Do you want to see your favorite movies and shows from all around the world even if you’re in India? Are you traveling to India and you want to know how to pick a fast and secure VPN? Here’s an article explaining how to pick the best VPN for India.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is one of the most popular tools people use to protect their identity or unblock content online. And that’s because a VPN does 2 important things:
- It hides your IP address so the websites you’re browsing won’t see your real address.
- It encrypts your traffic so your internet service provider (ISP) won’t see what websites you’re on.
And the best part is that a VPN is also easy to use. Even if you didn’t use one before, you’ll be all set in 5 minutes. All you have to do is:
- Find a good VPN provider.
- Download the VPN app and install it on your device.
- Log into the VPN app and choose a server from any country you want.
And that’s all! Now you can safely browse on the internet without having your IP address exposed to cyberattacks or worrying about your ISP tracking your traffic.
This is possible because, after you connect to the VPN app, your traffic will be rerouted through a VPN server located in a country that you choose.
So if you’re in India and you connect to a VPN server from Japan, the websites will see a Japanese IP address. Not only is your real location hidden, but you can also unblock content streaming only in Japan on sites like Netflix or Amazon Prime.
And even if you’re binging your favorite movies and shows and your ISP wants to know what websites you are on, they can’t see your traffic. At best, all they could see looking at your internet traffic is gibberish – random strings of special characters, numbers, and letters.
Is Using a VPN in India Legal?
Yes, using a VPN in India is perfectly legal. However, this doesn’t mean that the government likes it when people are using VPNs. Despite that, VPNs have become more and more popular during the last year, with statistics showing that VPN use increased by over 671% in 2021.
Reasons why people started to use VPNs so much might include:
- They wanted to access geo-blocked content.
- People started working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and needed a way to secure their traffic.
- Government censorship.
In fact, the Indian government banned 54 Chinese apps permanently, under section 69A of the Information Technology Act. A few examples of popular apps banned include TikTok, Alibaba, or InNote. Besides, popular games like Soul Hunters, Warpath, PUBG Mobile, or Mafia City Yotta Games were also banned.
So if you want to play those games, or have fun with your friends on TikTok, a VPN can be the best answer to unlock those apps.
Most people might think that “I’m not doing anything illegal on the internet so why not let my ISP see my traffic?”
There have been many cases around the globe where ISPs sold user data to advertisers. As a result, their users got bombarded with unwanted ads (sometimes even malicious ones).
Industry-Standard Features a Good India VPN Should Have
From our perspective, here are the most important features a secure India VPN should offer:
1. Leak Protection
Your VPN provider should offer you full leak protection against:
- DNS leaks
- WebRTC leaks
- IPV6 leaks
If for whatever reason, your VPN doesn’t have full leak protection, they should at least have DNS leak protection.
2. No-Logs Policy
The VPN provider shouldn’t keep any logs of your browsing history and your IP address. Ideally, there should also be proof that the no-logs policy is legit.
For example, Private Internet Access’ (an American VPN) no-logs policy has been proven true in court. PIA had to provide the FBI with the incriminating browsing history of Preston Alexander McWaters. But they couldn’t do it because they didn’t keep any logs.
NordVPN and ExpressVPN are also 2 other perfect examples of VPNs with no-logs policies, and both providers have had their no-logs policy independently audited and verified.
Also, some VPNs might say they only keep connection logs, which they use for troubleshooting. However, we don’t recommend getting such a VPN because connection logs can sometimes contain your IP address, so they’re bad for your privacy.
3. Military-Grade Encryption
Also referred to as bank-grade encryption, 256-bit AES encryption is impossible to break with our current technology. Fortunately, almost all top VPN providers have it – here are some examples:
- ExpressVPN
- NordVPN
- CyberGhost VPN
- PIA
- VyprVPN
- Surfshark
- ProtonVPN
4. Kill Switches
While some people think a kill switch is a bit too much or unnecessary, it’s actually very useful.
If your VPN connection might drop, a kill switch will automatically disconnect your device from the internet. This comes in handy because it prevents any traffic leaks that might reveal your IP address or the websites you’re browsing.
Are You in a Hurry? Here’s a Quick TL;DR
Using a VPN in India is perfectly legal. You can use it to unblock movies and shows, play your favorite games, or talk with your friends on social apps.
Here are the most important features a VPN should offer:
- Full leak protection (or at least DNS leak protection).
- No-logs policy (your VPN doesn’t need to know what you’re doing on the internet).
- Kill switch (a feature that disconnects your device from the internet if the VPN connection drops).
- 256-bit AES encryption (the strongest encryption at the moment)
What Are the Most Important Features Your VPN Should Have?
Do you want to protect your online data and browsing history? Do you want to have fast internet speeds? Are you looking for a VPN with streaming-optimized servers? Let us know in the comments section which are the most important features a VPN should have in your opinion.
