It's September once again, which can only mean one thing: the world's eyes are fixed on all things iPhone as the latest model, the iPhone 16, has been announced by Apple.
The iPhone 16 Pro introduces many new features like a superpowered Siri, boosted by Apple's own AI, and the largest iPhone display ever. It will almost certainly be one of the must-have phones of 2024, but if you're planning on upgrading, don't forget to pair it with one of the best VPNs too. Here's why it's important.
Increased privacy online
Subscribing to one of the best iPhone VPNs is primarily a move towards enjoying greater online privacy. Browsing the web with a VPN enabled encrypts all your data before it leaves your device, and reroutes all of your traffic through an encrypted server in the region of your choice. The top providers use class-leading encryption and no-logs policies to both protect your data from hackers, and to avoid it ever being collected in the first place.
Even your own Internet Service Provider (ISP) likely wants to collect your user data, but again with a quality VPN, that's not not going to happen. Make sure to choose one that provides a leading encryption protocol like WireGuard or Lightway, and employs the AES-256 encryption standard. Big names like NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Surfshark all meet this standard.
Streaming freedom
Of course by spoofing your IP Address, VPNs also let users access region specific content from anywhere in the world.
If, for example, you're on vacation in the UK and want to watch Netflix, you might find that there are different shows and movies on the service than back home in the states. With the best streaming VPN you can simply set your VPN to a US server and keep up with your favorite show like you were sat at home.
Saftey on public Wi-Fi
If you regularly connect to public Wi-Fi, then a VPN is a must-have. Public connections are some of the most popular hunting grounds for hackers, often setting up similarly named networks or directly harvesting personal data from those who connect.
Just because your iPhone 16 is new doesn't mean it has nothing of value on. It will almost certainly have your credit card information and plenty of personal photos backed up in your iCloud. Luckily, with the added encryption and IP Address spoofing of a VPN you'll be a much tougher nut for hackers to crack from so called man-in-the-middle attacks and other scams.
Gaming benefits
With the iPhone 16 featuring the best battery life ever on an iPhone ever, it's looking like another gaming great and using a VPN can be very handy in that world too.
If you play competitive online mobile games like Warzone or Apex Legends then you'll know the importance of a smooth connection. Using one of the best gaming VPNs can help you avoid bandwidth throttling from you ISP and prevent them from slowing down your connection speed.
After a specific server in an online game? Then a VPN can help there too, just set your connection to a server in that region and game on.
How do privacy experts view iOS 18?
iOS 18 is set to bring a plethora of new iPhone tricks, and although the integration of ChatGPT has great potential, and privacy-boosting features like Apple's new Password app are helpful, users still need to be careful.
Lauren Hendry Parsons, Digital Privacy advocate at ExpressVPN explains that although these new tools "may offer convenience and enhanced security for privacy-conscious users, the reality is that every piece of data remains within Apple and its partners' ecosystem, control, and policies."
