What Happens If You Delete Your VPN? [All You Need to Know]

Usually, deleting apps from our devices is a way to free up space. Some delete apps when they have served their purpose and they no longer need them.

Although VPNs are an essential part of our online privacy and security, not everybody feels it is important to use them.

It can quickly start feeling like a chore to first connect to a VPN server before you can use the internet. Or you may delete your current VPN and replace it with a different one.

Also, in many cases, users who don’t know about its benefits can think it is pointless to use a VPN.

Therefore, if you have ever thought about what happens if you delete a VPN, you are in the right place.

This article will give you all the information you need.

What happens if you delete your VPN?

Deleting your VPN makes your connections vulnerable to breaches and data leaks which can lead to attacks and losses.

When you connect to a VPN before going about your internet activities, the VPN routes all your traffic through its servers. This encrypts your online interactions and enhances your protection.

However, when you delete your VPN and connect to the internet as normal, your activities become visible to trackers, snoopers, and other malicious individuals.

Without any encryption on your communications, hackers can easily hijack your connection and steal your information.

In addition, connecting over public WiFi without a VPN makes your device more vulnerable.

You may experience phishing attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, data theft, and other things that pose a threat to your online security.

In the worst cases, you’ll always be tracked and monitored by potential hackers and cybercriminals.

Furthermore, improper deletion of VPNs from your devices can leave residual files which may interfere with your device’s performance.

This is why it is important to properly uninstall the VPN app from your phone or PC.

Does the VPN provider keep your data after you cancel your subscription?

Depend on the privacy policy and terms of use of each VPN provider.

A no-logs VPN does not track or store user data like their IP address or other delicate information at all.

However, they keep records of your name, email, bank information, and other information you provided when you signed up for their service.

In that case, the storage of your information after you cancel your subscription depends solely on the provider.

Some will not keep your sensitive data after you cancel your subscription.

However, other services may keep your records in their databases to facilitate an easier resubscription in the future.

If you have no plans to use the VPN client anymore, you can contact the provider’s support team to request them to delete your data.

Ensure that you check the service’s terms of use and privacy policy to be certain about how they handle their users’ data.

However, free VPNs with shady logging policies can store your data and keep it for as long as they want.

They are already notorious for selling their users’ data. So it is not wrong to believe that they will store your data long after you delete them from your device.

Summary

Deleting your VPN means that your device will no longer be protected using the VPN provider’s security and encryption protocols.

This puts you at risk of cyber attacks or having your data and sensitive information in the wrong hands.

Therefore, it is essential to use a VPN at all times unless you are prohibited by law.

Note that removing all your records about activity and personal information isn’t necessarily what happens if you delete VPN, and it depends on each provider’s terms of use.