If your iOS or Android
device has an internet connection, you can share this connection with
other devices like laptops and other mobile phones. This process is
called tethering. To tether, the device needs to be connected to your
phone via a wireless LAN, Bluetooth, or a USB cable. And once another
device can access the web, your phone becomes a mobile hotspot.
Since
this hotspot makes your mobile phone a portable router, the mobile
service will monitor the connection. You may experience slower
connections and data may run out sooner rather than later when you’re
using a hotspot.
Can a VPN Protect Mobile-Tethered Devices?
The
answer is no, this will not work. A VPN on your iOS or Android device
establishes a secure tunnel between your phone and the VPN service
provider. As the FastVPN application runs, it encrypts your mobile
device’s outgoing traffic. But it won’t do the same for the device’s
router facility because the iOS or Android operating system prevents
other devices from sharing its VPN tunnel.
If you connect your
mobile device to a VPN and then share its Internet connection with
another device via a hotspot, the latter will not be routed through the
same VPN tunnel as your mobile device. Instead, it will use your native
ISP connection.
Your mobile phone’s VPN can only protect the phone itself, not the other devices tethered to it.
In
order to protect mobile-tethered devices, you will need to have Fast VPN installed on both the connecting device and your mobile
that is acting as a router.
