all-in-one privacy solution":["Proton Unlimited es solución de privacidad más completa"],"Black Friday":["Black Friday"],"No ads. Privacy by default.":["Sin publicidad. La privacidad por bandera."],"People before profits":["Nos importan las personas, no los beneficios"],"Security through transparency":["Seguridad con transparencia"],"The best Proton Mail ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } deals":["Las mejores ofertas del ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } de Proton Mail"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["El único servicio de correo electrónico con apoyo de la comunidad"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ hours } hour":["${ hours } hora","${ hours } horas"],"${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } and ${ secondsLeft } left":["Tiempo restante: ${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } y ${ secondsLeft }"],"${ minutes } minute":["${ minutes } minuto","${ minutes } minutos"],"${ seconds } second":["${ seconds } segundo","${ seconds } segundos"],"Limited time offer":["Oferta por tiempo limitado"]},"specialoffer:listitem":{"Create multiple addresses":["Crea varias direcciones"],"Hide-my-email aliases":["Alias de hide-my-email"],"Quickly unsubscribe from newsletters":["Date de baja rápidamente de boletines"],"Use your own domain name":["Usa tu propio nombre de dominio"]},"specialoffer:logos":{"As featured in":["Hablan de nosotros"]},"specialoffer:metadescription":{"Get an encrypted email that protects your privacy":["Apuesta por un servicio de correo electrónico cifrado que protege tu privacidad"]},"specialoffer:metatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off":["Rebajas de Black Friday de Proton: hasta un 40 % de descuento"]},"specialoffer:newmetadescription":{"Get up to 40% off Proton Mail subscriptions this Black Friday. Find great deals on our secure end-to-end encrypted email plans.":["Contrata Proton Mail con hasta un 40 % de descuento en las rebajas de Black Friday. Encontrarás nuestros planes de correo electrónico cifrado de extremo a extremo al mejor precio."]},"specialoffer:newmetatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday sale | Up to 40% off secure email":["Rebajas de Black Friday en Proton Mail | Correo electrónico seguro con hasta un 40 % de descuento"]},"specialoffer:note":{"* Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["* A un precio de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"*Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["*A un precio de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los 2 primeros años"],"30-day money-back guarantee":["Garantía de devolución de 30 días"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["A un precio de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los 2 primeros años"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["A un precio de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"You save ${ SAVE_SUM }":["Ahorras ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ PERCENT_OFF } off":["−${ PERCENT_OFF }"]},"specialoffer:testimonial":{"I love my ProtonMail":["Adoro ProtonMail"],"My favorite email service":["Mi servicio de correo electrónico favorito"],"Thanks Proton for keeping us all safe in the complicated internet universe.":["Gracias, Proton, por brindarnos protección en este mundo salvaje de Internet."],"You get what you pay for. In the case of big tech, if you pay nothing, you get used. I quit using Gmail and switched to @ProtonMail":["Dan justo lo que prometen. Si las grandes tecnológicas te ofrecen algo gratis, se aprovechan de ti, por eso dejé de usar Gmail y me pasé a @ProtonMail"]},"specialoffer:time":{"Days":["días"],"Hours":["horas"],"Min":["min"]},"specialoffer:title":{"And much more":["Y mucho más"],"Make your inbox yours":["Personaliza tu bandeja de entrada"],"Safe from trackers":["Evita los rastreadores"],"Stay organized":["Mantenlo todo en orden"],"Black Friday email deals":["Ofertas en correo electrónico del Black Friday"],"Don’t just take our word for it":["Lee testimonios de otras personas"],"Our story":["Nuestra historia"],"Transfer your data from Google in one click":["Transfiere tus datos de Google con un clic"]},"specialoffer:tooltip":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES }+ countries, connect up to 10 devices, access worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Accede a contenido bloqueado y navega con privacidad. Incluye ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES } países. Conecta hasta 10 