In the age of information technology, people are spending more and more time by browsing various websites, looking for entertainment, shopping, banking or even dating. Most of them are in trust with their antivirus software and some of them are using a VPN (a virtual private network) for some extra privacy and security. In this article, we are going to talk about how private a VPN service can be, why you should not trust every VPN vendor and how to choose the best no-log vpn. 

What is VPN and why should I use it?

VPN is a great service for those people who would like to stay more private on the internet. It can change your IP address, encrypt your browsing session, or even block advertisements and malware. It makes a connection to your desired website via the third server, which makes all the tasks mentioned before. 

Moreover, VPN can unblock video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO and others from another country. For example, if you live in Canada and you would like to watch American Netflix, the only way to do that is change your IP via VPN to the American one. Otherwise, you will be blocked by the geo-blocking algorithms, which are made by video streaming companies. 

Another group of people is using a VPN to stop ISP (Internet Service Provider) from internet throttling. For example, if you are using a VPN service for torrenting, many ISPs can start slowing down your internet connection speed (throttling). 

Also, many people are using a VPN to unblock websites which were blocked by the government agencies. For example, adult based content, online gaming, or other types of websites. 

So, VPN looks like a great choice for users who want to bypass various restrictions, stay private, and secure from hackers. But do all the VPN service providers keeps your privacy very seriously? The answer is NO, so keep reading this article and you will understand what is standing behind a VPN Pandora box. 

Is a free VPN a great choice for my privacy?

There are so many various free stuff on the internet and many users are looking for free services, applications, and plugins. Doesn’t it look strange for you? How those guys are making money, why do they let their products and service use for free?  The answer is very simple – in most of the cases, they do collect your browsing data and sells it to the third party companies. The same situation is with free VPN services. A free VPN service providers are logging what websites you are visiting, how many time spend, what symbols you are typing and so on. Don’t you think, that they can easily collect your passwords from banking, email or social accounts? 

Moreover, in many cases, after you install the application of the free VPN service, you might become a part of the VPN community network. It means, that your computer might become as a VPN server and other users from around the globe can start using its resources. At that time, the computer and internet connection will start work much slower due to the high usage. 

The last thing, why I should not recommend you to use a free VPN service – no encryption. That’s right, you read it right. Free VPN services are not encrypting your data in many cases. So, there is no reason and to use a free service. 

Now you know all the secrets of a free VPN service, so don’t use them and tell the friends about that. 

Do paid VPN service providers are logging my data?

When we buy a professional and paid VPN service we do expect 100% privacy and security. Most of the VPN service providers are screaming loud, that “We will keep your privacy and security in the highest level”, but is it true? 

We did research and visited many VPN providers’ websites. In every website, we paid the most attention to the page “Privacy policy”. Some of the providers are clearly explained that they are collecting your browsing data and it might be shared to the third party companies or government agencies in the case of the cyber-crimes. So what does it mean? We buy a VPN and we still don’t have 100% privacy. 

There were many cases on the internet when the police have arrested cyber-criminals which were using a VPN. Those VPN companies are doing the great anti-advertising campaigns with cases like that, but they don’t have a choice.  Those VPN vendors are operating in the countries which belong to the alliance of intelligence operations, also known as a “Fourteen Eyes alliance”. This alliance consists of:

• Australia
• Canada
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Denmark 
• France 
• Netherlands 
• Norway
• Germany 
• Belgium 
• Italy 
• Sweden 
• Spain

This alliance is monitoring the citizens’ activity on the internet and in the case of the cyber-crimes or other illegal activity, the government agencies can ask a VPN service provider to provide the logged data of the certain user. It is happening very often in the United States. 

So if you want to stay private and secure, you should avoid the VPN vendor which is locating in the country of the “Fourteen Eyes”. 

How to choose a VPN for the best privacy?

So, as you can see from the provided information, it is not so easy to choose a VPN which keeps your privacy safe. We made you the list of our tested VPNs. Here you will see the best no-log VPN and the worse ones.  

Final thoughts

There are many VPN service providers on the market, but you should aware FREE VPN services because they are gathering your browsing data, makes your computer the member of VPN community and not offering encryption. Moreover, your browsing data in many cases will be sold to the advertising, marketing or other data trading company. 

While choosing a paid VPN provider, be sure that a VPN vendor is acting as the of shore company IN the Bahamas, Caiman Islands, British Virgin Islands and so on. In this case, the VPN vendors are not regulated by the local laws. So in one word, be aware VPN which belongs to the “Fourteen Eyes” alliance, otherwise you might face the attention of the government agencies. Especially if you travel a lot, work as a journalist, or are immigrant or emigrant.