How To Install A VPN For Private Browsing On Your Chromebook

When you start talking about VPNs, there are generally 3 camps: those who don’t know what I mean when I say VPN, those who know about it and have never used or installed one, and those who are aware of VPNs and are using one right this moment. For that final group, this article may not do much for you. But for those of you in the first two groups, we’re genuinely hoping a quick run-through can help get you up and running with a VPN so that you can start browsing the web privately and securely whether in a browser or in an app.

Below, you’ll find a walkthrough video using NordVPN (our personal choice for VPN) and it is pretty concise. I’d advise just watching it if you are interested, but we’ll also quickly walk through the process in written form afterward, too. If you’re looking for an alternative to Nord, check out Surfshark. Surfshark works with Android (Chrome OS), iOS and macOS and you can try it free for 7 days.

The main thing you need to understand when installing a VPN on a Chromebook is the difference between Chrome OS and Android. If you install a VPN via a Chrome extension, only your Chrome browsing and web apps will be secured.

If you don’t use Android apps, this is the simplest and preferred method. However, if you do use Android apps, you will need to use the Android app instead. The benefit here is that the Android app actually covers both your Chrome browsing and all of your app-related web activity as well.

We’ve tested NordVPN in both the extension and app form and were able to verify that the Android app covers all your activity while the Chrome extension only covers your Chrome-related activity. It is a bit counter-intuitive, but that is the way it is at this point.

The setup for either is quite simple, though. Just sign up for a VPN that has an app or extension, have your credentials handy, and then install the extension from the Chrome Web Store or the app from the Play Store.

Once you do, open the app or extension, login, and you are secured. Again, the actual process of getting a VPN running isn’t that difficult. The choice of extension vs. app is simply a bit different than you would expect, so we wanted to make this quick video to highlight that fact, walk you through the whole setup, and make sure that you know all about VPNs and how to make them work on your Chromebook across all your apps.

Finally, if you aren’t sure what VPN to choose, it is probably pretty obvious that we prefer NordVPN. Their service is incredible, the number of servers they have around the world (5300 servers in 61 countries) means close proximity to you and fast speeds, and their apps/extensions are simple to use. On top of that, you can use your one NordVPN account across all your devices!

If you want to browse in a safe, secure, and private environment, a VPN is the way to go. You can click the button below to check out NordVPN and get started today or choose your own VPN. Either way, when out and about, we do believe it is in your best interest to protect yourself, so we really hope that you choose to.