Protecting your online privacy is one of the primary reasons VPN providers recommend using a VPN. While it's true that using a VPN while browsing the web can be an effective layer of security to help preserve your privacy, it's essential to understand that when you use a VPN, all your internet traffic is routed through the VPN provider's servers. There's no real way to avoid this when using a commercial VPN provider, so you just have to trust that they're taking good care of your data. Luckily, we've done the hard work of closely reading privacy policies, no-logging policies, terms of service, and conducting in-depth research on over 15 of the best VPNs for privacy on the market, so you can make an informed decision and find a VPN you can trust.
To learn more about what we learned while testing VPNs for privacy, check out our R&D article. For more recommendations, check out our articles on the best VPNs, the best free VPNs, or the best VPNs for iPhone.
In 2025, we published reviews for 20 different VPN services. These reviews followed months of research, test development, and collaboration among our engineers, testers, writers, photographers, and editors. Our process for each review involves extensive work behind the scenes, including rigorous checks and balances, to deliver the most accurate and useful test results so you can make the right purchasing decisions for your needs.
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Best VPN For Privacy
Private Browsing9.1Policies & Practices9.2Security8.6Data Limit:N/ASee all our test resultsCountries:49Mullvad is the best VPN for privacy that we've tested, driven by its exceptionally transparent policies designed to uphold user privacy. You don't provide any personal information to create an account; instead, you're assigned a randomly generated login number to ensure anonymity in the event of a data breach. Mullvad collects only the bare minimum of your information needed for billing, and accepts anonymous payment formats like cash and cryptocurrency. The company's long history of ethical conduct is substantiated by rigorous, frequently commissioned independent audits of their infrastructure and policy. Mullvad's ownership structure is clear, with no observable conflicts of interest and a highly open communication style with the userbase.
As a VPN, Mullvad is secure and simple to navigate. It sports a functional kill switch to shut off your internet connection should the VPN disconnect, along with additional privacy tools like obfuscation (can help circumvent restrictions that block access to services if they detect a VPN) and DAITA (Defense Against AI-Guided Traffic Analysis), which serves to hinder a bad actor's ability to detect patterns in your encrypted traffic.
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Best Free VPN For Privacy
Private Browsing9.2Policies & Practices9.4Security8.6Data Limit:10 GBSee all our test resultsCountries:10There are dozens of free VPNs available, but unfortunately, many aren't trustworthy because they're either unproven, have privacy policies that allow the companies running them to collect excessive amounts of your data, or engage in questionable business practices. Thankfully, Windscribe Free is a trustworthy free VPN for privacy. Its privacy and no-logging policies are written clearly and specify that the company doesn't log any user traffic. They specify exactly what user information they collect, and it's limited to what's necessary for billing purposes and to enforce the device connection limit. You can choose to sign up with a simple username and receive a 2GB monthly data limit, or you can sign up with an email address and receive 10GB monthly. You can also create an anonymous account using a unique 32-character hash as your sole login, requiring no personal information whatsoever.
If you choose the latter, Windscribe states that they use your email address to send you marketing emails only. Additionally, Windscribe is an independent, privately owned company that practices transparent communication with its users and the wider community regarding the VPN. Their applications are open-source, and they commission frequent third-party security, infrastructure, and privacy policy audits.
The VPN itself has excellent security and functionality. It keeps your IP address and DNS requests inside the encrypted tunnel and has a kill switch that turns off your internet connection in case the VPN turns off unintentionally. It has servers in 10 countries and clients across many platforms. If you're okay with a monthly data limit, Windscribe Free is the best free VPN for privacy on the market.
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Best Free Unlimited VPN For Privacy
Private Browsing7.5Policies & Practices6.3Security8.6Data Limit:N/ASee all our test resultsCountries:1If you don't want to worry about a monthly data limit, Proton VPN Free is the best free unlimited VPN for privacy, but with a few caveats. Firstly, while Proton has a clear no-logging policy that's been verified by independent auditors, the scope of the last audit was limited, as Proton's wider privacy policies (to which you must agree to make an account) were excluded, and auditors didn't have access to the VPN software's source code. Additionally, there's some ambiguity in the privacy policies and terms of service about which data Proton collects, how much, and how that data is retained after you delete your account.
The VPN itself has good functionality and security. It keeps your IP address and DNS requests inside the encrypted tunnel and has a working kill switch, just like our other picks. Unlike Windscribe Free, our other free VPN pick, you can't choose which country you want to connect to; instead, you automatically connect to a server in one of five countries (Poland, the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, and the U.S.). Also, torrenting isn't allowed, as it's a feature reserved for the paid version of Proton VPN. Overall, if you're okay with Proton Free's limitations and the less-than-ideal amount of data collection, it's a good choice if you just want a free, unlimited VPN to add an extra layer of privacy while browsing.
Notable Mentions
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Windscribe:
Windscribe is an excellent privacy-first VPN that's comparable to our top pick. With benefits like port forwarding, anonymous account creation, and a generous free plan coupled with stringent no-logs policies and rigorously commissioned privacy audits, Windscribe barely overtakes Mullvad to secure the highest score overall. However, if you want unlimited usage, you'll have to pay for a full year's subscription upfront to lock in the same pricing as Mullvad's monthly offering.
See our review -
Proton VPN:
Proton VPN is a trusted name in the VPN and online privacy space, and while it's still a good pick for privacy, Mullvad is the better choice. Although it has a no-logging policy, Proton collects slightly more of your personal data than Mullvad and uses some unclear language in its policies.
See our review -
IVPN:
IVPN is another stellar VPN for privacy-focused users. It's essentially equivalent to Mullvad in terms of its privacy policies, functionality, and history of strong business ethics. Mullvad offers better value, however, as you can connect up to five devices simultaneously for the same price as IVPN's two. IVPN does offer a Pro tier with an allowance of seven simultaneous devices, albeit at a steeper price.
See our review
Recent Updates
Apr 24, 2026:
We've updated this article to reflect that Windscribe now supports hashed account login. We've reviewed and verified that our current recommendations remain the best picks, but have added Windscribe as a Notable Mention.
Feb 17, 2026:
We haven't changed the services we recommend, but we've updated some text throughout the review for clarity and added links to other VPN articles in the introduction.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are currently the best VPNs for privacy for most people. We only recommend VPNs with a clear and comprehensible privacy policy, a proven track record of protecting their customers' privacy, transparency regarding their ownership, and acceptable security and speed. We also factor in price (a cheaper VPN wins over a more expensive one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our users, and reputation within the community.
When choosing a VPN, consider what you need it for and understand its limitations. Depending on your risk profile, using one at all times is probably unnecessary. Modern websites, browsers, and devices have ample built-in security measures to protect you from the most common threats. If you want to learn more about what a VPN can and can't do to protect your privacy, check out our article about VPN privacy. With that in mind, here's the list of all our VPN reviews.