7 Reasons Why You Need to Get a Fake IP and Hide Your Real One

The IP address is like the passport of every device that you use to connect to the internet. Whether you’re watching a video online or just reading forums and news articles, the webmaster can view that address to track your online activities back to you.

To see how this works in practice, google “what is my IP,” and you’ll see your IP address right away (more on NordVPN website). As it goes without saying, protecting this essential piece of information and getting a fake one should be one of your top priorities when exploring the world wide web.

Still not convinced? Then consider the following reasons and benefits of hiding your IP:

1. Bypass the national internet censorship

Some countries are a bit more lenient in this regard than others, but to some extent, almost every country believes that accessing certain types of content is inappropriate. Either that or its in conflict with its regulations. Think adult websites, gambling websites, etc. By using a fake IP, you can trick the geo-blocks into assuming that you’re from another country than you really are. Goodbye censorship and good riddance.

2. Work around the workplace restrictions

Compared to the online censorship that’s executed on a global level, the workplace restrictions may come across as mild. Still, a restriction is a restriction, and if you believe the ones who set them in place have no business dictating what you’re allowed to do online, fighting against them is the next logical step. And no, convincing the administrators to change their ways is not necessary; installing a VPN is a far simpler solution.

3. Say no to search engines gathering your search data

Do you think what you enter in Google stays a private matter between the two of you? Think again. Every single time you do it, google “what is my IP,” for the search engine giant to analyze. If you don’t want your searches to be associated with your real IP address for whatever reason, then you should do your best to make sure it stays hidden.

4. Protect yourself against would-be WiFi snoopers

Sitting down for some work at a coffee shop is great. With all the snacks and beverages at your disposal, the free WiFi is the icing on the cake.
But hold on a minute before you connect. If you thought your connection was secure by default, you’re mistaken. Anyone with the right kind of knowledge can connect to it and intercept what you’re sending through it as well as snoop on your conversations. Connecting through one of these without a VPN is like driving a car without your seatbelt fastened.

5. Prevent the advertisers from tracking you

It’s no secret that advertisers love tracking your online activities. It allows them to target and calibrate the offers better to increase the chances of making a sale. But the problem is, they’re sometimes doing this without your consent. The solution? Make their job harder by giving them false leads or take away their power to access some of your information – your IP is a good start.

6. Make a stand against price discrimination

As you can already tell, one can determine your location based on your IP. Sometimes an online store adjusts its prices based on that. If you’re on the lookout for a great deal (and who isn’t), changing your IP to get a more favorable pricing arrangement works wonders.

7. Keep your online activity safe from your ISP

Depending on the country you live in, your ISP may be obliged to track your online activity and present it to the government upon request or sell it to a third party. Do you feel comfortable with that? If not, there’s a whole lot you can do about it – getting a good VPN establishes an encrypted tunnel that hides your IP and online activity and keeps it away from prying eyes.

How to hide your IP address

Now that you know the reasons why hiding your IP address is a good idea, let’s go over a couple of ways of how you can go about it. A VPN (virtual private network) is a great solution to all the problems presented above. The installation is simple and straightforward, and there’s plenty of tutorials online that will show you the way if you get stuck. Once you manage to get everything going, every piece of traffic that gets sent to and from your devices will be placed in an encrypted tunnel.

Contrary to popular belief, using a VPN will not slow down or compromise your browsing experience in any way. As long as you go the paid route and avoid the free ones, you will not be served any ads. The only thing left to do is finding a reputable provider you can trust. The prices are affordable, and the big names cover all the devices and operating systems while offering a pleasant user experience to boot. So what’s stopping you from anonymizing your connection on demand by pressing the button?

Conclusion

As already discussed, there are plenty of reasons to get a VPN and hide your real IP from plain sight. After all, you are the one responsible for protecting your rights and privacy as no one is going to do it for you.