Glossary
VPN and privacy terms, in plain English.
A quick reference for the words that show up on review and comparison pages — no jargon required. Where a term has a full guide, there’s a link to dig deeper.
- AES-256
- A widely used, strong encryption standard. Often quoted as “bank-grade” — it is the workhorse cipher behind most VPNs and HTTPS.
- Audit (independent)
- A review of a provider’s apps or no-logs claims by an outside firm. Audits are one of the strongest signals that a privacy claim is real. Learn more →
- Concurrent connections
- How many devices you can use on one VPN plan at the same time. Matters most for households and people with many gadgets.
- DNS
- The internet’s phone book: it turns a site’s name into the number your device connects to. A VPN should handle these lookups privately. Learn more →
- DNS leak
- When your DNS lookups slip outside the VPN and reach your internet provider, even though the VPN looks connected. Quick to test and usually quick to fix. Learn more →
- Encryption
- Scrambling your data so only the intended endpoint can read it. It is what turns an open Wi-Fi hop into a private tunnel.
- Geo-restriction
- When content or a service is limited to certain countries. A VPN can let you reach the locations and home-country services you are entitled to. Learn more →
- IKEv2/IPsec
- A fast, stable VPN protocol that is especially good on mobile because it reconnects smoothly when you switch networks. Learn more →
- IP address
- The number that identifies your device on the internet. A VPN replaces your real IP with the server’s, hiding your location and network. Learn more →
- Jurisdiction
- The country whose laws a VPN operates under. It affects what a provider can be compelled to share, which is why privacy-minded users weigh it. Learn more →
- Kill switch
- A safety feature that blocks internet traffic if the VPN drops, so your apps never quietly fall back to your normal connection. Learn more →
- Latency (ping)
- The delay before data starts moving, measured in milliseconds. Low latency matters for gaming and video calls; a nearby server usually helps.
- Multi-hop (double VPN)
- Routing your traffic through two VPN servers instead of one for extra separation between you and the exit point. Slower, but harder to trace.
- No-logs
- A policy of not storing records of what you do online. Treat it as a claim to verify through audits, jurisdiction, and track record — not a checkbox. Learn more →
- Obfuscation (stealth)
- Techniques that make VPN traffic look like ordinary HTTPS, helping it work on restrictive networks that try to block VPNs.
- OpenVPN
- A long-standing, highly compatible VPN protocol. Very configurable and battle-tested, if a little slower than newer options. Learn more →
- Proxy
- A simpler middleman that reroutes some traffic but usually without full-device encryption. Lighter than a VPN, and less protective.
- RAM-only servers
- Servers that run entirely in memory, so they hold no data when powered off. They make it harder for any logs to persist on a seized server.
- Split tunneling
- Sending only chosen apps or sites through the VPN while the rest use your normal connection. Handy, with a privacy trade-off. Learn more →
- Throttling
- When an internet provider deliberately slows certain traffic, such as streaming. A VPN can sometimes reduce it by hiding what the traffic is.
- Tor
- A free network that bounces traffic through volunteer relays for strong anonymity. Slower than a VPN and aimed at a different job.
- WireGuard
- A modern VPN protocol with a small codebase, known for fast speeds and quick connections. Many apps use a WireGuard-based protocol by default. Learn more →