There is no doubt that free VPNs and free antivirus software can be privacy invasive and filled with bloatware and just overall, bad stuff. However, I trust ProtonMail, with that being said, i still question things that involve my privacy and security.
Why is ProtonVPN a good, safe free VPN? Am I risking anything by using it? Is it a reliable VPN?
(I understand this is the ProtonMail reddit, but it was recommended to come here)
Yes, it is very safe. Free servers are funded by paid users and do not invade your privacy.
The difference with other free VPNs are that ProtonVPN only limits the servers. Free users can only connect to free servers, and everyone on the server has the same rules. So if a paid user is on there, they will still be blocked from torrenting or have slower speeds.
They are pretty alright as a vpn provider according to all the rankings and comparisons I’ve seen.
Defiantly not st the bottom. I also plug mullvad if you want top end quality/ privacy
I was thinking about changing VPN’s last month. Protonmail’s didn’t rank that high. It’s still relatively new compared to more established ones with a track record of security that’s documented. Mainly it scored lower due to speed. It will be interesting to see how the Infrastructure holds up as the company expands and if they cut corners. I’m personally holding off till they get more servers and can at the very least match my current vpn for speed.
My opinion: on signup, ProtonMail is asking for your phone number, an additional email address and your credit card number. No bitcoin payments allowed. You decide from there.
Not to mention the amount of surveillance that can be done by them as a VPN provider.
But consequently, a paid user will basically never be on a free server because there is a much larger pool of people who would be using the free server, right?
Thanks for the insight. I just started trying it out to see how it is. If the privacy and security is as good as it is marketed, then it’s only weakness truly is speed. It’s pretty slow. I assume the paid versions are faster.
You can use bitcoin to pay for your subscription.
https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/paying-with-bitcoin/
I signed up ages ago so can’t remember exactly what info I gave them in terms of initial registration.
Other VPNs allow anonymous gift cards like Best Buy or Walmart to be used as payment through pay garden. Not sure why ProtonMail and ProtonVPN don’t start accepting this form of payment along with different cryptocurrencies.
Sure, there’s no point for them to be on free servers.
Why do you think ? There is zero anonymity with ProtonMail.
@Borganstein they accept bitcoin only after they verified you by other means, if you try to be anonymous and they don’t recognize your home ip, browser, etc, then they ask for your phone number, additional email or credit card at signup (no bitcoin payment in that case).