Reviews
Everything we track, reviewed
63 products across 7 categories. Ownership and jurisdiction first, then what you actually pay after the intro price ends, then what real users report. Where we have not tested something ourselves, the page says so rather than filling the gap.
🛡 VPNs
Who owns each one, what it costs after renewal, and where it actually connects.
| # | Name | Score | Owner | Jurisdiction | Tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Proton VPNSwiss, non-profit-controlled, open source, with the only free tier worth using. | 78 Good | Proton Foundation | Switzerland | pending | Read |
| 2 |  SurfsharkUnlimited devices at the lowest headline price of the big three; same owner as NordVPN. | 73 Good | Nord Security | Netherlands | pending | Read |
| 3 |  NordVPNThe biggest network and the most features; renews at nearly triple the intro price. | 72 Good | Nord Security | Panama | pending | Read |
| 4 |  ExpressVPNPolished apps and reliable unblocking; owned by Kape, which also owns three review sites. | 71 Good | Kape Technologies | British Virgin Islands | pending | Read |
| 5 |  hide.meMalaysia-based with a real free tier and no-logs audits; lesser known, decent value. | 71 Good | eVenture Ltd | Malaysia | pending | Read |
| 6 |  MullvadFlat €5 a month, no email required, accepts cash; the privacy benchmark. | 65 Fair | Amagicom AB | Sweden | pending | Read |
| 7 |  WindscribeCanadian, founder-owned, with a generous free tier and unusually flexible pricing. | 65 Fair | Windscribe Limited | Canada | pending | Read |
| 8 |  Private Internet AccessOpen-source apps, court-proven no-logs, unlimited devices; US-based and Kape-owned. | 64 Fair | Kape Technologies | United States | pending | Read |
| 9 |  AdGuard VPNCyprus-based spin-off of the AdGuard ad blocker, built on a custom protocol that hides as ordinary HTTPS. | 63 Fair | Adguard Software Limited | Cyprus | pending | Read |
| 10 |  IVPNGibraltar-based, transparent about its team, no affiliate programme; small and honest. | 62 Fair | IVPN Limited | Gibraltar | pending | Read |
| 11 |  CyberGhostStreaming-labelled servers and a 45-day refund; Kape-owned and Romania-based. | 60 Fair | Kape Technologies | Romania | pending | Read |
| 12 |  PrivadoVPNSwiss-registered budget option with a 10 GB free tier; young, and thinly audited. | 58 Fair | Privado Networks AG | Switzerland | pending | Read |
| 13 | A AirVPNItalian activist-run provider with per-server live statistics and real port forwarding, and no iOS app at all. | 57 Fair | Air srl | Italy | pending | Read |
| 14 |  IPVanishUS-based, owns its server network, popular on Fire TV; a 2016 logging incident on record. | 55 Fair | Ziff Davis | United States | pending | Read |
| 15 |  Hotspot ShieldFast proprietary protocol and a huge install base; US-owned, ad-supported free tier. | 53 Weak | Pango Group (Aura) | United States | pending | Read |
| 16 |  StrongVPNOne of the oldest VPN brands, now owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns IPVanish. | 52 Weak | Ziff Davis | United States | pending | Read |
| 17 |  TunnelBearFriendly apps, annual public audits, and a 2 GB free tier; owned by McAfee. | 49 Weak | McAfee LLC | United States | pending | Read |
| 18 |  Bitdefender VPNRomanian antivirus maker's VPN, historically running on Aura's Hotspot Shield network rather than its own. | 48 Weak | Bitdefender SRL | Romania | pending | Read |
| 19 |  Norton VPNBundled with Norton 360 and sold on brand recognition; renewal doubles the price. | 48 Weak | Gen Digital Inc. | United States | pending | Read |
| 20 |  F-Secure VPNFinnish listed security company's VPN, formerly Freedome; simple, well outside the alliances, thin on features. | 46 Weak | F-Secure Corporation | Finland | pending | Read |
| 21 |  Astrill VPNThe expatriate favourite in China; expensive, dated apps, and thin on transparency. | 44 Weak | Undisclosed | Seychelles | pending | Read |
| 22 |  MEGA VPNAdd-on to MEGA's encrypted storage, cheap if you already pay for MEGA, and based in Five Eyes New Zealand. | 41 Weak | Mega Limited | New Zealand | pending | Read |
| 23 |  FastestVPNSells aggressive lifetime deals; the iPhone app carries one of the worst App Store ratings in this catalogue. | 36 Poor | Undisclosed | Cayman Islands | pending | Read |
⚿ Password managers
The one privacy tool almost everyone should use. Who owns it matters more than the feature list.
