Ethical Guidelines

We consider the effects of our choices with regarding to running our service. We follow a privacy-first mindset that goes beyond the basics.

Every decision matters: how and what we communicate to new customers, what information we collect and what tools we use to improve our service. We believe in leading by example, and commit to the following:

No personal information

We aim for zero user information collected as defined in our concise privacy policy. We don’t ask for your email address or any other personal information.

No trackers

Trackers by ad companies and social networks monitor your actions and aid in profiling you. You won’t find them on ivpn.net - we are a tracking free provider.

No third-party tools

Tools like Google Analytics collect personally identifiable information. We use software hosted only on IVPN controlled servers to ensure your privacy.

No secrets

IVPN’s ownership, company structure and team is public, so you know who is responsible for protecting your privacy.

No false promises

Some services try to convince everyone to get a VPN and become anonymous online. We don’t advertise benefits that are not attainable by using a VPN.

Openness and accountability

Our applications are open source and available for review on our GitHub page. We commission regular audits to back up our claims.

How we don’t do marketing

We are committed to spreading the word about IVPN’s mission and help more people protect their privacy. Considering the state of modern marketing, this is a challenging task.

We consider most marketing methods harmful, and refuse to engage in them. The following list represents all tactics we have considered and either rejected or eliminated over the years.

Paid reviews

We have closed down our affiliate program to protest against the practice of paid reviews and misleading recommendations by “best VPN” websites.

Surveillance ads

Surveillance ads use personal information and behavioral data for personal targeting and retargeting purposes. We reject Facebook, Google and all forms of programmatic advertising.

Dark patterns

We shun fake reviews, made up social proofs, countdown timers, expiring deals, exit consoles and tricks that make it hard to cancel our service.

Fear, uncertainty and doubt

Pushing subscriptions with scare tactics is common in the VPN industry. We won’t claim that everyone without a VPN is under grave threat.

Buying endorsements

We believe influencers and YouTube creators with no information security expertise should not endorse VPN services in exchange for payment.

Spam

We shun spam on social media and buying email lists of prospective customers, two marketing tactics frequently used by VPN providers.

How we attract new customers

Our mission supersedes making profit and we reinvest most of our revenue into improving our service and educational projects. Yet IVPN is a business and we are working on attracting new customers, while keeping our values and commitments in mind.

Method	Examples
Improving our service Consistent improvements to our service lead to customers recommend us to others.	WireGuard support Linux CLI and GUI IPv6 support
Educational projects We allocate time and resources to projects that spread information about privacy and trustworthy VPNs.	IVPN Privacy Guides Educational blog posts Do I need a VPN? The Privacy Issue
Community and social channels We share information about our progress in dedicated IVPN communities.	Mastodon Reddit Twitter
Journalists and reviewer cooperation We share progress updates and demo accounts with journalists and ethical VPN reviewers. No compensation is offered.	Ars Technica The Markup Techlore Privacy Guides
Sponsorships We sponsor non-profit organisations and development projects that focus on privacy.	EFF Tor Project WireGuard
Supporting privacy educators We financially support ethical content creators, who possess the necessary background to evaluate and endorse VPNs.	Seth For Privacy The New Oil Monero Talk

If you have made it all the way to the end, and agree with our values, please consider sharing this page. That can help us stay within these defined boundaries and prove that growing a business is possible without resorting to unethical tools.