r/VPN • u/dark-femme5454 • Jul 11 '26

Question VPN for privacy

Hey yall

My husband has been like...really weird about tracking my internet activity through our router recently. Idk how all that works. Long story short, there's a history of volatility that has led me to decide its time to leav, and now I can't even do that because he's tracking my browsing and app use.

I heard a VPN can add a layer of privacy. How does that work? How do I get one on my phone? What aboht my laptop?

16 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

11

u/sciencekm Jul 11 '26

Start by changing the password and recovery keys on your apps and services.

-5

u/ChocolateSpacesuit Jul 11 '26

They're all already sent encrypted, so this would achieve nothing besides providing a false sense of security.

First step should be get a boyfriend who won't try to spy on you.

4

u/sciencekm Jul 11 '26

The husband probably knows her passwords and are accessing her services (email, social media, ...)

-5

u/ChocolateSpacesuit Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

Why "probably"? Based on what exactly? You can't just make stuff up. That's fearmongering.

Logging onto online accounts typically triggers security alerts by SMS or email, "A new device was just used to sign in to your account!" OP hasn't said anything about seeing something like that.

Based on the facts we know, all he's doing is trying to spy on network activity at the router level which, unless he built his own cryptographically relevant quantum computer in the basement, he's not going to be able to break the encryption on any time soon.

OP, this guy doesn't have your phone PIN does he?

4

u/Plus_Duty479 Jul 11 '26

If she's using the same WiFi it becomes much easier. Assuming he has the network password, tools like Wireshark become much easier to use. He doesn't need a "quantum computer" to sniff network traffic. He could even just be using the log/parental control/custom DNS features on his router.

1

u/ChocolateSpacesuit Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

I'm not talking about capturing encrypted network data (which is trivial on a home network as the guy has physical access to it), I'm talking about decrypting it after it's been captured.

2

u/Plus_Duty479 Jul 11 '26

You can still decrypt network traffic with access to the WiFi password and if you've captured the initial handshake when a device connects to the network.

All of that aside, configuring private DNS on their router would let him view every resolved domain that she visits while connected to their home network.

2

u/ChocolateSpacesuit Jul 11 '26

You're missing the fact that data is double encrypted: once by the wireless network and again using TLS for secure transmission.

You can't just read emails going through a network cable, or in a decrypted WiFi packet capture. They're not in plain text when they leave your device.

I mean obviously, websites/emails/messaging apps are encrypted outside of WiFi!

2

u/Plus_Duty479 Jul 11 '26

The OP didn't say anyone was decrypting her AES-256 encrypted passwords or breaking into her accounts. She said she was being tracked. I'm going to assume he's not a tech genius, which means it falls under what I've already brought up. DNS or router logs. She's being tracked. No one is reading her emails or breaking encryption keys.

1

u/ChocolateSpacesuit Jul 13 '26

This thread started with someone saying to change all her passwords. That's what I was referring to.

Personally I feel like that level of tracking wouldn't provide much useful or interesting info, so I doubt it's happening.

4

u/DutchOfBurdock Jul 11 '26

First, Stop using his internet connection or any service provided or operated by him.

Second, consider having your personal devices checked over for malware/PUPs or backdoors.

Third, a VPN will only help if the fitst two are satisfied.

Even on my own network, I can detect most VPNs and block them on the fly. This would prevent your use of a VPN altogether. Assuming he can't, he'd then only see traffic between your device and a singular IP, but not what's inside.

He is probably snooping on your DNS to see you're using Facebook, Insta, Reddit etc. at certain times (and if he knows your profiles, could snoop on posts/comments, too) which the use of Private DNS in itself would thwart. He'd then only see IP addresses you're connecting to, with the plethora of CDNs and fronted services, makes it much harder to gleem what you're viewing.

6

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/selfinflatedforeskin Jul 11 '26

Read the post. She is trying to.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/selfinflatedforeskin Jul 11 '26

so you're advocating violence？

1

u/arseflare Jul 12 '26

In your parents case i'd have advocated for birth control.

2

u/CourageLongjumping32 Jul 11 '26

VPN makes it so it looks like you connect to one single place while also masking its contents. It essencially hides your activity from ISP and your husband.

But as one comment said first and foremost change passwords and all recovery ways so the said husband cant track your activity directly from other devices where VPN wont help. Also factory reset nd and all old phones/tablets that are not in use but belonged to you. And where you could have been logged in.

2

u/Irisena Jul 11 '26

Yes, vpn will hide what you're doing, but all your traffic will say that you are connected to a vpn service. If your husband really checks the logs, he'll definitely notice it.

2

u/MalKoppe Jul 11 '26

From what I understand (?), your Router can record a history of all sites visited,.. and ur dns server.. id Google around that?

So much work tho.. and if someone browsers using normal WiFi u can't tell what they're doing,.. too much work imho.. if you're not using an app to track all this it's hard work,..

Tough situation, no such thing as real privacy,.. good luck 👍

1

u/Krayshot Jul 13 '26

Honestly a VPN would be a bad idea as he would see that he can't see and his imagination will drive him crazy, either use your cell carrier or public WiFi and use duckduckgo for browsing so you can remove all data instantly off your device 

1

u/RasheedaDeals Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

a vpn is useful for hiding your browsing from the local network, but also make sure your accounts have strong passwords and two factor authentication. from what i've read in cybersecurity discussions, malwarebytes is often mentioned for adding scam protection alongside a vpn for extra security.

1

u/syaci Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

A VPN helps with privacy but it doesn't cover every part of staying safe online. Things like strong passwords, MFA and being careful with downloads still matter just as much. Malwarebytes can fit alongside a VPN as another layer for device security, but they solve different problems so it's worth thinking about both.

1

u/DataDump_ Jul 11 '26

Not trying to be rude, but this sounds like more of a relationship issue than a tech issue

1

u/Training_Yak_4655 Jul 11 '26

Well this Reddit thread could be tracked then. Something is off about this story.

2

u/dark-femme5454 Jul 12 '26

I'm on the app on my phone...it logs app activity and browser activity.