If you’re reading these words without a VPN, guess what.

We know where you live.

Okay, so that's not true—and not just because we're too nice to go snooping around in your private affairs.

But it is true that going online without a decent VPN installed is a risky business.

If connecting to the internet without antivirus software is like mixing socially without vaccines, connecting without a VPN is like walking around with your name, address, email, phone number, ISP, and more written on a sandwich board.

We all care about privacy, but we don’t always know when we’re throwing it away.

Only about a third of internet users worldwide use a VPN, and—somewhat ironically—even fewer use one to protect the device they actually carry with them when they go outside, passing through countless public networks in the process.

Read on to find out why protecting your Android phone is important, simple, and—potentially—lots of fun.

What Is a VPN, Anyway?

For the uninitiated, VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.

A VPN works by effectively replacing your IP address (the random string of numbers that advertises your habits and whereabouts to the world) with the IP address of an anonymous server shared by countless other users.

With VPN software installed on your device, it’s impossible for anybody to look you up and obtain the data that would otherwise be freely available. Even your ISP loses the scent.

The tunnel connection that your VPN software establishes with its server completely shields your data from cybercriminals who spend their time preying on naive phone users connecting to public networks without precautions.

Likewise, when you’re connected to your wifi at home, your VPN software will prevent unsavory types from looking up your location and other stuff you’d rather keep to yourself.

VP(fu)N

But the benefits of using a VPN extend beyond keeping you safe.

If a site or service is censored in your country for any reason, no problem: just connect to a server in another country (most VPNs let you pick from servers all around the world) and you’re golden.

Likewise, if a site or service is only available in another country due to tedious licensing issues or commercially driven regional restrictions, don’t sweat it. Your VPN will let you perform the internet equivalent of teleportation, meaning you can access whatever you like.

There are countless ways that this might come in handy, but the classic is Netflix. Every region has its own unique Netflix library, and you’re almost certainly missing out because of the accident of your geography.

You know what’s coming next.

A VPN lets you overcome this hurdle in a jiffy, along with countless similar hurdles preventing you from enjoying content on YouTube, local news sites, region-locked mobile games, and more.

The biggest surprise, if you’ve never used a VPN, is just how straightforward the whole thing is.

While the term “VPN” has a dauntingly technical air, actually using a VPN to protect your privacy is as simple as installing an app, signing up, and tapping a dot on a map of the world.