Considering my threat model is just preventing my ISP to know which websites I am visiting and to prevent my government (India) from tracking me, do I need to use a VPN?
Currently, I am using a trusted VPN provider with a permanent kill switch and am never off of the VPN. Today, I was reading IVPN’s homepage and it says, “A VPN can be effective at encrypting your DNS requests so your ISP or mobile network provider cannot monitor or log the domains you visit.” But as far as I know, DNS over HTTPS does encrypt the DNS requests. Right?
I regularly clean my cookies, use hardened browsers, etc. So is a VPN really necessary for me? Or shall I just shift to using Quad9’s DoH or something?
Edit - I am using the router provided by the ISP and I cannot change it because I am behind CGNAT. I can use a separate device and install PfSense or OpenWRT or something on it and use that as a firewall. Any suggestions there?
They will see the IP of the site you are visiting if you do not have the VPN. Depending on the site it could be obvious which site it is, if it has a dedicated hosting for example
Also, looking at it from a different angle, a VPN hides your IP from service providers, which makes it harder for them to track you. In addition to that a proper VPN will also protect you when connecting to an insecure network, like scetchy public Wifi