“Who owns your data?” - A VPN relationship map highlighting the links between VPNs, corporate owners, and paid affiliates among other observations.
This map isn’t perfect…but it could be! If you want to contribute to the map and suggest a node leave a comment in this thread or DM me. If you would like to consider helping further to expand this we’re also looking for more contributors to join.
The criteria being you must have a proven history in the VPN industry. It can be as an enthusiast or professional - but for the sake of quality, contributors are vetted to stop abuse/issues before they can arise.
Thanks to /u/NotDatabase, /u/Windscribe_QAizen, and /u/My_name_matters_not for their insights and suggestions. Absolute hereos!
I’m impressed, you must have put a lot of work into this
It’s bothered me that YouTube video sponsors have moved away from scripts for the creators and let them say whatever they want. I’m sure the company can still be held liable, but it hasn’t been challenged in court yet to my knowledge. Plus they will try to pass the blame off to the creator. If the court decides the creator is even partially liable they will likely end up owing fines tens or hundreds of times what they were paid to create the ad.
Great, just shared on my website https://bitcoin-vpn.com
People should know that before ordering services.
I had a very tiny part in this blog post. But nonetheless it turned out very informative.
I’ve pushed back on some of my favorite podcasts that much of what they say about various vpns is hype and nonsense and as expected, none of them have changed… Worse but also expected, many of these podcasts are those of well known “highly ethical high integrity” journalists…
Very valuable! Thank you very much!
Nice and informative article. A little suggestion here is maybe the article should explain a little bit of conversion rates and what is the basis of the calculation of the payoffs from those affiliate sites. Thanks.
Btw, regarding the new Indian rules.
What’s gonna happen with windscribe for Indian users?
I have been using VPNs pretty constantly for the past few years, so although I’m not someone with a proven history in the industry as a professional, I guess I could be considered an “Enthusiast”, whatever that means.
My contribution is that Independent is spelled “Independent”, not “Indepdendent”.
There are also the apps made by TCL subs, which were called out for being tracked by the Chinese government. It could be interesting to include those as well? There was an article about them a while ago written by VPNPro. IDK if they’ll be useful, but adding it here just in case!
https://vpnpro.com/blog/chinese-company-secretly-behind-popular-apps-seeking-dangerous-permissions/
Cheers! This had pretty much driven me insane by the end. The Gary Pepe-Silvia meme is absolutely on point.
While it took a long time for me to put it together I hope this will be a great resource for everyone. Eventually, we’ll be able to grow the contributors further beyond the initial volunteers. Big shoutout to Database & QAizen for a ton of community suggestions too!
I have put a ton of work into this but I’m only human and it was a very slow process to get to where it is now. If you see any mistakes or have some updates/ideas in mind please feel free to post them here.
For sure. Getting all this organized and finding stuff to highlight wasn’t easy and while in the drafts we came across information to throw in. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
In any normal world it’d make the company more liable but it’s got to be this gray area. The company will provide the talking points but allow relative freedom to the influencer, who can say the absolute most ridiculous statements, sometimes even outright false.
I’ve lost count on the amount of ads where a creator goes “I use (insert whatever they’re shilling) every single day” and then a few videos later they are either not using it or have the app completely uninstalled. This isn’t limited to just VPN’s, but almost every single product they promote.
In the eyes of an influencer it’s a win-win situation since you can make your ad not feel like an ad (even though under regulations you have to disclose that it is an ad), which can lead to more interested eyes using your affiliate referral leading to higher CPA/conversion payouts. Some random YouTube/TikTok influencer who mainly have content relating to gaming or fashion/dancing lacks the knowledge to properly promote security products and know what is true or not, so they run with whatever the sponsor says, which honestly I can’t blame them for. It’s a totally shady industry.
100% agree with this. It’s my biggest bugbear about using affiliates on YouTube - they clearly utilise them to skirt legal requirements.
It’s messed up.
Not only that, but if the product the creator is shilling down the line has a data breach or some other awful thing happens. It looks really bad on said creator. In theory it could cost them their audience and ruin their online reputation. Most creators don’t even take the time to think about how it will hurt them in the long run. All they see is a quick buck to be made.
We appreciate it, thank you very much! 
why isn’t ivpn recommended , it’s usually ranked among the best , privacy/security wise
Ah but it’s not the quantity we look for but the quality. To which your suggestions were great 