We test and score close to 50 VPNs on our comparison table. There are several hundred more VPN apps and services on the market, and most of them aren’t there, either because they didn’t pass testing, they’re bundled products rather than standalone VPNs, they’re a different category of tool entirely, or we simply haven’t gotten to them yet.
This page is a running directory of the names people actually ask us about. Each entry states what’s publicly documented: who owns it, what category it falls into, and any specific incident or fact that’s been reported. It is not a review and not a score. If a name isn’t here, or you want to check any of these yourself, use our full checklist for vetting an unfamiliar VPN first.
Not every unfamiliar name on this kind of list is a VPN company. Some are protocols or features bundled inside a VPN you already know. If that’s what you ran into, see our guide to protocol names that get mistaken for VPN brands before assuming it’s a new provider.
The directory below is grouped by category rather than run as one long list, since “free mobile app” and “business network tool” call for different levels of caution and the flat A-Z version made that hard to see at a glance. Every entry is still listed alphabetically within its section.
Want to compare all VPNs side by side? Check our full VPN comparison table with scores across 18 criteria.
Free mobile apps
The largest and riskiest category by volume. Independent research, including the 2026 MVPNalyzer study of 281 free Android VPNs and a 2025 Citizen Lab investigation into hidden VPN ownership, has repeatedly found DNS leaks, unencrypted traffic, ad-tracking, and undisclosed ownership concentrated in exactly this group. Not every free app here is unsafe, but none of them get the benefit of the doubt our tested list does.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Free VPN Super | Distributed by VPN Super Inc., named by the 2025 Citizen Lab report as a standalone operator not linked to the larger identified ownership families, though it remains a free, ad-supported app in the same broad risk category as the rest of this section. |
| Hexatech | Falls into the same free-app category flagged by the 2026 MVPNalyzer study of 281 free Android VPNs, which found DNS leaks, unencrypted traffic, or ad-tracking behavior across a large share of apps in this category. |
| Hola VPN | Doesn’t route your traffic through its own servers. Instead, it routes other users’ traffic through your device and sells that bandwidth commercially through its Luminati/Bright Data brand. In 2015, someone bought access to that network and used Hola users’ IP addresses in a DDoS attack. |
| Melon VPN | Identified by the 2025 Citizen Lab report as part of the MATRIX MOBILE/ForeRaya Technology ownership family, alongside XY VPN, spanning over 380 million combined downloads. |
| Now VPN | Named in Top10VPN’s investigation into free VPN apps with undisclosed Chinese ownership. |
| Ostrich VPN | Also named in Top10VPN’s investigation into free VPN apps with undisclosed Chinese ownership, alongside Now VPN and VPNify below. |
| Robot VPN | Free Android VPN app in the same lightly-maintained, ad-supported category flagged broadly by 2025 and 2026 free-VPN security research. |
| Signal Secure VPN | Named alongside Turbo VPN and Thunder VPN in reporting on free VPN apps distributed by companies with undisclosed ties to a Shanghai-based firm linked to China’s military. Not related to the Signal messaging app despite the name. |
| Snap VPN | A 2025 Citizen Lab investigation (“Hidden Links: Analyzing Secret Families of VPN Apps”) found Snap VPN, Turbo VPN, and VPN Monster are distributed by companies (Innovative Connecting, Autumn Breeze, Lemon Clove) linked to Qihoo 360, a Chinese security firm sanctioned by the US government, across more than 700 million combined downloads. |
| SuperVPN | A 2023 exposure linked to SuperVPN put roughly 360 million user records, including IP addresses and geolocation, into an unsecured database. Not the app’s first exposure. |
| Thunder VPN | Free Android VPN app in the same broad free-app category as Turbo VPN and UFO VPN below. |
| Touch VPN | Owned by Point Wild (formerly Pango/AnchorFree), the same group behind Hotspot Shield and VPN 360. |
| Turbo VPN | Security researchers at Top10VPN and TroyPoint have documented DNS leaks and unsafe permission requests. The 2025 Citizen Lab report places it in the Innovative Connecting/Autumn Breeze/Lemon Clove ownership family tied to Qihoo 360, a Chinese security firm sanctioned by the US government over alleged ties to the People’s Liberation Army. |
| UFO VPN | A 2020 vpnMentor investigation found UFO VPN was part of a cluster of white-label, Hong Kong-based “no-log” apps that shared infrastructure and left 1.2 terabytes of user data, including plaintext passwords, exposed despite the no-logs claim. |
