Can a VPN be Tracked by ISP?

A VPN can be tracked by your ISP if they know what to look for. However, the only way a VPN service provider would know is if they had access to the logs from their servers.

Most reputable providers have strict policies about keeping customers’ data private and do not allow for this type of monitoring or inspection. In order to identify a customer’s traffic on their network, an ISP would need to monitor all traffic.

They would have to know the person is using a specific type of encryption such as OpenVPN or L2TP/IPSec PSK. For more in-depth information you should read the surfshark review but for now, let’s keep this discussion to connection tracking.

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Can a VPN Help you Stay Hidden from your ISP?

A VPN can help you stay hidden from your ISP when using torrents or downloading pirated content. If you want to be 100% anonymous when downloading files, then connecting with a no-logging VPN is one of the best ways to ensure that they cannot track the data back to you.

With a good VPN, it’s possible to access sites that are blocked in certain countries or to hide your identity from the authorities. For example, if you live under a regime where downloading copyrighted content is illegal, you can use a no-log VPN service to change your IP address so that they think someone else is accessing it.

Why Your ISP Can’t Track Your Connection on VPN

Now it might be a bit confusing for some people because they might think how come an internet service provider does not know what you are doing. After all, they are the one providing you with an internet connection. The answer to this question is simple; most users don’t know how proxies and VPNs work.

Basically, there are many ways for an ISP to track your online activities like DNS leaks or IP address tracking, etc. However, they can only do that if you’re not using VPNs.

But when you are using a VPN, they will only see an encrypted connection between their server and the remote server which means they don’t know what data is being transferred between them.

Is There Still Any Chance to Get Caught Accessing Restricted Content?

Your ISPs may not be able to track your activity while connected through a virtual private network. However, there are still some chances of getting caught because most network providers keep logs of user data.

Unfortunately, most companies will share these logs with your internet service provider if they request them. Although this usually happens with free networks you should still be careful therefore, you must always choose a trustworthy provider.

Another thing that usually people confuse with VPNs is proxy networks. Proxy networks have been around for a while and they are used to access restricted content.

The difference between a proxy network and a VPN is that the former allows you to hide your IP address while using it but doesn’t encrypt your data. Therefore, if you want to use one of them then select a VPN over a Proxy Network.

Final Words

So, can you really stay hidden from your internet service provider while connected to a virtual private network server? The answer to this question is both yes and no as it depends on what network you are using.

If your network provider is a well-reputed company then you shouldn’t worry at all because they will not keep any logs.

Even if they are keeping logs of your data, they will never share it with others. And if they do it is  because you violated their terms and conditions.