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Jonah Aragon
2020-12-03 22:36:41 -06:00
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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/dns/
title: "Encrypted DNS Resolvers"
description: "Don't let Google see all your DNS traffic. Discover privacy-centric alternatives to the traditional DNS providers."
breadcrumb: "DNS"
---
{% include sections/dns.html %}

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/email/
title: "Private Email Providers"
description: "Find a secure email provider that will keep your privacy in mind. Don't settle for ad-supported platforms. Never trust any company with your privacy, always encrypt."
---
{% include sections/email-warning.html %}
{% include sections/email-providers.html %}
<hr>
<h1 id="criteria" class="anchor"><a href="#criteria"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Our Email Provider Criteria</h1>
<p><strong>Please note we are not affiliated with any of the providers we recommend. This allows us to provide completely objective recommendations.</strong> We have developed a clear set of requirements for any Email provider wishing to be recommended, including implementing industry best practices, modern technology and more. We suggest you familiarize yourself with this list before choosing an Email provider, and conduct your own research to ensure the Email provider you choose is the right choice for you.</p>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Jurisdiction" %}</h3>
<p>Operating outside the five/nine/fourteen-eyes countries is not necessarily a guarantee of privacy, and there are other factors to consider. However, we believe that avoiding these countries is important if you wish to avoid mass government dragnet surveillance, especially from the United States. Read our page on <a href="/providers/#ukusa">global mass surveillance and avoiding the US and UK</a> to learn more about why we feel this is important.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Operating outside the USA or other Five Eyes countries.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Operating outside the USA or other Fourteen Eyes countries.</li>
<li>Operating inside a country with strong consumer protection laws.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Technology" %}</h3>
<p>We regard these features as important in order to provide a safe and optimal service to users. Users should consider the provider which has the features they require.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Encrypts account data at rest.</li>
<li>Integrated webmail encryption provides convenience to users who want improve on having no <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-to-end_encryption">E2EE</a> encryption.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Encrypts account data at rest with zero-access encryption.</li>
<li>Allow users to use their own <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name">domain name</a>. Custom domain names are important to users because it allows them to maintain their agency from the service, should it turn bad, be acquired by another company which doesn't prioritize privacy etc.</li>
<li>Support for <a href="https://wiki.gnupg.org/WKD">WKD</a> to allow improved discovery of public OpenPGP keys via HTTP. <br> GnuPG users can get a key by typing: <code>gpg --locate-key example_user@example.com</code></li>
<li>Support for a temporary mailbox for external users. This is useful when you want to send an encrypted email, without sending an actual copy to your recipient. These emails usually have a limited lifespan and then are automatically deleted. They also don't require the recipient to configure any cryptography like OpenPGP.</li>
<li>Availability of the email provider's services via an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.onion">onion service</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_address#Subaddressing">Subaddressing</a> support.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_filtering">Catch all</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_alias">aliases</a> for users who own their own domains.</li>
<li>Use of standard email access protocols such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Message_Access_Protocol">IMAP</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Mail_Transfer_Protocol">SMTP</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON_Meta_Application_Protocol">JMAP</a>. Standard access protocols ensure customers can easily download all of their email, should they want to switch to another provider.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Privacy" %}</h3>
<p>We prefer our recommended providers to collect as little data as possible.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Protect sender's IP address. Filter it from showing in the <code>Received</code> header field.</li>
<li>Don't require personally identifiable information (PII) besides username and password.</li>
<li>Privacy policy that meets the requirements defined by the GDPR</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Accepts Bitcoin, cash, and other forms of cryptocurrency and/or anonymous payment options (gift cards, etc.)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Security" %}</h3>
<p>Email servers deal with a lot of very sensitive data. We expect that providers will adopt best industry practices in order to protect their users.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Protection of webmail with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-factor_authentication">two-factor authentication (2FA)</a>, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-based_One-time_Password_algorithm">TOTP</a>.</li>
