There Are So Many VPN Apps. Which One Should You Choose?

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I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that every other company seems to be a VPN company these days. And why not? Privacy is on everyone’s mind these days, with good reason. There are a ton of VPN apps on the App Store, and I’ll share five of them here. I’ve used three of them personally, and I’ll share two with good reputations. And don’t worry, none of these companies have ever contacted me or paid me to be included in this list.

This article has been updated with new information and a new VPN.

Warp

Cloudflare recently released its Warp VPN for everyone. Warp is free with a paid Warp+ option that gives you faster speeds using its Argo network. It also has a pubic DNS you can use: 1.1.1.1. I’ve used Warp without any problems. Do note however that its privacy policy states: “We may retain your request data for a period of 24 hours for emergency purposes, such as responding to emergency law enforcement requests.” Warp+ is US$4.99/month.

warp vpn screenshots

Private Internet Access

So far this is the VPN I’ve been falling back on. It costs US$40/year with a lot of servers around the world. According to its privacy policy it doesn’t log traffic, and a court case in 2016 confirmed that. It does use Google Analytics with interest- and demographics tracking disabled and anonymizing of IP addresses enabled.

private internet access screenshots

ProtonVPN

After having used Private Internet Access for a year or two, I switched to ProtonVPN for most of 2020. I picked ProtonVPN because I was already using ProtonMail and they offer packaged-deals with both services. I also believe Proton has good privacy practices track record. There are paid and free versions of ProtonVPN, and the limited free version is subsidized by paid users, so there is no compromise of “If it’s free, how will we make money?” I wish I could use custom DNS servers with the VPN, but that also increases the chance of DNS leaks. ProtonVPN starts at 48€ (US$56).

ProtonVPN screenshots

Confirmed

I’m adding Confirmed to the list because of Lockdown. I’ve never used the standalone app but I do use it inside Lockdown. Confirmed says it’s no-logs, fully audited, and openly operated. Openly Operated means that the app has to prove its privacy claims with a public audit kit and audit reports. US$4.99/month or US$49.99/year. Privacy Policy

confirmed screenshots

NordVPN

I’ve never used Nord but it does have a good reputation in the VPN industry. They promise a no-logs policy and process minimal user data. The user data they do process are email addresses and payment data, which is a must if they are able to collect your money and create your account. Nord has different subscription levels, like one month (US$11.99), six months US$53.99), and a twelve month plan for US$83.99. Privacy Policy

nordvpn screenshots

Further Reading:

[Apple Releases iOS 13.1.1 With Security and Bug Fixes]

[DoorDash Data Breach Affects 4.9 Million People]

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