Is Public Wi-Fi Safe? How to Protect Yourself

By NorwegianSpark Editorial · Published July 10, 2026 — written with AI assistance and reviewed by the NorwegianSpark SA editorial team.

"Never use public Wi-Fi" is outdated advice, but "public Wi-Fi is perfectly safe" is not quite right either. The honest 2026 picture sits in between: because almost every website now uses HTTPS encryption, connecting through a coffee-shop or airport network is usually safe for ordinary browsing. The risks that remain are real but specific, and a few habits close most of them.

The classic threat — a stranger on the same network silently reading your traffic — is largely defeated by HTTPS, which encrypts the connection between you and most sites. What is left worth guarding against: the handful of sites or apps that still do not use encryption, fake "evil twin" hotspots set up to look like the real network, and plain over-the-shoulder snooping. The US Federal Trade Commission's guidance (2026) is refreshingly practical — look for the padlock and https in the address bar, do not send sensitive information such as bank details over a network you do not trust, log out when you finish, and keep your device and browser updated.

This is where a VPN earns its place as defence-in-depth. A VPN encrypts all of your device's traffic to a server you choose, so even an untrusted or misconfigured network — or a fake hotspot — sees only encrypted data, and your real IP is hidden from the sites you visit. It is worth being precise: a VPN is not magic, and it does not replace HTTPS or good habits, but on untrusted networks it is a genuinely useful extra layer. Audited, reputable providers worth comparing on these terms include NordVPN, Surfshark and the privacy-focused Proton ecosystem — we go deeper on how to choose in our best VPN for privacy and VPN buying guide.

Round out public-network safety the same way as the rest of your security: strong unique passwords, two-factor authentication so a captured password is not enough, and the broader habits in protecting your privacy online. For deeper VPN comparisons, our sister site VPNTex tracks the field. Stick to HTTPS sites, avoid sensitive transactions on networks you do not control, and add a reputable VPN as an extra layer on untrusted Wi-Fi. General guidance, not advice for a specific threat model.