Using public Wi-Fi on your iPhone or Android device without a VPN is never a good idea.
Sarah Tew/CNET Editors' note, Feb. 9, 2022: The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past few months, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major changes in corporate ownership. In December, ExpressVPN announced that it had officially joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February, NordVPN and Surfshark announced the two companies were merging, though they'll continue to operate autonomously. We're in the process of reevaluating all of our top picks in light of these changes. We will update our reviews and, if necessary, our rankings to account for this new competitive landscape. We've all been there. You're at a coffee shop or in an airport, and you desperately need to use public Wi-Fi to save your phone's data plan, but you're worried that the connection may not be secure and you're putting your private data at risk. You've heard about VPNs, but they seem costly and complicated. What to do? No need to worry. VPNs are easier to use on your phone than you think, and most are less expensive than you might expect. Here's how to get a VPN, or virtual private network, set up on your iPhone or Android phone -- and get back to browsing safely on your mobile device -- in under 10 minutes. CNET's best VPN services of 2021 Read more: Best VPN services of 2022 Why do I need to use a VPN on my phone, anyway? Are all of the internet-connected apps on your phone up to date and running versions that were published later than, say, 2017? How about your operating system -- is it the latest version from Android or iOS? If the answer to any of those questions is, "I don't know," then you should use a phone VPN if possible. It may be hard for malicious actors to take advantage of everyday users on public Wi-Fi, but outdated software can give them the opening they need to steal the passwords to your most sensitive accounts. If you're concerned about the risks of using…