| VPN 360 | Owned by Point Wild, alongside Hotspot Shield and Touch VPN. |
| VPN Master | Generic-named free Android VPN app; multiple unrelated apps use this or very similar names, which is itself worth noting as a red flag pattern. |
| VPN Monster | Identified in the 2025 Citizen Lab report as part of the Innovative Connecting/Autumn Breeze/Lemon Clove family tied to Qihoo 360, alongside Snap VPN and Turbo VPN. |
| VPN Proxy Master | Reporting has linked this app, along with Turbo VPN, Thunder VPN, and Snap VPN, to a Shanghai-based firm with undisclosed ties to the Chinese government. |
| VPNify | Named in Top10VPN’s investigation into undisclosed Chinese ownership of popular free VPN apps; makes no reference to Chinese ownership in its app store listing. |
| XY VPN | Identified by the 2025 Citizen Lab report as part of a second hidden ownership family (MATRIX MOBILE and ForeRaya Technology), separate from the Turbo VPN/Snap VPN family, with over 380 million combined downloads across the group. |
A 2025 Citizen Lab investigation found that what looks like a crowded market of independent free VPNs is largely three hidden ownership families totaling roughly 972 million downloads. The largest, tied to Qihoo 360, distributes Turbo VPN, Snap VPN, and VPN Monster, several sharing the same hard-coded password across apps. A second family (MATRIX MOBILE and ForeRaya Technology) runs XY VPN and Melon VPN. A third (Fast Potato and Free Connected Limited) controls X-VPN and related apps. The app name on a store listing tells you almost nothing about who’s actually running the service behind it.
Browser extensions and in-browser proxies
These protect traffic inside the browser tab only, not your whole device, whatever the marketing implies.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Browsec | Chrome/Firefox proxy extension marketed as a VPN. In-browser protection only, not your full device. |
| DotVPN | Same category as Browsec: an in-browser proxy, not a full-device VPN, despite the marketing. |
| Hoxx VPN | Reviewers have documented DNS and WebRTC leaks, on top of being an in-browser proxy rather than a full VPN. |
| Opera’s built-in VPN | Free VPN built into the Opera browser. It’s a proxy that only encrypts traffic inside the browser, not your whole device, and Opera has stated it uses browsing data collected through the browser for advertising. |
| Setup VPN | Browser-extension proxy, same limitations as Browsec and DotVPN above. |
| Urban VPN Proxy | A Chrome and Edge extension with over 6 million users that carried Google’s “Featured” badge. In 2025, researchers found it ran scripts that captured full AI chat sessions on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other platforms, even when the VPN feature was switched off, and sold that data to the data broker BiScience. Roughly 8 million users were affected across Urban VPN and related extensions. |
Antivirus and security-suite bundles
Bundled inside a broader security product rather than sold as a dedicated VPN. That usually means less transparency on the VPN component specifically, since the audits and marketing focus on the antivirus engine.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Avast SecureLine VPN | Owned by Gen Digital (the merged Avast/AVG/Norton/LifeLock group). No published independent no-logs audit as of this writing. |
| AVG Secure VPN | Same parent company, Gen Digital, as Avast SecureLine VPN above. No independent no-logs audit found. |
| Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection | Kaspersky, the parent company, was banned from sale in the US in 2024 by the Department of Commerce over concerns the Russian government could compel it to hand over customer data. That jurisdiction risk applies to this VPN product too. |
| Malwarebytes Privacy VPN | Bundled with Malwarebytes’ security suite rather than sold as a standalone product. No independent no-logs audit found. |
| McAfee Safe Connect | Worth noting specifically: it runs on infrastructure from TunnelBear, which is on our comparison table and has a history of regular published audits. The underlying plumbing here is more credible than the antivirus branding on top of it suggests. |
Decentralized VPNs (dVPN)
A different trust model entirely: instead of one company running dedicated servers, your traffic routes through a network of independent, often residential, nodes run by other users.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Mysterium Network | Blockchain-based network sharing bandwidth through residential nodes, active since 2018 with over 7,500 nodes reported across 100+ countries. |
| Orchid | Ethereum-based dVPN using a micro-payment model to route traffic through independent nodes. Still listed as active in 2026, though development activity has slowed noticeably since 2022 compared to Mysterium and Sentinel. |
