Some VPN providers offer VPN protection for free. However, free virtual private networks have to maintain an infrastructure to keep their service running, so they need to make money somehow. Since you’re not paying for their service, they may collect your data and sell it to advertisers, use your device as an exit node for paying users, or even add your computer to a botnet network. It also most likely won’t work well – the VPN connection is usually unstable and slow, your data is left unencrypted, and your IP address and location aren’t sufficiently hidden.