<li>Encryption at rest, (e.g. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dm-crypt">dm-crypt</a>) this protects the contents of the servers in case of unlawful seizure.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System_Security_Extensions">DNSSEC</a> support.</li>
<li>No <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunistic_TLS">TLS</a> errors/vulnerabilities when being profiled by tools such as <a href="https://www.hardenize.com">Hardenize</a>, <a href="https://testssl.sh">testssl.sh</a> or <a href="https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest">Qualys SSL Labs</a>, this includes certificate related errors, poor or weak ciphers suites, weak DH parameters such as those that led to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logjam_(computer_security)">Logjam</a>.</li>
<li>A valid <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8461">MTA-STS</a> and <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8460">TLS-RPT</a> policy.</li>
<li>Valid <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNS-based_Authentication_of_Named_Entities">DANE</a> records.</li>
<li>Valid <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sender_Policy_Framework">SPF</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DomainKeys_Identified_Mail">DKIM</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMARC">DMARC</a>, with the policy <code>p</code> value set to either <code>none</code>, <code>quarantine</code> or <code>reject</code>.</li>
<li>A server suite preference of TLS 1.2 or later and a plan for <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-tls-oldversions-deprecate/">Deprecating TLSv1.0 and TLSv1.1</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMTPS">SMTPS</a> submission, assuming SMTP is used.</li>
<li>Website security standards such as:</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Strict_Transport_Security">HTTP Strict Transport Security</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subresource_Integrity">Subresource Integrity</a> if loading things from external domains.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Support for hardware authentication, ie <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_2nd_Factor">U2F</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebAuthn">WebAuthn</a>. U2F and WebAuthn are more secure as they use a private key stored on a client-side hardware device to authenticate users, as opposed to a shared secret that is stored on the web server and on the client side when using TOTP. Furthermore, U2F and WebAuthn are more resistant to phishing as their authentication response is based on the authenticated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name">domain name</a>.</li>
<li>Zero access encryption, builds on encryption at rest. The difference being the provider does not have the decryption keys to the data they hold. This prevents a rogue employee leaking data they have access to or remote adversary from releasing data they have stolen by gaining unauthorized access to the server.</li>
<li><a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6844">DNS Certification Authority Authorization (CAA) Resource Record</a> in addition to DANE support.</li>
<li>Implementation of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authenticated_Received_Chain">Authenticated Received Chain (ARC)</a>, this is useful for users who post to mailing lists <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8617">RFC8617</a>.</li>
<li>Bug-bounty programs and/or a coordinated vulnerability-disclosure process.</li>
<li>Website security standards such as:</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_Security_Policy">Content Security Policy (CSP)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-httpbis-expect-ct">Expect-CT</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Trust" %}</h3>
<p>You wouldn't trust your finances to someone with a fake identity, so why trust them with your email? We require our recommended providers to be public about their ownership or leadership. We also would like to see frequent transparency reports, especially in regard to how government requests are handled.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Public-facing leadership or ownership.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Public-facing leadership.</li>
<li>Frequent transparency reports.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Marketing" %}</h3>
<p>With the email providers we recommend we like to see responsible marketing.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Must self host analytics (no Google Analytics etc). The provider's site must also comply with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Not_Track">DNT (Do Not Track)</a> for those users who want to opt-out.</li>
</ul>
<p>Must not have any marketing which is irresponsible:</p>
<ul>
<li>Claims of "unbreakable encryption". Encryption should be used with the intention that it may not be secret in the future when the technology exists to crack it.</li>
<li>Making guarantees of protecting anonymity 100%. When someone makes a claim that something is 100% it means there is no certainty for failure. We know users can quite easily deanonymize themselves in a number of ways, e.g.:</li>
<ul>
<li>Reusing personal information e.g. (email accounts, unique pseudonyms etc) that they accessed without anonymity software (Tor, VPN etc)</li>
