Let’s use an extremely simplified analogy. Imagine you and three of your friends create a coded language that can be understood only between four of you. The language might be in the form of signs, images, sounds, numbers, or something completely different. The most important part is that others cannot decode it when they hear you using it. The only way to decode it and turn it into an understandable language is with a specific decryption key that only you and your friends have, and that cannot be stolen from you.
But what if the process of creating a coded language and memorizing it was automated? That’s where encryption comes in. It does the job for you by encrypting the everyday language you speak and turning into code while it’s traveling to the recipient.
In this analogy, the recipient is your friend that you’re talking to. In a VPN world, the recipient could be – for example – a website you’re trying to access.
Neither you or the recipient have to understand the encryption code. Why? Because a VPN encrypts the information you put out and then decrypts it as soon as it reaches the recipient.