It turns out that an overwhelming number of VPNs are actively harvesting and selling your data, capturing passwords / credentials / movements from your web activities, and doing all sorts of awful things.

VPNs can be super useful: to help you watch the Netflix catalogue of another country, avoid government surveillance and censorship under oppressive regimes, hide your IP address from websites, stay safe on public wifi, and stop your ISP from spying on your internet activities.

But it REALLY depends on which VPN you’re using.

In this video we’re going to explore which VPN companies own which review sites, which VPN permissions demand far too much access to your machine, which code has appalling security, and the giant red flags in a lot of this code that scream data collection.

00:00 Private Private Super Secret Secure VPN!
00:42 Intro
02:33 What VPNs Do
04:17 The Risk of Free VPN Services
05:30 1clickVPN
07:15 FreeVPN
08:44 ZenMate
10:03 AZA VPN and HULA VPN
11:29 NordVPN and ExpressVPN
14:01 Kape Technologies
15:23 Ziff Davis and White Labeling
16:42 Chinese Data Collection
18:04 Affiliate Sponsorships
18:57 Final Tips
19:21 Support NBTV/Outro

When you’re choosing a VPN or other tools for your privacy arsenal, it’s a good idea to do your own research and see what the security experts are saying. There’s some great information out there, but you do need to learn how to look for it.

Special Thanks to Jonathan Tomek for sharing his awesome research with us for this video!

More details in Consumer Reports:
https://digital-lab-wp.consumerreport...

Brought to you by NBTV members: Lee Rennie, Reuben Yap, Sam Ettaro, Will Sandoval, and Naomi Brockwell.

To support NBTV, visit:
https://www.nbtv.media/support
(tax-deductible in the US)

Visit our shop!
https://Shop.NBTV.media

Our eBook "Beginner's Introduction To Privacy:
https://amzn.to/3WDSfku

Beware of scammers, I will never give you a phone number or reach out to you with investment advice. I do not give investment advice.

Visit the NBTV website:
https://nbtv.media

Watch this video on Odysee!
https://open.lbry.com/@NaomiBrockwell...

________________________________________________________________________
Here are a bunch of products I like and use. Using these links helps support the channel and future videos!

Recommended Books:

Beginner's Introduction To Privacy - Naomi Brockwell
https://amzn.to/3WDSfku

Permanent Record - Edward Snowden
https://amzn.to/305negc

What has the government done to our money - Rothbard
https://amzn.to/2KMzmcu

Extreme Privacy - Michael Bazzel (The best privacy book I've ever read)
https://amzn.to/3BLZ1gq
Digital version: https://inteltechniques.com/book7.html (non affiliate link)

No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State - Glenn Greenwald
https://amzn.to/2UQmJ4m

Some of my favorite products to help protect your privacy!

Brave browser: https://brave.com/nao076

Faraday bag (signal stopping, to protect your fob, credit card, computer, and phone)
https://amzn.to/3z02UiF

Data Blocker (if you're charging your phone in an unknown port, use this so that no data is transferred)
https://amzn.to/2SVh0J2

Camera tape (electrical tape is the best tape for covering phone and computer cameras)
https://amzn.to/3Xn8xBn

USB-C to ethernet adapter:
https://amzn.to/2lOVBoy

Privacy Screens (use your phone and computer in public? Keep your information safe!)

Computer: (Search for the size right for your computer)
MacBook Air 13" https://amzn.to/3VQvpZ7
HP/Dell/Acer/Asus/Lenovo 15.6" https://amzn.to/3KK1Oda
Lenovo Thinkpad/HP Elitebook/Dell 14" https://amzn.to/4enT2zq

Phone: (Search for the size for your phone, decide whether you want glass or plastic!)
Galaxy s24 - https://amzn.to/3VGgb8H
iPhone 15 - https://amzn.to/45vCd1h
Pixel 8 - https://amzn.to/3KFDuJF