Is It Legal to Hide My IP Address Using a VPN?

It goes without saying that the internet has changed the way we live, allowing us to shop, communicate and entertain ourselves with ease. However, it also makes us and our computers face a variety of security threats. To protect their computers and the information stored in them, many Internet users have begun to use strategies that allow them to surf the internet with less visibility. One way to do this is to hide your IP address.

This has led some to ask the inevitable question: is it legal to hide your IP address?

What's IP Address?

It might be helpful to define the term "IP address" before answering the question. There is no doubt that you have heard these words before, but you may not know how the Internet protocol address is associated with your Internet access and computer identity. The Internet Protocol address is similar to a mail address because it acts as a location identifier for a computer network. IP represents an Internet protocol, and the address is a series of numbers that a remote computer can use to communicate with your computer.

This communication is necessary for you to use the Internet because it tells the remote computer where to send the information when you load the Web page. Because it provides identifying information about your computer, your IP address may be used in a number of ways, which can adversely affect your or your ability to use the Internet. For example, hackers can use an Internet protocol address to install a Trojan horse or otherwise hijack your computer. It can also be a way for others to determine where you are in a geographic location. Someone can maliciously use your Internet protocol address to send spam or pretend to be you, fundamentally stealing your identity.

Companies can also record IP addresses when you visit their websites, resulting in annoying pop-ups and intrusion into privacy for data collection. For all these reasons, many people decide to hide their IP addresses while surfing the web. This can be done in a number of ways. Perhaps the most common method is to use a VPN.

What's VPN?

This works by connecting to a VPN server that receives your requests, and then sends them to a remote computer, acts as an intermediary, and pretends to be your Internet protocol address.

VPN has been used for many other purposes as well. For example, in countries such as China, many websites such as Google, Twitter, Facebook etc. are blocked. People in China often uses VPNs to bypass this kind of internet blocking.

There are also many packages that hide your Internet protocol address. A lot of people have raised the question:

Is it legal to hide your IP address using tools such as VPN?

The answer is yes, as long as you are not trying to help you engage in illegal activities. Your Internet protocol address is private personal information and you have the right to disguise it as a eavesdropping person who may be using it. In many cases, websites that warn you to hide the illegality of your Internet protocol address may try to use your IP address for your own purposes.