A VPN advertisement can make an ordinary coffee-shop connection sound like a crisis. The more useful question is what information you want to protect, from whom, and whether adding another service helps. Your public Wi-Fi routine is a starting point for that decision, not a diagnosis of how safe you are online.

The FTC says public Wi-Fi is usually safe today because most websites encrypt their connections. Encryption does not make a dishonest website trustworthy. A VPN routes traffic through another network and can limit what the local network sees, but it does not make you anonymous or replace protection against phishing, malware and account theft. You also place trust in the VPN operator.

Where do you use public Wi-Fi most?

Choose your closest routine. If frequent travel describes you overall, use that option even when some connections are in hotels or airports.

RarelyCoffee shopsHotels/airportsFrequently while traveling

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