They were "once the domain of Silicon Valley techies and security engineers", said The Independent. But virtual private networks (VPNs) have now "become mainstream" amid "growing concerns over online privacy".

Interest in digital tools that hide or alter an internet user's location has exploded since the UK introduced age verification for online adult content last Friday. VPNs accounted for half of the top 10 most popular free apps downloaded in the UK last weekend, according to Apple's rankings.

How do they work?
Once installed on your device, a VPN encrypts your traffic, sending it through a remote server that disguises your internet protocol (IP) address. This process, known as a "handshake", allows users to mask their geographical location. "It is a bit like using a phone box instead of your own phone to make a call, so that the receiver cannot tell who is ringing," said The Telegraph.

VPNs enable a wide spectrum of activity, from accessing uncensored news in authoritarian states to browsing streaming service catalogues from other countries. They also allow users to hide their browsing activity from employers, advertisers and even their own internet service providers.

What are the limits and downsides?
A VPN does not completely anonymise your traffic. Your personal data and logins will still be retained by websites, and a VPN cannot prevent malware from infecting your system.

Connecting to a VPN can slow your internet speed and increase your data usage, and "not all VPN providers are trustworthy", said Forbes. "Some may log your browsing activity or sell your data", especially if they are offering their services for free. "Truly secure and effective VPNs usually come at a cost" – usually around £10 a month.

Are they legal in UK?
Yes, even under the new Online Safety Act. But it's illegal to use them to watch pirated content, like films and football matches. And while using a VPN to bypass geographical restrictions on streaming services is not illegal, it is considered a violation of terms of service and could result in a ban from the platform.

Under the new age verification rules, Ofcom has told platforms not to host, share or permit content encouraging the use of VPNs.

More and more women are "marrying down" when it comes to education, said The Atlantic. Marriages had been moving in a "more egalitarian direction" since the mid-20th century, when more women began attending university and entering the job market. But now the trend of women "partnering up with their educational equals" seems to be reversing, with a growing number practicing "hypogamy" – wedding someone of a lower social class or education level.

Not 'too picky'
Women outnumber men in higher education in almost all developed countries. In the UK, female students outnumbered male students by 28% in 2024, according to government figures. While women's advancement is a "cause for celebration", it's also creating "issues" in heterosexual dating, said The Independent.

A 2023 study from the US-based Institute for Family Studies found that 45% of single women with a degree attributed their relationship status to an "inability to find someone who met their expectations", said the paper. And they're not just being "too picky". Polling expert Daniel A. Cox, who surveyed more than 5,000 people for the study, found his interviews with men "dispiriting"; many were "limited in their ability and willingness to be fully emotionally present and available".

'Romantic pessimism'
Women's academic success, coupled with the lingering "male breadwinner norm", gives the "shrinking pool of more successful men tremendous power", said Sarah Bernstein in The New York Times. But others struggle to compete in the dating market: "enter the manosphere", a space filled with "romantic pessimism". Many women are also feeling "similarly despondent". A 2023 study by the Survey Center on American Life found that 41% of single people had "no interest in dating at all".

But beliefs may be "evolving", said The Atlantic. Data from the World Values Survey suggests that in countries where hypogamy is more prevalent, people are less likely to agree that "if a woman earns more money than her husband, it's almost certain to cause problems".
And while hypogamous marriages used to be more likely to end in divorce, recent analyses in Europe and the US suggest this is "no longer the case". These trends don't prove a major shift is under way, but they may "offer a reason to be cautiously optimistic".

Suffolk: Briar Cottage, Horringer
A secluded cottage with no near neighbours. The property offers far-reaching views and easy access to 1,800 acres of National Trust parkland at the Ickworth Estate. Main suite, 4 further beds, family bath, shower, kitchen, 3 receps, garden, garage. £1.195 million; Bedfords

Cumbria: Cubben House, Irton, Holmrook
An enchanting 16th-century cottage set in 1.75 acres, with impressive views over the Lake District National Park. It is perched on the edge of the Miterdale Forest close to Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain. 3 beds, family bath, shower, kitchen, 2 receps, garden, garage. £650,000; Fine & Country

Hampshire: Shirley House, Shirley
A splendid Grade II house with 14th-century origins, on the edge of the New Forest National Park. 7 beds, 3 baths, kitchen, 5 receps, garden, equestrian facilities. £2.1 million; John D. Wood

Suffolk: Depden Hall, Depden
A Grade II 17th-century moated country house with approx. 25 acres of gardens. 8 beds, 4 baths, kitchen, 4 receps, tennis court, boat house, outbuildings, parking. OIEO £2.85 million; John D. Wood

Herefordshire: Lane Gate Cottage, Bircher
Lane Gate Cottage, Bircher
Charming Arts and Crafts thatched cottage nestled on the edge of Bircher Common. 3 beds, family bath, shower, kitchen, 2 receps, garden, parking. OIRO £675,000; Samuel Wood

The climate needs a politics of the possible
The Economist editorial board
"Sensing the political winds" shifting, companies are going "quiet about greenery", says The Economist, and many voters are sceptical that "strict 'net zero' targets" are "in their interest". The "scientific rationale" for net zero remains "strong", but "in many cases" meeting those targets is "barely physically imaginable, let alone politically feasible". Voters "prefer cleanliness to pollution" and the promise of a "future in which they can thrive": these are "more potent rallying cries than an abstract target".

Britain shouldn't put up with Donald Trump
Max Hastings in The Spectator
Donald Trump prevails because "many governments think him capable of anything if thwarted", writes Max Hastings. It was "cringe-making" to see Keir Starmer treated as a "supplicant" during their meeting this week in Scotland. But while "there may appear to be nothing" that anyone can do to "control" this president "bereft of compassion, decency and dignity", we can "at least keep our own dignity". While "others fall into line" with Trump, "we can, and should, conscientiously object".

China's humanoids will soon be playing the Hunger Games
Catherine Thorbecke on Bloomberg
"By far the biggest crowd-pleaser at China’s top artificial intelligence summit this week" was an exhibition of droids that "would've seemed like science fiction even just a few years ago", writes Catherine Thorbecke. They "played drums, served popcorn, duked it out in a boxing ring" – one even had a "beautifully uncanny human face, complete with eyeliner and rouge". Such displays may be a "novelty", but the economic potential of such robots "is undeniable".