Virtual Private Networks are considered to be the ultimate in online privacy, but thats not quite true.
While your data and activity is encrypted, there remains a risk from government surveillance.
Is your VPN subject to surveillance alliances?
If so, which VPNs are not located in Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes countries?
What Is Five Eyes Surveillance?
The United Kingdom–United States of America Agreement is a surveillance alliance officially known as UKUSA.
Image credit:Proton VPN
In truth, three other nations are involved: Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Unofficially, this is known as the Five Eyes alliance of countries.
an ISP or website) to provide information on a user or disrupt their internet access.
Additional alliances, known as Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes, are also in operation.
Ourguide to Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes surveillanceexplains these security arrangements in more detail.
Arguably the biggest VPN provider around right now, NordVPN has shown a willingness to defend user privacy.
ExpressVPN is a major VPN provider located in the British Virgin Islands.
Despite the name of this territory, it is based in the Caribbean with its own parliament and government.
Kape Technologies was formerly known as Crossrider, a company responsible for making adware.
Whether this has any impact on ExpressVPNs trustworthiness or otherwise has yet to be seen.
3.PureVPN
This VPN offers a wide selection of servers in 70+ countries, with offices worldwide.
PureVPN is comparatively unremarkable compared to other VPNs in this list.
However, it also has various offices in Five Eyes countries, which may prove problematic.
When it comes to government or surveillance alliance interference, PureVPN remains untested.
4.Proton VPN
A VPN from the company behind the encrypted Proton Mail service.
Parent company Proton AG is highly regarded by online privacy advocates.
Based in Romania, CyberGhost is theoretically detached from the Five/Nine/14 Eyes alliance.
However, Romania is a NATO member, which could be used to leverage surveillance data.
Despite its Romanian location, as with ExpressVPN, CyberGhost is owned by Kape Technologies.
No one knows if CyberGhost would be able to escape from agreeing to surveillance alliance request due to this.
Do You Really Need a VPN?
Whichever VPN outside the 14 Eyes alliance jurisdiction you choose, be aware that further privacy issues await.
If youre looking for a recommendation, all of these VPNs represents the pinnacle of privacy.
However, NordVPN is the only one that has repeatedly stood against government overreach.
Ad blocking, avoiding region blocking, and torrenting despite ISP limits is one thing.
