[luckylion]

It's good enough to stop the government to know what exactly you send, but not who you send it to. The VPN provider can know what servers you send it to, but that's usually not your threat model.

Short of using a VPN provider that's a front operation of the government you're trying to avoid, VPNs do a good job in adding a layer of protection. The proposed solution in the article (rent a VPS) does not, as the IP is unique to you and tied to your identity, the hoster has no incentive to protect your identity.