this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2025
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I'm using CloudFlare to hide my home IP and to reduce traffic from clankers. However, I'm using the free tier, so how am I the product? What am I sacrificing? Is there another way to do the above without selling my digital soul?

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[–] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

The term VPN is pure marketing bs. What is called VPN today used to be called Proxy Server.

Perhaps if you are only talking about the consumer level stuff advertised on TV. Otherwise I can assure you that "Virtual Private Networks" are a real thing that have absolutely nothing to do with Proxy Servers.

On down the comment chain you mention "...our computers would not see each other and would not be able to connect to each other via that service. " as some kind of test of whether a thing is a VPN or Proxy Service but what you're missing is that this is a completely common and advisable configuration for companies. In fact Zero Trust essentially demands configurations like this. When Bob from Marketing fires up his VPN to the Corporate Office he doesn't need access to every server and desktop there nor does his laptop need to be able to access the laptops of other VPN users. They get access to what they need and nothing more.

Hell the ability to access the internet via the tunnel, called Split Tunneling, is also controllable.

It's that ability to control where the tunnel terminates that allows consumer VPNs, like Proton, to be used the way they are.

So while private individuals absolutely do use VPNs as an ersatz replacement for Proxy Servers they are nowhere near the whole use case for VPNs.

[–] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Hell the ability to access the internet via the tunnel, called Split Tunneling, is also controllable.

It’s that ability to control where the tunnel terminates that allows consumer VPNs, like Proton, to be used the way they are.

you can do the same split tunneling via proxy servers

while private individuals absolutely do use VPNs as an ersatz replacement for Proxy Servers they are nowhere near the whole use case for VPN

I agree. That also means that for certain usecases they are equivalent. It's sometimes worth checking all options to find the best one for that specific case.