I keep hearing that Mullvad is better than Nord, Express, etc… mainstream VPNs if you’re looking for privacy although it doesn’t offer the conveniences that other VPNs offer. If all I care about is privacy and anonymity is Mullvad the best option?
Also, why is Mullvad seen as a very private VPN if it’s based in Sweden? Couldn’t any EU or US government subpoena them to obtain data on their users? Aren’t VPNs usually based in some random island nation like ExpressVPN so that it’s not so easy for governments to get access to their data?
I replied to this post on another sub, but in case it isn’t seen I will post it here.
For me, one thing I love about Mullvad is that you have the option to pay with a prepaid card you can order from Amazon, so any account you make isn’t in your name. It’s only attached to a randomly created account number which you use to log in and such. That is one benefit. There is no name, address, or any other personal info about you that is given to mullvad in reference to the account.You also are given the option to pay with cash anonymously over the mail, OR you could pay with Crypto such as Monero, paypal, or if you insist, debit/credit card.
Prepaid card is how I paid for my service, and I absolutely love that system.As for your comment about Sweden… technically yeah they could and have. Problem being is that the information on Mullvad isn’t actually stored/accessed being that the information is not logged. So if a server was seized, the information is gone. Mullvad can offer to give over the server, but it would accomplish nothing as there would be nothing.Something similar has already happened a few months ago apparently.
Where you can buy the prepaid Mullvad card. This is a 12 month card which is what I purchased. Prepaid Mullvad CardOnce you buy that and use it, none of your personal info is given to Mullvad. One of the best methods to use for your security.
Not the cheapest VPN, but so what? My concern is privacy and Mullvad has proven themselves. I find it to be well worth the price.
On one hand Mullvad claims to be logs-free. On the other hand, they did not hesitate to remove port forwarding as soon as the heat from authorities got to be too much.
If they truly had no logs, then authorities should not have had that kind of power over them. It makes it seem like 1) authorities DO have leverage and Mullvad isn’t being straight with their users, or 2) Mullvad simply made a voluntary decision to remove an essential feature, not for legal reasons, but for personal or moral reasons, which means they are no longer neutral and could further remove services in the future.
If authorities can compel them to remove port forwarding, they can compel them to keep logs. End of story.
A lot of VPNs claim to not keep logs and not cooperate, I think mullvad is also promising all that and AFAIK they been attempt-raided once or twice and nothing came up, they politely pointed them back out the door… - on top, you dont really have an account but just a number you connect with, so no sign up in the classic sense is necessary. AND they offer a TON of ways to pay your monthly fee, even anonymous cash drops at their office - so that is pretty cool.
So, if they indeed do not keep logs, nobody knows who you are and they cannot get your original IP in case of a raid. IF someone has a courtorder and catches you while connecting, that’s a different story, then they could squeeze your ISP… but I have no idea what needs to happen to make that happen and force mullvad to cooperate on that level.
a VPN is not a silver bullet, but should keep you rather safe from a lot of regular prying eyes.
I honestly think ProtonVPN has the edge in terms of privacy, because they a) are based in Switzerland and b) they directly control their Secure Core servers in Switzerland, Iceland, and Sweden, in their own data centers. Switzerland, as a non-EU country, has the edge in terms of data privacy laws, and Mullvad’s servers, while some as owned by Mullvad (not rented), are all hosted in partner data centers. Also, Switzerland is not a member of any SIGINT-sharing networks that include the US (Five Eyes, etc.), whereas Sweden is a 14 Eyes member. To that point, ProtonVPN is the VPN recommendation by Michael Bazzell, who wrote *the* books on digital privacy and OSINT.
However, Mullvad does have the benefit of only using numbered accounts (which are by default anonymous), which takes a little more work to accomplish using Proton. Also, they have the nice benefit of quantum-resistant tunnels, which Proton doesn’t have yet. However, the Proton-controlled Secure Core servers and the Swiss residency tips the privacy scales in favor of Proton, IMHO. However, I think Mullvad is a close second and you really couldn’t go wrong with either.
When you sign up for a vpn provider, the countries that are in SIGINT alliances don’t matter as much as people think. Many counties even outside of these jurisdictions still share data, irrespective of their membership of the 900000 eyes community. If a country wants to share your data, it doesn’t matter if they’re friends through some intelligence sharing alliance or not, they can still hand over your data. The treaties people mention are intellegence agreements, not magical collaboration agreements where everyone knows exactly what’s happening at all times. The 14 eyes countries collaborate on intelligence, making it easier to share information, but it doesn’t really matter which country your VPN is hosted in so long as they’re “friendly” with your local government.
Proton was subjected to a monitoring order of a French request to a swiss court for a relatively minor crime. Mullvad is also not immune to this.
Here are they key advantages of mullvad;
Proton only accepts PayPal or credit card on your first purchase (or at least they did when I tried to sign up just now) This DIRECTLY links you to an account and in theory your data. This is anti privacy.
Proton requires an email, which is another avenue that can be linked back to you.
Proton even BLOCKS some emails for signup which is highly suspicious
Mullvad offers many truly anonymous payment methods. Proton does not.
Mullvad accounts are much more plausibly deniable than proton ones, because as stated in their TOS, one account could be used by 1 person or 50 people.
“Swiss privacy” is good in theory, but they still get subpoenaed all the time. To my knowledge mullvad has been subpoenaed once, and no data was handed over.
There’s security through marketing and advertising and then security through practical terms. Mullvad seems to have the edge on the latter.
Purchased using monero and then only using on a public wifi with Mullvad would be the best I could think of. No kyc at any point (as far as I can tell).
I am quite fond of it and find it more convenient than protonvpn with less occassional network hands. YMMV. I also adore I can pay with privacy coin and there are no credentials, only an account number.
mullvad’s main gimmick is their emailless registration and ability to pay by cash, their logging policy is no different than any other major vpn like nord or express
Couldn’t any EU or US government subpoena them to obtain data on their users?
They don’t collect data on their users. Read their website and FAQ before asking questions on Reddit.
A VPN changes your IP address. That is all . Do not think it makes you anonymous or is a silver bullet for privacy. Mullvad is better than others but you can still be identified and tracked in other ways.
I don’t know if it’s the “best”, but Mullvad is likely as good as you’re going to find nowadays. I’ve been with them for 2 years now. Earlier I would have rated them 100%, though lately I have some misgivings like the port forwarding issue and the fact that it seems every internet conglomerate now knows the IP address of every single Mullvad VPN server. But they seem pretty dedicated to getting stuff right, and I think they’ll eventually iron out whatever bumps have recently developed. Fingers crossed