| # | Name | Score | Owner | Jurisdiction | Tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  BitwardenOpen source, self-hostable, and the only free tier that is not crippled. | 73 Good | Bitwarden, Inc. | United States | pending | Read |
| 2 |  Proton PassSwiss, non-profit-owned, open source, with hide-my-email aliases built in. | 73 Good | Proton Foundation | Switzerland | pending | Read |
| 3 |  KeeperEnterprise-first, heavily certified, and it charges extra for the basics. | 61 Fair | Keeper Security, Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 4 |  DashlaneSlick, expensive, and the free tier is a demo rather than a product. | 60 Fair | Dashlane, Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 5 |  NordPassSame owner as NordVPN and Surfshark, with the same renewal pricing habit. | 58 Fair | Nord Security | Netherlands | pending | on the ranking |
| 6 |  1PasswordThe most polished apps, a second secret key, and no free tier at all. | 56 Fair | AgileBits Inc. | Canada | pending | Read |
| 7 |  LastPassCustomer vaults were stolen in 2022. That is the whole review. | 50 Weak | GoTo (LogMeIn) | United States | pending | Read |
◧ Private browsers
What a browser leaks is what a VPN cannot hide. Ranked on defaults, not on settings you might find.
| # | Name | Score | Owner | Jurisdiction | Tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MB Mullvad BrowserTor Browser with the Tor network taken out, built for people already on a VPN. | 70 Good | Amagicom AB | Sweden | pending | on the ranking |
| 2 |  Tor BrowserThe only browser where everyone looks identical, and the slowest one you will ever use. | 69 Fair | The Tor Project, Inc. | United States | pending | Read |
| 3 |  BraveBlocks ads by default, then sells its own. Still the best mainstream default. | 66 Fair | Brave Software, Inc. | United States | pending | Read |
| 4 |  VivaldiThe most configurable browser there is, and only partly open source. | 59 Fair | Vivaldi Technologies AS | Norway | pending | on the ranking |
| 5 |  DuckDuckGo BrowserThe simplest private browser, from a company that pays Microsoft for its results. | 58 Fair | Duck Duck Go, Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 6 |  FirefoxThe last independent engine, funded almost entirely by Google. | 57 Fair | Mozilla Foundation | United States | pending | Read |
| 7 | SF SafariGood tracking defences, from the company taking $20bn a year to keep Google as the default. | 44 Weak | Apple Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 8 |  OperaMarketed on its free VPN, majority-owned by a Chinese consortium. | 31 Poor | Kunlun Tech | China | pending | on the ranking |
✉ Encrypted email
Email is the account-recovery key to everything else. Who holds it, and where they are.
| # | Name | Score | Owner | Jurisdiction | Tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Proton MailSwiss, non-profit-controlled, and the default answer for most people leaving Gmail. | 78 Good | Proton Foundation | Switzerland | pending | Read |
| 2 |  TutaGerman, open source, and the only one that encrypts the subject line too. | 75 Good | Tutao GmbH | Germany | pending | Read |
| 3 | MB Mailbox.orgA full German office suite for €1 a month, with PGP done properly. | 58 Fair | Heinlein Support GmbH | Germany | pending | on the ranking |
| 4 | SM StartMailDutch, PGP-based, and from the same group as Startpage — which sold a stake to an adtech firm. | 56 Fair | Startpage B.V. group | Netherlands | pending | on the ranking |
| 5 | PO Posteo€1 a month, anonymously payable in cash, and deliberately without custom domains. | 53 Weak | Posteo e.K. | Germany | pending | on the ranking |
| 6 |  FastmailThe best mail app in the category, from a company inside the Five Eyes with no end-to-end encryption. | 49 Weak | Fastmail Pty Ltd | Australia | pending | on the ranking |
⌕ Private search engines
Most of them resell someone else's index. Which one, and who owns the reseller.
