Thinking about trying a VPN for streaming in general. Any good benefits/drawbacks on iPhone?
You can set up a VPN server at home for free if you are tech savvy enough. It won’t get you content that you would get in other countries, but has all the other benefits of a VPN.
Thank you! I was looking at those? Is 1.1.1.1 safe to use? Any drawbacks? Battery life is something I’m thinking about too
I would download protonVPN app and try out there free VPN to see how you like it. Proton has already started there black Friday discount so you can get it for 12 months for $3/month.
Although if you only want a VPN, Mullvad has a cult following and is supposed to be the best, currently it is $5.36/month although you can buy an Mullvad subscription on Amazon for $57 for 1 year. From what I can tell if you purchase Mullvad from there website, it is always 5 Euros, which is currently $5.36 with the conversation rate.
If you take your online privacy and security seriously VPN are the first step of many many steps that should be taken.
If you live in a big city and find yourself constantly connected to a lot of different WiFi networks, sure.
Yes, but only Mullvad or Proton VPN. Don’t trust any others.
I use TorGard for 18 bucks a year for hotel/condo wifi if I have poor cell service.
Take 2 because Reddit deleted my reply the second I clicked post.
TL;DR: Yes it’s safe, has no notable drawbacks, and won’t effect your battery. 1.1.1.1 is a DNS Resolver offered by Cloudflare. Cloudflare is basically in DNS what Google is in Search, so yes, it’s safe and highly reputable. There aren’t any notable drawbacks and battery life should not be affected. Their VPN service is also safe with limited drawbacks and is probably a better option if you’re looking for speed. If you are on unsecured public WiFi, using 1.1.1.1 is a great way to make sure you’re connected to a safe network rather than using the WiFi provider’s network that’s probably not safe.
If you’re interested in the technical background on the DNS Resolving side of things (relevant to circumventing stream throttling):
DNS Resolvers are servers that computers use to translate human-readable domain names like YouTube.com into IP addresses so that computers can communicate with each other. By default, a mobile data connection will use a DNS Resolver provided by the carrier, which is usually operated by said carrier or one of their partners. This means that when you type in “YouTube.com” into your web browser or open the YouTube app, your device asks its DNS Resolver “hey what’s YouTube’s IP address“ and the DNS Resolver replies with the IP address, which your phone then uses to contact IP and help you start streaming content. When you’re using your carrier’s DNS Resolver, they can see this entire interaction take place because they are facilitating it, so they know what you’re doing on the Internet. When you try to access YouTube, they limit the speed of that connection to throttle your playback quality (to save themselves network bandwidth). When you use a third-party DNS Resolver that the carrier doesn’t control, like 1.1.1.1, the carrier doesn’t see this whole interaction take place. They can see the IP address you end up contacting but they can’t see the domain you originally asked to get an IP for. Since IP addresses are often shared, they can’t just speed limit the entire IP address because that could cause issues with other services running on that IP address, such as perhaps Google Search or Google Docs. When you use 1.1.1.1, instead of asking your carrier what YouTube’s IP address is, your phone asks Cloudflare, who has no interest in telling your carrier because they get nothing out of helping your carrier slow you down. 1.1.1.1 can also be faster than your carrier’s DNS Resolver because Cloudflare is also a DNS provider (among other things) so they run DNS for a lot of websites including ones you may be visiting, and their network operates worldwide, meaning they can often provide the fastest and most efficient DNS responses.
1.1.1.1 is totally safe to use. I don’t see a significant drain in battery with my phone.
Thanks! And those programs won’t damage my iPhone or anything like that?
How come those over NordVPN or Surfshark?
Thank you so much for the information! It sounds like it could be a great option for what I’m looking for
It might use more battery then not using a VPN, but it shouldn’t damage your phone.
If you want it for streaming, you need to download the 1.1.1.1 app and turn on WARP. This is actually a VPN and does have a battery impact. It’s still worth it though if you want high quality streaming. I find it’s not a huge impact.