PRIVACY AND LAW
VPN privacy, logging and law
This cluster is about what a VPN provider can see, what it is allowed to keep, and what the law where you are says about using one. It states limits as plainly as benefits, including the ones that apply to VPNmine.
12 articles
A VPN does not make you anonymous. Here is what it doesA tunnel removes one identifier from one observer. Accounts, cookies and fingerprints identify you regardless, and the provider knows what the ISP used to.
VPN vs Tor vs proxyThree tools that change your apparent address and are not substitutes. What each protects against, what each costs, and when to use which.
GDPR and VPN loggingAn IP address is personal data under GDPR. What that means for what a VPN may retain, and what rights you have over the records it keeps.
What your employer can see on a work laptopA personal VPN does almost nothing on a managed device. What monitoring actually runs on a work laptop, and where the tunnel is irrelevant.
Can your ISP see you are using a VPN?Yes, almost always. Your provider cannot read the traffic but can see that an encrypted tunnel exists, where it goes, and how much moves through it.
Is using a VPN legal?VPNs are legal in most countries and restricted in a handful. What the restrictions actually say, and why what you do through one matters more.
Five, Nine and Fourteen Eyes: what they actually changeThe intelligence-sharing alliances are real and their relevance to a consumer VPN is routinely overstated. What jurisdiction does and does not decide.
Warrant canaries: what they are and why they are fragileA canary is a published statement that no secret order has been received. It works by disappearing, and courts have never confirmed it works at all.
RAM-only VPN servers explainedA diskless server loses its state when power is cut, so a seizure yields nothing. What that actually protects against, and what it does not.
What a VPN audit proves, and what it does notAn independent audit is the strongest evidence a VPN can offer and it is still a snapshot of a scope someone chose. How to read one.
How free VPNs make moneyA free VPN has real costs. The five business models that cover them, ranked from acceptable to actively harmful, and how to tell which you are using.
What "no-logs VPN" actually meansEvery VPN keeps some records. A no-logs claim is only meaningful when the provider says which ones, why, and for how long. How to read one properly.
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