time by going back to Settings and turning off the VPN toggle. You can also explore advanced functions in the VPN provider’s dedicated app.

Typically, you wouldn’t want to use a VPN all the time because they offer slower connection speeds than if you were connected directly to your home broadband. But iOS makes it very easy to configure a VPN service, turning it on and off only when you need it. As long as the app remains installed on your device, the VPN will continue to be toggled in the Settings app.

If you want to frequently stream HD videos or other bandwidth-intensive tasks using a VPN, you may want to try other providers or try other servers. Performance varies widely depending on how much you pay and where you connect.