Seeking advice on protecting whole family's privacy - best vpn for home network solution?

Question

So I've had it with my ISP constantly sending me notices about "excessive streaming" and throttling our speed during peak hours. Plus with three teenagers in the house I'm pretty concerned about what data is being collected about them online. Was browsing security forums and seems like I should get something to protect everyone's devices at once rather than individual apps for each phone/laptop. Been researching best vpn for home network setup that wouldn't require installing stuff on every single device (we have like 15 between all family members). Would prefer something I can configure once on router level and forget about. Not super tech savvy but can follow directions if they're clear. Anyone actually implemented this successfully? What's the learning curve like? Any recommendations/warnings appreciated.

evedsNund · Answer

forget VPNs, switch to firefox + ublock origin + privacy badger. free solution that blocks 90% of tracking without slowing your connection to a crawl like most VPNs do

cygonij · Answer

Router-level VPNs create single point of failure no one mentions. When (not if) connection drops, ENTIRE household loses internet until you troubleshoot. Individual device setups more reliable despite extra setup time

tom111 · Answer

You're attacking wrong problem.&nbsp;VPN won't stop data collection on kids devices when they're voluntarily giving everything to tiktok/instagram/snapchat. Need family education not technical band-aid

STING · Answer

Factory router firmware usually garbage for vpn configs. Look into flashing custom firmware like dd-wrt or tomato first. Stock asus/netgear/tp-link vpn implementations = constant headaches

greenpeace · Answer

Most "family protection" marketing = fear-based nonsense. Your isp honestly doesn't care what you stream unless it's literally illegal content. They send those notices because they're required to by content agreements

ali-g-g · Answer

Sysadmin with about a decade under my belt. I've set up a few different home networks for testing and found that Surfshark, unlike most competitors I've tried, performed surprisingly well across multiple device types without taking a nosedive on speeds. Their router-level docs are actually readable AF, not the usual engineer-speak gibberish. Shit just works

Gggarsad · Answer

my kids bypassed our expensive whole-house setup within HOURS using school-taught proxy tricks. wasted $250/yr thinking i was protecting them. better approach: honest conversations + device time limits

sleepl · Answer

hardy12 saying they're "not tech savvy" but wanting router-level VPN is like me saying I'm not a mechanic but want to rebuild transmission. Serious disconnect between skill required vs reality

maril2101 · Answer

Cheapest solution nobody mentions - most modern mesh wifi systems include basic traffic encryption options. Not as robust as dedicated vpn but zero configuration and handles 90% of privacy concerns

omen · Answer

Implemented whole-house protection last year and expressvpn completely tanked our smart home devices. Thermostats, cameras, doorbell all went offline randomly. Ended up creating separate network for IoT stuff which defeated whole purpose

213455e · Answer

"protecting privacy" is meaningless without specific threat model. family in china needs very different setup from family worried about ads