| # | Name | Score | Owner | Jurisdiction | Tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  MojeekA genuinely independent British crawler with a small index and no tracking at all. | 58 Fair | Mojeek Limited | United Kingdom | pending | on the ranking |
| 2 |  EcosiaBing results that plant trees, under a legal structure that stops anyone selling it. | 55 Fair | Ecosia Foundation (steward-ownership) | Germany | pending | on the ranking |
| 3 | Brave Search One of only a handful of engines with its own index, from a company that sells ads. | 53 Weak | Brave Software, Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 4 |  KagiYou pay, so you are not the product. Ten dollars a month buys no ads and your own ranking rules. | 53 Weak | Kagi Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 5 |  StartpageGoogle results without Google tracking, from a company part-owned by an adtech firm. | 52 Weak | Startpage B.V. (System1 minority stake) | Netherlands | pending | Read |
| 6 | DuckDuckGo The default private search engine, running mostly on Bing results. | 50 Weak | Duck Duck Go, Inc. | United States | pending | Read |
💬 Encrypted messengers
End-to-end encryption is the easy part. What the app knows about who you talk to is the hard part.
| # | Name | Score | Owner | Jurisdiction | Tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  SessionOnion-routed and account-free, with a cryptographic decision worth reading about first. | 79 Good | Session Technology Foundation | Switzerland | pending | on the ranking |
| 2 |  SimpleX ChatThe only messenger with no user identifiers at all, which is either the point or too much. | 76 Good | SimpleX Chat Ltd | United Kingdom | pending | on the ranking |
| 3 |  ThreemaSwiss, paid once, and it never learns your phone number. | 74 Good | Threema GmbH | Switzerland | pending | on the ranking |
| 4 |  SignalThe protocol everyone else copied, run by a non-profit with nothing to sell. | 71 Good | Signal Technology Foundation | United States | pending | Read |
| 5 | BR BriarWorks with no internet at all, over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Built for the worst case. | 70 Good | Briar Project (non-profit) | United Kingdom | pending | on the ranking |
| 6 |  Element (Matrix)Federated like email, encrypted by default, and the server still sees who talks to whom. | 63 Fair | Element Software Ltd | United Kingdom | pending | on the ranking |
| 7 |  WhatsAppGenuinely end-to-end encrypted, owned by an advertising company that still learns a great deal. | 44 Weak | Meta Platforms, Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 8 |  TelegramNot end-to-end encrypted unless you turn it on, and most people never do. | 34 Poor | Telegram Group Inc. | United Arab Emirates | pending | Read |
⌫ Data removal services
They send opt-out requests to data brokers on your behalf. Two of the biggest are owned by VPN companies.
| # | Name | Score | Owner | Jurisdiction | Tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  OpteryThe only one that shows you screenshots proving each removal happened. | 66 Fair | Optery, Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 2 | EO EasyOptOutsTwenty dollars a year, no dashboard, and it quietly does the job. | 61 Fair | EasyOptOuts LLC | United States | pending | on the ranking |
| 3 | DM DeleteMeThe oldest service in the category, with humans checking the work. | 59 Fair | Abine, Inc. | United States | pending | Read |
| 4 |  IncogniThe cheapest of the majors, and owned by the company that owns NordVPN and Surfshark. | 58 Fair | Nord Security | United States | pending | Read |
| 5 |  KanaryContinuous monitoring with the clearest reporting, at a price that reflects it. | 58 Fair | Kanary, Inc. | United States | pending | on the ranking |