>>1275642>isn't using a vpn one of the reasons youtube/google will ask you for a phone number when you sign up so they can track who you are?Google doesn't need to require a phone if you use gmail. It sees all the purchase confirmation emails you get from various companies, confirmation mail from forums you sign up to, confirmation mail from your bank website, confirmation mail from government service websites, and password request mails from any other site. So google Alphabet youtube know who you are from those. These things were pointed out to you by Snowden and others. It's why you also need to keep all your emails out of reach of places that will hand over information (or start detailed tracking) to legal authorities upon request.
The purpose of VPN is to stop losing information to things like Man In The Middle, trunk lines owned by foreign companies, and your ISP from copying and using information they see is coming from or headed to you. It creates a significant costly nuisance for copyright holders so they usually ignore VPN users and go after non-VPN users. A VPN provider is a business and as such is bound by the laws of the countries that it operates or leases servers within or the country where it registers its business license. So even if the VPN company claims you are not recorded, they can start recording your actions if ordered by the court.
It is up to the integrity of the VPN company whether or not it refuses to give your info or start recording upon non-warrant requests for info by law enforcement. This is because it costs money to defend itself in court if the VPN company refuses and law enforcement actually obtains a warrant and court order requiring a fine to be paid by the VPN company for non-compliance with law enforcement request in that country. This is why a VPN is not an absolute prevention defense especially if you use a Chrome type browser engine in your PC or if your PC at home uses the same router as your smartphone.
