- 12% of British VPN users still rely on free VPN services, NordVPN report says
- Instead, overall awareness of VPNs has increased dramatically to 80%.
- NordVPN warns of serious potential privacy risks
Surprisingly, millions of Brits still choose free VPNs over a paid service, according to a recent survey by NordVPN.
The survey, conducted in August, found that a worrying 12% of British VPN users rely on free services, likely underestimating the associated risks, including data collection or weak encryption integration. It follows TechRadar’s May survey, which revealed that nearly 1 in 4 of our readers continue to trust free VPNs.
NordVPN data indicates that while UK user awareness is growing (even surpassing levels in the US, Canada and Australia), a steady portion continue to opt for free VPNs, suggesting that basic knowledge alone is not enough to deter people from using them.
“People understand security intuitively. However, online threats often seem abstract until you become a victim,” said Marijus Briedis, CTO of NordVPN, the best VPN on the market right now according to TechRadar reviewers.
Briedis believes that choosing free VPNs could be a matter of economics. “Inexperienced users look for quick solutions to immediate problems, such as protecting their data or masking their online activities. But when faced with only occasional needs, people gravitate toward the path of least resistance, without necessarily making an informed trade-off.”
A deal with the devil?
So what exactly are the risks that VPN users might face when choosing a free VPN? In addition to classic shortcomings such as limited performance and functionality, some free VPNs often record browsing history, sell bandwidth, or insert tracking codes, effectively turning users into commodities.
People often assume that free VPNs offer the same basic protection as premium services, just with some ads, Briedis explains. “The reality is that they often provide inadequate security and actively compromise privacy.”
Some free VPNs are run by state actors from countries with questionable data collection practices, the CTO notes. Recent investigations have found that many freebies in official app stores have undisclosed links to both Russia and China.
“We have also noted cases of weak encryption protocols leaving users vulnerable on public Wi-Fi, defeating the primary purpose of the VPN,” Briedis added.
Compounding the problem, app store ratings prioritize speed and ease of use over privacy practices, often misleading users into believing that free VPNs have proven trustworthy. “Privacy violations are often invisible to users because they don’t see their data being collected and sold,” Briedis said.
Additionally, data can be shared by multiple third parties (not just the VPN itself), putting privacy and security at risk with a single click. “Data brokers aggregate information from multiple sources to create detailed profiles,” Briedis continues.
Your money or your data?
So are all free VPNs out of the question? Of course not: the best free VPN services are secure and even recommended for certain use cases. Software can be free for ideological or community-related reasons, or feed into a broader business model. ProtonVPN, for example, is one on this list. However, these are the exception, not the rule.
For users opting for free services, we recommend keeping in mind that running a large-scale consumer VPN service requires significant investments in infrastructure, bandwidth costs, and ongoing security maintenance.
So if you see “free and unlimited” in app stores, economics dictate that the revenue must come from somewhere, usually from data monetization, bandwidth reselling, or aggressive upselling, Briedis says.
He recommends that users ask themselves the following questions before making a final decision: Who owns this service? How are servers paid? Are your no-logging claims verified by independent bodies?
If these answers aren’t clear, you can bet your bottom dollar that your data will be the price to pay. And, ironically, “free” could very well turn out to be the most expensive purchase you never knew you had made.
