{ "source": "https://vpnandprivacy.com", "license": "Reuse permitted with a link to the source.", "generated": "2026-09-06T12:01:58.765Z", "count": 50, "owners": [ { "slug": "meta", "name": "Meta Platforms, Inc.", "type": "conglomerate", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "WhatsApp", "Facebook", "Instagram", "Messenger", "Threads" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Owner of WhatsApp since 2014. WhatsApp message content is end-to-end encrypted with the Signal Protocol and Meta cannot read it; the metadata around it — who you message, how often, your contact list, your device — is collected and linked to your other Meta accounts.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://faq.whatsapp.com/820124435853543", "for": "data collection", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "nord-security", "name": "Nord Security", "type": "conglomerate", "headquarters": "NL", "review_sites": [], "notes": "NordVPN and Surfshark merged in 2022 and still market themselves as competitors. Any 'NordVPN vs Surfshark' comparison — including the ones both companies publish — is a comparison between two products with one owner.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://nordsecurity.com", "for": "brands owned", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "NordVPN", "Surfshark", "NordPass", "NordLocker", "Incogni" ] }, { "slug": "proton-foundation", "name": "Proton Foundation", "type": "nonprofit", "headquarters": "CH", "review_sites": [], "notes": "A Swiss non-profit foundation took the controlling stake in 2024. The only ownership change in this market that moved away from investor control rather than toward it.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://proton.me/blog/proton-non-profit-foundation", "for": "ownership structure", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "Proton VPN", "Proton Mail", "Proton Pass", "Proton Drive", "SimpleLogin" ] }, { "slug": "gen-digital", "name": "Gen Digital Inc.", "type": "conglomerate", "headquarters": "US", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Formed from the NortonLifeLock and Avast merger in 2022. Sells the same VPN under four brands. Avast was fined $16.5M by the FTC in 2024 for selling browsing data collected by its antivirus.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.gendigital.com", "for": "brands owned", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "Norton VPN", "Avast SecureLine VPN", "AVG Secure VPN", "Avira Phantom VPN" ] }, { "slug": "goto", "name": "GoTo (LogMeIn)", "type": "private_equity", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "LastPass", "GoTo", "LogMeIn", "Rescue" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Taken private in 2020 by Francisco Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital for $4.3B. LastPass was spun out as a separate company in 2024 but remains under the same private-equity control. The 2022 breach in which customer vault backups were taken happened under this ownership.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.goto.com/company", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "kape-technologies", "name": "Kape Technologies", "type": "private_equity", "headquarters": "GB", "review_sites": [ "vpnMentor", "WizCase", "SafetyDetectives" ], "notes": "Owns four VPN brands and three of the largest VPN review sites. Those sites rank Kape's own products at or near the top, and readers are not told they share an owner. Kape was taken private by Unikmind Holdings in 2023 and no longer files as a listed company, so its disclosures are thinner than they were.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.kape.com", "for": "brands owned", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "ExpressVPN", "CyberGhost", "Private Internet Access", "ZenMate" ] }, { "slug": "mozilla-foundation", "name": "Mozilla Foundation", "type": "nonprofit", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Firefox", "Mozilla VPN", "Firefox Relay", "Pocket" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "The Mozilla Corporation is wholly owned by the non-profit Mozilla Foundation. The great majority of its revenue comes from the search default deal with Google, so the last independent browser engine is funded by the company it competes with.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://stateof.mozilla.org", "for": "ownership, revenue", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "pango-group", "name": "Pango Group (Aura)", "type": "private_equity", "headquarters": "US", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Hotspot Shield was sold by AnchorFree to Pango, absorbed into Aura, and spun back out as Pango Group in 2024. Four VPN brands, one backend.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://pango.co", "for": "brands owned", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "Hotspot Shield", "Betternet", "UltraVPN", "VPN 360" ] }, { "slug": "kunlun-tech", "name": "Kunlun Tech", "type": "conglomerate", "headquarters": "CN", "brands": [ "Opera", "Opera GX", "Opera VPN" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Opera was sold in 2016 to a consortium led by Kunlun Tech, a Chinese company. Opera Limited now trades on Nasdaq with Kunlun as its largest shareholder. A 2020 short-seller report raised questions about affiliated lending apps in Africa and India, which Opera disputed.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://investor.opera.com", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "ziff-davis", "name": "Ziff Davis", "type": "conglomerate", "headquarters": "US", "review_sites": [ "PCMag", "Mashable" ], "notes": "Owns IPVanish and StrongVPN alongside PCMag and Mashable, both of which publish VPN rankings. The conflict is disclosed in PCMag reviews, but only in a footnote.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.ziffdavis.com/brands", "for": "brands owned", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "IPVanish", "StrongVPN", "Encrypt.me" ] }, { "slug": "abine", "name": "Abine, Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "DeleteMe", "Blur" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "US, Boston, independent and operating since 2010 — the longest track record in data removal.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://joindeleteme.com/about/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "amagicom", "name": "Amagicom AB", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "SE", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Privately held by its founders. Runs no affiliate programme, so no review site earns anything by recommending it — worth knowing when you notice how rarely it tops a list.