If you use the internet when traveling the United Arab Emirates, you will be in for an unpleasant experience. A significant amount of your most utilized websites and services are likely restricted. WhatsApp? Not permitted. Online gambling? Banned. Controversial political content? Censored. A VPN will help you get around those limits and escape government surveillance.
You might be asking whether VPNs are even permitted in the UAE. Good news, sort of: using a VPN in UAE is not strictly prohibited. It is only criminal if you use the VPN to commit a crime or to conceal a crime you have committed. That is pretty much the case everywhere else, including the United States, where VPNs are totally legal. What distinguishes the UAE is that more items are considered prohibited there, including those we take for granted such as FaceTime and Skype for personal usage.