dispositivos, accede a servicios de streaming de todo el mundo, bloqueadores de malware y anuncios, etc."],"Easily share your calendar with your family, friends or colleagues, and view external calendars.":["Comparte tu calendario con familiares, amigos y compañeros fácilmente y consulta calendarios externos."],"Includes support for 1 custom email domain, 10 email addresses, 10 hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Incluye compatibilidad con 1 dominio de correo electrónico personalizado, 10 direcciones de correo electrónico, 10 alias de hide-my-email, posibilidad de compartir calendario, etc."],"Includes support for 3 custom email domains, 15 email addresses, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Incluye compatibilidad con 3 dominios de correo electrónico personalizado, 15 direcciones de correo electrónico, alias ilimitados de hide-my-email, posibilidad de compartir calendario, etc."],"Manage up to 25 calendars, mobile apps, secured with end-to-end encryption, 1-click calendar import from Google, and more.":["Gestiona hasta 25 calendarios protegidos con cifrado de extremo a extremo y con opción, por ejemplo, de importar los de Google con un solo clic."]},"Status banner":{"Learn more":["Más información"],"Please note that at the moment we are experiencing issues with the ${ issues[0] } service.":["Ten presente que, en estos momentos, el servicio de ${ issues[0] } está dando problemas de funcionamiento."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["Uno o varios servicios están dando problemas de funcionamiento en estos momentos."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["Hay problemas con el servicio de Proton VPN en estos momentos"],"Learn more":["Más información"]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Sugerencias"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subcategoría","Subcategorías"]},"Support article":{"${ readingTime } min":["${ readingTime } min","${ readingTime } min"],"Category":["Categoría","Categorías"],"Didn’t find what you were looking for?":["¿No has encontrado lo que buscabas?"],"General contact":["Contacto para consultas generales"],"Get help":["Obtener ayuda"],"Legal contact":["Contacto para cuestiones legales"],"Media contact":["Contacto para prensa y medios de comunicación"],"Partnerships contact":["Contacto para colaboraciones"],"Reading":["Lectura"]},"Support troubleshooting":{"App version":["Versión de la aplicación"],"Browser":["Navegador"],"Check if this helps":["Comprueba a ver si te sirve"],"Choose a product":["Elegir producto"],"Did this solve your issue?":["¿Te ha resultado útil para resolver el problema?"],"Faster assistance is just a few clicks away":["Solo te separan unos clics de una asistencia más rápida"],"How can we help?":["¿Cómo podemos ayudarte?"],"No, contact support":["No, contactar con el equipo de asistencia"],"Please fill out one field after another":["Rellena un campo después de otro"],"Please make your selections":["Realiza tus selecciones"],"Proton account":["Cuenta de Proton"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Thank you for your feedback":["Gracias por tus comentarios"],"What can we help with?":["¿En qué podemos ayudarte?"],"Yes":["Sí"]},"support_modal_search_query":{"Search query":["Consulta de búsqueda"]},"support_search_button":{"Search":["Buscar"]},"support_search_i_am_looking_for":{"I'm looking for":["Busco"]},"SupportForm":{"For a faster resolution, please report the issue from the Bridge app: Help > Report a problem.":["Para una resolución más rápida, informa del problema desde la aplicación Bridge: Ayuda > Notificar un problema."],"Information":["Información"]},"SupportForm:option":{"Account Security":["Seguridad de la cuenta"],"Contacts":["Contactos"],"Custom email domain":["Dominio de correo electrónico personalizado"],"Email delivery and Spam":["Envío de correos electrónico y spam"],"Encryption":["Cifrado"],"Login and password":["Inicio de sesión y contraseña"],"Merge aliases and accounts":["Fusionar seudónimos y cuentas"],"Migrate to Proton":["Migrar a Proton"],"Notifications":["Notificaciones"],"Other":["Otro"],"Plans and billing":["Planes y facturación"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Sign up":["Regístrate"],"Storage":["Almacenamiento"],"Users, addresses, and identities":["Usuarios, direcciones e identidades"]},"SupportForm:optionIntro":{"Select a topic":["Selecciona un tema"]},"swiss_baseed_feature":{"Swiss based":["Con sede en Suiza"]},"Testimonial":{"Awards":["Premios"],"Customers":["Clientes"],"Featured":["Destacado"],"Go to testimonial source":["Ir a la fuente del testimonio"],"Reviews":["Opiniones"],"Videos":["Vídeos"]},"Text":{"If you need help, check out our ${ supportLink }.":["Si necesitas ayuda, consulta nuestra ${ supportLink }."],"The page you’re looking for might have been removed, or it could be an\nold link.":["Es posible que la página que buscas haya sido eliminada o que sea un\nenlace antiguo."]