Can You Hide Your IP Address When Doing Paid Surveys?

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Is it possible to hide your IP address when doing paid surveys? If yes, is it legal? Will your account be at risk of being banned? These and many more questions will be addressed in this article.

As you already know, some websites only allow people from certain countries to have access to their platforms. This is also applicable to paid survey sites.

Paid survey opportunities can be limited for some countries. This can, thus, push people to use proxies and VPNs to hide their IP address when completing surveys that are not available in their countries.

But is it legal to hide your IP address when doing paid surveys? Is it even safe to do so? Can you have access to more surveys when you hide your IP address?

In this article, I will reveal what you need to be careful about and you will also find out if hiding your IP is the way to go when doing paid surveys.

What Are Proxies and VPNs?

An open proxy refers to a server that serves as an intermediary between the internet and you. It has its IP address.

Anytime you use the proxy, you will have the same IP address as others that are using that proxy. Proxies do not encrypt data. Also, they are not as resource-intensive as VPNs.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an encrypted ‘tunnel’ that is found between you and the host server.

The VPN hides the websites you have visited from an outsider. The only thing your ISP (internet service provider) sees is that you have connected to a VPN. Some workplaces also have their VPNs as a security measure.

SEE: Are Online Surveys For Money Legit? Things To Know Before Surveying

Why Hide Your IP Address for Paid Surveys?

Most people use VPNs so that they can have access to more paid surveys, thereby increasing their earning potentials. The other reasons why people hide their IP addresses when doing paid surveys are discussed in the section below:

1. Privacy protection

You are not completely safe when using the internet. Many people are concerned about their privacy. They want to keep their bank information, private details, and private messaging safe while surfing the internet.

Thus, they hide their IP address to prevent their ISP from tracking and storing their data. If you are concerned about the safety of your privacy, you can look into using a VPN.

2. Access to services abroad

One of the most popular reasons why people use VPNs is streaming. There are lots of streaming services, and they allow you to watch your favorite TV shows and movies whenever you want.

However, you may not have access to these services if you do not live in the United States or the United Kingdom.

A VPN will give you the option to choose the country’s IP you want to use and you can then have access to streaming services wherever you are.

3. Access to websites anywhere in the world

Apart from having access to streaming services, people also hide their IPs so that they can have access to some websites and online services. Certain paid survey sites are restricted to people from certain countries.

You can mask your IP address by using a VPN or proxy. This will allow you to have access to any website and online service.

4. Secure and safe access to private networks

Large corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies also use VPN technology to allow remote users to have access to their network securely.

Apart from survey sites, you can also use VPNs for many purposes. Although it plays a key role in allowing people to get more paid surveys.

How Can Survey Sites Identify VPN or Proxy Users?

Get-Paid-To websites know that IP addresses can change, however, most of them will still monitor the activities of their members to track inconsistencies in their IP addresses.

For example, if you claim to be from United States when you sign up on a survey site, but the next day you log in, your IP address changes to Germany, and then Australia, this can depict foul play.

Proxy services use some specific ranges of IP addresses. This implies that any service will use the same range of IPs. These are published in lists and anyone (including market research companies) can easily have access to these lists.

If a survey has access to this information, they may end up blocking the range, which will make them block you.

SEE: 10 Best Ways to Get Referrals for Paid Surveys and GPT Sites

Avoid Hiding Your IP Address

As stated earlier in this article, you can use a VPN for many things. Since this website is mostly about paid surveys, I want to use this section to explain factors that you need to consider before you hide your IP address when doing paid surveys.

1. The security of the survey site

You need to consider the security of the survey site before you use a VPN. Survey sites depend on getting quality answers for their survival.

If the answers they are getting are not of high quality, the companies that partner with them will terminate their relationship with them. As a result, survey sites will cease to exist and there will be nothing like paid surveys.

To ensure that high-quality answers are provided, survey sites make sure that it is only the group they are interested in that has access to the surveys.

For instance, an American company that offers its products and services in the United States will not be interested in the opinions of people from other countries, since these people may have never heard about the product let alone using it.

Therefore, survey sites are doing all it takes to maintain high-level security on their platforms. One of the measures they put in place is to prevent the use of a VPN. You can see this in their terms and conditions. Most GPT websites do not allow their members to use VPNs.

Survey sites already have measures in place to detect if a member uses a VPN or proxy. Although how good your VPN software is will determine how well they detect your VPN. But notwithstanding, just know that if you’re using a VPN on survey sites, you’re breaking the rules.

When these sites detect that you’re using a VPN, they will ban you immediately while some ban you when you are about to withdraw your earnings.

So in a nutshell, if your main aim of using a VPN is to appear as if you are from a country that is not allowed to partake in surveys, this is a fraudulent act on most survey sites and get make the platforms ban you.

SEE: Can You Make A Full-Time Income Doing Surveys?

2. VPNs destroy survey sites

I understand how painful it is when you cannot have access to juicy offers on paid survey sites and Get-Paid-To sites. This can push you to consider using a VPN.

However, we shouldn’t do what will affect others when trying to make money online.

Real people like you own and operate survey companies. These people are trying to put food on their tables. When you cheat them by using a VPN, you are gradually killing their businesses and destroying their sources of income.

I don’t think anyone can justify hurting others just because they want to make money. When you use a VPN to hide your IP address for paid surveys, you are hurting people and it is a fraudulent act that survey companies deal with.

If you want to take surveys, do it with all honesty by completing surveys on sites that are available in your country.

SEE: Paid Surveys Honesty: Why It Is Important When Taking Surveys

Conclusion

People use VPNs for many purposes. However, if the only reason why you want to get a VPN is to hide your IP address when doing paid surveys, it is not a good idea.

Do not forget that most survey sites frown at using VPNs or proxies and they see it as fraud.

However, VPNs are great for other opportunities such as security and the ability to surf, stream, and use any site. But since a VPN will make you look like you are from a different country and most survey sites consider this fraud, I don’t recommend you to do this. If you are doing it already, you need to stop because it will get you banned one day.

If you want great paid survey opportunities, you can check out our list of the best survey sites. You can use some of these survey sites in your country. You don’t even need a VPN to have access to them.

Also, do not forget that paid surveys are just a way to make extra bucks in your spare time. Do not see them as a way to make a living or opportunities to make a full-time income.

Irrespective of the reason why you want to hide your IP address, I believe you now know more about the dangers involved, so you need to think twice before you hide your IP address when doing paid surveys.

Surveystor provides information on how to earn extra income on GPT sitesPTC sitessurvey platforms, and cashback platforms. Thanks for reading.