Can a VPN Hide Your IP Address When Doing Surveys? (Higher Earnings or Not?)

As you are probably aware, there are certain websites and online services you can only access from certain countries – this also goes for paid survey sites.

For some countries, the opportunities can be quite limited when it comes to getting paid to take surveys.

It can, therefore, be tempting to consider hiding your IP address by using a VPN when taking surveys or when you, in general, want access to services that are not available in your country.

This can supposedly help you hide your IP address and hide the country you live in, and thereby give you access to websites and survey sites you would not usually be able to use.

But is it even legal to use a VPN? What can a VPN, in general, be used for? Is it possible to hide your IP address when doing surveys? Is it safe, and can it help you get more surveys or access to more online services in general?

This article will go into all the questions above and show you the potential, the things to be careful about, and help you to find out if a VPN is the right way for you to go or not.

What is a VPN, and can you hide your IP address with it?

I have already mentioned VPN several times, so before going any further, I just want to explain what this is in case you are not aware.

VPN is short for Virtual Private Network. It is also sometimes known as a proxy server, and it is often used to bypass IP address blocking.

VPN is a software you can download that can hide your online identity and let you browse any information in the world without restrictions because of your location, etc.

It makes it possible to surf the internet anonymously from anywhere.

It works by encrypting your internet connection and swapping out your IP address (which is what identifies your device and location) for another one. So, to use a VPN and hide your IP address, you will need software.

Why you might want to hide your IP address when taking surveys?

There are many survey companies all over the world, and there are, therefore, also survey sites for people in most parts of the world.

There are, however, countries that have a lot more opportunities than others, and you might, therefore, want access to some of the panels that are only available in a country where you do not live.

And I am asked about this every day, so I know it is something many people consider doing.

In theory, you can hide your IP address or change it, making it look like you are located in another country. This way, you can then sign up for survey sites and participate in surveys from all over the world.

This can be tempting – especially if you live in a smaller country where you do not immediately find so many offers and survey sites or where the surveys do not pay as much as in other countries.

I must admit that I myself have considered this option, as I live in a small European country where it takes a bit of effort to find good available survey sites, and in the beginning, I could only find the big American sites that I was not allowed to join.

Later, I found out that there are plenty of opportunities, more or less, no matter where you live.

Below, I will explain a bit more about how you can hide your IP address, but before deciding to do this, also make sure to read what you need to be careful about if you use a VPN to take surveys, as it in some cases can be risky and might end up hurting your chances of getting more surveys. More about this later in the article.

What else can you get out of hiding your IP address?

As already mentioned, some people are looking into using a VPN for surveys to get more earning opportunities, but there are many other things a VPN can be used for.

Hiding your IP address online is something that is becoming more and more popular in general. Some of the main reasons for this are.

Option 1 – Protect your privacy:

You are not always safe when surfing the internet. And more and more people are not only concerned about this, but also concerned about their privacy. This means that they can make sure their bank info, private info, and private messaging stay safe when they are using the internet.

By masking your IP address, you can prevent your internet service provider from tracking and storing all this data about you. Some people are not concerned about this, but others are. If you are concerned, a VPN might be the solution.

Option 2 – Using streaming services from abroad:

A very popular reason for using a VPN is streaming. Streaming services are very popular, and it is a great way to be able to watch the TV shows and movies you want, when you want.

But often, these streaming services are restricted by your IP address, and especially if you do not live in the US or the UK, there will be many shows and movies you can not stream on the most popular streaming services.

By using a VPN, you can choose which country your IP address is from, and this will make it possible to stream any show from anywhere in the world.

This also makes it possible to stream TV shows from your home country if you are traveling, on holiday, or living abroad, which you would often not be able to do otherwise.

Option 3 – Use websites from all over the world:

It is not only streaming services that often restrict access depending on your IP address. Many other websites and online services do this as well (like, for example, certain paid survey sites).

A VPN/proxy can, by masking your IP address, give you access to any website by making it look like you are from the country you choose.

Option 4 – Secure use of public wifi:

Sometimes, public wifi networks are not entirely secure.

VPN software can make your connection secure and make it safe to, for example, do online banking when you are connected to a public network.

Option 5 – Secure access to private networks:

VPN technology is not only used by private people. It is also often used by large corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions as a way to allow remote users to connect to their private network securely.

As you can see, it is software that can be used for many purposes and is not developed for survey sites and for getting access to more surveys, but it can, in some cases, also be possible to be used for this purpose.

Is it legal to use a VPN?

The technology and software are 100% legal. But like anything legal, it can be misused.

