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I generally have the same thought process (rather go through ISP than VPN) but one angle of this thought that I've struggled with is: what makes my ISP any less of a rando than the VPN that I choose? At least I have more choices with my VPN than with my ISP...

...but I still haven't bitten the bullet on a VPN yet.

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The problem is your ISP is bound to your physical location and is forced to obey the laws in that jurisdiction in order to continue operating there. The VPN provider, especially one in another country, has no such concerns. In mmh0000's case, they're in Utah and don't wish to follow Utah's laws. Thus it's that the VPN being able to be a rando, and the ISP being very much not is central to using a VPN over having to trust the ISP, which very much knows exactly where you live.