I am talking about a famous open-source VPN with the abbreviation “Privacy In America” (you got the point).
Should I really consider other non-US-based VPNs? Is all the hype and praise for this VPN worth it because it’s based in the US?
The question is about trusting the “No-Log” and “Ram Servers” claims, but to what extent?
If you are getting a vpn to avoid US related monitoring or sanctions etc then i would obviously suggest not getting one in the US lol. If you don’t care and just use it for netflix or games or something, doesnt matter
Just so yall know its gonna get worse once KOSA passes so better get one not us based.
I used a us based vpn and connected to servers in my own city for 2 years and not one notice from my isp.
It all depends on who you’re hiding from. Are you Edward Snowden? Don’t use a US VPN. Are you wanting to watch US Netflix or torrent some content? Sure, that one is perfectly fine.
I understand the concern over using a VPN service based in the US. With recent revelations about government surveillance programs, it’s reasonable to question if US VPNs can truly guarantee privacy and security.
However, not all US VPN providers should be painted with the same brush. Many reputable ones have robust privacy policies and do not log user activity or data. They may even have undergone third-party audits to verify their no-logging claims. Some are willing to legally challenge government data requests that violate user rights.
The jurisdiction a VPN is based in is just one factor among many to weigh. VPNs based elsewhere could also cooperate with authorities or have vulnerabilities. Technical implementations, transparency reports about past requests, leadership ethics also matter.
Rather than categorically avoiding US VPNs, I’d suggest thoroughly researching any provider’s specific policies and actions around user privacy before deciding. Analyze their track record too. No company is risk-free, but some may align better with your threat model and privacy priorities regardless of country. There are privacy-centric US providers making genuine efforts to protect users.
I would focus more on VPN features like encryption standards, network size, leak protection and whether the provider has clearly demonstrated a commitment to user rights. That reveals more than location alone ever could. Set your criteria and scrutinize companies closely against those benchmarks.
Working for a VPN detection company (where we identify VPN usage based on IP addresses), I can say that if you are very conscious about privacy, there are only a few VPNs you can use.
The challenge for most VPN providers is that they have to maintain logs to keep their services secure, curb abuse, and maintain a good IP reputation. If a VPN IP address is used to conduct a cybersecurity attack, the victim servers will flag that IP address in all threat intel feeds.
When the VPN IP address is added to a threat intel feed, their reputation plummets, and that IP address becomes quite difficult to use for normal internet browsing. Moroever, companies will then come to us to get metadata information on those IP addresses and map a robust threat intel dataset that essentially will mark all the IP addresses of that VPN provider and their partners as “abusive”.
The VPN providers cannot churn out IP addresses as this is a finite resource. No VPN company can ensure security and fair play with their services without logs or some cryptic method that borders on marketingspeak.
The ones that do not actually keep logs coincidentally have the worst IP reputation in the industry, which renders internet experiences of their users horrible with endless captchas and server-level blocks. If that is an acceptable compromise, I recommend at that point just using TOR and saving some money.
Definitely stay out of Republican states. They’re going to have everyone dressed up like handmaids by the end of their reign
Nope. Required by law to give intelligence agencies full access upon request.
Iv’e had no issues with Pee Iye Aye.
My experience with them was many more untrusted exit nodes than certain other providers -a huge number of additional captchas or just refusal to connect from lots of sites. This is a problem with any VPN service - that one just got intolerable for me.
The service I use now is not US-based but still very privacy-oriented, and I generally use their US servers (I’m mostly trying to stop my ISP snooping, not country-hop).
Yes it should be very much so
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No because they are useless outside of accessing region locked content.
Great answer. Your designation is perfect to answer this. Can you (being an expert and working in this profession) somehow name those few VPNs that you think are reputable and can be used?
Thank you…
The converse, though, is that these agencies are not going to reveal their capabilities to go after ppl who are using torrents to share ripped movies or what have you. If you are doing something serious enough to make state actors reveal their hole cards, you’d better know the answer to these questions without asking Reddit, LOL.
(Edit: fixed omitted word)
Maybe true but most VPN users just don’t want ISP letters when torrenting. The NSA or FBI won’t really give a fuck.
Can you try to name the service you use now like I did?