NOTE: This post was originally published on September 29, 2020
As more of our daily lives go digital, a VPN is now an indispensable tool for protecting yourself online. But with seemingly hundreds of VPN apps out there, where do you even begin when shopping for a VPN? How do you know which one you can trust?
That’s why last year, we co-founded the VPN Trust Initiative (VTI) together with the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) and several other major brands in the industry. As a start, we have been working hard with the i2Coalition, fellow VTI members, civil society, and other external experts to come up with a comprehensive set of best practices for VPN providers to bolster consumer trust.
Today, we’re happy to announce the launch of the VTI Principles, which focuses on five key areas: Security, privacy, advertising practices, disclosure and transparency, and social responsibility.
Think of the VTI Principles as a guide for you to evaluate VPN providers by, so that you can have more confidence when picking a VPN that you trust. This also means that no matter which of the 10+ VTI members you choose, you’ll know that their VPN service is up-to-par and that they champion the values endorsed by the VTI.
“Releasing the VTI Principles is an inaugural step in what is an ongoing process of aligning industry voices to advocate, create, vet and validate industry policies and guidelines, and we’re excited to see the benefits for the market grow through their adoption,” comments Christian Dawson, Co-Founder of the i2Coalition.
A stronger VPN industry means a safer internet
In our 11 years of serving customers, ExpressVPN has continued to level-up the VPN industry with our combination of innovations, research, transparency, audits, partnerships, and more. The VTI Principles is the latest example of our work to elevate industry standards and ensure internet users are protected.
As an industry leader, ExpressVPN will strive to go above and beyond the essentials outlined in the VTI Principles. We are thrilled to see these set of shared guidelines act as a foundation for others to step up and also be stewards of the industry—especially since we share the same goal of protecting users online.
The launch of the VTI Principles is just the first of many actions we will be taking as a collective group. We believe that when the industry comes together as a unified group, we can deliver real progress to build a safer internet.
Harold Li, vice president, ExpressVPN adds: “The VTI Principles sets a new benchmark for VPN companies so that we can collectively improve as an industry. We are giving consumers greater confidence to use VPNs to enjoy the internet more freely, privately, and securely.”
To learn more about the VTI Principles, please visit i2Coalition’s website.