Almost 90% of VPN apps threaten users privacy.
According to a recent study by Top10VPN, almost all popular free VPN apps on the Google Play Store potentially threaten our privacy. Almost 90% of applications are susceptible to data leaks, more than two-thirds transmit users personal information to third parties, and one-fifth of the tested programs were even marked as suspicious malware by antivirus scanners.
These are just some of the disturbing findings made in the report, which analyzed the source code and network traffic of the 100 most popular free VPN services for Android in the Google Play store. Simon Migliano, head of research at Top10VPN, has spent months researching and collecting data on security and privacy flaws.
A VPN works by hiding the user's IP address and masking their Internet activity from outsiders (providers, networks, and other third parties). VPNs provide a secure tunnel from the device to its server, and then to the open Internet with end-to-end encryption. It is extremely important that the VPN provider is reliable, since all client data passes through its servers.
Most reliable paid VPNs use advanced security technologies such as RAM-only servers and military-grade encryption. They also regularly engage independent audit firms to prove that user data and traffic are not being recorded. Unfortunately, this is very rare for free apps.
According to Migliano, the number of free VPN users has increased dramatically over the past few years: "The 100 most popular free VPNs for Android were installed about 260 million times in 2018. Today, this number exceeds 2.5 billion."
While a few trustworthy free apps still exist, most others serve solely as a way to generate advertising revenue for developers. The business model of such services forces them to rely on the resources of advertisers and other third parties. As a rule, this is reflected in the introduction of various advertising products and marketing content in applications, often to the detriment of users ' interests.
Worryingly, 71% of free VPNs provide advertisers with access to customers ' personal data. Almost a third even collect this data independently and sell it for profit.
It is expected that the popularity of these services will continue to grow in the coming years against the background of exponential growth of the entire market. As the number of users who want to find a free alternative increases, there is a need for reliable algorithms. This is especially true for those who need it badly because of the recent frequent cases of blocking the Internet.
Although experts traditionally advise using proven commercial VPN services with a subscription, if for some reason a non-commercial option is required, it is preferable to choose the "free" version of a paid application (freemium). Reliable VPN providers provide most of the features of their main paid product in these versions, but with some restrictions on the number of available servers and the number of connected devices.
Some premium VPNs also offer completely free emergency subscriptions for certain individuals in high-risk situations: journalists, NGOs, and political activists.
According to a recent study by Top10VPN, almost all popular free VPN apps on the Google Play Store potentially threaten our privacy. Almost 90% of applications are susceptible to data leaks, more than two-thirds transmit users personal information to third parties, and one-fifth of the tested programs were even marked as suspicious malware by antivirus scanners.
These are just some of the disturbing findings made in the report, which analyzed the source code and network traffic of the 100 most popular free VPN services for Android in the Google Play store. Simon Migliano, head of research at Top10VPN, has spent months researching and collecting data on security and privacy flaws.
A VPN works by hiding the user's IP address and masking their Internet activity from outsiders (providers, networks, and other third parties). VPNs provide a secure tunnel from the device to its server, and then to the open Internet with end-to-end encryption. It is extremely important that the VPN provider is reliable, since all client data passes through its servers.
Most reliable paid VPNs use advanced security technologies such as RAM-only servers and military-grade encryption. They also regularly engage independent audit firms to prove that user data and traffic are not being recorded. Unfortunately, this is very rare for free apps.
According to Migliano, the number of free VPN users has increased dramatically over the past few years: "The 100 most popular free VPNs for Android were installed about 260 million times in 2018. Today, this number exceeds 2.5 billion."
While a few trustworthy free apps still exist, most others serve solely as a way to generate advertising revenue for developers. The business model of such services forces them to rely on the resources of advertisers and other third parties. As a rule, this is reflected in the introduction of various advertising products and marketing content in applications, often to the detriment of users ' interests.
Worryingly, 71% of free VPNs provide advertisers with access to customers ' personal data. Almost a third even collect this data independently and sell it for profit.
It is expected that the popularity of these services will continue to grow in the coming years against the background of exponential growth of the entire market. As the number of users who want to find a free alternative increases, there is a need for reliable algorithms. This is especially true for those who need it badly because of the recent frequent cases of blocking the Internet.
Although experts traditionally advise using proven commercial VPN services with a subscription, if for some reason a non-commercial option is required, it is preferable to choose the "free" version of a paid application (freemium). Reliable VPN providers provide most of the features of their main paid product in these versions, but with some restrictions on the number of available servers and the number of connected devices.
Some premium VPNs also offer completely free emergency subscriptions for certain individuals in high-risk situations: journalists, NGOs, and political activists.