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://mullvad.net/en/help/business-information", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "Mullvad", "Mullvad Browser" ] }, { "slug": "apple", "name": "Apple Inc.", "type": "conglomerate", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Safari", "iCloud Private Relay" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Apple restricts third-party tracking partly because it competes with advertising businesses and sells privacy as a feature. It also receives an estimated $20bn a year from Google to keep Google as the default search engine in Safari, a payment central to the US antitrust case against Google.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/", "for": "data handling", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "brave-software", "name": "Brave Software, Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Brave", "Brave Search" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "US-incorporated and venture-funded. Runs its own opt-in advertising network paid in the BAT token, an unusual position for a company that markets itself on ad blocking.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://brave.com/about/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "duckduckgo-inc", "name": "Duck Duck Go, Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "DuckDuckGo", "DuckDuckGo Browser" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Independent, US-based, profitable on contextual advertising. Most search results come from Bing under a commercial agreement. In 2022 researchers found its browser permitted some Microsoft trackers as a condition of that deal; DuckDuckGo changed the behaviour after it became public.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://duckduckgo.com/privacy", "for": "data handling", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "element-software", "name": "Element Software Ltd", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "GB", "brands": [ "Element", "Matrix hosting" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A British company, venture-funded, which develops the Matrix protocol alongside the non-profit Matrix.org Foundation. Anyone can run a Matrix server, so users are not dependent on Element unless they choose its hosting.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://matrix.org/foundation/", "for": "governance", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "fastmail-pty", "name": "Fastmail Pty Ltd", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "AU", "brands": [ "Fastmail", "Topicbox" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Australian and employee-owned after buying itself back from Opera in 2013. Australia is a Five Eyes member whose 2018 Assistance and Access Act can compel a company to build access to its own systems — legislation Fastmail publicly warned would damage the Australian technology industry.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.fastmail.com/about/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "kagi-inc", "name": "Kagi Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Kagi", "Orion browser" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "US-incorporated, funded by subscriptions and a small amount of investment from its own users. Having no advertisers is the entire argument: there is no incentive to build a profile.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://kagi.com/about", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "mcafee", "name": "McAfee LLC", "type": "private_equity", "headquarters": "US", "review_sites": [], "notes": "McAfee bought TunnelBear in 2018. McAfee itself was taken private by an investor group led by Advent International in 2022.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.tunnelbear.com/about", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "TunnelBear", "McAfee Safe Connect" ] }, { "slug": "startpage-group", "name": "Startpage B.V. group", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "NL", "brands": [ "Startpage", "StartMail" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Dutch. In 2019 System1, a US advertising technology company, took a significant stake, which led several privacy communities to drop their recommendation at the time. The group says search and mail operations remain independent and under Dutch law.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.startpage.com/en/privacy-policy/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "adguard-software", "name": "Adguard Software Limited", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "CY", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Makes the AdGuard ad blocker, AdGuard DNS and AdGuard VPN. Registered in Limassol, Cyprus after relocating from Russia. The relocation is the company's own account; the earlier corporate history is worth reading before treating Cyprus as the whole story.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://adguard.com/en/privacy.html", "for": "operating entity, jurisdiction", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "AdGuard VPN" ] }, { "slug": "agilebits", "name": "AgileBits Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "CA", "brands": [ "1Password" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Canadian and founder-led, but with $620M raised in a 2022 Series C at a $6.8B valuation. That scale of funding implies an eventual exit for a company holding every password its customers own.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://1password.com/about/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "air-srl", "name": "Air srl", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "IT", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Small Italian company behind AirVPN, founded by activists. Publishes live per-server statistics, which is unusual candour, but sits inside the Fourteen Eyes arrangement.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://airvpn.org/legal/", "for": "operating entity, jurisdiction", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "AirVPN" ] }, { "slug": "bitdefender", "name": "Bitdefender", "type": "conglomerate", "headquarters": "RO", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Romanian security company whose VPN has run on the Catapult Hydra protocol, which belongs to Aura, the owner of Hotspot Shield. A Bitdefender VPN subscription therefore involves two companies, and only one is named on the product.