How to spot a fake VPN

Free VPN apps make one promise: your traffic stays private. But can you trust just about any third-party VPN provider?

Running servers costs money. If the app is free and has no published audit, someone else is paying for your data.

Check these five things before you install a VPN app:

1. Is there a real audit from an outside company? Or just a claim?
2. Can you find the company behind the app? A name, an address, a real business?
3. Does the app ask for permissions it doesn't need, like your contacts or location?
4. Does it tell you which protocol it uses (WireGuard, OpenVPN)? Or does it hide behind words like "proprietary encryption"?
5. How many real server locations does it have? Some apps show many countries but use only two or three real servers.

In case of doubt, run your own VPN. Full post here: https://www.doprax.com/blog/how-to-spot-a-fake-vpn