<li><a href="/browsers/#fingerprint">Browser fingerprinting</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Clear and easy to read documentation. This includes things like, setting up 2FA, email clients, OpenPGP, etc.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Additional Functionality" %}</h3>
<p>While not strictly requirements, there are some factors we looked into when determining which providers to recommend.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<h1 id="email-encryption" class="anchor"><a href="#email-encryption"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Email encryption</h1>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6">
<h3>What is end-to-end encryption (E2EE) encryption in email?</h3>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-to-end_encryption">End-to-end encryption (E2EE)</a> is a way of encrypting email contents so that nobody but the recipient(s) can read the email message.</p>
<h3>How can I encrypt my email?</h3>
<p>The standard way to do email E2EE and have it work between different email providers is with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy#OpenPGP">OpenPGP</a>. There are different implementations of the OpenPGP standard, the most common being <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Privacy_Guard">GnuPG</a> and <a href=https://openpgpjs.org>OpenPGP.js</a>.</p>
<p>There is another standard that was popular with business called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/MIME">S/MIME</a>, however it requires a certificate issued from a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_authority">Certificate Authority</a> (not all of them issue S/MIME certificates). It has support in <a href="https://support.google.com/a/topic/9061730?hl=en&ref_topic=9061731">Google Workplace</a> and <a href="https://support.office.com/en-us/article/encrypt-messages-by-using-s-mime-in-outlook-on-the-web-878c79fc-7088-4b39-966f-14512658f480">Outlook for Web or Exchange Server 2016, 2019</a>.</p>
<h3>What software can I use to get E2EE?</h3>
<p>Email providers which allow you to use standard access protocols like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Message_Access_Protocol">IMAP</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Mail_Transfer_Protocol">SMTP</a> can be used with any of the <a href="/software/email/">email clients we recommend</a>. This can be less secure as you are now relying on email providers to ensure that their encryption implementation works and has not been compromised in anyway.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<h3>How do I protect my private keys?</h3>
<p>A smartcard (such as a <a href="https://support.yubico.com/support/solutions/articles/15000006420-using-your-yubikey-with-openpgp">Yubikey</a> or <a href="https://www.nitrokey.com">Nitrokey</a>) works by receiving an encrypted email message from a device (phone, tablet, computer etc) running an email/webmail client. The message is then decrypted by the smartcard and the decrypted content is sent back to the device.</p>
<p>It is advantageous for the decryption to occur on the smartcard so as to avoid possibly exposing your private key to a compromised device.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h1 id="metadata" class="anchor"><a href="#metadata"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Email metadata</h1>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6">
<h3>Who can see the email metadata?</h3>
<p>Email metadata is able to be seen by your email client software (or webmail) and any servers relaying the message from you to any recipients. Sometimes email servers will also use external parties to protect against spam.</p>
<h3>What is email metadata?</h3>
<p>Email software will often show some visible headers that you may have seen such as: <code>To</code>, <code>From</code>, <code>Cc</code>, <code>Date</code>, <code>Subject</code>.
</p>
<h3>When is email metadata used?</h3>
<p>Client software may use it to show who a message is from and what time it was received. Servers may use it to determine where an email message must be sent, among <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email#Message_header">other purposes</a> not transparent to the user.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<h3>Where is the email metadata?</h3>
<p>Email metadata is stored in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email#Message_header">message header</a> of the email message.</p>
<h3>Why can't email metadata be E2EE?</h3>
<p>Email metadata is crucial to the most basic functionality of email (where it came from, and where it has to go). E2EE was not built into the email protocols originally and is also optional, therefore, only the message content is protected.</p>
<h3>How is my metadata protected?</h3>
<p>When emails travel between email providers an encrypted connection is negotiated using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunistic_TLS">Opportunistic TLS</a>. This protects the metadata from outside observers, but as it is not E2EE, server administrators can snoop on the metadata of an email.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<h1 id="cloaking" class="anchor"><a href="#cloaking"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Email cloaking services</h1>
<div class="container">
<a href="https://anonaddy.com">
<img src="/assets/img/svg/3rd-party/anonaddy.svg"
data-theme-src="/assets/img/svg/3rd-party/anonaddy-dark.svg"
width="180rem" class="img-fluid float-left mr-3"
alt="AnonAddy">
</a>
<br>
