*Names Changed For Anonymity

Heading into the 2025 school year, Staples High School cracked down on distractions by blocking social media and popular apps on its Wi-Fi. And of course, students found a loophole. They quickly discovered that a simple VPN download could slip past the firewall, allowing them to access all restricted apps.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) reroutes your internet, connecting to servers in other locations. Therefore, a student can get a connection to any blocked platforms without using the Staples BYOD wifi. Breaking the firewall is as simple as downloading a VPN and accepting its terms and conditions to allow the foreign connection.

“I downloaded VPN-fast VPN SuperIt’s,”  *Jane ’26 said. “It’s nice because I am able to check social media and other apps during free periods and in the hallway during passing time.”

Staples students who can’t, or don’t want to download VPNs are quickly finding themselves in the minority. Rohan Sareen ’27 does not have a VPN and finds it frustrating getting notifications that his friends with VPNs are chatting with him on Snap, but he can’t open them.

“I didn’t really have a need for [a VPN],” Sareen said. “It was never necessary for me to use [social media in school], but it’s just kinda annoying.”

Some students justify using VPNs because they consider the school’s wifi limitations to be unnecessary and over restrictive. For example, *Jane explained how it’s nice to be able to communicate with her friends through SnapChat when trying to find them in the cafeteria at lunch.

That said, VPN usage comes with risks. VPNs not only make your phone slower, but it can cause your phone to be more vulnerable to viruses and other security risks.

“Some malicious VPN apps have been found to sell user data. Instead of protecting you, the VPN could become a tool for surveillance.” Director of Technology at Westport Public Schools Natalie Carrignan said.  “Fake or unverified VPN apps can contain malware, spyware, or adware that runs in the background.”

According to Fortinet, a US Cybersecurity organization, the connection used with a VPN is not considered a secure network, and information is more susceptible to being tampered with. VPNs also get your connection from foreign places, posing another security threat. Lastly, downloading the wrong VPN can lead to the app hacking into your information.

“I downloaded a VPN and it gave me some sort of virus,” *Jake ’26 said, “it would skip Spotify songs without me controlling it, which really scared me.”

The school administration has warned that use of VPNs violates the school’s acceptable use policy. As per the student code of conduct, students caught using VPNs to bypass school security could face a one to 10 day in-school or out-of-school suspension for violation of section 9 of the acceptable use policy, as well as potentially violating section 1 and 8. These policies prevent students from using technology for non education reasons or bypassing security systems.

“There will always be students who do not follow these rules,” Carrignan said, “which is precisely why a Code of Conduct exists.”

This story was originally published on Inklings on October 14, 2025.