},"Title":{"On this page":["En esta página"],"Related articles":["Artículos relacionados"],"Share ${ thisPage }":["Compartir ${ thisPage }"],"Thank you!":["¡Gracias!"],"this page":["esta página"]},"Tooltip":{"More information":["Más información"]},"tooltip_vpn":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES }+ countries, highest VPN speed, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } VPN connections, worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Accede a contenido bloqueado y navega en privado. Tendrás a tu disposición más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES } países, VPN de máxima velocidad, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } conexiones VPN, servicios de streaming en todo el mundo, bloqueadores de malware y anuncios, y mucho más."]},"wallet_signup_2024:Action":{"Get Proton Wallet":["Obtener Proton Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Homepage hero product link title":{"Wallet":["Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Homepage product navigation bar":{"Wallet":["Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:menu item":{"Bitcoin guide":["Guía sobre Bitcoin"],"Proton Wallet news":["Novedades sobre Proton Wallet"],"Proton Wallet support":["Soporte para Proton Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Pricing":{"Includes everything in Proton Unlimited and":["Incluye todas las funciones en Proton Unlimited y"],"Limited availability":["Disponibilidad limitada"],"The easiest way to securely own, send, and receive Bitcoin":["La forma más fácil de retener, enviar y recibir Bitcoin con seguridad"]},"wallet_signup_2024:ProductRange":{"Discover Proton Wallet":["Descubre Proton Wallet"],"Store and transact Bitcoin privately with an encrypted self-custody wallet.":["Almacena Bitcoin y negocia de forma privada con una cartera de autocustodia cifrada."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet bitcoin":{"Learn about Bitcoin, the Internet's value network.":["Infórmate sobre Bitcoin, la red de valor de internet."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet overview":{"Ensure you're always in control of your Bitcoin.":["Asegúrate de tener siempre el control de tu Bitcoin."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet security":{"The encrypted, open-source wallet that puts you in control.":["La cartera cifrada de código abierto que te permite controlarlo todo."]}}},"base":"blog","cdn":{"enabledForAssets":true,"enabledForImages":false,"url":"https://pmecdn.protonweb.com/"},"unleashApi":"https://account.proton.me/api"};
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Determining whether a VPN service is trustworthy can be complicated. Fortunately, there are a few easy steps you can follow to know if a VPN service can be trusted.
The importance of trust when it comes to VPN services cannot be underestimated. Given the recent surge in interest(new window) in VPN services among the general public, we feel it is in the public interest to discuss the VPN trust issue, especially given the general ignorance on this topic. There are many technical factors that need to be considered when looking for the best VPN service(new window), but without trust, all the technical security is irrelevant. This means trust is actually the biggest security risk with most VPN services.
Crucially, VPNs are not zero-knowledge. By design, when you use a VPN, all of your online traffic passes through the VPN, so the VPN provider sees everything. This means that while using a VPN might hide all of your browsing activity from your Internet Service Provider (ISP), this data is completely accessible to the VPN provider (regardless of whether or not they save logs). In other words, when you use a VPN service, what you are doing is shifting trust from your ISP to your VPN provider.
Why VPN trust matters
For many people, moving your trust from a highly regulated telecommunications company, to a VPN company run by shadowy figures, could be an example of misplaced trust. A malicious VPN provider could be operated by an intelligence agency or actively colluding with repressive governments, putting unwitting users at even greater risk.
