Robert - 06 / 08 / 24

Why isn’t Privacy enough for Anonymous Use?

In this post we are going to see why Privacy is not enough for Anonymous Use, and what can be done about it.

Why isn’t privacy with a VPN enough?

Let’s say that Bob is using an open-source browser and a VPN to access a website. Thinking he is safe, he provides a false name and address when creating an account.

It seems like Bob has some privacy, yet his anonymity can still be compromised. The website’s owner notices that Bob provided an inexistent address, which is a violation of the Terms of Service. The owner files a lawsuit, and the court obliges Bob’s VPN provider to deanonymize him.

This situation would have been avoided had Bob used Tor, which reroutes traffic in a way that obscures its origins and destinations, making it nearly impossible to figure out who is connecting to what.

With Tor, Bob’s identity would be revealed only if he gave it up voluntarily.