  We study how and why university students chose and use VPNs, and whether they
are aware of the security and privacy risks that VPNs pose. To answer these
questions, we conducted 32 in-person interviews and a survey with 349
respondents, all university students in the United States. We find students are
mostly concerned with access to content and privacy concerns were often
secondary. They made tradeoffs to achieve a particular goal, such as using a
free commercial VPN that may collect their online activities to access an
online service in a geographic area. Many users expected that their VPNs were
collecting data about them, although they did not understand how VPNs work. We
conclude with a discussion of ways to help users make choices about VPNs.
