VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, are a popular way to stay safe online. When you connect to a VPN, all outgoing network traffic is funneled through an external server. Your internet service provider can't tell what sites you visit (only that you're using a VPN) or inject content into webpages. They're also commonly used to bypass blocked websites and to stay safe on public Wi-Fi networks.
Unfortunately, using certain VPN providers can be just as dangerous as going without a VPN in the first place. Many popular providers will log connection details of users, which can then be sold to third parties. Some insecure services also leak connection information, leaving you just as unprotected as you would be without a VPN.
Even though there are a few excellent VPN choices available on the market, hosting your own VPN server is another option. It takes a little bit of work to set up, and it's not the best option for everyone, but it has several benefits. For this guide, we'll be setting up an OpenVPN server on a Linode VPS, which costs $5/month. While you can absolutely run a PC at home with Ubuntu Server instead, you'll get the highest-possible speeds and almost no downtime from a remotely-hosted VPS. You also won't have to worry about hardware failures, and you have multiple region options.
You might be wondering why a post like this is on Android Police. The explanation is pretty simple —our smartphones transmit a tremendous amount of personal data. While most of that is sent over encrypted channels, like HTTPS, most phones and tablets still auto-connect to potentially-insecure public Wi-Fi networks. Even if you stick to cellular data, you're still probably subject to data collection by your carrier.
This guide might look long, but it's because I try to fully explain every possible step so no one gets lost. You don't need any previous experience with Linux or server management for this tutorial.
Should I host my own VPN?
There are advantages and disadvantages to making your own VPN server. Here are the main points to keep in mind when deciding what to do.
Advantages
You're in control of your data.
It's usually cheaper or on-par with paying for a VPN subscription.
You can use the VPN server for other things, like hosting a website or Nextcloud installation.
Websites that ban VPNs probably won't detect yours, because it won't be on an IP block list. This doesn't apply to Android apps, since they can detect when any kind of VPN/proxy is being used.
Disadvantages
Anonymity isn't possible, since the VPS host will have your name and payment information.
Your total bandwidth will be limited. Linode gives you 1TB/month, but you effectively get 500GB, because the data has to go from the origin to the VPN and then from the VPN to you.
You won't get special features that some VPN services provide, like malware/tracker blocking, unless you have the technical knowledge to set them up yourself.
You can't easily switch between different countries/locations.
Set up a Linode VPS
First we need to create a VPS, which is the Linux virtual machine that our VPN server will run on. There are multiple VPS providers, but I personally prefer Linode, so that's what we'll be using (note: this is not a sponsored/promotional post). DigitalOcean is another popular option
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