Recently, the repeal of Internet privacy rules in the US caused a public outcry because now ISPs are allowed to sell browsing history(new window) without customer permission. While this is appalling, such behavior is already commonplace in the VPN industry. For example, free VPNs such as Hola have been found to be selling user browsing data, and even access to user devices(new window).
Now that US ISPs can sell your browsing history(new window), using a VPN makes more sense than ever before, but it is important to first check carefully to find the most trusted VPN service.
How to find the most trusted VPN service
Evaluating whether a software or service is trustworthy can be complicated. However, it is rather simple for VPN services, there are just two main things to look for:
1. Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction refers to which country a VPN service is incorporated in and where it is operated from. This is important because many countries have aggressive legislation which could force VPN providers to conduct active surveillance on VPN users on behalf of government agencies. These laws include the Investigatory Powers Act(new window) in the UK, and FISA(new window) in the US.
In fact, there are over a dozen countries that collaborate on surveillance. These are collectively known as the Five Eyes and Fourteen Eyes countries(new window) (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Sweden). In addition to these, you probably also don’t want to use a Chinese, Russian, or Turkish VPN provider for similar reasons.
(new window)Countries that are part of the Fourteen Eyes surveillance network.
VPN providers from Fourteen Eyes countries should be avoided at all cost because they can be legally compelled to spy on users. A lot of care must be done when performing this check, as many VPN providers go to great lengths to disguise their true jurisdiction. For example, VyprVPN uses a Swiss shell corporation, but is actually based in Austin, Texas, USA(new window). Private Internet Access is operated by a company known as London Trust Media, which sounds like it is based in Europe, but it is actually based in the US (one of the Five Eye countries) and could be legally compelled to spy on users. This type of jurisdiction obfuscation is very common in the VPN industry.
2. Who is operating the VPN service?
Because a VPN provider technically has access to your entire browsing history, a no logging policy is more of a promise than a technical guarantee. Therefore, who exactly is running a VPN service, and their intentions are key components of VPN security. Some VPN services are simply scams(new window), but in the worst case, a VPN service may be actively malicious. Indeed, it was found that 38% of Android VPN apps contained malware(new window).
A good indicator of trustworthiness is the level of transparency around the ownership of a VPN service. Important criteria include:
Are the individuals operating the VPN service clearly disclosed on the VPN service’s website?
Are the people behind the VPN service well respected within the security/privacy space and have the necessary technical expertise to operate a service with sensitive security requirements?
Are you certain the VPN company is not a shell company (e.g. registered to a mailbox in Panama or the Cayman Islands with no actual presence there)?
If the answer is not YES to all of the above questions, then the VPN in question should be avoided because it could be a scam, or worse, working on behalf of state surveillance agencies, spreading malware, or simply insecure.
Can VPNs be fully trusted?
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the technology, there is no way to know with 100% certainty that a VPN service is not spying on you. While this may seem like an extraordinary statement coming from us given that Proton Mail also operates Proton VPN, we really feel that it is in the public interest to shed light on the VPN trust issue. Proton Mail can achieve zero knowledge through end-to-end encryption, but it is technically impossible to build a zero knowledge VPN service(new window). In other words, a VPN service may provide security and privacy, but never anonymity.
However, using a VPN is still essential, because while you cannot be 100% certain that a VPN is trustworthy, you can be 100% sure that your ISP is spying on you and recording your browsing history. By following the two steps outlined above, and also the criteria listed on our guide for how to find the best VPN service(new window), you can have much more certainty about the security of your VPN service.
How about Proton VPN?
Proton Mail is also developing Proton VPN, a free VPN service(new window) that uses innovative technology to provide a higher level of security and trust compared to existing VPN services. You can learn more about what makes Proton VPN different here: https://protonvpn.com(new window)
In response to popular demand, our privacy-first AI writing assistant Proton
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