VPNs are widely used on both computers and mobiles. Although it is true that its use has increased in recent years, it is striking to see that in the last year it has tripled. Why has this happened just now? We are going to talk about it in this article. We are going to see why users have adopted the use of these applications more than ever during the last year 2021.
Why the use of VPN has grown
We can think of using a VPN to improve privacy and security . But it’s not always like this. They are tools that offer a wide range of options and each user may want to install this type of program for a different reason. You only have to look at the data offered by Atlas VPN to see this explosion: it has gone from 277 million VPN downloads in 2020 to 785 million last year.
If we think of Spain and neighboring countries, the increase in the use of VPNs is directly related to the pandemic in most cases. Many people have started working from home, remotely, and this means that they must increase their security and be able to access company services with guarantees. That is where this type of application becomes very important, especially when we connect from networks that may not be secure.
But also, the same thing we mentioned has caused hackers to increase their attacks, such as Man in the Middle and many others. They take advantage of the fact that users connect to the company from networks that may not be protected and in this way they can steal data. What better than a VPN to avoid this. Of course, it is important to choose the fastest VPN.
Avoid censorship and limitations
Although in countries like Spain the increase in VPN is mainly due to what we have explained, this is not the case in other countries. At least not mostly. It has grown a lot in countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore or the United Arab Emirates. In this case, the main reason is government censorship , as well as the limitations imposed by the operators.
The citizens of these countries look for ways to access services that may be blocked , enter censored pages or simply browse without fear of being spied on. In these cases, using a VPN is the best tool to browse more freely and avoid these blocks.
In addition, in certain nations they have prohibited the use of certain social networks or online platforms. Partly due to the pandemic and the measures taken. One example is Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where access to Twitter was banned last year. Again, a VPN can bypass that block.
Therefore, VPNs have grown more than ever during 2021. The reasons, as we have seen, are diverse depending on which country we are in. However, what seems certain is that in 2022 we will continue to see a considerable increase in the use of this type of tool when browsing the net.