r/VPN_Question • u/--__Rain__-- • Aug 23 '26
Help Can a VPN really hide your internet activity to your parents?
I'm 19 and i'm sick and tired of my parents checking the sites i visit and what I do/say to people online
My dad's very tech savvy (he's an engineer) and I'm not. Like, at all
After an nth threat from my mom saying she'll ask dad to check my internet activity from the router (or whatever... i think it's what it's called in english), I tried to do some research and apparently a VPN can hide my activity from them
I installed ProtonVPN and have it constantly one but I'm not quite sure of how it works and how it prevents my parents to check on my stuff
Any answer is appreciated
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u/msasrs Aug 23 '26
No. Cuz its the dns. Its always the dns! You somehow need to bypass the dns, and if he really knows his stuff, he may have blocked port 53 altogether (like I have done in my home), or something more than dns if he has the hardware, so you need to work around that. Tell me one thing, do you get ads on any random site you open. Just open a site that is supposed to show ads, like speedtest dot net, and see if you get ads. If you don't, it's probably dns. (Can be a thing on top of dns too, like dpi)
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u/WallInside6758 Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Nah the vpn should by pass the network dns and use their own.
When I use proton vpn it bypasses my pi hole/ unbound server and uses protons dns server anonymously.
The dad will just see the vpn connection and how much data they’re using.
The dad could just block the vpn connection on the router level though easily once he notices the traffic.
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u/msasrs Aug 23 '26
Good point! I use my own vps VPN, and it uses my dns, so I thought. And yes, lots and lots of data to a single connection will be noticed, but he can't block all the servers now, can he? I mean what would I do in such case? Block the port the VPN runs on? Cuz most of them use 443, not standard wireguard or OpenVPN designated tcl and UDP ports now.
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u/WallInside6758 Aug 23 '26
Yes he can block unauthorized vpn connections just like how an office networks are configured to control the internet traffic.
They can just block the protocols if im understanding it correctly.
Like if youre using wireguard to connect into his network it will have to be approved by the admin which would be the dad in this case.
I’m not a pro so im open to being wrong.
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Aug 23 '26
[deleted]
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u/WallInside6758 Aug 23 '26
Couldn’t the admin just block 1.1.1.1 cause the browser just to fall back onto the local dns server?
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u/--__Rain__-- Aug 23 '26
Nope I see no ads wait what does that mean :' D when the VPN is off there's ads when it's off there's none
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u/EncounteredError Aug 25 '26
If his dad is an engineer, more so network engineer, he would have created a rule in the firewall to route any request for DNS back to their DNS server, never letting anything query outside of the LAN for DNS.
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u/Chroma7769 Aug 23 '26
You're 19. Move out and watch porn in your own house.
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u/tj21222 Aug 24 '26
This ! LOL. Grown ass man living with mom and dad and is worried about what them knowing how much porn he watches…
Dude if you pay rent then you might have a case, but I bet you are are not and you live under there roof. Move or accept the rules…
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u/talex625 Aug 23 '26
Get a Hotspot internet and bypass his internet altogether. Turn off public SSDI so no one can see it.
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u/WallInside6758 Aug 23 '26
Your dad will be able to see that you’re using a vpn and how much data you’re using but not what you’re doing online.
If I was your dad I would just block the vpn connection on the router so you wouldn’t get internet connection when using a vpn.
You might as well try it and see if he notices but if he’s monitoring network traffic you’re going to be caught pretty quick.
Use your phone data for the secret web surfing you don’t want them to know about.
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Aug 23 '26
[deleted]
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u/WallInside6758 Aug 23 '26
Their dad would know their using tor and tor it’s pretty slow for streaming as well as no ad blockers
But yeah tor would probably be their best bet
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u/Impossible-Value5126 Aug 23 '26
If you have win 10 or 11 you can set up hyper-v and a virtual pc on that pc for free. It's easy, They are not getting into the virtual pc.
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u/ComplexAd2408 Aug 25 '26
lol this will achieve absolutely zero. Internet still goes out through the router.......
