How a VPN protects your privacy: Stay hidden from your ISP in 2026

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is software that protects and anonymises everything you do online.

VPNs can conceal your online activities by routing traffic through an encrypted tunnel that connects to secure servers worldwide. The most reliable VPNs employ the same encryption standard as governments in the United Kingdom and the United States, ensuring that even your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can't keep tabs on 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 into online forms and sensitive data transmitted to and from your device will be safeguarded from hackers using strong encryption provided by a VPN.

How a VPN Can Protect Your Privacy In 2026

A VPN helps protect your privacy through a number of means, which include a combination of encryption, IP address masking, and secure server routing, fundamentally changing how your online activity appears to third parties.

Encrypting your internet activity is the main way that a VPN ensures your privacy is protected. Before your device sends any data out to the internet, the VPN software encrypts it, turning it into unreadable code.

Without a VPN, your ISP can see every website you visit, how long you are there, and what services you are using, whereas using a VPN completely locks that information down and makes it impossible to read.

For those who work regularly on public Wi-Fi, hackers could see all of your network traffic from your device; however, VPN encryption makes it indecipherable.

There’s also IP masking, which helps make you anonymous. VPNs replace your physical location's unique Internet Protocol address (IP with the IP address of the VPN server you are connected to.

Websites, online services, and third-party trackers see the VPN server's IP address instead of your real one. This makes it impossible for them to determine your true geographic location or build a profile of your browsing habits based on your unique identifier.

Most VPN providers also implement strict no-logs policies with RAM-only servers, meaning they do not store or retain any data of your online activities. Most VPN providers are also audited to make sure they uphold their promises to their customers.

If this has convinced you into buying a VPN to help protect your privacy, there’s plenty to go for, but there’s one at the top of our list you should consider – and that’s ExpressVPN.

The Best VPN Protect Your Privacy

ExpressVPN is one of – if not, the — best VPN provider on the market when it comes to protecting your privacy. ExpressVPN is an award-winning VPN with gongs from the likes of Techradar, CNET, and Tom's Guide, with praise for its servers dedicated to fast, reliable streaming from anywhere in the world. We awarded this secure software with our coveted five-stars in our ExpressVPN review.

When it comes to privacy, ExpressVPN offers RAM-only servers and has a strict no-logs policy with best-in-class AES-256 encryption – the standard trusted by security experts and governments worldwide for protecting classified information.

ExpressVPN is also headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, a nation without mandatory data retention laws. Monthly prices start from £1.99 a month, and unlock ExpressVPN across up to 14 devices. Once installed, connect to a UK server from ExpressVPN's network of over 3,000 servers across 105 countries.

The service uses proprietary Lightway protocol for enhanced speed and reliability, ensuring smooth streaming of festival performances.

The service works across all your devices - Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, Smart TVs, and streaming devices like Fire TV Stick. You can even use ExpressVPN's MediaStreamer feature to watch on devices that don't normally support VPNs, such as PlayStation or Xbox.

ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to watch the entire festival risk-free and recover your investment if you're not satisfied with the service.

VPNs are not illegal and are often mandated by companies to improve online security for employees. However, it's your responsibility to ensure that you're using these popular apps for legal use.

Always check the terms and conditions of the streaming service.

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, which you can download on your devices, and with a single subscription, you can connect to the VPN on 10x devices at once.

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.