Our 3 Best VPN Picks for Privacy and Security

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) weren’t initially designed to be privacy tools. Rather, they were primarily designed to securely connect two physically separate networks.

However, in some cases and assuming a number of criteria is met, VPNs can be used as tools to benefit user privacy. Here, you will find avoidthehack’s top recommendations for privacy-friendly and no-logs VPN services.

VPNs are not drop-in replacements for basic security hygiene and privacy-friendly best practices.

Prior to considering recommendations outlined here, users are highly encouraged to:

All VPN providers listed here follow the avoidthehack VPN provider criteria.

Name	Jurisdiction	Server Locations	IPv6 Support	Censorship resistant protocol	Infrastructure
IVPN	Gibraltar	35 countries	Partially	Obfsproxy	Rented
Mullvad	Sweden	39 countries		Shadow Socks	In-house + rented
Proton	Switzerland	66 countries	Partially	Stealth	In-house + rented

iVPN is a no-logs VPN service provider operating out of Gibraltar. iVPN regularly (yearly) undergoes security audits from reputable third-parties; their no-logs policy is also audited regularly.

iVPN permits truly anonymous registration – an email is not required to register. An automated generator is used to create user accounts; the generated account number is used to connect to the VPN service; users can then “add time” to their accounts. iVPN accepts anonymous forms of payment such as Monero and Cash. They also allow payment via pseudonymous Bitcoin and traditional forms of payment like a credit card.

However, if users prefer an email and password, then they can register that way as well. Account-related data is stored on a separate, offline, and hardened server not connected to iVPN’s VPN servers.

Terminated VPN accounts (due to any number of reasons, such as subscription ending) are automatically deleted after 90 days.

iVPN’s clients are open-source and support most common devices. Mulfifactor authentication (MFA) is supported on iVPN’s clients.

Users can choose from WireGuard, OpenVPN, or IPSec protocols via iVPN’s clients. Assuming users sign up for the “Pro” plan, port forwarding is available for WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols.

iVPN’s Killswitch/Firewall feature provides protection against DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks in addition to disabling the device’s network connection when the VPN connection is unstable.

AntiTracker blocks ads, trackers, and malicious domains/hosts via DNS, providing ad and tracker blocking while connected to the VPN and browsing. For users requiring (or simply desiring it), Obfsproxy is iVPN’s answer to circumventing censorship on desktop clients.

For WebRTC leaks, users are still highly encouraged to address the leak from inside their browsers in the case they are not connected to the VPN.

iVPN has servers in 35 countries. Although iVPN does not traditionally own any of its servers, they vet their suppliers and infrastructure partners. For reference, iVPN publicly lists names of its hosting providers on their server Status page.

Specifically, iVPN rents bare-metal servers from these vetted hosting providers; hosting providers must enable secure access to the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI). iVPN reinstalls the server from scratch, encrypting server disks with Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS) to ensure the security and integrity of data at rest.

iVPN is currently planning, in the not-so-distant future, to roll out physical activation codes. Users will be able to purchase time for their accounts at retailers.