if I went to a library or something, and torrent a file, nobody would be able to tell who it was as its a public place and the library couldn’t be held accountable. thoughts?

  • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
    25·
    6 months ago

    Our local library makes you log in to use the wifi, so theoretically they know who is doing it and the terms of use you agree to would probably cover them.

    If you are using a VPN they wouldn’t know what the traffic is and most public wifi has pretty strict usage caps so I doubt it would be worth your while.

    If you use public wifi without a VPN…

    • KubeRoot@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      3·
      6 months ago

      If you use a VPN, it doesn’t matter if you use your home network or public wifi… At that point if they track you down to your VPN account, if either you provided personal information, or you used identifiable payment, you could be tracked down. Only difference is, if your VPN keeps certain information, you could be tracked down to the network you connected from, where the public wifi would offer some protection.

      VPNs aren’t a magic solution to guarantee privacy, they’re a tool with multiple uses, but using one could decrease your privacy in certain cases.