What each tool really hides, what it doesn't — and a 60-second quiz that picks the right one for you
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All three tools route your traffic through somewhere else — but they protect very different things. Anyone who tells you one of them makes you "invisible" is selling something.
| Feature | VPN | Proxy | Tor |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Encrypts ALL traffic from your device and routes it through the provider's server | Forwards traffic for one app (usually just the browser) through an intermediary server | Bounces traffic through 3+ volunteer relays, encrypting it in layers ("onion routing") |
| Encryption | Yes full tunnel, device-wide | Usually none (an HTTPS proxy encrypts only to the proxy) | Yes layered; the last relay sees unencrypted traffic unless the site uses HTTPS |
| Hides from your ISP | Yes — ISP sees only a VPN connection | Partially — only proxied apps, often unencrypted | Yes — ISP sees only a Tor connection |
| Hides your IP from websites | Yes | Yes | Yes — and the IP changes per circuit |
| Who must you trust? | The VPN company — it CAN log everything if it chooses | The proxy operator — free proxies are notorious for logging & injecting ads | No single party — relays are independent; still not magic against a global adversary |
| Speed | Fast (small overhead) | Fast | Slow — fine for reading, painful for video/downloads |
| Cost | Good ones are paid; free VPNs often monetize your data | Often free — which is exactly the risk | Free (donor-funded, open source) |
| Best for | Everyday privacy, public Wi-Fi, streaming, torrenting policy permitting | Light one-off tasks, simple geo-unblocking where privacy barely matters | High-risk anonymity: whistleblowers, journalists, sensitive research |
| Watch out | "No-logs" is a promise, not a proof — pick audited providers | Never log into banking/email through a random free proxy | Some sites block Tor; don't torrent over Tor; keep Tor Browser unmodified |
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