<p><strong><a href="https://anonaddy.com">AnonAddy</a></strong> lets users create aliases that forward to their email address. Can be self-hosted. <a href="https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy">Source code on GitHub</a>.</p>
<a href="https://simplelogin.io">
<img src="/assets/img/svg/3rd-party/simplelogin.svg"
width="180rem" class="img-fluid float-left mr-3"
alt="SimpleLogin">
</a>
<br>
<p><strong><a href="https://simplelogin.io">SimpleLogin</a></strong> allows you to easily create aliases for your email. Can be self-hosted. <a href="https://github.com/simple-login/app">Source code on GitHub</a>.</p>
</div>
<h1 id="selfhosting" class="anchor"><a href="#selfhosting"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Self-hosting Email</h1>
<div class="container">
<p>Advanced users may consider setting up their own email server. Mailservers require attention and continuous maintenance in order to keep things secure and mail delivery reliable.</p>
<h3>Combined software solutions</h3>
<a href="https://mailinabox.email/">
<img src="/assets/img/svg/3rd-party/mail-in-a-box.svg"
width="80rem" class="img-fluid float-left mr-3"
alt="Mail-in-a-Box">
</a>
<br>
<p><strong><a href="https://mailinabox.email">Mail-in-a-Box</a></strong> is an automated setup script for deploying a mail server on Ubuntu. Its goal is to make it easier for users to set up their own mail server.</p>
<a href="https://mailcow.email/">
<img src="/assets/img/svg/3rd-party/mailcow.svg"
width="80rem" class="img-fluid float-left mr-3"
alt="Mailcow">
</a>
<p><strong><a href="https://mailcow.email">Mailcow</a></strong> is a more advanced mail server perfect for those with a bit more Linux experience. It has everything you need in a Docker container: A mailserver with DKIM support, antivirus and spam monitoring, webmail and ActiveSync with SOGo, and web-based administration with 2FA support. <strong><a href="https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/">Mailcow Dockerized docs</a></strong></p>
<p>For a more manual approach we've picked out these two articles.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://poolp.org/posts/2019-09-14/setting-up-a-mail-server-with-opensmtpd-dovecot-and-rspamd/">Setting up a mail server with OpenSMTPD, Dovecot and Rspamd</a> (2019)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.c0ffee.net/blog/mail-server-guide/">How To Run Your Own Mail Server</a> (August 2017)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h1 id="info" class="anchor"><a href="#info"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Related Email Articles</h1>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.grepular.com/An_NFC_PGP_SmartCard_For_Android">An NFC PGP SmartCard For Android</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wired.com/2011/10/ecpa-turns-twenty-five/">Aging 'Privacy' Law Leaves Cloud E-Mail Open to Cops (2011)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/the-government-can-still-read-most-of-your-emails-without-a-warrant-322fe6defc7b/">The Government Can (Still) Read Most Of Your Emails Without A Warrant (2013)</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/hosting/
title: "Web Hosting"
description: "Find a web hosting provider that won't track your visitors or give into government data requests."
---
{% include sections/hosting-provider.html %}

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/paste/
title: "Pastebin hosting services"
description: "Find a pastebin provider that won't read your content to share sensitive code or other information."
---
{% include sections/paste-services.html %}

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/search-engines/
title: "Search Engines"
description: "Find a search engine that doesn't track your queries or build an advertising profile based on your searches."
---
{% include sections/search-engines.html %}

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/social-networks/
title: "Social Networks"
description: "Find a social network that doesn't pry into your data or monetize your profile."
---
{% include sections/social-networks.html %}
<h3>Related Information</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/mastodon-simplified-federation/">Mastodon: Simplified Federation</a> - Firefox Extension to improve usability for remote Mastodon instances.</li>
<li><a href="https://justdeleteme.xyz/">JustDeleteMe</a> - A directory of direct links to delete your account from web services.</li>
<li><a href="https://forget.codl.fr/">Forget</a> - A service that automatically deletes your old posts on Twitter and Mastodon that everyone has forgotten about.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Facebook Related</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account">Delete your Facebook account</a> - Direct link to delete your Facebook account without being able to reactivate it again.</li>
<li><a href="https://deletefacebook.com/">How To Permanently Delete A Facebook Account</a> - This guide will take you through a smooth and successful Facebook account deletion.</li>
<li><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/facebook-container/">Facebook Container by Mozilla</a> - Prevent Facebook from tracking you around the web.</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190510075433/https://www.stopusingfacebook.co/">Stop using Facebook</a> - A curated list of reasons to stop using Facebook and how to do it.</li>
</ul>

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/social-news-aggregator/
title: "Social News Aggregator"
description: "Stay up-to-date with privacy-respecting online bulletin boards."
