{"id":206973,"date":"2021-03-20T09:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-20T06:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-a-no-log-vpn-and-why-is-that-important-for-privacy\/"},"modified":"2021-03-20T09:40:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-20T06:40:00","slug":"what-is-a-no-log-vpn-and-why-is-that-important-for-privacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-no-log-vpn-and-why-is-that-important-for-privacy\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is a No-Log VPN, and Why Is That Important for Privacy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a374c8bad804\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a374c8bad804\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-no-log-vpn-and-why-is-that-important-for-privacy\/#What_Are_Logs\" >What Are Logs?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-no-log-vpn-and-why-is-that-important-for-privacy\/#VPNs_and_Logs\" >VPNs and Logs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-no-log-vpn-and-why-is-that-important-for-privacy\/#What_Is_a_No-Log_VPN\" >What Is a No-Log VPN?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-no-log-vpn-and-why-is-that-important-for-privacy\/#How_Do_You_Know_That_a_VPN_Doesnt_Keep_Logs\" >How Do You Know That a VPN Doesn\u2019t Keep Logs?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#What Is a No-Log VPN, and Why Is That Important for Privacy?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-717258 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/anonymous.jpg\" alt=\"A woman holding a question mark sign in front of her face.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/woman-holding-question-mark-sign-on-1678577407\" data-credittext=\"New Africa\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/woman-holding-question-mark-sign-on-1678577407\">New Africa\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of the biggest promises VPN services make is that they don\u2019t keep logs. It\u2019s plastered across their websites and features prominently in their marketing material. But what are logs, exactly, and what makes for a \u201cno-log\u201d or \u201czero-log\u201d VPN?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Are_Logs\"><\/span>What Are Logs?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In short, a log\u2014also called a log file\u2014is the record of events between two servers. When you visited this web page, your computer reached out to How-To Geek\u2019s server through your internet service provider\u2019s networks. Both the ISP and our server made note of that in their logs. Logs are available to your systems administrator (your ISP or boss, if you\u2019re at work) as well as the websites you visit.<\/p>\n<p>The log contains your IP address, the time you connected, and the duration of your connection. Though it seems like pretty innocent information, it can be worth its weight in gold to marketers. They can determine somebody\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> location using their IP, then figure out some of their browsing habits thanks to the connection time and duration. Add the information from browser cookies to the mix, and that can help target more profitable advertisements.<\/p>\n<p>Logs are also used by copyright watchdogs to figure out who used BitTorrent for which file and when, or by law enforcement to determine who sent a threatening email. However, there\u2019s a way to avoid this data collection, which is where VPNs come in.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VPNs_and_Logs\"><\/span>VPNs and Logs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A virtual private network is a program that lets you connect to the internet using one of its own servers. This means that the sites you visit will see the IP address of the VPN server instead of yours, meaning that they can\u2019t identify you that way.<\/p>\n<p>It also works the other way around: Thanks to the way the VPN\u2019s connection is set up, your ISP or boss can only see the connection you made to the VPN server and not to any sites you\u2019re accessing through the VPN\u2019s encrypted tunnel.<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to what many claim, this is not enough to keep you from going undetected while browsing. If you just browse with your normal browser, its cookies can help websites track you. Think of it this way: If you connect to a VPN and then sign in to your Google account, Google now knows who you are. That VPN isn\u2019t hiding your identity from Google if you just told Google who you are! That\u2019s why using Incognito Mode helps.<\/p>\n<p>Even then, though, VPNs still have a massive Achilles heel: namely, their logs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How Does BitTorrent Work?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_a_No-Log_VPN\"><\/span>What Is a No-Log VPN?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When you make a connection between two servers, a log is created. There is no way around this. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re using your ISP\u2019s server or that of your VPN, there is a log file somewhere. In essence, what you\u2019re doing by engaging a VPN is replacing your ISP\u2019s log with that of your VPN. Technically, all a marketer or policeman would need to do is ask the VPN for your logs, and they would have all the information they need about you. After all, that\u2019s how they get it from ISPs.<\/p>\n<p>This is an obvious flaw, but to get around it, VPNs promise that they won\u2019t keep logs\u2014or at least, not the kind that can be used to identify you. For example, many VPN providers differentiate between a connection log (also called a network log) and an activity log (or browsing log).<\/p>\n<p>The connection log is the one that keeps a record of the connections the VPN server made with websites and which should, technically at least, be devoid of any identifying information about you, while the activity log shows when you connected and from where. Depending on the VPN provider, some will claim to not keep the activity log, while others claim not to keep both.<\/p>\n<p>In either case, theoretically, your browsing should be anonymous. Websites will only see the VPN\u2019s IP in their logs, while a request for information from law enforcement will yield nothing, as the files don\u2019t even exist\u2014that is, if the VPN even needs to comply with requests, as many of them are headquartered in jurisdictions far from the reach of North American and European warrants, like the Cayman Islands or Panama.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_You_Know_That_a_VPN_Doesnt_Keep_Logs\"><\/span>How Do You Know That a VPN Doesn\u2019t Keep Logs?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A no-logs policy is the cornerstone of a VPN service\u2019s promise to keep you anonymous. However, it comes with two major issues, both related to the fact that it\u2019s almost impossible to prove a negative, to show that something is not there.<\/p>\n<p>The first issue is that it\u2019s a little hard to believe that no logs are being kept. You need some kind of record of a connection. That\u2019s just how the internet works. It\u2019s more believable to say that logs are destroyed as soon as they are made, but that makes for poor marketing copy.<\/p>\n<p>The second issue is that there\u2019s no way to prove from the outside that logs aren\u2019t being kept by a VPN. There\u2019s just no way to do that for any site. You\u2019d need some kind of admin authority. Then again, even if you were given access, it\u2019s hard to prove from the inside, too: The VPN could just move the incriminating logs for the duration of your check.<\/p>\n<p>These two issues combined mean that you are, essentially, trusting a VPN to keep your data safe. Whether or not you should do that is something for you to decide when choosing a VPN, though, generally speaking, reading up on reviews as well as following recommendations from people you trust should mean you\u2019re making the right choice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Choose the Best VPN Service for Your Needs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>We recommend\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expressvpn.com\/\">ExpressVPN<\/a>\u00a0here at How-To Geek, and, of course, the company <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expressvpn.com\/what-is-vpn\/policy-towards-logs\">promises<\/a> it doesn\u2019t keep activity or connection logs. ExpressVPN is our top pick here at How-To Geek, and many of us have used it for years. It\u2019s created by a stable company that\u2019s been around for a long time. ExpressVPN even innovates by creating features like\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/69457\/expressvpns-new-lightway-protocol-promises-speeds-that-dont-suck\/\">Lightway<\/a>, a next-generation VPN protocol that will be open-source.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/717096\/what-is-a-no-log-vpn-and-why-is-that-important-for-privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What Is a No-Log VPN, and Why Is That Important for Privacy?&#8221; New Africa\/Shutterstock.com One of the biggest promises VPN services make is that they don\u2019t keep logs. It\u2019s plastered across their websites and features prominently in their marketing material. But what are logs, exactly, and what makes for a \u201cno-log\u201d or \u201czero-log\u201d VPN? What&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":206974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/anonymous.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-206973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}