VPN Logs & What You Need to Know

When it comes to VPN logs, there’s a lot of confusion.

Countless VPN providers are making the “no logs” claim for marketing purposes, but in reality they’re keeping some form of logs.

In this guide we’ll cover the different types of VPN logs, the reasons for keeping logs, and what you can do to further protect your online privacy.

There are three different types of VPN logs:

Usage (browsing) logs – These logs basically include everything you do online: browsing history, times, IP addresses, metadata, etc. From a privacy standpoint, you should avoid any VPN that collects usage data.

Connection logs – Connection logs typically include dates, times, connection data, and sometimes IP addresses. Typically this data is used for optimizing the VPN network and potentially dealing with user problems or terms of use issues (torrenting, illegal activities, etc.). Many VPN providers keep connection logs, even while claiming to be a “no logs” VPN service.

No logs – There are very few VPNs that truly meet the “no logs” criteria. Having a truly no logs policy is very difficult to implement. This is especially the case when VPNs need to enforce restrictions such as bandwidth or the number of devices being used per subscription. IAPS Security Services, Ltd. does not limit bandwidth on vpn’s or remote desktops and does not enforce a device limitation.

Reasons for logging

There are many reasons for maintaining some form of logs – and they are not necessarily bad.

1. Limiting the number of devices

One of the biggest reasons for maintaining logs is to limit the number of devices used with a subscription. Nearly every VPN imposes limits (3, 5, 6…) on the number of simultaneous connections that can be used with a subscription. Enforcing connection and device limitations requires some form of logging.

One alternative possibility is when a VPN tells you there’s a device limit, but they don’t/can’t strictly enforce it, due to a no logs policy. Again, IAPS Security Services, Ltd. does not engage in device limitations.

2. Limiting bandwidth

Bandwidth restrictions also require logging. To limit the amount of bandwidth used with a given account, logging is obviously necessary. Therefore if any VPN has bandwidth limits and also claims to be a “no logs” VPN, you can be sure they’re not being honest. IAPS Security Services, Ltd. does not engage in bandwidth limitations for vpn accounts.

3. Troubleshooting problems and optimizing VPN performance

Logging connection data is often justified by VPN providers for fixing problems with their service and optimizing their network. While running a fast and reliable VPN service does not necessarily require logging, most VPNs will at least maintain some minimal connection logs to keep everything working well.

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