Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority A virtual private network (VPN) is an increasingly essential security tool to protect your data and your privacy. Using a VPN has a lot of privacy advantages and offers plenty of value. Unfortunately, not all VPNs are created equal. And since there are hundreds of options to choose from, finding the right one isn’t the easiest. To help you out, we take a look at what data a VPN can access, and what privacy and security features to look for.

Update, November 25 2019 (2:19 AM ET): The Google Store’s Black Friday sale officially kicks off on November 28, but you can already get the Pixel 4 and Pixel Slate devices at a reduced price. Starting with the Pixel 4 series, you can $200 off both models. That means you’re paying $599 for the vanilla 64GB model, and $699 for the 64GB XL version. Need 128GB of storage? Then you’ll pay $699 and $799 for the vanilla and XL variants respectively.

The display is one of the smartphone’s most essential and priciest components, so naturally, we do everything possible to keep it in one piece. However, how many readers still employ screen protectors on their devices with the dawn of stronger protective glass? It’s a question we posed in a recent poll across our website and social pages. The results are now in! Do you still use a screen protector on your phone?

Cooler Master NotePal U3 PlusThe Cooler Master NotePal U3 Plus is a serious laptop cooler. The fans can be placed anywhere in the frame to accommodate your laptop's intake vents precisely. The USB pass-through and fan controls cater to power users and the frame is a single sheet of brushed aluminum for decent durability. With excellent cooling numbers, it somehow manages to justify its higher than average price point for the most part.

John Velasco / Android Authority Roku is a household name in the United States, making some of the best and most popular streaming devices on the market. But did you know that Roku was very nearly a part of Netflix? In fact, it was Netflix engineers that developed the first Roku device. It was slated to launch in 2007, the same year that Netflix launched its now-ubiquitous video-on-demand service. But just a few weeks before this “Netflix Player” came to market, the strategy shifted and it was instead spun off into its own company.

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority TL;DR The just-launched Samsung Galaxy S21 series doesn’t support magnetic stripe technology (MST). Instead, Galaxy S21 owners will need to rely exclusively on NFC payments. There’s no clarity on the regions where the phones still support MST payments. Update: January 21, 2021 (6:15 AM ET): A few days back we told you that Samsung has listed MST capabilities for the Galaxy S21 series on its South African, Indian, and UK websites.

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority Battery life — it’s one of those things every single one of us wants more of. While it’s understandable all apps will make that juice trickle out of your phone little by little, it seems some applications are especially good at killing your battery. Google Maps seems to be one of them. Especially if you’re constantly using it for navigating, finding locations, looking for businesses, and more.

50GB of free storage isn’t cool. Do you want to know what’s cool? 50GB of free storage that you can access wherever you go. That is essentially what you’re going to get with the latest cloud storage app that became available for download through Google Play. It’s none other than the official MediaFire app for Android, and as you might have guessed, it works pretty much the same way as its original, Web-based version online.

The Motorola Razr is already a treat for classic phone fans that strikes a perfect balance between the old (that flip design!) and the new (a foldable display!), but Motorola has upped the nostalgia factor even further with a secret “Retro Razr” mode. The mode, which is accessed via the quick settings menu and can be toggled on and off in a flash, transforms the Motorola Razr’s UI into an old school layout with a small screen at the top and the OG Razr’s iconic keypad design on the bottom.

The first apparent Samsung Galaxy S11 Plus renders leaked earlier this year, and one of the most divisive features was the rear camera housing (seen above and here). These renders showed cameras that were arranged in a haphazard fashion, as opposed to the symmetrical design seen on other leaked Galaxy S11 phones. Now, serial tipster OnLeaks has tweeted a revised render, apparently showing a Galaxy S11 Plus with a neatly arranged layout of lenses.