All products and promotions are independently selected by our experts. To help us provide free impartial advice, we will earn an affiliate commission if you buy something. Click here to learn more
Interest in VPNs has surged in the last year, with a record number of Britons rushing to check the best VPN deals and download these privacy-focused apps.
Since the introduction of the Online Safety Act, UK households must prove their age to access certain websites or social media apps. This can be done with a facial scan, a photograph of an official document like a driving licence or passport, or by linking your bank account or credit card. If you're over 18 years old, running a VPN on your device is a good way to bypass these checks, since the law only applies to those browsing from the UK — and switching to a different VPN server can make it appear as if you're accessing the website from abroad.
Of course, there are many other benefits of using a VPN, or Virtual Private Network.
As standard, most broadband providers will regularly monitor what you download, how frequently you visit websites, and the total amount of time spent — data that helps advertisers build a comprehensive picture of you. But the end-to-end encryption enabled by VPNs as standard puts an end to that immediately.
Meanwhile, some websites make a point of blocking visitors from the UK, meaning they can’t visit the site altogether, forcing many to rely on a VPN.
Secure a subscription to ExpressVPN for £1.99
Protect your personal information and encrypt everything you do online for just £1.99 with the latest ExpressVPN deal. This blockbuster sale trounces NordVPN, its biggest competitor.
ExpressVPN adds military-grade encryption across up to 10x devices, including iPhone, Android, Linux, Windows, Mac, Fire TV, and dozens more, to secure your internet traffic from prying eyes, advertisers, and governments. You'll benefit from an extra 4 months free with a two-year plan.
ExpressVPN Basic
$12.99
$1.99
VPNs can be handy tools while surfing the web, stopping age verification checks, unblocking websites altogether and also letting you watch UK shows and series while on holiday. One of the other sure-fire ways to improve your privacy online is to use a new email address for websites or retailers that you're unsure about.
But do VPN services provide a new email address? Here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know.
With ExpressVPN running on your iPhone, it's possible to secure everything you do online — hiding the list of websites that you visit, the time spent on each one, and much more | KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PRESS OFFICE What does a VPN do?
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an application — running locally on your device or an extension for your web browser — that protects and anonymises everything you do online. VPNs can conceal your online activity by routing traffic through an encrypted tunnel to secure servers worldwide.
The most reliable VPNs use the same encryption standards as governments in the United Kingdom and the United States, ensuring that even your Internet Service Provider (ISP) on Wi-Fi cannot record the websites you visit, the duration of your sessions on each site, or your current location. This protection extends to advertisers, trackers, and hackers, preventing them from monitoring your online behaviour.
Furthermore, personal information entered online forms and sensitive data transmitted to and from your device will be safeguarded from hackers using strong encryption provided by a VPN.
There are plenty of other things a VPN can provide as well.
Services like ExpressVPN have a ton of features, like a password manager, the ability to block unwanted ads and stop malicious sites from breaching your devices and even block scam calls.
Does a VPN provide an email address?
Despite all of the positive things that a VPN can do to protect your privacy online, most VPN services do not offer a dedicated email address. If you're looking to replace your Gmail, iCloud, or Yahoo email, you'll need to look elsewhere, as VPNs tend to focus on other useful tools to make browsing the web just a bit more enjoyable.
While there's no free email address, ExpressVPN offers a dedicated IP address with its Pro subscription for £4.39 per month on its two-year plans, where you'll get everything included with the more affordable tiers, VPN connections for up to 14 devices, 5 days of eSIM data and monthly credit reports.
The dedicated IP address is exclusive to you and so private that even ExpressVPN can’t trace back to you.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
However, if that’s a bit too much, ExpressVPN also offers things like a password manager on its Advanced subscriptions for £2.79 a month. It allows 12x devices to be used with the program and provides advanced protection against ads, websites, and trackers.
Elsewhere, the £1.99 ExpressVPN Basic plan offers protection for 10x devices simultaneously, and there's still the same 30-day money-back guarantee. The company has confirmed that DNS-based ad-blocking is coming soon to Basic plans, too.
So, what's missing from this most affordable ExpressVPN plan?
You won't enjoy benefits like ExpressVPN Keys password manager, threat protection features, or the Identity Defender suite. The latter offers four essential products — ID Alerts, ID Theft Insurance, Data Removal, and Credit Scanner — designed to help you protect your identity from criminals.
While it doesn't offer a new email address, ExpressVPN and many of its closest rivals offer a dedicated password manager to generate and store secure logins for all of your online accounts
|KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PRESS OFFICE
It could be the sweet spot if you want more than ExpressVPN Basic, but don't need all the premium features. If you're already subscribed to a password manager like LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane, it could be cheaper to subscribe to ExpressVPN for its VPN and ability to suggest (and autofill) secure passwords.
Many other VPN providers also offer a number of handy extras that might be worth investing in. For example, NordVPN offers similar services, including a password manager and the option to include Incogni. This personal data removal tool asks websites and companies to scrub any information they have on you.
Prices start at £2.29 a month on NordVPN’s plans – all the way up to £4.79 a month for its Ultimate plans.
Benefits of ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is particularly well-suited for streaming as it boasts VPN server locations in 105 countries, providing access to global coverage. It offers ultra-fast speeds on a 10-Gbps network, essential for high-quality streaming without buffering.
With military-grade encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and features like split tunnelling and a kill switch, your online activity stays private. Based in the British Virgin Islands — outside Five Eyes jurisdiction — it avoids mandatory data retention laws, which means that even if the company were collecting data (it's not), law enforcement from the UK and US would be unable to compel ExpressVPN to hand over any information about its subscribers.
ExpressVPN supports a wide range of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs, and routers. There's no limit on the number of ExpressVPN apps that you can download on your devices, and with a single subscription, you can connect to the VPN on 10x gadgets at once.
VPNs work by encrypting all of your online traffic before it's sent over the internet. This prevents your ISP, advertisers, hackers, and fraudsters from tracking your online activity, stealing your personal data, or placing restrictions on you
|KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PRESS OFFICE
It also has a dedicated team that optimises the service for major streaming platforms. Round-the-clock customer support is available if you encounter any issues during race weekend.
ExpressVPN isn't the cheapest VPN. However, its 30-day money-back guarantee makes it a risk-free choice for privacy-conscious users and frequent streamers. It should also give new customers the confidence to subscribe to one of its longer contracts, which unlock the biggest discounts.
More From GB News