Security

Public Wi-Fi Safety Check

Answer 8 quick questions about your public Wi-Fi habits and get a personalised safety score from 0 to 100.

Answer 8 questions about your public Wi-Fi habits. Your score updates instantly — no sign-up required.

Select your answers to see your score.

What a VPN does on public Wi-Fi

Helps with

  • Encrypting traffic between your device and the VPN server
  • Making data harder to intercept on the local network
  • Hiding browsing activity from other users on the same Wi-Fi

Does not help with

  • Phishing, malware, or weak passwords
  • Traffic beyond the VPN server (still visible to destination sites)
  • Anonymity or preventing account-level tracking

How it works?

This tool scores your public Wi-Fi habits across 8 risk factors. Each answer contributes a risk score; higher-risk behaviours (like banking on open networks) carry more weight. The safety score is calculated as 100 − round(total_risk / 70 × 100), capped at 0.

Score ranges: 70–100 = Safe, 40–69 = Caution, 0–39 = High Risk. The top three risk contributors are shown as personalised reasons and actions.

The scoring model is based on common public Wi-Fi attack vectors: man-in-the-middle attacks, packet sniffing, evil twin hotspots, and session hijacking. Using a VPN eliminates most of these risks by encrypting all traffic between your device and the VPN server.

Frequently asked questions

Is public Wi-Fi actually dangerous?
It can be. Unencrypted public Wi-Fi networks allow other users on the same network to intercept traffic via packet sniffing. Man-in-the-middle attacks and fake 'evil twin' hotspots are also real threats. The risk level depends heavily on what you do while connected.
What is a man-in-the-middle attack?
A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack occurs when an attacker secretly intercepts communications between your device and the internet. On public Wi-Fi, an attacker on the same network can position themselves between you and the access point, reading or altering your traffic in real time.
What is an evil twin hotspot?
An evil twin is a fake Wi-Fi access point that mimics a legitimate network (e.g. 'Airport_Free_WiFi'). When you connect, all your traffic goes through the attacker's device. Always verify the exact network name with staff before connecting in public places.
Does HTTPS protect me on public Wi-Fi?
HTTPS encrypts data between your browser and the website, which is helpful. However, it does not hide which websites you visit, and some older or misconfigured sites still serve content over plain HTTP. A VPN adds an additional encryption layer and covers all apps, not just browser traffic.
How does a VPN protect me on public Wi-Fi?
A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server. Even if someone intercepts your Wi-Fi traffic, they see only encrypted data. This prevents packet sniffing, MITM attacks, and protects all apps running on your device simultaneously.
What can I do right now without a VPN?
Several steps reduce your risk without a VPN: use mobile data instead of public Wi-Fi for sensitive tasks; avoid open (password-free) networks; always verify the network name with staff; disable auto-connect on your device; and check that any site you enter data on uses HTTPS (padlock icon in browser).