What is Double VPN and Should You Use It?

You might have seen internet hype about double VPNs or “multihop VPNs.” This feature doubles your VPN encryption by rerouting internet traffic through two VPN servers instead of one. Double the encryption means double the security, right? Not exactly. 

If you don’t mind dealing with performance trade-offs, using a double VPN might be justified when extreme extra precaution is necessary. However, you’d still benefit more from other security measures instead of (or alongside) a double VPN. For instance, using a private browser with a VPN is a far more effective way of securing your privacy than simply doubling encryption.

In this article, we’ll answer questions like “What is a double VPN?” and “What does a double VPN do?” We’ll also discuss the pros and cons of double VPNs and give you some effective alternatives to enhance your privacy. Let’s get started.

What Is a Double VPN?

When you connect to a VPN, your data is encrypted on your device before it’s sent over the internet. The encrypted data travels through a secure tunnel to the VPN server, where it gets decrypted and sent to its final destination. This ensures that anyone trying to intercept the data can’t read or understand it. Ultimately, this protects your privacy and security online.

“Double VPN” is an extra feature that passes your internet traffic through a second VPN server. Instead of routing traffic through one server, it’s routed through two servers. This means your internet data is encrypted twice instead of once. 

Despite the hype around double VPNs, it isn’t a crucial feature and unless your VPN provider’s encryption is insufficient or compromised, it won’t make a life-changing difference to your security.

How Does Double VPN Work?

Most premium VPN providers use strong encryption, widely considered unbreakable, to fortify your data against intrusion. 

With a double VPN, your device connects to the first VPN server (Server A), where your encrypted data is re-encrypted before being routed to a second VPN server (Server B). Server A effectively acts as a middleman between your device and Server B. 

When it comes to IP masking, only Server A will “know” your IP address, and it won’t have access to your data’s final destination because it’s only connecting you to Server B. Server B won’t know your real IP address because it sits between Server A and the data location you’re tunneling to. 

On a double VPN, your device is the only part with a full picture of what data is going where: only you can see both ends of the tunnel.  When there’s a single VPN server, that server can also see both ends of the tunnel. If you’re concerned about your VPN provider keeping tabs on your activity, choose a VPN with a strong no-logs policy. 

What Is VPN Chaining?

VPN chaining, also called “VPN cascading” or “multi-hopping” involves connecting to multiple VPN servers to enhance online privacy. Instead of one VPN connection that routes your traffic through one server, VPN chaining routes your data through two or more servers. 

You can do VPN chaining yourself by connecting to two or more VPNs on your device at once. This requires having subscriptions with multiple VPN providers as well as the technical know-how for setting it up. 

Some VPN providers offer a double VPN feature as a preconfigured version of this. However, if extreme precaution is what you need, you may want to use two servers from two separate VPN companies.

Double VPN vs VPN Chaining

The term “double VPN” usually refers to an extra feature some VPN services provide. On the other hand, VPN chaining is something you can set up yourself – you just connect to multiple VPNs at once. 

Unlike double VPN, which limits you to encrypt your traffic only twice, VPN chaining theoretically lets you add as many layers as you want – but you’ll need subscriptions to multiple VPN providers for that. 

Pros and Cons of Using Double VPN

Let’s look at the pros and cons of using a double VPN. Hopefully, it helps you decide whether it’s the right choice for you. 

Pros

• • Adds an extra layer of encryption. Your data is encrypted twice as it passes through two separate VPN servers. This double encryption makes it more difficult for bad actors to get your data. In theory, it provides another barrier against unwelcome access. But in reality, this is quite redundant since the first layer of encryption is already typically unbreakable.
  • Gives piece of mind to activists and dissidents. For journalists, dissidents, or people living under authoritarian regimes, a double VPN gives extra protection. It’s a good option for people who need to communicate, share information, and organize without fearing retaliation. It’s worth noting that you’ll need more than a VPN to get as close to complete privacy as possible.
  • Hides IP address behind two servers instead of one. Using a double VPN may make it tougher for websites, advertisers, or other entities to track your activity back to your IP address. However, with digital fingerprinting, websites can still easily track your activity – even without your IP address. 

Cons

• • Causes much slower speeds. A significant drawback of a double VPN is that it slows down your internet speed. Since it encrypts your data twice, it adds more latency to your connection. Browsing, streaming, and downloading will be much slower than usual. Consider whether the added security outweighs the performance trade-off.
  • Add nothing to already uncrackable encryption. A Double VPN isn’t necessary if you already use secure encryption protocols. The performance trade-offs outweigh any marginal gains in security. You should assess their existing encryption methods and consider whether a double VPN is worth it for you.
  • Less choice over server locations. When you use a double VPN feature, the servers are already typically paired and configured. This gives you less choice over server locations – which can be a major setback, depending on what you need a VPN for and if server location is important.
  • Higher power consumption. Double encryption means double battery consumption. This may be a deal-breaker if you plan to use a double VPN on your phone or on the go. Encrypting your traffic twice doesn’t benefit average users, the extra battery drainage simply isn’t worth it for most people. 

