What Can Your ISP Really See and Know About You?

Each of us uses the services of an Internet provider every day. We watch movies, series or play online games. In general, our whole life is on the Internet, and it plays a huge role for us. However, many do not even know that the Internet provider not only provides you with the opportunity to download cartoons or chat with your friend. The ISP can also track your traffic, the domains you visit, and view your search and browsing history.

Luckily, all of the above can be easily avoided. To do this, it is enough to use a VPN service with which your ISP can’t see your every move. With VPN, you can protect your personal data and information on your devices. With such a professional tool, you can always be sure that your network is safe.

Read our article to the end and cut off the provider from your Internet traffic. We will also tell you about the top five VPN providers in the private network market that will never let you down.

What Does My ISP Know About Me?

It isn’t very pleasant to admit, but your provider may collect a wealth of data that they can then sell to third parties. They, in turn, will set personal advertising. You can notice a similar effect while using Google services. As soon as you click on a picture of dogs or say about them a couple of times next to your phone, your browser pages will be full of advertising banners for selling dogs. 

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can do the same. Here is a list of what ISP can track:

1. Domains you visit. Simply put, your ISP can see what pages you visit on the web, even if they have the simplest encryption methods like HTTPS.
2. Specific pages on websites. If you visit pages without security protocols, your ISP can track what you are watching or scrolling on site.
3. The text you type. If you write a comment or place an order on a site that does not have a good encryption protocol, your ISP will be able to track all the text you enter.

In general, it’s enough to collect data from your Internet routine and use it against you. To prevent this, you need to protect your data online. Fortunately, there are several ways to protect yourself on the Internet and not fall into the trap of unfair Internet providers who can sell your information.

How to Prevent My ISP From Seeing What I Do Online

You may think that using the incognito mode in Google Chrome or the absence of a personal Facebook page can save you from surveillance by the provider. If you do not encrypt the data before sending through your router, your ISP can still receive the most sensitive information.

The provider will sell this data or keep it. And they will give your info to your authorities in case of request. In any case, there is nothing good here. What can you do to end this? Fortunately, there are several solutions to this problem.

We’ll consider the following:

1. Using a VPN service.
2. Proxy servers.
3. Tor Browser.

Using a VPN

VPN is one of the most reliable options for protecting your data online. With this service, you can encrypt your network traffic literally with a single click of the mouse or finger. ISP can’t track your activity when you use a VPN service. 

Advice! Do not use free VPN services to encrypt your data, as free services cannot provide reliable protection for your information. In addition, free VPNs often sell user data to third parties, which makes using such applications meaningless and goes against the goals of personal protection on the Internet. Also, such applications will have a lot of restrictions, advertising banners, and freezes.

Proxy Servers

Using proxy servers is a great way to change your IP address and stop your ISP from tracking your online activity. Unfortunately, this method will not help you avoid saving and viewing data. However, a proxy server will help you hide your identity. And your provider will not know the owner of the data ISP collected.

Tor Browser

This method is the most secure, and your ISP will not be able to see what you are doing online. With the Tor Browser, you can avoid complete surveillance as Tor redirects all traffic through three nodes in different countries. In addition, all data that you send is encrypted three times so that the provider cannot view it.

This method is better than VPN or Proxy, as your ISP can’t see what you do online.

What to Look For in a VPN to Prevent ISP Monitoring

With the repeal of net neutrality, Internet Service providers (ISPs) now have the power to throttle your internet speed, block access to certain websites, and even charge you extra for certain types of content. In other words, they can control what you see and do online. And if that’s not enough to worry about, they can also sell your data without your consent. Thankfully, you can prevent all of this from happening: by using a VPN to make your ISP unable to see everything. .

When choosing a VPN, there are a few things you should look for:

1. A no-logs policy. A VPN like this one doesn’t track your online activity as well as your ISP. 
2. 256-bit encryption. This is the strongest type of encryption available and will make it impossible for anyone to snoop on your traffic. 
3. A kill switch. This feature will prevent your traffic from exposing if the VPN connection drops. 
4. Fast speeds. A good VPN won’t slow down your internet connection too much. 
5. Compatibility with major operating systems. You’ll want a VPN that works on all of your devices. 
6. 24/7 customer support. If you have any problems with the VPN, you should be able to get help at any time of day or night. 

Don’t Forget to Test Your VPN

Also, a very important point when choosing a VPN to avoid ISP tracking is application testing. During the test, you should pay attention to several factors:

• Battery.
• The operation of your device.
• Data protection.
• Internet speed.

