Proton Vpn Won't Log Your Data, Audit Confirms - Even For Free Users

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Proton VPN's no-logs argumentation passes different independent audit.
• The study confirms that Proton does not log personification metadata aliases activity.
• Such audits are a invited believe - particularly for a free VPN service.

Proton VPN has revealed nan results of its 4th independent information audit, which investigated nan validity of its no-logs policy and information posture.

Also: Proton VPN review: A very coagulated free VPN pinch robust leak protection

Securitum performed nan audit past month, and its study has now been made public. Securitum, which besides counts DuckDuckGo among its VPN clients, upheld Proton VPN's claims concerning its no-logs policy; specifically, that Proton VPN does not log personification metadata aliases activity. 

Proton VPN provides a free tier 

Any VPN supplier that wants to gain and clasp a trustworthy estimation must adhere to a no-logs argumentation -- and backmost up its claims pinch independent reviews. This is moreover much existent for Proton VPN, which offers a free VPN successful summation to its paid subscriptions.

As VPN networks are not free to run, free VPNs are often associated with shady trading and information postulation practices, unless they are backed by paying subscribers. Proton VPN provides a free work arsenic it believes "privacy should beryllium accessible to all," and while restricted, it is supported by paying customers -- and truthful it is 1 of the few free VPNs we recommend. 

Also: These celebrated free VPNs each stock nan aforesaid shady information practices - here's why

The on-site appraisal took spot August 18-20 astatine Proton's Zürich headquarters. Securitum auditors examined Proton VPN's architecture, including process evaluations, hands-on inspections, configuration reviews, operational information believe assessments, and information leakage analysis. 

The consultants besides inspected server retention and representation for immoderate grounds of out-of-band information persistence that could lead to unintentional information storage. 

Audit queries included:

• Is personification activity tracked aliases logged connected nan accumulation VPN servers that grip personification traffic?
• Is relationship metadata, specified arsenic DNS queries aliases convention timestamps, logged connected VPN servers?
• Is personification web postulation actively inspected, aliases are its contents logged connected VPN servers?
• Is nan no-logs argumentation applied uniformly crossed each servers, successful each geographic regions, and to each personification subscription tiers?

Strict no-logs argumentation deployed everywhere

According to Securitum, Proton VPN does not way aliases log personification activities connected its accumulation VPN servers. Its architecture is "explicitly designed to process personification postulation without maintaining immoderate records of its contented aliases destination." In addition, nary metadata that tin beryllium associated pinch a personification is logged, and only non-identifiable information basal for nan work is collected. 

Also: How to region your individual accusation from Whitepages successful 5 steps - and why you should

Proton does not log aliases show nan circumstantial services, websites, aliases servers that users link to, ensuring that browsing history remains confidential," nan study notes. "It has [also] been verified that a accordant server configuration and nan aforesaid strict no-logs argumentation are deployed crossed each of Proton's servers, regions, and subscription tiers."

Furthermore, nan auditors opportunity that Proton VPN does not execute Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)  aliases log nan contents of personification web traffic. However, location is 1 exception: A system is successful spot connected free-tier servers to extremity BitTorrent (P2P) postulation from passing through.

"The method grounds reviewed showed nary instances of personification activity logging, relationship metadata storage, aliases web postulation inspection that would contradict nan no-logs policy," nan study concludes. 

Also: The champion free VPNs: Secure, safe, and accelerated VPNs

"When you link to a VPN, it efficaciously becomes your net provider, meaning immoderate VPN supplier is technically tin of search and logging what you do online. While galore VPNs declare to person no-logs policies, these policies do not ever clasp up erstwhile put to nan test," Proton VPN says. "As an statement founded by scientists who met astatine CERN, we judge successful adjacent reappraisal and transparency. This is besides why we make each our apps unfastened root truthful that anyone tin analyse our code."