One of the many great things about Android is its tight integration with Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Why use a VPN? Because if you’re on a wireless network connection, your communication may be visible to others on that same network unless it’s specifically encrypted. An enthusiastic hacker monitoring the local wifi traffic could potentially capture login credentials, session cookies, and other information you’d undoubtedly prefer to keep private.
VPNs encrypt all communication between your device and the VPN provider’s servers, creating a secure tunnel for your Internet traffic. The encrypted data packets are sent to the VPN company’s server, decrypted there, and then forwarded along to the final destination. This works in both directions, so anyone snooping on the local network sees gobbledygook rather than your actual activity.
Note that this generally isn’t a concern on a cellular connection because modern cellular standards already encrypt traffic between your device and the carrier network. Public wifi networks are the bigger concern, particularly at airports, hotels, coffee shops, and other shared locations.
There are a huge number of VPN options available, ranging from services bundled with subscriptions from Microsoft, Google, and others to standalone providers that, for a few dollars a month, offer broad global connectivity and excellent performance. There are also free third-party VPN services, but I recommend avoiding those under the old rule that “if you’re not the customer, you’re the product.” For paid services, I like ExpressVPN and NordVPN. For this demo, we’ll use the latter, which also includes a very good ad blocker (a nice bonus).
Android 16: Settings > Connections
To start, I’m going to pop into the Settings area on my own Pixel phone, then to Network & internet, which shows the following options:
This particular phone doesn’t have an active SIM, but yours should also show your phone number. What we’re interested in, however, is the VPN option. Tap on it and, well, it’s rather barren:
It’s a little bit surprising that Google doesn’t have a free VPN for Android users, but as of today, that’s not an option.
Let’s Get NordVPN Setup Properly
Download NordVPN, set up your account or trial account, then open up the app for its first connection:
One of the coolest things about a VPN is that you can choose a connection almost anywhere in the world, and then masquerade as someone in that region. Want to watch BBC’s iPlayer? Choose “United Kingdom”. Canadian sports? Try connecting to a Canadian VPN server and notice how the online services treat you differently.
Neither of those is needed, but we do have to establish the very first connection for it to automatically set things up within Android. I’ll just choose the United States and let it pick the fastest VPN server for me automatically. That’s done by tapping on Secure my Connection.
Because it’s a first connection, it then prompts you to allow it to be added to the system:
Generally, I recommend against allowing programs this level of access (monitor network traffic), but that’s literally the purpose of the VPN, so click OK.
That’s it. Now there’s a VPN tucked neatly into Android. You can see it if you go back to Settings > Network & internet > VPN, for example:
Indeed, tap on the gear icon and you’ll see you can even opt to have it running 24×7 so you never forget to enable it:
That’s it. You’re all set up with your VPN, which you can enable in Settings, or you can fire up the VPN program itself – like NordVPN – and secure your connection, as needed.
Let’s Add a VPN Shortcut!
The cool kids actually add a one-tap shortcut to make it even easier. When you drag down from the top of your screen, you get the Quick Settings buttons. Hopefully, you already use them as a fast way to access critical settings and options. Here are my buttons:
It’s the fastest way to go into Airplane Mode, for example. Lots of options – and a second screen of shortcuts if I swipe right-to-left – but no VPN option. So let’s add it!
To add a shortcut to the Quick Settings window, tap on the pencil icon. A list of the current choices is shown:
You can remove any that you never use, and tap, hold, and drag to reorder them so that those you do utilize are at the top (e.g., on the first display window).
Swipe up to get all the way to the bottom, where it shows app-specific shortcuts:
Do you see it in the image above? Third in from the left on the bottom row: “Secure my connection”. A tap to select, a tap-and-drag to resize, and it’s added to my shortcuts:
It’s on the lower left and features the NordVPN logo. A single tap on that and my VPN connection is enabled:
That’s pretty darn easy, isn’t it? Done.
Note: The NordVPN links are affiliate links, which means you get a better price and I make a tiny commission on each subscription. Rather not do that? Just type in nordvpn.com to your browser and you can check it out free and clear.
Pro Tip: There are lots of ways to manage your Android devices and ensure the best possible experience. Learn more by checking out my extensive Android help area while you’re here!
