Direct answer
A privacy-conscious digital nomad should expect privacy and reliability limits in hotels and airports. Typical risks include inconsistent network rules (including captive portals), visibility through devices or browser features, and third parties involved in the connection path. Even if you use a VPN, it does not guarantee anonymity, safety, or uninterrupted access.
Use in hotels and airports: how operation affects what you see
On hotel and airport Wi‑Fi, you usually face changing conditions: public/shared networks, authentication flows, and sometimes strict routing policies. These can influence whether your connection is actually protected end-to-end, whether a browser prompt or captive portal forces temporary interruptions, and whether your device leaks identifying data through WebRTC, DNS behavior, or logged-in accounts.
A practical operating assumption: the same setup that works at home may behave differently on captive-portal Wi‑Fi, on slow links, or when your device or app switches networks. That creates privacy risk (more opportunities for tracking or correlation) and availability risk (timeouts, blocked services, or repeated sign-ins).
Main limitations to plan for
First, a VPN does not remove every privacy or security risk; your device, browser, and accounts can still reveal information. Second, performance and availability vary by location, time, network congestion, and device conditions. Third, any current claims about specific products, legal coverage, or empirical effectiveness would require verification from authoritative, up-to-date materials.
What to check before and while you connect
- Confirm your traffic protection status on the device (not just the app UI).
- Test for DNS and leak indicators using built-in or widely used diagnostic tools.
- Validate basic access to a few sites/services you rely on, then re-check after captive-portal steps.
- Review browser privacy settings and disable features that can expose your real network identity (for example, certain connectivity features).
- Prefer not to remain logged into sensitive accounts on shared Wi‑Fi when alternatives exist.
Practical bottom line for privacy planning
Treat hotels and airports as environments where privacy controls can be stressed by network behavior and device settings.