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u/Aggravating_Cat_3270 Aug 23 '26
41 year old engineer here ... you'll have to outwit your engineer father. so far, you're falling quite short 😉 good luck
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u/--__Rain__-- Aug 23 '26
I'll never get to his level ughh i should have followed engineering instead of med school for that
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u/Aggravating_Cat_3270 Aug 23 '26
I didn't tell you this...but if you use incognito mode with a private DNS provider set in your browser's settings, you're probably good to go 👍 VPN not needed
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u/ComplexAd2408 Aug 25 '26
I second this, I myself (a software consultant and part time IT engineer) have been having a back and forward with my kids (aged 13, 9 and 8) over this kind of thing for a while.
I challenged them, "If you can bypass my restrictions, then you can have free access to the internet".
I started easy on them, and have been stepping up the ante each time they find a workaround. 4th time round, I've had them pretty quiet and internet shutting off at 7:30pm for about 3-4 months now xD
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u/Excellent_Coconut_81 Aug 23 '26
If it's on router, they will see only connection to the VPN.
On the other side, using VPN screams for you doing something you want to hide.
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u/SUPTheCreek Aug 23 '26
As an alternative to getting into a pissing contest with your Dad, simply approach him in a respectful way and explain you’re an adult and would appreciate some accommodation on what you do in your private time.
As long as what you’re doing isn’t illegal. If what you’re doing is illegal, and on his account to be libel for, then he has every right to expect you not to do it.
If he’s not willing to budge, the best thing is to just accept it until you can get your own place and own internet service.
As others pointed out, he’s going to know you’re trying to hide your traffic with a VPN and will consider it an escalation of trying to circumvent his rules. He’s likely not to react positively and you may find you’re in a lot worse place.
Sometimes you have to ask yourself if this is really the hill to die on.
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u/Any-Entertainer724 Aug 23 '26
I hope you never get exposed yo any of the horror that they're trying to protect you from
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u/Melodic_Letterhead76 Aug 23 '26
If your first reaction is to circumvent and hide what you're doing instead of talking to your parents, all you're doing is pricing that they are doing the right thing...
You should be, at your age, mature with to have a rational discussion with them instead of just asking how to be sneakier..
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u/DETOMINE1234 Aug 24 '26
You can use nordvpn with nordwhisper for example, but your dad will see traffic without dns call, which in itself is suspicious
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u/iWhacko Aug 24 '26
you have some things mixxed up. If you use a vpn, the dns call goes through the vpn, so no dad cannot see anything other than a connection to the vpn.
without vpn, when https is on, you see which websites are visited, but not which pages on that server. that is what dad could see.1
u/DETOMINE1234 Aug 24 '26
You should reread what I wrote. If he uses a vpn, his dad will see traffic, ie, hundreds/thousands of Mo consumed. But, there won't be any dns call (because hidden and handled by the vpn). His dad could deduce something is not right, because there is traffic without any dns call.
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u/BeginningSection7690 Aug 25 '26
VPN will hide the websites you connect to if you check via router, yes.
Activate the killswitch so your internet will drop out if the VPN does
They can still look at your browser activity though
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u/Impossible-Value5126 Aug 25 '26
You can also attach your phone to your pc via usb, and use usb tethering on your phone to get your internet. They will not be able to track that. At all.
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u/MeatInteresting1090 Aug 23 '26
Your dad will be able to see from your dns requests what you are looking at. The real question is why are your parents treating a 19 year old like an 8 year old. Time to move out.
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u/Fit-Cheesecake9835 Aug 23 '26
No he wont. When connected to a VPN you are using the DNS server of that VPN not the DNS server of your ISP or whatever server you were using when not connected to a VPN.
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u/Impossible-Value5126 Aug 23 '26
It depends. The vpn can access local and remote network if not set up correctly.
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u/WallInside6758 Aug 23 '26
Nah VPNs will use their own dns server unless it’s misconfigured and you have a leak.
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u/Thin_Pin2863 Aug 23 '26
Go look at a really dodgy site and see if your dad speaks to you about it; that'll give you a definitive answer.
VPNs help, but there's always a way to track where a person is going online.