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When I taught journalism I told my students that using a free VPN was worse than not using one at all. That is because some free virtual private networks sell user data to shady companies.

An exception to that general rule is Proton with its free VPN. Proton was started to help journalists and activists to protect their privacy, and it offers both a good free VPN and a more fully featured paid version. Proton has a very good reputation as a trustworthy company that works hard to protect privacy.

The VPN, which is based in privacy-focused Switzerland, claims that Hong Kong protest movement leaders and some New York Times journalists use Proton.

VPNs provide a way around government censorship in the 35 countries that block online access. And Proton’s stealth mode makes it harder for governments to detect and block the VPN.

The company was in the news last week because it created a tool to gauge attacks on online freedom and democracy:

https://www.barrons.com/news/proton-using-vpn-sign-ups-to-spot-attacks-on-democracy

https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/proton-vpn-maps-usage-to-resist-censorship

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/proton-using-vpn-sign-ups-120333630.html

It should be understood that using a VPN will not protect people when using Facebook (Meta) Messenger or other unsecure texting apps. Most social media companies state in their data use disclosures that they will turn over user data to law enforcement in order to comply with state and federal laws. That happened to a teen and her mother when they used Facebook Messenger to communicate about using abortion pills to end the teen’s pregnancy in Nebraska, and then they were both arrested and convicted.

As advised in this PBS video, people should use Signal, which uses end to end encryption, to text about anything sensitive that should be kept private:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/court-cases-targeting-abortion-highlight-digital-privacy-concerns