Social media platforms are our daily bread and butter. We use them right after getting up, during our work hours, at lunch, in the afternoon, in the evening time, and right before going to bed. Sometimes, we don’t even realize how much time we spend on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Reddit, or Telegram accounts.
Instagram can be one of the most entertaining social media networks. People enjoy watching short videos or looking at pictures, interacting with users, liking and sharing posts, and uploading content themselves. Instagram is, without a doubt, one of the most influential platforms of our days.
Instagram is also versatile: it can act as a cloud storage alternative for images and videos and as a picture editing suite, with filters, effects, and other additions, not to mention captions. The social network can also catapult the public image of a corporation or even a small business.
It combines the best features of Youtube, Facebook, Snapchat, and WhatsApp, recently including videos, social interactions, Instagram “stories,” and instant messaging through a direct window. It can, however, be a little privacy-invasive, with ads and data security issues.
Instagram has impressive location tracking capabilities: just consider that when you upload a photo in this social network, you will see the exact area in which the picture was uploaded to the service, thanks to the implementation of geolocation software at its finest.
To prevent location tracking, targeted advertising, and to unblock the social media app in specific counties, you should use a VPN for Instagram. In this article, we will explain everything to you.
VPN as a fantastic privacy and security suite
VPN means ‘Virtual Private Networks:’ they are online apps that allow the user to hide its IP address and shared content online, thus gaining the ability to avoid being tracked around by malicious agents on the web or even prying eyes that threaten to compromise privacy and security.
The VPN technology uses protocols to create a virtual tunnel for the customer’s connection details (visited pages, history, time, and more) and location information (IP address) to pass through, avoiding contact with hackers, cybercriminals, crypto miners, malware developers, copyright trolls, and online advertisers; and dodging uncomfortable or disadvantageous situations, like government surveillance, censorship, and geo-blocking.
The VPN app or client builds the tunnel and protects the user’s traffic and identity through encryption measures. The VPN service, therefore, replaces the Internet Service Provider (ISP) as the entity that manages the customer’s connection requests, using its own servers and not those of the ISP.
ISPs are double-edged swords: yes, they provide you with access to the web and all of its benefits, but also, they are known for their data logging and sharing practices. They often sell your activity logs and usage patterns to advertisers and e-commerce sites that build personalized profiles and show advertising according to your online behavior.
| Pick a VPN! | VPN | Price for 1 month sub | Site Rating | Buy Now |
| Best VPN |  | $5 a month (code "best10VPN") | 9.9 |  |
| Good VPN |  | $9 a month | 8.9 | |
| Decent VPN |  | $6.95 a month | 8.8 | |
Why should you use a VPN for Instagram?
- To protect your privacy, physical assets, and integrity
As you know, Instagram has excellent geolocation software. It implements complex algorithms and tools to know precisely where you are uploading a picture from. If you care about privacy and security at all, you should use a VPN for Instagram and hide your current location.
By looking at where you are, not only your privacy is compromised, but your security is, as well. If you post a picture, for example, of the start of a three-week journey, people will know that your home is alone for almost a month! They can plan a robbery or break into your house. If you upload a photo at 10 PM downtown and your caption says you are there, you are at risk of unwanted people knowing where you are. You have to be careful with the information you share on Instagram.
- To bypass restrictions and blocks in several countries
Some nations around the world, especially those with high moral standards or with totalitarian regimes, restrict access to Instagram for their citizens. In some occasions, the ban extends to tourists and visitors, as well.
Such is the case, for instance, of China. Through the “Great Firewall,” the country blocks access to Instagram and other sites, news networks, and VoIP services. To defeat the situation and unblock Instagram, you should use a VPN to disguise your Chinese IP address and acquire one from another location for temporary use.
- To avoid targeted advertisement
Advertisers are always one step ahead of the game, and those present on Instagram are no exception. They are eager to gain a hold of your data, connection details, browsing history, and overall online behavior to build a personalized profile and classify you as a ‘potential buyer.’ Then, they show you ads according to what you do on the web.
With a VPN, though, you can avoid being tracked because your content will go through the previously mentioned virtual ‘tunnel,’ and your ISP and online advertisers won’t have anything to log because the traffic will be encrypted and protected.
Why VPN and not any other unblocking tool?
For a safe Instagram session, you could use similar unblocking resources, such as proxies or Smart DNS services. However, that may not be the best idea, given that VPNs have several advantages over them.
For example, web proxies aren’t always reliable: they go out of use with frequency, or sometimes, they can’t be accessed. Price may also be a factor in your decision, and you should know that while there is nothing wrong with Smart DNS proxies, they don’t have the same security features as VPNs do: DNS leak protection, a kill switch, no-logging policies, and in some cases ad blocking, split tunneling, double VPN, and more.
TorGuard: the best VPN to use for Instagram
Why should you use a VPN for Instagram? To protect yourself from censorship measures, online advertisers tracking your behavior, and other situations. You should know how to choose, though. Not every VPN is worth your time and money.
One of the best VPNs for Instagram is TorGuard. It has excellent encryption and privacy practices, and it can unblock content in 55 nations thanks to its broad network that also includes more than 3,000 servers.
To protect your privacy, identity, and location while you use Instagram, TorGuard has DNS leak protection, a host of protocols (Including OpenVPN,) AES 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and other security features.
How to use a VPN for Instagram
- Choose a VPN with robust encryption and good privacy management
- Access the VPN’s website
- Register for the VPN service, providing a payment method and some personal information
- Create a username and a password
- Download the VPN app or client on your device
- Launch the VPN app
- Sign in to your VPN account
- Connect to the virtual server and location of your convenience
- Open Instagram and sign in
- Enjoy a private Instagram experience with the chance of unblocking the app in restricted locations
In conclusion, you should use a VPN for Instagram because it is one of the most privacy-invasive apps in the social media world, and also to prevent advertisers, criminals, and hackers from tracking your actions in the network and using them to harm you in any way.
