News
The VPN market moves fast: new features, audits, price drops, outages and the occasional privacy controversy. Our news section tracks what matters — the deals worth grabbing, the security developments worth knowing, and the industry shifts that affect which VPN is the smart pick right now.
We focus on substance over hype: what changed, whether a "lifetime" or seasonal deal is genuinely good value, and what a new audit or feature means for your privacy in practice. Time-sensitive offers are flagged with their real terms so you can decide quickly.
Whether you're hunting a deal or keeping an eye on the providers you trust, this is the place. Below you'll find the latest VPN news, deals and analysis.
How to Play MapleStory Classic World From Anywhere, and the Two Cases Where a VPN Will Not Help
MapleStory Classic World launched globally on October 21, 2026, but Global MapleStory does not serve Korea, Japan or Southeast Asia, and China and Taiwan run separate servers. Who can play, how to keep playing your account while travelling with a VPN, and why a VPN will not lower your ping.
VPN Black Friday 2026: hide.me Goes Live November 2, and How Every Deal Compares Over Five Years
hide.me's 30-month, 2.33-a-month Black Friday deal starts November 2. We line it up against PureVPN's $1.69 5-year plan, IPVanish, Surfshark, Proton and ExpressVPN, including what each actually costs over five years once renewals land.
IPVanish in November 2026: Black Friday Prices Hold, Plus What Is Actually Worth a VPN This Month
IPVanish keeps its $2.19 Black Friday pricing through November and points at the NFL Thanksgiving slate, the Las Vegas Grand Prix and holiday travel as reasons to subscribe. The dates and broadcasters, and a frank note on where a VPN helps and where it does not.
PureVPN Black Friday 2026: $1.69 a Month at 87% Off, but It Is a 5-Year Plan
PureVPN's Black Friday price is $1.69 a month, 87% off, on a 5-year Standard plan billed $101.55. How it compares with the regular 2-year rate, what the order page says about renewal, and who should take a five-year lock.
FlowVPN Deal: 3 Months for £7.42 / $9.99 With Code FIREWALL, Plus New Firewall-Beating Protocols
FlowVPN is selling 3 months for £7.42 or $9.99 with code FIREWALL, about 44% off its quarterly rate and the same per-month price as its annual plan. The promotion launches FlowTCP, TLS HTTPS, TLS SMTP and SSH VPN protocols for networks that block ordinary VPNs. What the deal is worth, and two caveats.
PureVPN's Privacy Protection Revamp: Data Broker Removal on Autopilot
PureVPN has redesigned its privacy suite so data broker removal, breach monitoring and a clear progress dashboard run in the background next to the VPN. What the tools do, how Remove My Data really works, why it is Max-only, and who should bother.
Surfshark 7-Day Free Trial Goes Live for Everyone on October 23
Surfshark's 7-day free trial stops being a test on October 23, 2026 and opens to every new customer on every plan. What you need to start it, why a card is still required, how to make sure it stays free, and what to test in the week.
Webshare Launches an MCP Server: Manage Your Proxies From Claude or Cursor, Free on All Plans
Webshare now has an official MCP server at mcp.webshare.io. Ask Claude, Claude Code or Cursor for your error stats, replace failing proxies or edit your IP allowlist in plain English. Read-only by default, no purchasing ever, free on every plan including the free tier. What it does, how to set it up, and where to be careful.
hide.me Black Friday 2026: 30 Months for $/€/£ 2.33 a Month, Renewal Locked
hide.me's Black Friday 2026 deal runs 2–30 November: 30 months of VPN Premium (24 + 6 bonus) for 2.33 a month, 69.99 total in USD, EUR or GBP. Same price as the summer deal, three more months, and a Price Guarantee that keeps the renewal identical. How it stacks up against IPVanish, ExpressVPN and Proton.
IPVanish Black Friday Early Access: 2-Year Plans From $2.19, Its Lowest Price of 2026
IPVanish cut all three 2-year plans on October 15: Essential $2.19/mo (85% off, $52.56 up front), Complete $2.79 and Advanced $3.29. That is 20–30 cents below last week's prices and the lowest of the year — what you pay, how the tier gaps changed, the renewal rate to watch, and how it compares to Surfshark, Proton and the Kape Halloween deals.
Proton's Black Friday 2026 Starts October 26: 75% Off VPN, 60% Off Mail, Drive and Pass
Proton's Black Friday pricing goes live on October 26 and runs to November 30: VPN Plus 75% off the 24-month plan, Mail Plus, Drive Plus and Pass Plus 60% off annual plans, Proton Unlimited 50% off. Nothing is live yet — why waiting is the right call, bundle versus single plan, and what Proton's price buys that cheaper VPNs do not.
ExpressKeys Arrives on Mac and Firefox, Adds Password Health
ExpressVPN's bundled password manager now has a native macOS app and a Firefox extension alongside Chrome, Edge and Brave, plus a redesigned extension with Password Health and a Recently Deleted folder. Existing vaults sync without re-import. What changed, what is still missing (Safari, Windows), and who should switch.
PIA's Halloween Deal: $1.89 a Month, Unlimited Devices (Ends Oct 16)
Private Internet Access's Halloween campaign runs October 13 to 16: 24 months plus 2 bonus months at $1.89/mo (84% off) or €1.69 (84% off), billed $45.36. That is 30 cents below the sports deal it replaces and the cheapest of the three Kape VPNs this week — what you pay, where it sits in PIA's autumn pricing, and the US-jurisdiction question to settle first.