Do I Need a Double VPN? 

Double VPN encryption is rarely worth the speed and performance trade-offs. However, you might want the extra piece of mind of double encryption if you’re: 

• • A political activist or dissident
  • A journalist working on dangerous topics
  • Living in a regime with hard penalties for accessing the internet freely

Still, it’s important to know what VPNs do and don’t protect you from. Even encrypting your internet traffic twice can’t guarantee your anonymity online. While it stops your ISP from seeing what you’re doing, if you’re using Google or logged into an account, your activity is still being recorded. 

The truth is that the extra layer of encryption double VPNs provide is most often redundant. Most premium VPNs already use powerful encryption that turns your data into indecipherable gibberish whilst in transit, and it’s already considered impenetrable. 

Unless you believe your VPN connection is somehow compromised, or you need to take extreme precautions because you’re in a dangerous situation, using a double VPN doesn’t make much sense. 

Key VPN Features

Here are some important VPN features that truly help protect your privacy:

• • Impenetrable Encryption: Strong encryption ensures your data stays secure and unreadable to anyone attempting to intercept it. CyberGhost’s powerful encryption reliably safeguards your privacy and sensitive information.
  • An Automatic Kill Switch: A VPN with a kill switch blocks the flow of data sent or received by your computer if a connection interruption is detected. That way, cybercriminals can’t steal your data if a bad connection causes your VPN to drop.
  • An Unwavering No-Logs Policy: A strict no-logs policy means your VPN provider doesn’t collect or store information about your activity. This ensures your history, connection timestamps, IP address, and other data aren’t recorded. 

Better Alternatives to Using Double VPNs

Double the VPN, double the privacy? Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. However, you can enhance your privacy using a VPN with other basic privacy methods. Let’s take a look at more effective alternatives to using extra VPN servers.

1. Private Browsers

It’s not news that most browsers track everything you do online. They also use data about your browser settings and device to create extremely accurate digital fingerprints of you. Digital fingerprinting can identify internet users with more than 99% accuracy. 

Your IP address is just a tiny part of your overall fingerprint. Hiding your IP address behind an extra server, when your VPN encryption is already strong, doesn’t make much sense. 

You’ll benefit much more from using private browsers like Brave, Mozilla Firefox, Vivaldi, and in extreme circumstances – Tor. If you’re a journalist or dissident who needs to share sensitive files, it’s best to use a Tor-Over-VPN setup. Tor is called “the Onion Browser” for a reason – it hides your activity behind many layers of encryption. 

2. Use Privacy Extensions

Every time you visit a website, there is the possibility of your activity being tracked using cookies, tracking pixels, scripts, and other browser fingerprinting methods. That’s why it helps to use browser extensions that help prevent and minimize website tracking. 

You can use extensions to: 

• • Delete cookies
  • Automatically choose the minimum cookie settings
  • Block ads
  • Block trackers

A double VPN might hide your IP address behind an extra server, but if your browser is tracking you with cookies and pixels, they don’t need your IP address to trace your activity back to your device.

3. Avoid Big Tech and Social Media Giants

Not only do social media giants like Meta or TikTok use extremely intrusive tracking methods when you install their apps, but they won’t hesitate to hand your data to authorities. 

In 2022, Facebook gave authorities data on a 17-year-old from Nebraska who was seeking abortion options. She was later tried as an adult and charged.

If you’re trying to safeguard your privacy, Google is your #1 enemy. Not only do they face a litany of lawsuits yearly for abusing your private data, but they won’t hesitate to hand your data straight to government agencies if requested. 

It doesn’t help that Google has been accused of having political bias on numerous occasions. So, if you’re a political dissident who doesn’t gel with Google’s political ideals, you can expect them to play against you. Find out more about how to deGoogle your life.

Using a double VPN might offer some comfort if you’re in a politically dubious situation, but if you’re still logged in to social media and have Meta apps on your phone – double VPN is meaningless. 

4. Use Antimalware Software

Using a VPN (or double VPN) won’t help you if someone installs spyware on your device. If spyware ends up on your phone, it’s either because someone installed it without you knowing, or you unknowingly installed it yourself. 

Antimalware software prevents spyware by flagging it as dangerous before it’s installed. If it’s already on your device, a malware scan identifies and removes it. 

Even the best antivirus software can’t identify 100% of spyware programs, as new malware is continuously created to bypass detection. However, they can help identify known malware and spyware, and premium services constantly update their databases. 

Final Analysis: Is a Double VPN Better Than One VPN?

We’ve answered “What is a double VPN?” But that brings us to the real question: “Is a double VPN really better?”

Unless you believe your standard VPN encryption is somehow compromised, a double VPN may just slow down your connection without giving you any meaningful benefit. 

Double VPN might help you gain peace of mind if you’re a political activist or journalist working in extreme circumstances. However, if you’re an average netizen with normal privacy needs, the extra layer of tunneling might be overkill, and doubling encryption is redundant. 

If you want to improve your privacy then you’re better off taking other measures, like using private browsers and browser extensions, alongside your VPN.

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