The simple answer is no. A VPN can give you privacy, but not total anonymity. A VPN hides your location and IP address and assigns you a new one from a server in a different location. It also protects you from cybercriminals and government/ISP surveillance, thanks to its military-grade encryption. But the VPN company would still have access to your real IP address and information about your online activity — this is unavoidable and required for the servers to work. This is why it’s crucial to choose a VPN with a strict no-logs policy, so it won’t have any data to share if it’s compelled to by a government agency. But even this isn’t enough if true anonymity is the goal. There’s always a risk that your personal information could be intercepted if the VPN server itself is compromised, by hackers, government agencies, or third-party data center employees. Plus, your VPN will also require an email address and payment information in order to create your account, take payments, or refund you. However, there are some ways to protect your anonymity while using a VPN. For example, you can pay for your VPN with a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, so that you don’t need to give your VPN company payment information and other sensitive data. You could also use a multi-hop connection, which protects your personal information from being intercepted even if one of the VPNs in the chain has been compromised. This is thanks to the additional layers of encryption and IP masking, giving the interceptor nothing to work with.