In general, you do not have to worry about breaking any laws by using a VPN, but you should, of course, not use it to do anything illegal. Then it will, of course, be illegal:-)

So it can be a good idea to check the local laws of the country you live in or the rules for the services you want to use, so you are sure you do not break any laws. But a VPN itself is a legal software.

Why do you need to be careful using a VPN/proxy for surveys?

As you can see, there are many things a VPN can be used for. As my website is mainly about paid surveys, I want to go a little more into detail about what to consider before using a VPN when taking online surveys.

Reason #1 – Survey site security:

One thing you need to consider is the security of the survey sites. Survey sites make a living from making sure they get quality answers.

If the answers will not be of high quality, the companies that are using the research and paying for it will stop paying for it. And then, survey sites will no longer be able to exist and offer paid surveys.

A part of assuring high-quality answers is to make sure it is only the selected target group that answers.

An American company that only has services or products in the US might not be interested in paying for the opinions of people living in completely different parts of the world who have maybe never even heard of their product.

For this reason, survey sites are doing what they can to ensure high security. In most cases, this means that you are not allowed to use a VPN – you will be able to see this in their terms and conditions. But as a standard, just assume that you are not allowed to use a VPN on any survey or Get-Paid-To site.

Sites will usually have measurements that will detect if you are using a VPN or proxy. Of course, how well they can detect it depends on how good your software is, but you will be breaking the rules on most sites by using a VPN.

And when they detect you are using a VPN, you will often get banned very quickly or at the time of cashing out.

So overall, if the purpose of using a VPN is to make it look like you are from a country you are not, to get more surveys, this is naturally seen as fraud on almost all survey sites and will get you banned.

Reason #2 – Ethical reasons:

I understand that it can be tempting to use a VPN to get access to more surveys and paid offers on Get-Paid-To sites and survey sites.

However, an important aspect to consider, in my opinion, is also the ethical aspect.

One thing that people sometimes forget when looking for ways to make money online is that whatever you do will affect other people.

The survey companies are owned and run by real people who are also just trying to make a living and provide for their families. But by cheating them with a VPN, you will basically take away their business and their way of making money.

In my opinion, hurting other people can not be justified just to make money yourself, and using a VPN does hurt real people, and fraud like this is a big problem for survey companies.

So, if you want to use these sites, you have to do it honestly and stick to sites that are available in your country. Later, I will show you where you can find good sites no matter where you live.

What to do if you already have a VPN?:

You might be in a situation where the network you are using is already automatically using VPN software for security reasons. For example, if you use the network at your workplace or educational institution. Or you might like using a VPN yourself for security reasons.

If this is the case, you have to read the conditions of the specific survey sites so you do not risk violating the terms and conditions that can get you banned.

If it is your own network, you can choose to disable the VPN software while taking surveys. But if it is a network that you do not have any control over, this might not be possible.

In that case, you just have to go for the survey sites that allow this or contact their support to explain the situation and see if they can help.

Is a VPN free to use?

You can get access to free VPN software, but the quality will also be according to that. They will often not really be secure, and they will also often not work – I have, for example, tried to use a free VPN to stream, and it was not possible, as it simply did not do a proper job.

So, if you want to use a VPN, it can be worth looking into paid options. Often, they come with a monthly subscription fee, and you can stop them at any time. So, since it has a cost, you need to consider how much you will use to see if it is worth it for you.

Final Thoughts

A VPN can be a great tool for many purposes. If you want to buy access to a VPN with the sole purpose of getting access to more surveys, it is, however, not a good idea.

Of course, if you buy a VPN, as I mentioned above, and get it for a longer period, it is a very small monthly fee, which can be covered by taking just a few surveys. So, it is not a big or risky investment.

But remember that most survey sites will NOT allow the use of VPN/proxy and will naturally see it as fraud if you use it to pretend to be from a country you are not.

In general, I think it can be great to have a VPN, as it gives many advantages, like, for example, security and the ability to stream, surf, and use any site you want.

But since using a VPN to make it look like you are from a different country is naturally considered fraud by most survey sites, this is not something I can recommend doing. And if you do, you will likely end up getting banned.

If you are looking for great survey opportunities, you can instead check out my list of the best survey sites in your country, as there are great survey sites in most countries, so you do not even need a VPN to take surveys.

You just need to take surveys and be aware that it is not a way to make a living.

No matter what your reasons are for looking for a way to hide your IP address, you do, however, hopefully, now know more about what to be aware of and why you have to think twice before using software like this on survey and Get-Paid-To sites.

If you have any comments, questions, or any experiences with using a VPN yourself, please feel free to leave a comment below.