I have no idea. I got a few emails from my Internet provider, warning me to stop pirating. I haven’t gotten any such emails since using Proton. I’ve never tried another service.

Torrents, mostly. Torrents and pretending to be from another country/state are the top uses for a VPN. I guess VPNs can also help with “dark web things,” but I don’t know enough about those to offer any advice.

I use Proton VPN (lowest paid tier) to stream German television. Works great for me. I get the occasional stutter, but my Internet isn’t the best. I also get that when viewing local content.