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.bitdefender.com/site/view/legal-privacy-policy-for-bitdefender-vpn.html", "for": "brands owned", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "Bitdefender VPN" ] }, { "slug": "bitwarden-inc", "name": "Bitwarden, Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Bitwarden" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Independent and US-incorporated, with a $100M growth investment led by PSG in 2022. Publishes all client and server code, which is what makes its no-knowledge claim checkable.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://bitwarden.com/about/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "briar-project", "name": "Briar Project", "type": "nonprofit", "headquarters": "GB", "brands": [ "Briar" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A grant-funded non-profit project rather than a company, designed for activists and journalists where the network is cut or monitored.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://briarproject.org/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "dashlane-inc", "name": "Dashlane, Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Dashlane" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "US-incorporated with French origins and substantial venture funding. Pivoted to business customers in 2022, cutting the consumer free tier to 25 passwords on one device at the same time.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.dashlane.com/about", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "easyoptouts-llc", "name": "EasyOptOuts LLC", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "EasyOptOuts" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A very small US operation, founder-run, unfunded and barely marketed. It appears in independent comparisons on results rather than promotion.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://easyoptouts.com/faq/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "ecosia-foundation", "name": "Ecosia Foundation", "type": "nonprofit", "headquarters": "DE", "brands": [ "Ecosia" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Since 2018 Ecosia has been held under a steward-ownership structure that legally prevents the company being sold or its profits extracted. Results come mainly from Bing, so the independence is in the ownership rather than the index.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://info.ecosia.org/about", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "eventure", "name": "eVenture Ltd", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "MY", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Privately held Malaysian company. Publishes little beyond its name.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://hide.me/en/legal", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "hide.me" ] }, { "slug": "f-secure", "name": "F-Secure Corporation", "type": "public_company", "headquarters": "FI", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Listed on Nasdaq Helsinki, so its ownership and accounts are a matter of public record, which is rare in this industry. Finland is outside the Five, Nine and Fourteen Eyes groupings.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://investors.f-secure.com/", "for": "ownership structure", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "F-Secure VPN" ] }, { "slug": "fastest-technology", "name": "Fastest Technology Ltd", "type": "unknown", "headquarters": "KY", "review_sites": [], "notes": "FastestVPN states a Cayman Islands base while its App Store listing names an Australian entity. The two have not been reconciled and no individual owners are named anywhere on the site.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://fastestvpn.com/privacy-policy", "for": "operating entity", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "FastestVPN" ] }, { "slug": "heinlein-support", "name": "Heinlein Support GmbH", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "DE", "brands": [ "Mailbox.org" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A Berlin company providing mail infrastructure since 1992. Not venture funded, which shows in a product that behaves like a business mail host rather than a privacy app.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://mailbox.org/en/about-us", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "ivpn-limited", "name": "IVPN Limited", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "GI", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Publishes its team and ownership openly. Also runs no affiliate programme.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.ivpn.net/team", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "IVPN" ] }, { "slug": "kanary-inc", "name": "Kanary, Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Kanary" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "US, independent, focused on people facing harassment and doxxing rather than general marketing-list removal, which is why it monitors continuously rather than reporting quarterly.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.kanary.com/about", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "keeper-security", "name": "Keeper Security, Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Keeper" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Chicago-based, with a $200M investment from Summit Partners in 2020. Sells mainly to enterprises; the consumer product is the same vault on a different price list.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.keepersecurity.com/about-us.html", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "mega-limited", "name": "Mega Limited", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "NZ", "review_sites": [], "notes": "New Zealand company known for end-to-end encrypted storage, now selling a VPN alongside it. New Zealand is a founding Five Eyes member, which weighs more heavily on a VPN than on zero-knowledge storage.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://mega.io/about", "for": "operating entity, jurisdiction", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "MEGA VPN" ] }, { "slug": "mojeek-ltd", "name": "Mojeek Limited", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "GB", "brands": [ "Mojeek" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A small British company that has run its own web crawler since 2004 — one of very few independent indexes outside Google, Microsoft, Yandex and Baidu. Founder-owned and unfunded.