Whatever it is your reason to come to Vietnam, you should know that freedom of speech is limited in Vietnam and, unfortunately, keeps deteriorating. At the same time, you will find that social media still works. This article covers the reasons to use VPN in Vietnam, the best providers for this country, and the legal aspects of VPN usage. In January 2019, Vietnamese authorities came up with new cybersecurity that provided them with sweeping powers on accessing user data and Internet censorship.
If you came here just to take a screenshot of a list of the best Vietnamese VPNs, please find it below:
Why should you use a VPN in Vietnam?
Even though our constant research shows that it is beneficial to use a VPN regardless of your geographical location, here are the main reasons why it might be a good idea to use a VPN for Vietnam.
Content accessibility: Remember how I wrote that social media is still available in Vietnam? That being said, Facebook alone had to remove 1,500 pieces of content per governmental request in 2018. The majority of those articles and publications were connected to human rights activists, organizations, and regular users. The same situation is with streaming services like YouTube and Netflix. They are available, but their contents vary significantly from those in countries with no internet freedom regulations in place. Vietnamese government continuously require YouTube to remove thousands of recordings.
Secure your online activity: As in every other country, it is a good idea to use a VPN while using a public hotspot. If you like working from the next-door coffee shop – get a VPN for Vietnam. It is mostly applicable if you log into your bank account or utilizing any other apps with sensitive information.
Avoid tracking and surveillance: If you don’t like to access all your actions from the censorship standpoint or simply don’t like the government to look over your shoulder – VPN is definitely for you. The government can track and collect your browsing history, posts, messages, and so on. A VPN protects your online activity by encrypting your traffic and hiding your IP-address.
Protect your devices: In the past, VPNs were mostly used to connect users who WFH or spread out throughout the country with the company’s server. Now we don’t only do that, but also use all of our devices for, well, everything. That is why we need to protect all of them and ensure that our data don’t slip out to vicious individuals.
Is using VPN legal in Vietnam?
Even though the country is subjected to Internet censorship and monitoring, VPNs remain legal in Vietnam. They are actually ubiquitous since people want to avoid being tracked and be safe while browsing, streaming, and texting.
What’s the difference between paid and free VPN for Vietnam?
A lot of providers offer free or semi-free packages, and VPNs for Vietnam is not an exception. So why pay more, you might ask. Here are the main differences between free and paid VPN services.
Pricing
That’s one and only convincing argument towards choosing free VPNs for Vietnam. And, well, by not having to pay, you don’t provide any financial information, and you can stay completely anonymous. However, you should understand that to maintain a stable connection and provide ongoing services, any company needs resources like servers and employees. So it logical to assume that you are not paying for this – someone else does. Of course, big companies that provide free plans will just shower you in ads forcing you to buy a paid version. But many other companies are not that innocent. They can sell your data to the highest bidder and use it as they wish.
Security
The absence of a transparent business model with free VPNs often results in a lowered security level. Many free VPNs offer only one type of security protocol, the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, which is common but is no longer considered secure. And some Vietnamese VPN providers do not provide encryption at all. Provided that, you can not expect to be fully protected from prying eyes while using a free VPN.
Quality of service and support
Apart from the potential danger of your data being sold to third parties and numerous ads, if you choose a free VPN for Vietnam, you get significantly lower support quality than you would do with the paid options. Sometimes you are left to the FAQ section on the website.
User Privacy
You don’t want a service to log and track your activity while online. Depending on a state, there are regulations on which information providers should hand over to authorities upon request. And, well, if they have a whole history of your actions online – what is the point of using a VPN? So if a provider does not provide a clear no-logs policy – don’t use this VPN for Vietnam.