These key factors will help you choose the perfect VPN service for you. Choose an application that: 

• Will consume the least battery.
• Will be better optimized.
• Keeps your data safe with new protocols like WireGuard (if you want an ISP can’t track your activity with VPN).
• Keeps your Internet speed high and doesn’t not drop it much while using VPN. 

Keeping a balance in these states, you can find the perfect application for your Internet experience and enjoy surfing the browser, watching movies, as well as downloading games and online sessions.

Best VPNs to Keep Your Traffic Hidden from Your ISP

If you want to use a VPN service for personal protection, you should choose only the best solutions. We have collected the most reliable VPN services for your safety and are ready to show you their strongest features. However, even the best services have drawbacks that can affect the user experience slightly. By keeping a balance between the two states, you can choose the best service for yourself.

NordVPN	This VPN service is the best among all similar services and justifies users’ trust in practice. For a $5.99 per month subscription, you’ll get the following: – 30 days return guarantee. – 256-bit encryption of your data. – Hundreds of servers with fast connections. – Six simultaneous connections. – Kill switch. – Cross-platform application for all existing operating systems. Many users noted that the application is perfectly optimized even for older devices and saves battery power even with active use. With such a safeguard, your ISP will not be able to spy on your data. However, even this application for fixing ISP tracking has one minor drawback. Users noted that while working with VPN on personal computers, longer connections to servers occur.
SurfShark	There are many reasons why we think Surfshark is one of the best of VPN providers, but here are some of the most important ones: – Surfshark offers a very generous 30-day money-back guarantee. – Surfshark has servers in over 63 countries. – It allows you to connect an unlimited number of devices with one account.  – VPN is available for all major platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Fire TV. – Surfshark offers 24/7 live chat support. With the application using military data protection measures, you can access content in other countries and fully enjoy the Internet experience. In addition, a no-logs policy will be a nice bonus, which will make your footprint on the network completely invisible. Weaknesses include: – Slow connection speed in some cases. – Fewer servers.
ExpressVPN	There are many different VPN providers, but ExpressVPN is one of our top picks thanks to its fast speeds, robust security features, and wide selection of server locations for 12,95$ per month. The benefits are: – Reliable protection of your data with 256-bit encryption. – Kill switch. – DNS servers. – Cross-platform. – Access to Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming platforms. – No-logs. – Fast servers. If you’re interested in a premium app that provides you with all the protection you need, gives you all the tools you need to surf the web securely, and represents your best interests, consider subscribing to ExpressVPN. As for the weaknesses, this VPN is: – More expensive. – A bit more challenging to set up as it offers many features.
CyberGhost	This application is named like this for a reason. With this application, you can become an online ghost on any of your favorite devices for only 2.50 euros(2,49$) per month. And thanks to 256-bit encryption and fast servers, you can move from country to country at the click of a finger and transfer massive amounts of data without fear of being seen or compromised. Among the advantages of a VPN are the following: – Automatic ad blocker. – Malware scanner. – No-logs policy. – Seven simultaneous connections. – Kill switch. Unfortunately, this VPN is not suitable for those who are going to China or the UAE and want to use a private network. Also, CyberGhost will not be the best option for those users who have been using a private network for years and require a wide range of functionality. Otherwise, this is a classic VPN service that will allow you to access blocked content, encrypt your data and leave you completely anonymous on the network.
IPVanish	For only $10.99 per month for a VPN, you can make an ISP in no way track your activity. So, IPVanish service will help you to dissolve among the many Internet pages and will not give attackers a chance to gain access to your data. This service is excellent for protecting just your IP address, as well as for particularly sensitive data like banking info. The pros of the service include: – Military-grade encryption. – Strict zero-logging policy. – Over 40,000 IP addresses are available. – 24/7 customer support. – Kill switch. However, this service also has minor disadvantages, such as: – Poor working in China. – Netflix and Hulu won’t unlock.

As you can see, even though your ISP can monitor your every move on the web, you can still fix this problem and eliminate annoying snoops. To do this, select a reliable and secure VPN from our list and pay for a subscription. After that, you can safely use the services of a VPN provider and go unnoticed on the network without ISP.

Bottom Line

In a conclusion, your Internet Provider (ISP) knows a lot about you:

• They can see what websites you visit, how long you spend on them, and even what time you visit them.
• They can also see your IP address, giving them information about your location.
• Additionally, they can see what devices you are using to connect to the internet and what software you are using.

All of this information is great for creating a profile of you and your internet use. This information is useful for marketing purposes or selling to third parties.

What are your solutions? You have three following options:

• You can protect your privacy by using a VPN to encrypt your traffic and hide your IP address. 
• You can also use Tor to route your traffic through multiple servers to hide your identity. 
• Finally, you can use a proxy server or private browsing mode, which will not save your browsing history on your computer.

FAQ