---
{% include sections/social-news-aggregator.html %}

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/cloud-storage/
title: "Cloud Storage"
description: "Find a cloud storage provider that won't look through your files."
---
{% include sections/cloud-storage.html %}

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/video/
title: "Video Platforms"
description: "Find a platform to watch and host videos that doesn't pry into your data or monetize your profile."
---
{% include sections/decentralized-video.html %}
{% include sections/video-frontends.html %}

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---
layout: page
permalink: /providers/vpn/
title: "VPN Services"
description: "Find a no-logging VPN operator who isn't out to sell or read your web traffic."
breadcrumb: "VPN"
---
<div class="card border-danger">
<div class="card-header text-danger"><i class="fas fa-exclamation-circle fa-fw"></i> Warning</div>
<div class="card-body">
<p class="card-text text-danger">Using a VPN will <strong>not</strong> keep your browsing habits anonymous, nor will it add additional security to non-secure (HTTP) traffic.</p>
<p class="card-text text-danger">If you are looking for <strong>anonymity</strong>, you should use the Tor Browser <strong>instead</strong> of a VPN.</p>
<p class="card-text text-danger">If you're looking for added <strong>security</strong>, you should always ensure you're connecting to websites using <a href="/providers/dns/#icanndns">encrypted DNS</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS">HTTPS</a>. A VPN is not a replacement for good security practices.</p>
<p class="card-text text-secondary">If you're looking for additional <strong>privacy</strong> from your ISP, on a public Wi-Fi network, or while torrenting files, a VPN may be the solution for you as long as you understand <a href="#info">the risks involved</a>.</p>
<a href="https://www.torproject.org/" class="btn btn-danger">Download Tor</a>
<a href="https://write.privacytools.io/my-thoughts-on-security/slicing-onions-part-1-myth-busting-tor" class="btn btn-outline-danger">Tor Myths &amp; FAQ</a>
<a href="#info" class="btn btn-outline-secondary">More Info</a>
</div>
</div>
{% include sections/vpn.html %}
<hr>
<h1 id="criteria" class="anchor"><a href="#criteria"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Our VPN Provider Criteria</h1>
<p><strong>Please note we are not affiliated with any of the providers we recommend. This allows us to provide completely objective recommendations.</strong> We have developed a clear set of requirements for any VPN provider wishing to be recommended, including strong encryption, independent security audits, modern technology, and more. We suggest you familiarize yourself with this list before choosing a VPN provider, and conduct your own research to ensure the VPN provider you choose is as trustworthy as possible.</p>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Jurisdiction" %}</h3>
<p>Operating outside the five/nine/fourteen-eyes countries is not a guarantee of privacy necessarily, and there are other factors to consider. However, we believe that avoiding these countries is important if you wish to avoid mass government dragnet surveillance, especially from the United States. Read our page on <a href="/providers/#ukusa">global mass surveillance and avoiding the US and UK</a> to learn more about why we feel this is important.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Operating outside the USA or other Five Eyes countries.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Operating outside the USA or other Fourteen Eyes countries.</li>
<li>Operating inside a country with strong consumer protection laws.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Technology" %}</h3>
<p>We require all our recommended VPN providers to provide OpenVPN configuration files to be used in any client. <strong>If</strong> a VPN provides their own custom client, we require a killswitch to block network data leaks when disconnected.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>OpenVPN support.</li>
<li>Killswitch built in to clients.</li>
<li>If VPN clients are provided, they should be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source">open source</a>, like the VPN software they generally have built into them. We believe that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_code">source code</a> availability provides greater transparency to the user about what their device is actually doing. We like to see these applications <a href="https://www.f-droid.org/en/2019/05/05/trust-privacy-and-free-software.html">available in F-Droid</a>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>OpenVPN and WireGuard support.</li>
<li>Killswitch with highly configurable options (enable/disable on certain networks, on boot, etc.)</li>
<li>Easy-to-use VPN clients</li>
<li>Supports <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6">IPv6</a>. We expect that servers will allow incoming connections via IPv6 and allow users to access services hosted on IPv6 addresses.</li>
