Hotspot shield free#

However, the company hasnРІР‚в„ўt released another transparency report to account for the time that has passed since then, so thereРІР‚в„ўs no way of knowing whether it has given up user data to any third parties. The report shows the number of data requests Hotspot Shield received from authorities around the world since 2016 (227) РІР‚вЂњ crucially, it also showed that Hotspot Shield didnРІР‚в„ўt hand over any data. In January 2019, Hotspot Shield released its annual Transparency Report. Invasive jurisdictions like the US can compel supposedly privacy-focused companies like Aura to retain and share user information. These countries work together to collect, share, and analyze mass surveillance data РІР‚вЂњ this alone is a red flag. ItРІР‚в„ўs also one of the founding members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. But as of July 2020 it has been acquired by a security company called Aura.Р”Р„ura is based in the US, which has very intrusive privacy laws. Until recently Hotspot Shield was owned by Pango, formerly known as AnchorFree. If you want a VPN that doesnРІР‚в„ўt log web activity, read our PIA VPN review. Combined with a worrisome past concerning user privacy, we canРІР‚в„ўt recommend the service for users seeking high-level anonymity online. This is unlikely to happen, but we would rather Hotspot Shield didnРІР‚в„ўt log this information for three years.Р”Р„t the very least, Hotspot Shield VPN monitors your IP address and website requests, even if in aggregate form. As always, itРІР‚в„ўs best to stay away from ad-supported services when trying to stay private online.Р”В¬onnection timestamps could potentially be used РІР‚вЂњ alongside other data points РІР‚вЂњ to prove that you have visited a certain website.

Hotspot shield free#

If you use the free version, youРІР‚в„ўll also be sharing personally identifying information with advertisers. If youРІР‚в„ўre using Hotspot Shield Elite, the company monitors РІР‚Сљ the nature of the requests that you make to our servers (such as what is being requested, information about the device and app used to make the request, timestamps, and referring URLs)РІР‚Сњ along with a whole host of other information. While itРІР‚в„ўs encouraging that Hotspot Shield isnРІР‚в„ўt able to link any behavior to your specific account, this level of data collection is still far too invasive for any user concerned about privacy or anonymity. РІР‚В¦Even if a government agency physically seizes one of our VPN servers and succeeds in breaking disk encryption on those servers, they would not find any logs or information that would reveal what any individual user was browsing, viewing, or doing online via a VPN connection.РІР‚Сњ If youРІР‚в„ўre looking for reassurance, the company states that: If you use Hotspot Shield Free, the service can also share even more data with third-party advertisers:

Non-personal logs of websites (domain names, not specific URLs) visited via Hotspot ShieldРІР‚в„ўs VPN servers РІР‚вЂњ these are aggregated on a monthly basis.

Device-specific information, such as device identifiers, browser types, device types and settings, operating system versions, mobile, wireless, and other network information (such as internet service provider name, carrier name and signal strength), and application version numbers.

Bandwidth used per user, per session РІР‚вЂњ used to monitor, support, and optimize VPN services, and stored for three years.

Connection timestamps РІР‚вЂњ used to monitor, support, and optimize VPN services, and stored for three years.

Your approximate geographical location РІР‚вЂњ derived from your IP address and used to connect you to the nearest VPN server.

Your IP address РІР‚вЂњ encrypted, only for the duration of your session, and not linked with your activity while using the VPN.

While the VPN doesnРІР‚в„ўt keep any logs of your browsing history or online activity, it does collect plenty of other information and its privacy policy is often vague or misleading.Р”Р„ccording to its terms and conditions, Hotspot Shield Elite collects the following data:

Hotspot Shield has a questionable logging policy.