Analyst Warns 72% of Free VPNs Track Users as Some Sell Browsing Data
Updated
Updated · newswav.com · Jul 9
Analyst Warns 72% of Free VPNs Track Users as Some Sell Browsing Data
3 articles · Updated · newswav.com · Jul 9
Summary
72% of free VPNs in a 2017 CSIRO study embedded third-party trackers, and the analyst says many still log activity, inject ads or sell browsing data—undermining the privacy users seek.
Hundreds of free VPNs on app stores offer little ownership or policy disclosure, with some lacking a developer website, privacy policy, recent audit or transparency report.
The biggest risk is the business model: paid VPNs fund servers through subscriptions, while fully free services may monetize users through advertisers, traffic redirection or even device-sharing schemes.
Reputable free tiers from Proton, Windscribe and Hide.me are presented as safer because they disclose ownership, limit features or data—10GB monthly for Windscribe and Hide.me—and use free plans to drive upgrades.
The analyst says users should check who owns a VPN, whether it has a clear privacy policy, independent no-logs audits and transparency reports before trusting it with browsing traffic.