How to use Private.Ki with VPN

Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) alongside Private.Ki is straightforward and can further enhance your privacy, though it’s not strictly required. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Choose a Trusted VPN Service

A VPN routes your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server operated by the VPN provider, masking your IP address with that server’s IP. If you already have a VPN you trust, you can use it with Private.Ki without any special configuration. Simply connect to the VPN on your device – once the VPN connection is active, all your web traffic (including Private.Ki) will go through it.

2. Access Private.Ki normally

After connecting to the VPN, visit Private.Ki and log in as usual. From Private.Ki’s perspective, you’re coming from the VPN server’s IP address. We do not block VPN IPs; in fact, we welcome and encourage the use of VPNs for additional privacy. Your session and features will work the same. Because our service is end-to-end encrypted, using a VPN doesn’t change the encryption of your messages – it simply adds another layer of encryption on the network level and hides your true IP from our servers.

Benefits of using a VPN:

  • IP Address Privacy: Normally, when you access a website, your public IP is visible to that site (and to any network observers). Private.Ki doesn’t log IPs long-term, but your IP might be seen in transient logs. With a VPN, the IP visible to us is that of the VPN server, not your own. This can anonymize your connection further, especially if the VPN has many users sharing that IP. It also means anyone monitoring your local network or ISP sees only an encrypted VPN connection, not that you’re accessing Private.Ki.

  • Bypass Local Restrictions: If your network or country restricts or monitors encrypted communications, a VPN can help circumvent those blocks. For instance, if Private.Ki were ever censored on a certain network, connecting via a VPN located elsewhere would likely allow you to use the service normally.

  • Secure Public Wi-Fi Usage: When traveling or using public Wi-Fi, a VPN secures all your traffic from potential eavesdroppers on that network. While Private.Ki itself is always HTTPS encrypted, a VPN ensures that even the initial DNS lookups or any non-HTTP connections are secured. It provides peace of mind in untrusted networks.

VPN vs. Tor

A common question is, should you use a VPN, Tor, or both? The answer depends on your threat model. Tor offers higher anonymity (multiple hops, hard to trace) but is slower and sometimes inconvenient.

A VPN is faster and great for privacy from local observers, but you are entrusting your traffic metadata to the VPN provider.

Private.Ki is secure with or without either, but combining our encryption with either Tor or a reputable no-log VPN gives you robust privacy.

Some users even use a VPN and then Tor (or Tor inside a VPN) – that’s up to you and beyond the scope here. For most users, a VPN is a nice balance of privacy and speed for daily use.

Remember that even without a VPN, your Private.Ki content is safe due to end-to-end ecryption. With a VPN, you’re mainly hiding your traffic from onlookers and adding anonymity. It’s another tool in your privacy toolkit, and when combined with Private.Ki’s secure platform, you’re very well protected.