Does Connecting to my Home VPN when I'm on a Public Wi-Fi Make it Safer?

[froggytech]

I have OpenVPN setup on my home Asus router and I have the OpenVPN Connect client on my mac.

 

When I'm on a public wi-fi (hotel, airport, starbucks) and I connect my mac to my home OpenVPN, am I more safe from cybercrime/hackers?

[brwainer]

You are safe from anyone else at the public wifi location who may be sniffing your data off the unencrypted wireless.

You are also safe from your data being collected and possibly mined for ad purposes by the provider of the public wifi, or their direct ISP.

Your data is as safe as you consider your home network and ISP is safe.

[froggytech]

Thanks! That was exactly what I was hoping for. And I do consider my home wi-fi safe, or at least a lot safer than public wi-fi.