Has a VPN actually logged where I've been?

Question

I have been using Touch VPN for a few months to view social media accounts because I worried I was viewing them too much and would be flagged or something. I just learned, however, that VPNs keep logs and store info, especially when accessing social media sites, and especially the particular VPN I used. I downloaded and deleted the Touch VPN Chrome extension multiple times over the last few months. Should I be worried about the VPN doing anything with the data collected on the sites I viewed and the people knowing I viewed their accounts multiple times?

Answer 1

There are really three questions being asked here:

• Is it possible that my VPN provider has logged my activity?
• Is it likely that my VPN provider has logged my activity?
• Has my VPN provider logged my activity?

Is it possible?

The answer is a clear yes. From a technical perspective, it is absolutely a possibility that your VPN provider has logged this activity. They may be required by law to do so, or they may have other incentives to do so.

It should be noted that, merely because a VPN provider claims that they do not log user activity, there is no way for you as the customer to verify that statement.

Is it likely they look at me specifically?

I'd say no. At least, not in the sense that the VPN would be targetting you specifically. Judging by how many people have installed their apps, I would say they have a sizable customer base, and unless you are a politically exposed person or otherwise a high-value target, you're just one of many.

According to their privacy policy, they do log your IP address, what sites you visit and other things. However, logs that nobody looks at are meaningless. So what I'd be more worried about is them selling that traffic data to some third party company.

Do people know I have viewed their accounts?

Should I be worried about [...] the people knowing I viewed their accounts multiple times?

Generally, social networks do not show people who viewed their profile. Social networks may tell users statistics about their posts, such as how often they have been viewed, but there is no individual breakdown of who viewed these posts.

However, the behavior you describe does seem quite compulsive (as you indicated in your question) and I would suggest you to contact a mental healthcare professional.