So far, I have received responses from 15 and only 3 providers are completely transparent: I emailed around 180+ providers when I was conducting my research for this VPN comparison guide. I further asked whether the VPN issued transparency reports or conducted a third party audit. The questions included information about the company’s headquarters, its location, owners and investors behind the company, and board of directors. Where some were comfortable sharing background details, others were selective on which questions they wanted to respond to, creating suspicion. Instead of them asking us for information, I created a list of questions for them to answer. I wanted to see how most providers would respond with the tables turned. The lack of transparency from providers urged me to contact them privately on email and learn more about different VPN services by asking them several invasive questions. Inquiring VPN Providers about Transparency via Email Most importantly, VPN providers do not reveal basic information about their service, lacking the transparency necessary for users to trust their product. Then, you have issues concerning WebRTC/DNS/IP address leaks and the usage of fake (virtual) locations, without providers being honest about them with customers/prospects. Where some may be logless, most may indulge in the recording of session/connection information. Similarly, there are different “ logging policies” for each provider. When judging the “safety” of a VPN, quite a lot of factors come into play, urging users to enhance their knowledge.įor instance, a VPN service based in a 5, 9, or 14 Eyes Jurisdiction may not be the safest option, because of government-imposed mandatory Data Retention and Mass Surveillance laws. However, these services do come with their own set of complexities. Think of using a VPN as your first step to leveraging digital privacy. I could tell you that VPNs offer complete safety to users, but that would be a lie. Where there are positives, there are negatives too. Things Do Get a Little Complicated Though! Some netizens even use them for accessing sites/files/services at work or for simply communicating with friends/family abroad, as shown in the VPN Usage Reasons study below. Using a VPN offers protection from these hunters, keeps you safe from prying eyes, allows you to unblock restricted content, and regain access to your favorite social media platforms/apps. Not to mention, copyright infringement hunters are always on the lookout for those downloading pirated material via p2p/file sharing. Many VoD services impose geo-limitations too. Among these, some even ban Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, etc. These VPN features are particularly true for users based in countries with tough internet laws, like Iran, Iraq, Turkey, China, Russia, UAE, and Egypt. They cloak your IP address, mask your location, and encrypt incoming/outgoing traffic, giving users a key to opening locked doors. There is no doubt that VPNs are handy tools. Surfshark – Based in BVI and Launched in 2018.Seed4Me – Based in Taiwan and Launched in 2012. WASEL Pro – Based in the Netherlands and Founded in 2012.PrivateVPN – Based in Sweden and Founded in 2009.SigaVPN – Based in the USA and Launched in 2017.Mullvad – Based in Sweden and Launched in 2009.
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