Best 21 VPN Services taking your Privacy Seriously + Bitcoin Accepted
Since whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked classified NSA documents exposing the global mass surveillance, protecting your online privacy has become more important than ever before.
There are certain tools that help you take countermeasures against these government programs ranging from encrypted instant messengers such as Signal to anonymization onion network Tor.
However, using Tor to hide "every day" traffic (browsing the Internet, watching movies etc) from prying eyes may be cumbersome and even slow in most cases. That's where connecting to the Internet over VPN (Virtual Private Network) provides far better experience.
In regards to privacy, certain properties need to be considered when choosing a VPN service.
The rule of thumb is that it should be as hard as possible to link your identity to your network activity.
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Most good providers don't log traffic, and those better ones go as far as not even logging any metadata. In this post, I've only included providers that at least meet the first requirement.
It's best if you can hide the fact that you even use a VPN. A good provider lets you pay for a service without asking for any personal data such as your email address or name. Thus, I've divided services into three categories: No personal data required, E-mail address required, Personal information required.
Speaking of paying for a VPN, only companies that accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies made it to the list. Depending on a cryptocurrency, you can make your identity partially protected or totally anonymous. Unfortunately, only very few let you pay with fully anonymous currencies such as Monero.
It's also very important that you can connect to a VPN server of your choice using open source and peer-reviewed applications. VPNs in our list support OpenVPN.
All the privacy features are worthless when governments can force providers to cooperate with them. Either by logging traffic, installing backdoors on their websites/apps or simply by letting them actively spy on you.
Some governments are more fucked up than others but generally speaking you should avoid at all cost services (and servers) that operate from countries that cooperatively practice global mass surveillance.
These countries also called The Fourteen Eyes include:
Five Eyes
- Australia
- Canada
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
- United States
Nine Eyes
- Denmark
- France
- Netherlands
- Norway
Fourteen Eyes
- Belgium
- Germany
- Italy
- Spain
- Sweden
There are obviously more attributes to look at, but it's beyond the scope of this article.
Read more on how to choose the best VPN for you (recommended).
Please note, that I get an affiliate commission when you sign up with certain VPN services listed below.
No Personal Data Required
VPN providers in this category don't ask for any personal information.
That lets you sign up for the service and pseudonymously/anonymously purchase it without linking your identity with the payment.
BolehVPN
BolehVPN operates from Seychelles. You can choose from 35 servers in 13 countries. Paying with cryptocurrencies gives you 10% discount.
BolehVPN
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin, Monero, Dash, Zcash, Zcoin
- Trial: 1 day
EarthVPN
EarthVPN operates from Cyprus. You can choose from 432 servers in 54 countries.
EarthVPN
- P2P support: Yes
- Bypass Chinese Firewall: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee
E-mail Address Required
These VPN providers ask for your e-mail address when purchasing their services.
It doesn't necessarily imply bad intentions, but it's safer to sign up with a throwaway e-mail created while using Tor.
boxpn
Boxpn operates from Seychelles. You can choose from 76 servers in 22 countries.
CyberGhost
CyberGhost operates from Romania. You can choose from 866 servers in 29 countries.
CyberGhost
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. A free plan is available. 30-day money back guarantee.
FinchVPN
FinchVPN operates from Malaysia. You can choose from 39 servers in 18 countries.
FinchVPN
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. A free plan is available.
Hide.ME
Hide.ME operates from Malaysia. You can choose from servers in 27 countries.
Hide.ME
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. A free plan is available.
IronSocket
IronSocket operates from Hong Kong. You can choose from in over 35 countries.
IronSocket
- P2P support: Yes
- Bypass Chinese Firewall: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee
NordVPN
NordVPN operates from Panama. You can choose from 743 servers in 58 countries.
I currently use NordVPN as my provider of choice and I'm pretty happy with their app and connection speed.
NordVPN
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 30-day money back guarantee.
oVPN.to
oVPN's country of operation is unknown. Jurisdiction of a server's location applies. You can choose from 54 servers in 15 countries.
Trust.Zone
Trust.Zone operates from Seychelles. You can choose from 104 servers in 31 countries.
Trust.Zone
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 10-day money back guarantee.
VPN.ac
VPN.ac operates from Romania. You can choose from 78 servers in 21 countries.
VPN.ac
- P2P support: Yes
- Bypass Chinese Firewall: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee.
VPN.asia
VPN.asia operates from Belize. You can choose from servers in 31 countries.
VPN.asia
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee.
VPNArea
VPNArea operates from Bulgaria. You can choose from over 200 servers in 60 countries.
VPNArea
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee.
VPNtunnel
VPNtunnel operates from Seychelles. You can choose from 80 servers in 22 countries.
VPNtunnel
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee.
ZorroVPN
ZorroVPN operates from Seychelles. You can choose from servers in 30 countries.
Personal Information Required
VPN providers below ask for certain personal information which may pose security risks to your privacy.
I strongly recommend using throwaway e-mail mentioned above and providing random fake identity.
There's no real reason for these companies to poses your personal data and possibly risk losing it to hackers.
ivacy
Ivacy operates from Hong Kong. You can choose from over 250 servers in 50+ countries.
ivacy
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and others
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee.
LimeVPN
LimeVPN operates from Hong Kong. You can choose from servers in 10 countries.
LimeVPN
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee.
MyPrivateNetwork
MyPrivateNetwork operates from Hong Kong. You can choose from servers in 44 countries.
PureVPN
PureVPN operates from Hong Kong. You can choose from 750 servers in over 141 countries.
PureVPN
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin, Dash, Litecoin and more
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee.
SmartVPN
SmartVPN operates from Morroco. You can choose from 24 servers in 19 countries.
VPNBaron
VPNBaron operates from Romania. You can choose from servers in 19 countries.
VPNBaron
- P2P support: Yes
- Payment methods: Bitcoin
- Trial: No. 7-day money back guarantee
If you don't mind, I'd like to hear your experience with your favorite VPN providers that you use to protect your privacy.
