Hello, fellow privacy enthusiasts!
I've been on a journey to find a VPN provider that aligns with my privacy values, and I wanted to share my experiences and concerns here, hoping for some insights and recommendations.
Primary Criteria:
-
Outside of the 14 Eyes: Ideally, I'd prefer a provider outside of the 14 Eyes intelligence-sharing countries.
-
Accepts Monero: Given its the only real privacy coin there is, I'm keen on providers that accept Monero as a payment method.
-
I need port forwarding for the services I host.
Current Options: I've considered Mullvad and IVPN, both of which I trust for their privacy focus. However, they recently disabled their port forwarding support, which I need since I host services from home. SPN by Safing sounds really interesting too but they also do not offer port forwarding sadly.
ProtonVPN seemed like a close alternative, but I've come across several red flags:
-
Logging Concerns: ProtonMail, under the same parent company, provided IP logs in response to a Swiss court order. This contradicts ProtonVPN's claim on their website that "we can’t be obligated to start logging" under Swiss law.
-
Use of Google Analytics: Despite being a privacy-focused service, ProtonMail has used Google Analytics on their website, raising questions about their commitment to user privacy.
-
No Monero Support: Proton has not added Monero as a payment option, despite numerous requests from the community over the years.
Seeking Recommendations: Given the above, I'm reaching out for advice. Are there any VPN providers you'd recommend that fit my primary criteria? Or any insights into the concerns I've raised about ProtonVPN?
Thanks in advance for your help!
(giving more options)
You might want to consider hosting your own vpn, should make port forwarding a lot easier since you can use whatever port you want. I2P might be an option too.
-Happy Mullvad customer but I dont need to port forward
I prefer using services that allow me to share my IP and email domain aliases, which is why I don't opt for self-hosting. When it comes to VPNs, Mullvad has always been my top choice, though I was disappointed when they dropped PF. On the topic of VPS providers, mine requires KYC, which raises concerns as it could easily trace activities back to me. It's unfortunate that more privacy-friendly VPS options come with a higher price tag. Additionally, I was sad to hear that SimpleLogin was acquired by Proton.