<li>Capability of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_forwarding#Remote_port_forwarding">remote port forwarding</a> assists in creating connections when using P2P (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer-to-peer">Peer-to-Peer</a>) filesharing software, Freenet, or hosting a server (e.g., Mumble).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Privacy" %}</h3>
<p>We prefer our recommended providers to collect as little data as possible. Not collecting personal information on registration, and accepting anonymous forms of payment are required.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Bitcoin or cash payment option.</li>
<li>No personal information required to register: Only username, password, and email at most.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Accepts Bitcoin, cash, and other forms of cryptocurrency and/or anonymous payment options (gift cards, etc.)</li>
<li>No personal information accepted (autogenerated username, no email required, etc.)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Security" %}</h3>
<p>A VPN is pointless if it can't even provide adequate security. We require all our recommended providers to abide by current security standards for their OpenVPN connections. Ideally, they would use more future-proof encryption schemes by default. We also require an independent third-party to audit the provider's security, ideally in a very comprehensive manner and on a repeated (yearly) basis.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Strong Encryption Schemes: OpenVPN with SHA-256 authentication; RSA-2048 or better handshake; AES-256-GCM or AES-256-CBC data encryption.</li>
<li>Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS).</li>
<li>Published security audits from a reputable third-party firm.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Strongest Encryption: RSA-4096.</li>
<li>Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS).</li>
<li>Comprehensive published security audits from a reputable third-party firm.</li>
<li>Bug-bounty programs and/or a coordinated vulnerability-disclosure process.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Trust" %}</h3>
<p>You wouldn't trust your finances to someone with a fake identity, so why trust them with your internet data? We require our recommended providers to be public about their ownership or leadership. We also would like to see frequent transparency reports, especially in regard to how government requests are handled.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Public-facing leadership or ownership.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Public-facing leadership.</li>
<li>Frequent transparency reports.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Marketing" %}</h3>
<p>With the VPN providers we recommend we like to see responsible marketing.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Must self host analytics (no Google Analytics etc). The provider's site must also comply with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Not_Track">DNT (Do Not Track)</a> for those users who want to opt-out.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<p>Must not have any marketing which is irresponsible:</p>
<ul>
<li>Making guarantees of protecting anonymity 100%. When someone makes a claim that something is 100% it means there is no certainty for failure. We know users can quite easily deanonymize themselves in a number of ways, eg:</li>
<ul>
<li>Reusing personal information eg. (email accounts, unique pseudonyms etc) that they accessed without anonymity software (Tor, VPN etc)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.privacytools.io/browsers/#fingerprint">Browser fingerprinting</a></li>
</ul>
<li>Claim that a single circuit VPN is "more anonymous" than Tor, which is a circuit of 3 or more hops that regularly changes.</a></li>
<li>Use responsible language, eg it is okay to say that a VPN is "disconnected" or "not connected", however claiming that a user is "exposed", "vulnerable" or "compromised" is needless use of alarming language that may be incorrect. For example the visiting user might be on another VPN provider's service or using Tor.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<p>Responsible marketing that is both educational and useful to the consumer could include:</p>
<ul>
<li>A accurate comparison to when Tor or other <a href="https://www.privacytools.io/software/networks/">Self contained networks</a> should be used.</li>
<li>Availability of the VPN provider's website over a .onion <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.onion">Hidden Service</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3>{% include badge.html color="info" text="Additional Functionality" %}</h3>
