Does a VPN hide your IP address from forums?

VPN
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I’m still kind of confused about what a VPN does and doesn’t do. I know that it hides your IP address, but I’m not sure about what this protects you from, and what it doesn’t protect you from. Does it prevent websites from knowing you visited them? Does it prevent services like Google from creating a profile of you? (both signed in and signed out). Does it allow you to create Gmail accounts more anonymously? What are some reasons why your average person should use a VPN? (or reasons why the average person shouldn’t).

Mostly I was just wondering if using a VPN hides your IP from forums. There have been times on forums where I really wanted to ask a more anonymous question but couldn’t because they don’t allow you to have more than one account. I’ve also been banned from one subreddit on another of my reddit accounts, and I’m curious if using a VPN would allow me to post in it again - I was banned for accidentally making the same post twice after one was already deleted, and I tried contacting multiple mods to see if I could be unbanned, all with no success. I got a message telling me that if I ever post in the subreddit again on another account, I could be banned from reddit completely. That freaked me out a bit. I’m planning on giving PIA a try soon, since it seems to be very popular.

Thanks!

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The VPN changes your IP and encrypts your internet trafic which means that websites don’t know your real IP and your ISP can’t spy what you’re visiting. That’s all.

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Does it prevent websites from knowing you visited them?

It still leaves a footprint. Think of it like using your friends phone to make a call. His phone would show if the phone company looked at the logs, not yours. A VPN will not make it so that no IP shows when you visit sites, it just shows the VPN servers IP, not yours.

Does it prevent services like Google from creating a profile of you? (both signed in and signed out).

Maybe, I’m sure your browser footprint is exactly the same and they could still track your searches and profile you. You may get different geo results by using a VPN but the best way to not get tracked by Google is to not use Google. Try DuckDuckGo.

What are some reasons why your average person should use a VPN? (or reasons why the average person shouldn’t).

Let’s say the average user is Grandma. Then the average person shouldn’t use a VPN. The average person is likely to sign-up for a poor provider and hand their payment information and the password they probably use for everything, right into the hands of a sketchy entity who is deliberately logging and selling their info.

An informed user may wish to use a VPN to get around strict government monitoring, bypass a restrictive firewall, or the most common use, downloading torrents and pirated content without fear of receiving notices from your ISP. Another common use is for those using public wifi like hotels, airports and coffee shops. This would prevent (unless you’re at a DEFCON convention) people from doing malicious things to your traffic and you could browse in peace.

I’ve also been banned from one subreddit on another of my reddit accounts, and I’m curious if using a VPN would allow me to post in it again -

You can just make another account and post. AFAIK mods cannot see IP’s on Reddit.

got a message telling me that if I ever post in the subreddit again on another account, I could be banned from reddit completely.

Doubtful unless he is a site admin and a dick. If this is the case then you’re in luck, the reddit mob loves injustice, post the evidence and enjoy your nobel karma peace prize.

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Your ip is the ip from the VPN you’re connected to

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Basically a VPN just becomes your new ISP. Nobody sees your “real” IP address, they just see the VPN IP address. But if you login to stuff fomr the VPN, they can now still associate your account with the VPN IP address.

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Reddit records the IP address you have when you make an account.

Most VPNs offer many servers, with many IPs on each server. You can’t control which IP you get, but you can log into reddit from servers all over the world, post as a different user from all of them on the same subreddit, and no one could prove it was all you.

If you aren’t using a VPN when you create the account, they can narrow it down to your house, via Comcast, or Verizon or whatever ISP you use. The VPN prevents this.

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If you aren’t using a VPN when you create the account, they can narrow it down to your house, via Comcast, or Verizon or whatever ISP you use. The VPN prevents this.

I don’t think regular mods can see or prove any of this. Reference 1 2

If he is being threatened by a site admin this is a different story.