VPN services, these days, are seemingly everywhere. They’ve become incredibly popular, primarily due to their cross-device functionality—offering seamless digital protection on desktop and mobiles alike. Still, the features today’s VPNs provide may be relatively unknown to UK Internet users.
If you enjoy browsing privately, it can be tough to navigate ads, cookies, data-logging websites, and social media privacy impacts we frequently encounter. Fortunately, today’s VPNs have evolved quite a bit. With a little exploration, you can find the best choice for the UK: You’ll be able to sidestep common multimedia geo-blocks, maintain privacy from nosey ISPs and even keep your data footprint away from invasive laws.
How to Pick the Best VPN for the UK
Many Servers to Choose From
The first quality to look for is an abundance of server locations. More important, however, is local diversity—to offer a variety of worldwide Internet access points.
For the uninitiated: VPNs keep users anonymous by redirecting their IP address through one of these servers. When a VPN server is accessed, the user’s IP address is ‘replaced’ with the server’s. The connection is forwarded to its original location, keeping your personal information completely masked.
The more servers a VPN provider has—the more locations you can redirect your IP address through. This is incredibly important for circumnavigating local data logging, as IP addresses situated overseas will sidestep such situations completely.
Mobile App Support
We live in a constantly mobilized world. As such, it’s important to keep our smartphones and tablets as safe as our desktops. In recent years, smartphone VPN apps have been refined to offer the same security level as their desktop counterparts. Rest assured: If your VPN provider offers a mobile VPN app alongside your desktop VPN program, you’ll have consistent protection wherever you go.
The key here is to choose a provider that does offer mobile support.
A No-Logs Policy
Even though VPNs exist to keep our data hidden from third parties, not all VPNs disregard their clients’ data passing through their servers. Naturally, any Internet-based provider needs to maintain functionality via logging service events—and the devices involved with them. However, in VPN usage, this clashes with the value of a VPN’s primary features.
Fortunately, some VPN providers uphold strict, no-logs policies. This not only means they won’t review cataloged data passing through their servers—but that they don’t store it in the first place. While some VPN users don’t mind their data being visible to their VPN providers, many tend to keep their Internet browsing anonymous with no exceptions.
Our Top VPN Picks
The best VPNs offer the features mentioned above—updating them continuously as well. This is an important factor to keep in mind, as the world of cybersecurity relies upon current updates to outpace malicious Internet-goers. Specifically: malicious users who have access to updated tools of exploitation. Check out the VPN service providers below—as they are the best you’ll find in the UK:
- Surfshark
First up, we have Surfahark: The VPN service provider is well known for its comprehensive approach to full Internet accessibility. Surfshark hosts all the features needed to bypass geo-restrictions, even extending their utility to identify and grant access to specific Netflix libraries.
This VPN has an unlimited device download count so that you can keep your online sessions protected without question. It also hosts more than 1,700 servers situated in over 65 countries. Always honoring its strict no-logs policy, Surfshark even offers RAM-only servers for users seeking advanced approaches to online privacy.
VPN keeps your Internet browsing experience speedy with its ad-blocking and tracker-blocking features, neutralizing malware and phishing scams before they’re ever encountered.
- ExpressVPN
Up next, we have ExpressVPN: It hosts several British servers, unlocking popular services like Netflix UK, ITV Hub, Skype, and BBC iPlayer from the get-go. This VPN uses 256-bit encryption to keep its users safe—also upholding the ever-important no-logs policy. Featuring a kill switch, DNS leak protection, mobile app support, and more—ExpressVPN, for many, will always be a top contender.
- CyberGhost
CyberGhost is a UK VPN packed with features—each one contributing to the service’s awesome value. Its connections follow CyberGhost’s promise to maintain 100-percent anonymity, upholding its no-logs commitment while keeping every connection untraceable. Offering VPN support for up to seven devices simultaneously, the service puts its 15 years of experience to good use.
It has over 6,600 servers worldwide, and its 24/7 live Customer Support assures that no client is left without immediate assistance. Available across most devices, CyberGhost is continuously a favored VPN for those with Microsoft, Apple, and Android products alike. One particularly great feature this VPN offers is its free-access CyberGhost ID Guard: The service offers ongoing email monitoring to prevent data leaks around the clock.
- NordVPN
NordVPN is consistently a popular choice among UK residents keen on bypassing the UK’s infamous “overclocking” issues—granting access to legitimate websites that are often censored. This VPN grants users coverage on up to six devices simultaneously, assuring encryption is always protecting them. Considering NordVPN’s available servers, approximately 5,500, the provider’s ‘less load’ quality is both easily maintained and a breeze to experience.
It’s well-known for its rapid servers, too, prioritizing its unlimited bandwidth feature to keep all chats, browser searches, and online games exactly as they should be: fast. Users aren’t limited to any particular platform, either, as NordVPN services Apple, Microsoft, Android, and Google products. Its encrypted proxy extensions also cover popular browsers like Firefox and Chrome, making browsing limitless within the VPN’s supported 59 countries.
Full-Fledged Digital Defense
When browsing VPNs, it is important to go with a top-tier provider. Free VPNs are operable, but they’re also unreliable. Even worse: Not all free VPNs are safe to use, as some have been known to sell users’ data to third-party providers.
As an answer to ever-growing cybersecurity issues, top VPN service providers have maintained affordable pricing standards. You can outfit your devices with today’s top digital defense tools for as little as a couple of dollars per month—which is extraordinarily cheap when considering costs associated with data loss.
If you’re still on the fence about using a VPN, see if your provider of choice offers a free trial period. Most of the top providers do help future users get a full understanding of their products. In any event, opting to use a VPN is one of the best decisions today’s desktop and mobile users can make. Protect your sensitive data, and sidestep the digital world’s biggest threats by avoiding them completely. Whether you’re at home or on-the-go, your VPN will stay at your side—creating an impenetrable shield of the cybersecurity industry’s unbeatable features.