If you don't know what the acronym VPN means, you can't hit delete fast enough.
I have never been a fan of using a Virtual Private Network on my Mac, Pixel, or iPad, as the complexity it adds outweighs the benefits. But I recently found TailScale, available on all my platforms (and more), a free (I love free), for personal use only, solution that is easy to install and configure, and doesn't require opening ports on my Internet router. I run it all the time on my Mac and activate it on my iPad or Pixel when I need to access files on the Mac or route my Internet traffic through my home Internet connection when using less-than-trusted WiFi networks.
To test this, I used the https://whatismyipaddress.com website. On the left in the image below, it reported my IP address as 172.56.125.79, one of a block of IP addresses owned by T-Mobile, which is the cell network behind my Google FI service. On the right, now with the Tailscale VPN active, my IP address is 184.57.183.13, which is owned by Spectrum, my current home Internet provider, and I recognize as my home Mac Mini. That validates that my Internet traffic was flowing through the VPN to my home before going to the Internet.
Learn more about TailScale at the link below.
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