A VPN is an effective tool to secure your internet network while having the ability to bypass censorship.
Whether you use it on your desktop or mobile, it needs an active internet connection to secure your network.
But, users often wonder if connecting to a VPN consumes any data? Does it count towards your data usage quota? In this article, we shall give you some clarity on this.
VPN Connections Use Your Data
When you connect to a VPN server, your data gets used up to connect and keep the connection alive. So, yes, VPN does use data when you are connecting to it. You're still connecting to the internet, browsing sites, watching videos, and so on. The only difference is that the VPN adds some additional privacy.
However, it is worth noting that a VPN connection can only prevent your ISP from looking at your browsing details or DNS queries. But, the internet data usage can still be tracked by your ISP, and the time you spend on a VPN connection is counted against your data quota.
So, a VPN cannot help you bypass the usage quota of your internet provider.
Of course, if you have an unmetered connection, you do not need to worry about it.
Will My Internet Usage Increase With a VPN?
Technically, yes. Whenever you connect through a VPN, your network queries are encrypted and transferred using a different DNS server. And, the amount of extra data used can be in the range of 5-15%, as per multiple online reference tests.
For instance, when you download 3GB file with a VPN, your data usage can go up to 3.3 to 3.5GB.
This is just an example, but your real-world data usage will differ depending on the type of download, the server you choose, and the protocol you use for the VPN connection. You could be using the VPN at your home or for remote work. So, it is not possible to estimate the exact data usage considering various use-cases.
The more encryption added to the protocol, the more data it takes. So, to reduce data usage with VPN, you can opt to choose the least secure protocol like PPTP. In either case, you can choose the OpenVPN connection for balanced data usage.
What Should You Do?
Ideally, if you have a small data quota and are worried about a slight increase in data usage, we suggest you use VPN only when necessary.
But, if you do not have a problem with a few MB/GBs extra usage against your data quota, you do not have to worry about that.