| Sentinel | Open-source dVPN framework built on the Cosmos blockchain, allowing developers to build their own apps on top of its node network. Reported as one of the more actively developed dVPN projects going into 2026. |
Circumvention tools, not general-purpose VPNs
Built specifically to get online in heavily censored countries, not for everyday privacy or streaming.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Lantern | Free, open-source tool built specifically for censorship circumvention in places like China, Iran, and Russia. Hides traffic inside protocols censors are reluctant to block (TLS, for example) rather than functioning as a general privacy VPN. |
| Outline VPN | Built by Google’s Jigsaw team. It doesn’t sell you a VPN connection; it’s a free, open-source tool for setting up and running your own Shadowsocks-based server, meaning you (or whoever set it up for you) are effectively your own provider. |
| Psiphon | Free tool combining VPN tunneling, SSH, and HTTP proxying, switching between them automatically depending on what a given network blocks. |
| VPNBook | Publishes shared server addresses and login credentials openly rather than issuing individual accounts, meaning your traffic can share a tunnel with strangers using the same published login. |
Business ZTNA and SASE products, not consumer VPNs
Sold to companies for employee access to internal systems, priced and architected for IT teams rather than individual privacy or streaming.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| GoodAccess | Markets itself as a low-cost VPN replacement for small businesses, granting access based on user identity rather than a shared network tunnel. |
| NordLayer | Owned by Nord Security, but this is a business/team network access product, not the consumer NordVPN app. |
| Perimeter 81 | Now owned by Check Point and rebranded as part of Check Point SASE/Harmony SASE. Sold to businesses for employee network access, despite occasionally advertising as a “business VPN.” |
| Twingate | Builds direct, peer-to-peer identity-based connections between employees and company resources, similar architecturally to Tailscale. |
| Zscaler Private Access | Enterprise-scale zero trust product that brokers and inspects each session through Zscaler’s own edge network. |
Smart DNS, not VPNs
Reroutes the streaming location check only. Nothing is encrypted and your IP barely changes. See our Smart DNS vs VPN guide for the full distinction.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Getflix | Unblocks streaming catalogs on TVs and consoles by rerouting only the location check, without encrypting anything or hiding your IP. |
| Unlocator | Same core idea as Getflix. Also sells a separate VPN product; the two are distinct services under one account. |
Gaming ping reducers, not VPNs
Optimize the network route to game servers to cut latency. They don’t hide your identity, and a standard VPN typically adds latency rather than reducing it, so this solves a different problem entirely.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| ExitLag | Rebranded from “Haste.” Routes game traffic over multiple simultaneous paths to cut latency and packet loss to game servers specifically. |
| Mudfish | Priced by data usage rather than a monthly subscription, aimed at reducing gaming latency rather than hiding identity or location. |
| WTFast | Sold as a “VIP connection” to game servers to cut ping, jitter, and packet loss. |
Other tools people mistake for privacy VPNs
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare WARP (1.1.1.1) | Free app from Cloudflare built on WireGuard. Encrypts your connection to Cloudflare’s network for speed and public Wi-Fi safety, but it doesn’t change your apparent location or hide your identity from the sites you visit the way a privacy VPN does. |
| Tailscale | Not a privacy or streaming VPN. It’s a WireGuard-based tool for securely connecting your own devices and servers to each other, aimed at remote access and homelab use. |
Discontinued or limited-status
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Atlas VPN | Owned by Nord Security. Shut down in April 2024 and merged into NordVPN; existing subscribers were migrated. Any app still using the Atlas VPN name today is not the original product. |
| Google One VPN | Google shut this down in 2024, citing low usage. If you see it referenced as an active option, that information is outdated. |
| Private Tunnel | The only consumer VPN built and run directly by OpenVPN Inc. No longer accepting new customers as of this writing, though existing subscriber support pages remain active; treat “active” claims about it with caution. |
Independent paid providers with limited public track records
Smaller companies, generally without the audit history or press coverage our tested providers have. Not a red flag by itself, just less to verify against.