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.mojeek.com/about/", "for": "ownership, index", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "optery-inc", "name": "Optery, Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Optery" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "US, independent, venture-backed. Provides before-and-after screenshots of each broker removal, which turns an unverifiable service into a checkable one.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.optery.com/about/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "posteo-ek", "name": "Posteo e.K.", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "DE", "brands": [ "Posteo" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A small owner-operated Berlin company funded entirely by subscriptions. Has challenged German surveillance orders in court, winning a 2016 constitutional case narrowing what it could be compelled to disclose.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://posteo.de/en/site/transparency_report", "for": "ownership, legal requests", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "privado-networks", "name": "Privado Networks AG", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "CH", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Swiss-registered, founded 2019.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://privadovpn.com/about", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "PrivadoVPN" ] }, { "slug": "session-foundation", "name": "Session Technology Foundation", "type": "nonprofit", "headquarters": "CH", "brands": [ "Session" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Originally built in Australia by the Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation and moved to a Swiss foundation in 2024, a move the project attributed to Australian encryption law.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://getsession.org/blog", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "signal-foundation", "name": "Signal Technology Foundation", "type": "nonprofit", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Signal" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A US non-profit started with a $50M interest-free loan from Brian Acton after he left WhatsApp. No advertising, no investors and no data to sell. Its published subpoena responses show it holds an account creation date and a last-connection date, and nothing else.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://signal.org/bigbrother/", "for": "ownership, legal requests", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "simplex-chat-ltd", "name": "SimpleX Chat Ltd", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "GB", "brands": [ "SimpleX Chat" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A small British company, founder-led with some venture funding. Its design has no user identifiers of any kind, so there is no social graph to seize.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://simplex.chat/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "telegram-group", "name": "Telegram Group Inc.", "type": "independent", "headquarters": "AE", "brands": [ "Telegram" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Registered in Dubai with a British Virgin Islands parent. Funded by bond issues and, since 2021, advertising. In August 2024 founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France over alleged moderation failures, after which Telegram began handing user IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities on valid legal requests.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://telegram.org/privacy", "for": "ownership, legal requests", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "tor-project", "name": "The Tor Project, Inc.", "type": "nonprofit", "headquarters": "US", "brands": [ "Tor Browser" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "A US 501(c)(3) non-profit. Funded substantially by US government grants alongside donations, a fact it publishes itself and its critics raise. The code and the network are open, which is what makes the funding question answerable.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.torproject.org/about/reports/", "for": "funding, ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "threema-gmbh", "name": "Threema GmbH", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "CH", "brands": [ "Threema" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Swiss and privately held, paid for by a single purchase rather than subscriptions or advertising. Publishes a transparency report and runs its own servers in Switzerland.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://threema.ch/en/transparencyreport", "for": "ownership, legal requests", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "tutao", "name": "Tutao GmbH", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "DE", "brands": [ "Tuta" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Founder-owned German company, formerly Tutanota. In 2020 a German court ordered it to provide access to future emails in one account; it complied and criticised the order publicly, then responded by encrypting more of the mailbox.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://tuta.com/blog/transparency-report", "for": "ownership, legal requests", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "vivaldi-technologies", "name": "Vivaldi Technologies AS", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "NO", "brands": [ "Vivaldi" ], "review_sites": [], "notes": "Norwegian, employee and founder owned, founded by former Opera staff after Opera was sold to a Chinese consortium. Norway is outside the intelligence alliances and inside the EEA.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://vivaldi.com/about/", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" } }, { "slug": "windscribe-limited", "name": "Windscribe Limited", "type": "founder_owned", "headquarters": "CA", "review_sites": [], "notes": "Founder and employee owned, with no outside investors.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://windscribe.com/about", "for": "ownership", "primary": true } ], "verification": { "facts_last_checked": "2026-09-06", "confidence": "needs_primary_source_check" }, "brands": [ "Windscribe" ] } ] }