<p>While not strictly requirements, there are some factors we looked into when determining which providers to recommend. These include adblocking/tracker-blocking functionality, warrant canaries, multihop connections, excellent customer support, the number of allowed simultaneous connections, etc.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<h1 id="info" class="anchor"><a href="#info"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Further Information and Dangers</h1>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6">
<h3>Should I use a VPN?</h3>
<p>The answer to this question is not a particularly helpful one: <strong>It depends.</strong> It depends on what you're expecting a VPN to do for you, who you're trying to hide your traffic from, and what applications you're using.</p>
<p><strong>In most cases, VPNs do little to protect your privacy or enhance your security</strong>, unless paired with other changes.</p>
<p>VPNs cannot encrypt data outside of the connection between your device and the VPN server. VPN providers can see and modify your traffic the same way your ISP could. And there is no way to verify a VPN provider's "no logging" policies in any way.</p>
<h3>What if I need encryption?</h3>
<p>In most cases, most of your traffic is already encrypted! Over 98% of the top 3000 websites offer <strong>HTTPS</strong>, meaning your non-DNS traffic is safe regardless of using a VPN. It is incredibly rare for applications that handle personal data to not support HTTPS in 2019, especially with services like Let's Encrypt offering free HTTPS certificates to any website operator.</p>
<p>Even if a site you visit doesn't support HTTPS, a VPN will not protect you, because a VPN cannot magically encrypt the traffic between the VPN's servers and the website's servers. Installing an extension like <a href="https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere">HTTPS Everywhere</a> and making sure every site you visit uses HTTPS is far more helpful than using a VPN.</p>
<h4>Should I use encrypted DNS with a VPN?</h4>
<p>The answer to this question is also not very helpful: <strong>it depends</strong>. Your VPN provider may have their own DNS servers, but if they don't, the traffic between your VPN provider and the DNS server isn't encrypted. You need to trust the <a href="/providers/dns/#icanndns">encrypted DNS provider</a> in addition to the VPN provider and unless your client and target server support <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/09/esni-privacy-protecting-upgrade-https">encrypted SNI</a>, the VPN provider can still see which domains you are visiting.</p>
<p>However <strong>you shouldn't use encrypted DNS with Tor</strong>. This would direct all of your DNS requests through a single circuit, and would allow the encrypted DNS provider to deanonymize you.</p>
<h3>What if I need anonymity?</h3>
<p>VPNs cannot provide strong anonymity. Your VPN provider will still see your real IP address, and often has a money trail that can be linked directly back to you. You cannot rely on "no logging" policies to protect your data.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<h3>Shouldn't I hide my IP address?</h3>
<p>The idea that your IP address is sensitive information, or that your location is given away with all your internet traffic is <strong>fearmongering</strong> on the part of VPN providers and their marketing. Your IP address is an insignificant amount of personal data tracking companies use to identify you, because many users' IP addresses change very frequently (Dynamic IP addresses, switching networks, switching devices, etc.). Your IP address also does not give away more than the very generalized location of your Internet Service Provider. It does not give away your home address, for example, despite common perception.</p>
<h3>Should I use Tor <em>and</em> a VPN?</h3>
<p>By using a VPN with Tor, you're creating essentially a permanent entry node, often with a money trail attached. This provides 0 additional benefit to you, while increasing the attack surface of your connection dramatically. If you wish to hide your Tor usage from your ISP or your government, Tor has a built-in solution for that: Tor bridges. <a href="https://write.privacytools.io/my-thoughts-on-security/slicing-onions-part-2-onion-recipes-vpn-not-required">Read more about Tor bridges and why using a VPN is not necessary</a>.</p>
<h3>Are VPNs ever useful?</h3>
<p>A VPN may still be useful to you in a variety of scenarios, such as:</p>
<ol>
<li>Hiding your traffic from <strong>only</strong> your Internet Service Provider.</li>
<li>Hiding your downloads (such as torrents) from your ISP and anti-piracy organizations.</li>
</ol>
<p>For use cases like these, or if you have another compelling reason, the VPN providers we listed above are who we think are the most trustworthy. However, using a VPN provider still means you're <em>trusting</em> the provider. In pretty much any other scenario you should be using a secure<strong>-by-design</strong> tool such as Tor.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row">
<div class="col">
<p><strong>Sources and Further Reading</strong>:
<ol>
<li><a href="https://schub.io/blog/2019/04/08/very-precarious-narrative.html">VPN - a Very Precarious Narrative</a> by Dennis Schubert</li>
