Providing a fast and reliable VPN service that has strong encryption, plenty of servers, and a watertight privacy policy isn’t going to be free for the end user unless the VPN creates a revenue stream elsewhere.Īdmittedly, some VPNs do offer trusted free VPN services that are designed to tempt users into subscribing to the full premium service. VPNs that offer their services for free should always be regarded with suspicion. It is worth noting here that Hotspot Shield’s parent company, Anchor Free, has a separate business that serves Hotspot Shield users adverts - both in the app and on the webpages they visit. Thus, when a Hotspot Shield user buys anything from those websites, Anchor Free receives a commission. In addition, the CSIRO study found that Hotspot Shield was redirecting users to affiliate links when they entered specific web addresses such as eBay, Alibaba, Best Buy, Target, Macy’s, and others. In fact, the researchers discovered five different tracking libraries hidden within Hotspot Shield’s code. This both records its users' activities and sells that data to advertisers. A recent study conducted by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) revealed that Hotspot Shield’s apps contain tracking software. With wording like this, the CDT’s complaint to the FTC certainly starts to sink in.Īs our review points out, Hotspot Shield has other problems too. The idea that IP addresses shouldn’t be considered personal information is ludicrous. Please note, however, that for purposes of this Privacy Notice, AnchorFree does not include your IP address or unique device identifier within the definition of Personal Information.” "Examples of Personal Information include name, email address, mailing address, mobile phone number, and credit card or other billing information. “Personal Information,” also referred to as personally identifiable information, is information that may be tied to a specific individual. “Except as explained in this Notice, AnchorFree does not collect any Personal Information about you when you use the Service. That's a practice that we always condemn here at - it's one of several reasons we warn people away from free VPN services.Ī casual look at the Hotspot Shield privacy policy, which was last updated in 2015, instantly raises an eyebrow: That statement certainly doesn’t seem to line up consistently with a service that admits in its policy to collecting data and sharing it with third parties. “Disguise your online identity and access blocked apps and sites with Hotspot Shield, while keeping your mobile activities anonymous, private and secure!” There's no doubt that the Hotspot Shield privacy policy does stand somewhat awkwardly next to its claims on the App Store. That's a fundamental tenet of Section 5 of the FTC Act's prohibition against unfair and deceptive trade practices.” Personal Information What are consumers to make of this situation? Hotspot Shield can't have things both ways - VPNs can't say one thing and do another when it comes to protecting privacy. It's also buried underneath statements on the app store that the VPN has no logs, protects confidentiality and anonymity, and shares no "personal" information. "Hotspot Shield's privacy policy is just not clear. That's misleading and unfair to consumers. As the review points out, there's a lot of covert tracking going on with Hotspot Shield and much confusion over what the VPN does and does not do, particularly once you pay for the "ad free" version. “I'd say that ProPrivacy's review highlights exactly what Hotspot Shield does wrong. I contacted CDT directly to get a bit more information about what it felt Hotspot Shield was doing wrong. “Hotspot Shield’s terms of service give the company the right to collect user activity information and to “share” that information with third parties.” Now, a non-profit advocacy group called the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) has filed a 14-page complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), detailing what it feels to be "unfair and deceptive trade practices." This news came as something of a surprise to me, as I know the review of Hotspot Shield tells readers (in the Privacy and Security section) that: The VPN has accrued these by offering the service for free to around 97% of its users. Since then it has enjoyed a total of around 500 million downloads worldwide. It surrounds a US-based provider called Hotspot Shield. This week, a controversy has popped up in the world of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
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