Primarily, a VPN will make it look like you are streaming /downloading data somewhere else, so if you are watching bootleg stuff, anyone paying attention won't know its you.
The other side of the coin is if you are at work , school or on a public wifi and they have websites blocked, you can go thru a VPN to see them because they won't have the VPN server blocked and you use it to surf the internet.
a VPN isn't particularly better at encryption though as most websites use the HTTPS:// protocol now including the campfire - the "S" represents an encryption layer, so right now anyone watching the data we send here would only know we are connected to the campfire server, they couldn't see what we are sending ( well, I mean we are posting text and pictures but you get the idea)
A VPN will tell you they don't keep logs of your usage. I believe that about as much as the government not keeping gun purchase records. I have read about a pedophile using a VPN to mask his identity, the feds went after him and his VPN provider gave him up.
I don't know that there is much difference in most of them, but I use Surfshark which has Windows, iOS, and Android so I can use it on my laptop, phone and firestick. They also have the ability to set it up your router level which means all your internet usage goes thru their VPN, but performance sucks so I wouldn't recommend that. But once you have it installed and set up, then it just runs in the background and you don't have to mess with it every time you start up a browser or app.
That's the downside of a VPN, since you go thru a server somewhere in the world as a portal to the internet, your internet speed slows down. If you are getting like 200mbps, you'd be lucky to get 40 thru a VPN so you have to be selective in using it. Surfshark and I'm sure others lets you select apps that you want to go thru the VPN and apps that bypass it. So for example, I bypass Netflix and Amazon Prime because it blocks content available to me, apps that I stream content from like IPTV, I have it go thru the VPN.
So Netflix and Amazon Prime stream at the high speeds I would expect
I've been using vpn's for years. I totally believe the story about the vpn provider pouring your guts out on a table.
Currently, I'm not using a vpn. I'm shopping around for a new provider and not in any hurry. Old one screwed up, accusing me of trying to use more of the service than I was entitled to from a remote location. The accusation was so insane, I just told them GFT. They finally realized they'd screwed up, but by that time I'd had enough of them.
If you want one, look for a deal at about $2-3.50/month.
