Privacy-minded peeps>  

Many VPN companies address (or prey upon) growing concerns of privacy on the internet. A vast majority of those companies provide little more (or sometimes less) protection than what a standard user already has in place.  

As a fierce autonomy advocate, I suggest considering "loyalty" a dirty word when interacting with companies with regard to your security and privacy. There is no benefit to compromising yourself in the interest of extending your relationship with a company.  

Those of you out there who were fans of NordVPN, check out the link.  

So...recommendations? Unfortunately, properly vetting VPN providers is like a moving target since policies change with the wind. However, if you think that a VPN is the right move for you, I do at least recommend that your provider can guarantee these features:  

• Open source and auditable. Non-negotiable. If your solution is closed source, it means they see you as an adversary. Return the sentiment.
• No logs. Make sure your provider is very clear on what they mean by "no logs" and doesn't equivocate with double-talk.
• Warrant canary. Not mandatory, but is a much clearer sign that in the event of a conflict of interest between the customers and a surveillance entity, they will (at least attempt to) choose the customer.
• Educate yourself about Five Eyes and minimize the security organizations you work with that are members of that alliance. They will absolutely compromise you in the interest of various governmental whims. In the context of VPNs, look into how many of their nodes are outside of Five Eyes alliance locations.

(If you really want to go "full Snowden" and start jumping at your own shadow, note that Five Eyes is not the only alliance....)