| VPN name | What’s documented |
|---|---|
| Amnezia VPN | Self-hosted or app-based VPN built around obfuscated protocols for use in heavily censored networks. No commercial audit; the code itself is public. |
| BlackVPN | Small Hong Kong-based provider, active since 2010. Limited independent security coverage. |
| FrootVPN | Small provider supporting P2P and torrenting use cases. Limited independent audit coverage found. |
| GhostPath | Small provider with a limited public track record. No independent audit found. |
| HideIPVPN | Operating since 2008, focused on P2P and torrenting use cases. Limited independent audit coverage found. |
| ibVPN | Smaller provider supporting P2P and torrenting. Limited independent audit coverage found. |
| iTop VPN | We’ve reviewed this one separately. See our full iTop VPN review for the details rather than a summary here. |
| KeepSolid VPN Unlimited | Also marketed simply as “VPN Unlimited.” Same product under both names. |
| Le VPN | Smaller provider marketed mainly in Europe. Limited independent audit coverage found. |
| Mozilla VPN | Runs on Mullvad’s own server network (about 20% owned outright by Mullvad, the rest rented) under a partnership dating to 2019. Effectively Mullvad’s infrastructure with a Mozilla-branded app on top. |
| Namecheap VPN | Sold as an add-on by domain registrar Namecheap rather than a dedicated VPN company’s core product. |
| SlickVPN | Smaller provider supporting P2P and torrenting use cases. Limited independent audit coverage found. |
| Speedify | Bonds multiple internet connections (Wi-Fi plus cellular, for example) for reliability, marketed on speed and redundancy more than pure privacy. |
| WeVPN | Smaller provider with limited independent audit coverage found. |
| ZenMate | Acquired by Kape Technologies (which also owns CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, and Private Internet Access) in 2018, and merged operationally into CyberGhost in 2023. |
| Zoog VPN | Smaller Greek-founded provider. Limited independent audit coverage found. |
What this directory doesn’t tell you
A category label like “free mobile app” isn’t a verdict on any single one of these by itself. It’s a flag that the provider sits in a category where independent research (the CSIRO study, the 2026 MVPNalyzer study of 281 apps, the Citizen Lab and Zimperium reports) has repeatedly found high rates of leaks, tracking, and weak encryption. Some free apps are fine. The pattern across the category is not.
Ownership matters more than most users assume, and it cuts across every section above, not just the free apps. Several names in this directory and on our tested comparison table trace back to a small number of parent companies: Nord Security (NordVPN, Surfshark, formerly Atlas VPN, NordLayer), Kape Technologies (CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, ZenMate), Point Wild (Hotspot Shield, Betternet, Touch VPN, VPN 360), and Gen Digital (Avast, AVG, Norton, LifeLock). Knowing the parent company usually tells you more than the app name on its own does.
Most names in this directory fall into one of three buckets: free mobile apps with a documented history of leaks or tracking, antivirus-bundle VPNs with no independent audit, or small independent providers with too little public information to verify either way. None of that makes them all unsafe, but none of them get the benefit of the doubt our tested list does. Run the full checklist on any of them before you install, or skip the research and pick from the providers we've already tested.
See NordVPN, audited six times with a fully public track record or try ProtonVPN’s free tier, one of the only free VPNs that doesn’t rely on selling user data to stay in business.
Keep reading: Never Heard of This VPN? Here’s How to Check If It’s Safe and How to Verify a VPN’s No-Log Policy: What Actually Counts as Proof.