Going incognito with VPNs in the age of surveillance

A look at why the market for Virtual Private Networks has expanded, enabling users to spread and access information.

Virtual Private Networks first came into use in 1996 and are among the most enduring innovations in online browsing with popularity on the rise around the world.

VPNs were originally developed as tools for corporations and governments to connect their offices in different countries, to make it easier for people to work together.

But as surveillance and control of the web have increased, a market has emerged and expanded - for people to work around internet blocks and to hide their location online.