<li><a href="https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29">Don't use VPN services</a> by Sven Slootweg</li>
<li><a href="/software/networks/">The self-contained networks</a> recommended by PrivacyTools are able to replace a VPN that allows access to services on local area network</li>
<li><a href="https://write.privacytools.io/my-thoughts-on-security/slicing-onions-part-1-myth-busting-tor">Slicing Onions: Part 1 – Myth-busting Tor</a> by blacklight447</li>
<li><a href="https://write.privacytools.io/my-thoughts-on-security/slicing-onions-part-2-onion-recipes-vpn-not-required">Slicing Onions: Part 2 – Onion recipes; VPN not required</a> by blacklight447</li>
</ol>
<p>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div id="related-vpn-info" class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-12">
<h3>Related VPN information</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://blog.privacytools.io/the-trouble-with-vpn-and-privacy-reviews/">The Trouble with VPN and Privacy Review Sites</a></li>
<li><a href="https://vikingvpn.com/blogs/off-topic/beware-of-vpn-marketing-and-affiliate-programs">Beware of False Reviews - VPN Marketing and Affiliate Programs</a></li>
<li><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/proxy-sh-vpn-provider-monitored-traffic-to-catch-hacker-130930/">Proxy.sh VPN Provider Sniffed Server Traffic to Catch Hacker</a></li>
<li><a href="https://proxy.sh/panel/knowledgebase.php?action=displayarticle&id=5">Ethical policy - All of the reasons why Proxy.sh might enable logging</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ivpn.net/privacy">IVPN.net will collect your email and IP address after sign up</a><br />Read the <a data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="top" data-original-title="The IP collected at signup is only used for a few seconds by our fraud module and then discarded, it is not stored. Storing them would significantly increase our own liability and certainly would not be in our interest. You're absolutely welcome to signup using Tor or a VPN.">Email statement</a> from IVPN.</li>
<li><a href="https://medium.com/@blackVPN/no-logs-6d65d95a3016">blackVPN announced to delete connection logs after disconnection</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gist.github.com/kennwhite/1f3bc4d889b02b35d8aa">Don't use LT2P IPSec, use other protocols.</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.top10vpn.com/free-vpn-app-investigation/">Free VPN App Investigation</a>
{% include badge.html
color="warning"
icon="fas fa-exclamation-triangle"
link="https://blog.privacytools.io/the-trouble-with-vpn-and-privacy-reviews"
tooltip="This site has affiliate based recommendations. They get paid for referring visitors to specific VPN providers."
text="Affiliate program"
%}
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://vpnpro.com/blog/hidden-vpn-owners-unveiled-97-vpns-23-companies/">Hidden VPN owners unveiled: 101 VPN products run by just 23 companies</a>
{% include badge.html
color="warning"
icon="fas fa-exclamation-triangle"
link="https://blog.privacytools.io/the-trouble-with-vpn-and-privacy-reviews"
tooltip="This site has affiliate based recommendations. They get paid for referring visitors to specific VPN providers."
text="Affiliate program"
%}
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://vpnpro.com/blog/chinese-company-secretly-behind-popular-apps-seeking-dangerous-permissions/">This Chinese company is secretly behind 24 popular apps seeking dangerous permissions</a>
{% include badge.html
color="warning"
icon="fas fa-exclamation-triangle"
link="https://blog.privacytools.io/the-trouble-with-vpn-and-privacy-reviews"
tooltip="This site has affiliate based recommendations. They get paid for referring visitors to specific VPN providers."
text="Affiliate program"
%}
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div id="vpn-breaches" class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-12">
<h3>VPN Related breaches - why external auditing is important!</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/ufo-vpn-data-exposure/">"Zero logs" VPN exposes millions of logs including user passwords, claims data is anonymous</a> July 2020 </li>
<li><a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/nordvpn-http-post-bug-exposed-sensitive-customer-information/">NordVPN HTTP POST bug exposed customer information, no authentication required</a> March 2020</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/21/nordvpn_security_issue/">Row erupts over who to blame after NordVPN says: One of our servers was hacked via remote management tool</a> October 2019</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-lg-6 col-12">
<h3>Related Videos</h3>
<a href="https://invidiou.site/watch?v=WVDQEoe6ZWY" target="_blank">
<img
src="/assets/img/png/layout/this-video-is-sponsored-by-vpn.png"
class="img-fluid float-left mr-3"
alt="This Video Is Sponsored By censored VPN">
</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>