PasswordManager.com surveyed 2,706 U.S. adults about their VPN use. The results show VPN adoption is widespread, and a sizable share of users say they rely on VPNs to keep their online activity private from government agencies.
The survey found that:
More than one-third of Americans say they currently use a VPN. Among VPN users, 31% say they always use a VPN. About 41% say they use one on public Wi-Fi, and an equal share say they use a VPN when browsing personal or sensitive topics. About one-third say they use a VPN when using work devices. Three in 10 say they use a VPN when traveling, and 31% say they use one when accessing financial or banking accounts.
Most VPN users (65%) cite security or privacy as their primary reason for using a VPN, while a smaller share (25%) say they use one equally for privacy and for accessing restricted content, or mainly for accessing restricted content (10%).
Among VPN users, 65% say they use a VPN to keep their online activity private from private companies such as advertisers or data brokers. Nearly half, 47%, say they are trying to keep their activity private from their internet service provider. More than one-third (35%) say they use a VPN to keep their online activity private from government agencies.
Nearly one-quarter (23%) say they use a VPN to keep their activity private from their employer. Smaller shares say they are trying to keep their activity private from family members (19%) or a romantic partner (9%).
Political differences are minimal. About 36% of liberals say they want to keep their online activity private from government agencies, compared with 35% of conservatives.
Gen Z and Boomers are more likely than other age groups to say they use VPNs to keep their online activity hidden from the government, and men offer this reason more than women.
More than one-third of VPN users, 35%, say they use a VPN to access websites blocked in their state. More than one-quarter, 28%, say they use a VPN to access websites blocked in the U.S., and an equal share say they use one to access websites blocked by their employer or school.
“People are turning to VPNs because they feel watched, restricted, or tracked, and a VPN is one of the few tools that feels accessible and immediate,” says Password Manager’s information systems and cybersecurity expert Gunnar Kallstrom. “For some, it’s about privacy on public Wi-Fi or keeping activity away from their provider, employer, or school. For others, it’s about bypassing state-level or workplace blocks and accessing content they feel they should be able to reach. Either way, VPNs are becoming a go-to response when people feel their online choices are being monitored or limited.”
Most VPN users say they use a VPN for everyday online activity. Nearly two-thirds (64%) say they use a VPN for general browsing, and more than half (56%) say they use one when accessing financial or banking websites. More than one-third (37%) say they use a VPN for streaming or sports content.
At the same time, more than one-quarter of VPN users say they use a VPN for gambling or sports betting websites (28%), and one-quarter say they use one for adult content (25%).
Most Americans who are using VPNs express concern about government surveillance or restrictions on online activity in the U.S. More than one-third (36%) say they are very concerned, while 44% say they are somewhat concerned. Fourteen percent say they are not very concerned, and 4% say they are not concerned at all.
Levels of concern are similar across political ideology. Among liberals surveyed, 82% say they are very or somewhat concerned, compared with 80% of conservatives.
This survey was conducted in January 2026 by PasswordManager.com via Pollfish. The survey consisted of 2,706 U.S. adults. Pollfish collects responses using its Random Device Engagement (RDE) methodology. To protect data quality, Pollfish applies multiple controls, including attention checks, speed checks, duplicate-response prevention, and device-level fraud detection, which remove responses that fail quality thresholds before analysis. In addition, the survey included a red herring attention-check question to identify and remove responses from inattentive participants.
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