The coronavirus pandemic has seen a global surge in demand for Virtual Private Networks (VPN).
This comes as lockdowns forced many inside their homes and millions resort to work from home or searching for online entertainment.
Over the last decade, VPNs became an essential online security product used by millions around the world. Their growing popularity gained momentum this year in 2020, with more than 30% of internet users using consumer VPNs.
Demand for commercial VPNs in the US jumped by 41% between 13 March and 23 March, according to data gathered by LearnBonds.
Privacy and Security Main Reasons for VPN Use
Security and privacy have become growing concerns as the number of cyber-attacks and search engines tracking user data increase. VPNs tackle these issues while also providing a higher quality streaming.
According to the Global VPN Usage Report 2020, 51% of people in the US and the UK use VPN to protect their privacy on public WiFi networks.
Another 44% of respondents named browsing the web anonymously as the main reason for using the VPN. Secure communication was the third most common reason, among 37% of VPN users.
Statistics showed that more than 20% of Americans and Britons use VPNs to access better entertainment content or restricted download, stream, and torrent sites.
The increased online traffic caused by the coronavirus lockdown is expected to boost these numbers by the end of the year.
Streaming VPN Demand Jumped 85% Globally
The surge in VPN demand has hit the other regions across the world as well. Statistics show Poland, France, Spain, and Germany lead European VPN demand, with increases of 130%, 80%, 75%, and 71%, respectively.
Japan and South Korea represent the leading countries in Asia and the Pacific region, with 112% and 96% jump in VPN demand since the coronavirus outbreak.
Besides protecting online privacy and security, internet users across the world have started using VPN during coronavirus lockdown to improve the quality of video streaming services.
Statistics show that in the last three weeks, the global demand for VPN used to watch leading streaming services increased 85% worldwide.
Internet users watching Disney+ via VPN rocketed by 154% in this period. Virtual private networks for Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime Video followed, with 90%, 86%, and 38% increased demand, respectively.