VPN Ownership, the importance of knowing.

Navigating the Complex Landscape of VPN Services: A Guide to Protecting Your Privacy

VPN Ownership: A VPN, or virtual private network, is a service that allows you to connect to the internet securely and anonymously. However, not all VPNs are created equal. Some VPNs may collect and sell your data, expose you to malware or hackers, or even cooperate with government agencies. That’s why it’s important to find out who owns your VPN and what their policies and practices are. Here are some reasons why you should do your research before choosing a VPN provider.

Privacy is a valuable right that can be easily compromised by some VPN services. Some of them use their parent companies as intermediaries to perform actions that they would not do themselves. For example, a VPN may state in its privacy policy that it only shares data with its parent company, but the parent company may have a different policy that allows it to share that data with other parties. This way, the VPN can say that it followed its own policy, but the user’s data is still exposed.

Some VPN services are even worse, as they may store or leak user data to governments that have strict online censorship and surveillance. Numerous mobile-only VPN applications have connections to China, a country where the lines between businesses and the government often blur. This association raises concerns about privacy and data security, as the Chinese government is known for its pervasive surveillance and control over internet infrastructure within its borders. Users of these VPN apps may unknowingly expose their data to government scrutiny, despite seeking a tool for privacy protection. It’s crucial for consumers to research the origins and policies of VPN services before committing to their use. Users of these apps may unknowingly put their privacy and security at risk.

The Paradox of Competition: Balancing Market Dominance and Consumer Choice

Competition is a driving force for quality and affordability in any industry. When there are many businesses offering similar products, they have to compete for customers by providing better value and service. However, businesses also want to maximize their profits, which can lead them to merge with other businesses and gain more market share. This can reduce competition and consumer choice.

This phenomenon can be observed in many industries, including the VPN industry. Some VPN companies not only acquire other VPN services, but also VPN review sites, creating a conflict of interest and a lack of transparency.

If you want to know who is behind your VPN provider, you have some options. VPNs may try to hide their ownership, but they cannot lie about it. With some research, you can find out the name of the company that owns your VPN. We have wrote another article to help you this.

The easiest way is to use a search engine like Google or Bing and type “[VPN name] parent company” and see what results you get. We tried this method with some popular VPNs, and it worked for ExpressVPN (Kape Technologies), IPVanish (Ziff Davis) and Surfshark (NordSec Ltd).

ExpressVPN parent company via google.

A search engine can reveal the parent companies of most well-known VPNs, but it’s not always accurate.
However, you should always double-check the information you find online. Ziff Davis, the current owner of StrongVPN, also holds ownership of IPVanish. Despite this, some search engines display outdated information, indicating J2 Global, which is the former name of Ziff Davis, as the owner. This discrepancy highlights the need for search engines to update their databases to reflect the latest corporate acquisition developments accurately. It’s technically true but confusing.

Read the Privacy Policy

A VPN may not want to advertise its parent company, but it has to disclose it in its privacy policy, which is a legal document. VPN providers have to clearly identify any parent companies, so you should be able to find the name somewhere in the document. Fortunately, most privacy policies are easy to skim. You can use ctrl+F to search for words like “parent company,” “holding company,” “owner” and “third-party.”

ExpressVPN privacy policy

ExpressVPN mentions Kape Technologies as its parent company in the middle of its privacy policy.
At the same time, if the VPN is doing anything shady — especially using its parent company as a cover — those things will show up in the privacy policy. In the review of Hotspot Shield, our investigation revealed ambiguities in the privacy policy. Specifically, the policy fails to categorically assert the non-collection of user logs. Instead, it offers a vague assurance, promising only to refrain from retaining logs that are traceable. This lack of clarity raises concerns about the true extent of privacy protection Hotspot Shield provides to its users.

If you want to find out who is behind some VPNs, you might need to do some detective work. For example, Turbo VPN is a service that we don’t recommend for many reasons. It says that its parent company is a Singapore-based startup called Innovative Connecting. But who is Innovative Connecting? Its website doesn’t have any staff information, and its LinkedIn page only shows 14 anonymous employees, mostly translators. It also owns other VPN services, like VPN Proxy Master, through another company called Lemon Clove. It seems like they are trying to hide something.

So, we decided to look up their address in Singapore. They moved to a new location in 2020, but before that, they were at 38 Beach Road, #29-11, South Beach Tower. A Chinese national runs a company named LinkSure, which operates from that address and develops a WiFi sharing app. Now, we can’t be sure that it’s the same LinkSure, but it’s suspicious. The Chinese government could easily access your browsing history if you use their VPNs. And if a VPN makes you search for their address to guess who they are, it’s not worth your trust.

Unveiling the Hidden Facets of VPN Services: A Guide to Informed Decisions

Navigating the extensive and complex VPN market demands active investigation to discover the truth, given the affiliations many review sites have with VPN providers. To secure protection from malware, hackers, and surveillance, one must conduct meticulous research. It is crucial to be aware of your VPN’s ownership to ensure transparency and trustworthiness in your choice of security solutions.

Some of the information in this article was obtained from PrivacyJournal.net. Attribution: Who Owns Your VPN in 2024? Discover the Top VPN Companies By Samuel Chapman Last update: November 29, 2023