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I almost never recommend free VPNs over paid ones. Free VPNs, such as Betternet can have a tendency to sell your data, show you lots of ads, not be as secure, and not perform as well. Says that it does things a bit differently and protects your privacy and security better than the other free VPNs out there. But is Betternet VPN a good choice for protecting your security and privacy? Is it safe for torrenting? I took a deeper look to see if this free VPN can stack up to its paid brethren. What Is Betternet?

How It’s FREE? If you’ve never heard of Betternet, it’s probably because they’re a newcomer to the VPN scene; they’ve only been around since 2015.

Since then, though, they’ve been growing rapidly and gaining a lot of users (especially on Android). The main draw to this VPN is, of course, the fact that it’s totally free. You can use their iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac apps, as well as Chrome and Firefox extensions, without paying a single cent. You don’t even need to register, so they don’t get your name or email address.

It definitely sounds good. But as we’ve seen in the past, VPN providers need to make money somehow, and they. Betternet relies on affiliate apps and videos, served through their apps, to make money. Whenever you tap the “Install an App” or “Watch a Video and Connect” button, Betternet gets a small payment. Here’s how Betternet makes money off of you. So far, it’s been enough to keep the servers running and the lights on. Rising costs, however, pushed Betternet to release a Premium version of the mobile app in late 2017.

The premium version offers access to dedicated servers, more location and IP selection choices, and 24/7 support. Fortunately, there’s a free seven-day trial of the premium plan that lets you try out these features without paying.

With the premium version, you get access to 11 servers in 10 countries (only). But you don’t get to choose which server you connect to on the free plan; Betternet picks one for you. You can also choose from seven different cities in the US if you’re a premium member. Here are the main pros and cons: Betternet Pros 1.

Solid Privacy and Security Options It’s not easy to find information on the technology that Betternet VPN uses to protect its users. I like to see that kind of information presented upfront, where it’s easy to see. After a bit of digging, though, I was able to find some information.

For example, a blog post from 2015 states that Betternet VPN offers both 256-bit AES encryption over the OpenVPN protocol and 128-bit encryption over IPSec: Image from: That’s industry-standard encryption, but there’s no indication of when either of them are used. (And their makes no mention of 256-bit encryption, which is a bit worrying.) Other, more fully featured VPNs offer more protocol options, but in general, you won’t need them. OpenVPN is one of the most secure out there, and when you can’t use it, IPSec is a strong second choice. Beyond that, there’s not a whole lot to Betternet security. Because it doesn’t have as many features as other VPNs, everything is pretty straightforward. If you’re concerned about government surveillance, you may want to know that Betternet is based in Canada, one of the countries that does a great deal of intelligence-gathering and collaboration with other members of the Five Eyes agreement.

Their servers are all over the world, but the company headquarters is under Canadian jurisdiction. That’s not necessarily a drawback, but I know that some people are nervous about working with companies in the Five Eyes countries. Unfortunately, there are some other issues that might negate their use of solid security tech. We’ll get to those in a moment. Totally Free If I haven’t mentioned this enough times, this should make it stick. Betternet is 100% free.

Of course, there are a couple catches: you’ll see ads, and you won’t unlock all of the features without signing up for the premium plan. Caterpillar fleet production and cost analysis software download6627842. But if you want to make your browsing more secure and can’t afford even the cheapest premium VPNs, this could be an important factor. No Log Files Beyond the price tag, Betternet’s no-logging policy is probably its biggest draw.

The help file says it simply: “Betternet does not collect, log, store, share any data log of users.” If you dig into their privacy policy, you can find a bit more information: Image from: That’s a pretty straightforward no-logging policy, and I like to see that. This policy also means that they can’t share your IP address if they get a DMCA takedown notice, which is how some VPNs have revealed their customers’ identities in the past. They do their best to comply with the DMCA notice, but they won’t give out your data. They also say that they’ve never received a valid court order to turn over data that they don’t have.