Spent a month trying to access a whistleblower site blocked in the UK via a free VPN, got a warning letter from my ISP instead

Last summer I tried using a free VPN service to get around the UK ban on a site publishing leaked documents about government surveillance. After about 2 weeks, my internet provider sent me a certified letter saying they detected encrypted traffic to flagged servers and could terminate my service. I learned the hard way that "free" VPNs keep logs and hand them over to ISPs when asked. Has anyone here found a paid service that actually holds up against these blocks?

2 comments

2 Comments

mark6766d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, have you noticed how everything these days is a subscription or a paywall disguised as security? I hear you on the free VPN thing, that's a trap they set up on purpose to sell your data. But think about it, even paid ones get bought out by bigger companies that are cozy with the government. It's like the whole system is designed to make you feel like you have privacy but really you're just paying to be watched differently. Ngl, the deeper you look into it, the more you realize that convenience and free stuff always comes with a hidden cost somewhere down the line.

abby_henderson6d ago

I switched to a paid VPN from one of the big names last year after my free one started asking for my phone number out of nowhere. A buddy of mine who's a sysadmin told me to go with something that's been around for a while and has a page on their site where they explain their no-log policy in plain English, not just lawyer talk. I picked Mullvad because they're dead simple, you can pay with cash in an envelope if you want, and they don't ask for an email or name at all. It's ten bucks a month and I sleep better knowing they're not cozying up to ad networks or selling my browsing habits. Yeah, nothing is totally bulletproof, but at least I'm not the product anymore.