(Credit: Tomeqs/Shutterstock.com)
VPNs, or virtual private networks, are software tools designed to help protect your privacy and device security when connected to the internet. But not all VPNs are created equal—and some could be a privacy nightmare.
A new report from Top10VPN this month reveals that dozens of free Android VPNs have leaked user IP addresses and WebRTC data. Many others offer partial, poor, or no encryption. Some also expose HTTP data, making users more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
The top 100 most downloaded free VPN apps have seen over 2.5 billion installs globally combined, according to the report. But over 10% fail to properly encrypt data, over half have VPN tunnel instability, and only 20% of the apps use the most secure encryption hashing algorithms.
Fifteen of the apps also have code from TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance, which the report argues raises inherent privacy concerns. More broadly, US regulators have also argued that ByteDance poses a national security risk to American users, recently passing legislation to ban TikTok next year (though TikTok is taking legal action to try to overturn it).
Which free Android apps have reportedly had IP leaks and DNS leaks? Tomato VPN, Phone Guardian VPN, Ultimate VPN, Turbo VPN, Power VPN, VPN Monster, uVPN, VPN Proxy Master - Safer VPN, VPN Pro - Fast & Secure VPN, Signal Secure VPN - Robot VPN, and others have leaked IPs, according to Top10VPN's data.
Recommended by Our Editors
Many of the apps that didn't have IP leaks did have one or more types of DNS leaks, however. Dozens were flagged as displaying various encryption issues, with the likes of Turbo VPN, VPN Proxy Master - Safer VPN, and VPN Monster - Secure VPN Proxy, on that list.
Some of the VPNs were simply marked as "Fails," like Wang VPN, BeastVPN, and GreenNet: Hospot VPN Proxy, suggesting they may offer the least amount of data security and privacy on the list. Twenty percent of the apps examined were also flagged by antivirus software as containing Trojan malware or phishing tools, though Top10VPN notes that some of these results could be false positives. A number of the apps also make contact with IP addresses that have been flagged as malicious IPs by cybersecurity firms.
Notably, a few of the free Android VPNs on the list—like Atlas VPN and BitDefender VPN—did not see IP leaks or DNS leaks.
Unfortunately, VPN leaks aren't exactly a new problem. They've been a concern for years, and one of the best ways to mitigate these risks is to switch to a VPN provider that isn't leaking user data and offers strong encryption.
Without a VPN, internet providers can see the websites you visit, the searches you make, and even email data. Thankfully, it isn't too hard to set up a VPN on your device if you decide you want one. If you use an Android device, there are plenty of Android VPNs to choose from. And if you're looking to add a VPN to all your devices, there are plenty of choices for Mac, Windows, or iPhones as well.