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

hide ip address with vpn for surveys headline

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, it is 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 this 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 how to 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 actually 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, si 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?

benefits of using vpn

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 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, be possible to use it for this purpose also.

Is it legal to use a VPN?

The technology and software is 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 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 however 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:

survey websites security icon

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 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 have 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 nonetheless, 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 actually 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 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 are allowing 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 it 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 only 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, the 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 actually 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 the 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.

83 thoughts on “Can a VPN Hide Your IP Address When Doing Surveys? (Higher Earnings or Not?)”

  1. Hi,
    Apart from ethical reasons, is it illegal to take surveys you normally cannot access from your country using a VPN? Does it mean you are committing like a criminal offense in the host country (USA)

    Reply
  2. I live in the U.S., but I take the occasional trip overseas, but I always return to the U.S. It has been frustrating to not be able to take surveys when traveling to other countries. I have no intention of misrepresenting myself as being a citizen or resident of a different country just so I can earn maybe (?) a whopping $5 in a good evening of survey taking, but survey taking would be an easy way to make a few cents in an evening of downtime while in a different country temporarily. I wish there was a conducive way around this so us U.S. citizens/residents who sometimes travel abroad could still make a bit of money in the evenings by taking surveys. It’s not like this is a real lucrative business and there isn’t much money at stake on our end to try to fraud the system.

    Reply
    • I agree that would be great. But when you think about it from the survey companies’ point of view this makes sense. To be able to track if you really are a US citizen just traveling would be more or less impossible for them. And fraud, where people try to fake their country, is a huge problem in the surveys industry so they need to have some strict rules to be able to stay in business.

      There are, however, other free online earnings methods you can use also when traveling. I, for example, have a video about US free earning methods here and many of these can be used also when traveling.

      Reply
  3. am in Uganda I want 2 use surveys but if i trying to use it can’t but I didn’t no vpn is bad my first time I used vpn and it’s blocked my account up to now there’s no survey coming to me the name of survey is called brandad survey and, there is another surveys but I trying all it can’t, another surveys is just is saying there is no accessing address in ur country

    Reply
  4. I suspect that some employees are faking their survey results (We use SMG). I am told that it is immpossible but I just know it to be true. I need to prove it somehow. I tried using a VPN on my iphone but the survey results did not come through. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Not really sure what you are trying to do, so difficult to say anything.

      But most survey sites and survey tools will not be able to track it is you use adblocker or anything like that.

      Reply
      • We have customer satisfaction surveys at the bottom of each receipt. I have been told that it is impossible to take a bunch of surveys yourself in order to boost the scores because the website SMG360 tracks your IP address. I have a particular location that I feel is faking surveys in order to boost their scores but I am not sure how they are doing it. I tried downloading a free trial of a VPN service on my iphone. I then took three surveys in a row but none of them showed up or came through. I am not doing this to fake reullts myself but instead prove that it can be done and therefore catch the person doing it. Is there a certain VPN service that you recommend – or is there another way?

        Thank you so much!

        Reply
        • It definitely can be done and survey sites do a lot to keep their safety strict to detect it. But a lot of people are using VPNs to try to cheat survey sites every single day.At some point, they will usually get caught by the systems in place to detect it, but fraud like this is a big problem.

          Do not use VPN for this myself and have not tested any for it as I do not want to cheat the sites. I know this is not what you are trying to do, but just to explain why I have not tested VPNs for this. But likely it is a residentially VPN as that is harder to detect from what I know.

          But another option to prove what you are trying to prove is to use a tool like IPQuality Score that is great at detecting fraud like this.

          Reply

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