Well then explain me why I would need a VPN in the year 2025 with encrypted connections and HSTS being the norm
To connect to a network, which is private and virtual. As the name suggests, this is the reason for which VPNs were invented and are still used today. Using VPNs for "privacy" is how they're popularized for anyone who doesn't actually know what they are and how they're used. Which clearly includes yourself. To believe that there's no legitimate use for VPNs outside of their layman's usage is so incredibly fucking insane.
If you're going to speak about something, do yourself a favor in the future and at least do a cursory Google search to find out what it is that you're speaking about first so you don't look like a total idiot. For fucks sake.
There are no goalposts. This isn't my opinion. It's an incontestable fact that stealing IP is illegal in 98% of every country on this planet. You can choose to live denial in some virtual fantasy where you pretend that this isn't true, but you can't change facts. Period.
There is no VPN on this planet which "supports" theft of IP. There are providers which don't actively seek to ban users for doing so. Which is absolutely not the same and you pretending that it is, is disgusting behavior. Truly infantile.