NordVPN: Difference between revisions

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If data passes international borders it is subject to "bulk collection" by the Intelligence Community because of Executive Order 12333.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goitein |first=Elizabeth |date=15 Feb 2022 |title=How the CIA Is Acting Outside the Law to Spy on Americans |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-cia-acting-outside-law-spy-americans |url-status=live |access-date=26 Mar 2025 |website=Brennan Center}}</ref>

=== Tracking inside App ===

An analysis by German privacy blogger and activist Mike Kuketz found third party tracking services embedded into the apps of five different VPN services, including three in NordVPN's app (AppsFlyer, Google Crashlytics, and Google Firebase Analytics).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuketz |first=Mike |date=2025-09-29 |title=VPN-Apps: Wenn »Sicherheits-Apps« selbst zum Risiko werden [VPN-Apps: When "Security-Apps" themselves become a risk] |url=https://www.kuketz-blog.de/vpn-apps-wenn-sicherheits-apps-selbst-zum-risiko-werden/ |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=Kuketz IT-Security}}</ref>

When confronted with the allegations, NordVPN denied the allegations, answering with statements about the website instead of the smarphone app. Kuketz then conducted his own in-depth analysis of the app's traffic (his initial analysis was based on data from the [https://exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/ Exodus Privacy Project]), revealing that at least two of the trackers were indeed present.

Confronted with the results, the company spoke of a "misunderstanding", which Kuketz describes as "not very convincing".

He further notes that NordVPN's PR manager is using a NordVPN e-mail address which is hosted by Google, meaning any e-mail communication with the company over the same channels would be fully exposed to the advertising giant's data collection.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuketz |first=Mike |date=2025-10-20 |title=NordVPN bestreitet den Einsatz von Trackern – Doch ein App-Mitschnitt zeigt ein anderes Bild [NordVPN denies use of trackers – but an analysis of the app's traffic paints a different picture] |url=https://www.kuketz-blog.de/nordvpn-bestreitet-den-einsatz-von-trackern-doch-ein-app-mitschnitt-zeigt-ein-anderes-bild/ |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=Kuketz IT-Security}}</ref>

==Consumer friendly alternatives==

* [https://mullvad.net/vpn Mullvad VPN]

*[https://mullvad.net/vpn Mullvad VPN]

* [https://protonvpn.com/ ProtonVPN]

*[https://protonvpn.com/ ProtonVPN]

==References==

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 If data passes international borders it is subject to "bulk collection" by the Intelligence Community because of Executive Order 12333.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goitein |first=Elizabeth |date=15 Feb 2022 |title=How the CIA Is Acting Outside the Law to Spy on Americans |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-cia-acting-outside-law-spy-americans |url-status=live |access-date=26 Mar 2025 |website=Brennan Center}}</ref>
+=== Tracking inside App ===
+An analysis by German privacy blogger and activist Mike Kuketz found third party tracking services embedded into the apps of five different VPN services, including three in NordVPN's app (AppsFlyer, Google Crashlytics, and Google Firebase Analytics).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuketz |first=Mike |date=2025-09-29 |title=VPN-Apps: Wenn »Sicherheits-Apps« selbst zum Risiko werden [VPN-Apps: When "Security-Apps" themselves become a risk] |url=https://www.kuketz-blog.de/vpn-apps-wenn-sicherheits-apps-selbst-zum-risiko-werden/ |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=Kuketz IT-Security}}</ref>
+When confronted with the allegations, NordVPN denied the allegations, answering with statements about the website instead of the smarphone app. Kuketz then conducted his own in-depth analysis of the app's traffic (his initial analysis was based on data from the [https://exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/ Exodus Privacy Project]), revealing that at least two of the trackers were indeed present.
+Confronted with the results, the company spoke of a "misunderstanding", which Kuketz describes as "not very convincing".
+He further notes that NordVPN's PR manager is using a NordVPN e-mail address which is hosted by Google, meaning any e-mail communication with the company over the same channels would be fully exposed to the advertising giant's data collection.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuketz |first=Mike |date=2025-10-20 |title=NordVPN bestreitet den Einsatz von Trackern – Doch ein App-Mitschnitt zeigt ein anderes Bild [NordVPN denies use of trackers – but an analysis of the app's traffic paints a different picture] |url=https://www.kuketz-blog.de/nordvpn-bestreitet-den-einsatz-von-trackern-doch-ein-app-mitschnitt-zeigt-ein-anderes-bild/ |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=Kuketz IT-Security}}</ref>
 ==Consumer friendly alternatives==
-* [https://mullvad.net/vpn Mullvad VPN]
+*[https://mullvad.net/vpn Mullvad VPN]
-* [https://protonvpn.com/ ProtonVPN]
+*[https://protonvpn.com/ ProtonVPN]
 ==References==