CyberGhost's Halloween Deal: Back to $1.99 for 26 Months (Ends Oct 16)
CyberGhost's Halloween campaign runs October 13 to 16 only: 24 months plus 2 bonus months at $1.99/mo (85% off) or €1.99 (83% off), billed $47.76. That undoes the 20-cent rise of the sports campaign and returns to the September price — the four-day window, what you actually pay, and how it stacks up against PIA and ExpressVPN's Halloween deals from the same owner.
ExpressVPN's Halloween Deal: 28 Months From $2.99 (Ends Nov 3)
ExpressVPN's Halloween campaign runs October 13 to November 3: 24 months plus 4 bonus months, from $2.99/mo (80% off) in USD and €2.49 in EUR. The prices are identical to the sports deal it replaces — all six, the effective cost over 28 months, which tier to pick, and the free horror streaming the campaign points at.
Surfshark Black Friday 2026: Surfshark One for the Starter Price ($2.49/mo)
From October 12 to December 1, Surfshark sells its One bundle (VPN, antivirus, breach alerts and private search) at the Starter rate of $2.49/month on the 2-year plan. What One adds, what it leaves out, and what you actually pay.
IPVanish Adds Antivirus: New Complete Plan From $3.09/Month
IPVanish now bundles a VIPRE-powered antivirus for Windows and macOS in a new Complete tier at $3.09/month. What the antivirus covers, how its engine tested at AV-Comparatives, and whether the $0.70 upgrade is worth it.
Does a VPN Stop ISP Throttling? What October Streaming Needs
October loads broadband harder than any month since summer, and the seasonal pitch is back: use a VPN, avoid throttling, stream buffer-free. It is half true. A VPN defeats service-specific shaping because encryption hides what you are watching — it does nothing about congestion, data caps or plan limits.
October 2026 Sport: Where to Watch F1 and European Rugby Free
October's sport sits largely on free-to-air public broadcasters — F1 on Belgium's RTBF, both European rugby cups on France TV from 16 October, Bundesliga highlights on Sat.1/RTL. Free, but geo-locked, and several need a local account. What a VPN fixes here and what it does not.
What People Tell AI Chatbots — and Why They Don't Trust It
A Proton survey of 4,014 chatbot users across the US, UK, France and Germany found 66% have discussed a sensitive topic with an AI — finances, mental health, careers — while only 11–20% report high trust in the companies receiving it. The sharpest finding: users fear ad profiling more than model training.
Australia's Algorithm Opt-Out: What the Draft Law Really Promises
Australia's draft My Feed, My Way scheme would let over-16s escape the recommendation algorithm, backed by penalties up to A$109.2 million. But the draft never promises a chronological feed — and after Meta's $18 billion and TikTok's $400 million settlements, AI assistants are already repeating the same expand-first sequence.
ExpressVPN Drops Aircove for Fortify, Adds Caller ID and Vault Files
ExpressVPN retired both Aircove routers on September 16 and replaced them with Fortify, a $199.99 co-branded Wi-Fi 6 router built on GL.iNet's Flint 2 that moves VPN traffic at up to 900 Mbps. Scam-call screening in Identity Defender and file attachments in ExpressKeys landed alongside it.
Ten Days in September Where Every Sport Collides — and the Streaming Plan That Survives It
Monza, a basketball World Cup, the Champions League, the NFL opener, a Grand Prix in Madrid and both US Open finals all land between September 4 and 13. The confirmed dates, plus an honest look at where a VPN helps when four people want four different feeds — and where it does nothing.
ExpressVPN Arrives on Amazon's Vega OS — and Why Sideloading No Longer Saves You
Amazon's Vega OS replaced Android on the newest Fire TV Sticks, and with it went sideloading — the workaround people relied on to get a VPN onto a Fire Stick. ExpressVPN has now shipped a native Vega app, joining a very short list. If you are buying a Fire TV Stick, this quietly became a question worth asking first.
McAfee+ Premium Just Swept the Antivirus Labs — but Read the Small Print on the VPN Inside It
McAfee+ Premium has had an unusually good year in the independent labs: first of 19 at AV-Comparatives, 6/6 across the board at AV-Test, AAA at SE Labs. The antivirus deserves the praise. The VPN bundled alongside it comes with conditions most write-ups skip, and the renewal price is roughly double the first year.
Surfshark's Anti-Scam Package: Leak Alerts, Malicious-Site Blocking, and SMS Protection From €2.49/mo
Scams have overtaken malware as the everyday online threat, and Surfshark has bundled its answer into one anti-scam package: alerts when your personal data leaks, blocking of malicious sites and trackers, and protection against text-message scams — currently from €2.49 a month with three extra months included and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
iCloud Private Relay Is Leaking Real IP Addresses — and It Shows Why a Proxy Isn't a VPN
Security researchers have shown that Apple's iCloud Private Relay can expose your real IP address through passkey requests, DNS prefetching, and WebTransport — silently, with no prompt. Apple is working on a fix for fall 2026. Here's what leaked, why it happened, and what it says about browser-level privacy tools.
Surfshark Adds Scam Text Protection: SMS Scams Flagged Before You Can Tap Them
Surfshark's newest feature targets the scam channel most people still trust too much: text messages. On iOS, suspected scam texts are silently moved to spam; on Android, you get an alert plus an explanation of why the message was flagged.
What teardowns of free VPN apps actually found — and why download counts told you nothing
An analysis of 281 Android VPN apps reported that more than 80% contacted advertising or tracking domains, some leaked traffic outside the tunnel, and some sent their own data unencrypted. Several had over 100 million installs. Here is what the research measured, what it did not, and which trust signals survive it.
Proton Pass fixed the autofill problem — including the one inside iframes
Proton says an upgrade to how Pass detects login forms clears 80% of the autofill issues users had reported, including forms inside iframes that banks and shopping sites rely on. Plus 2FA codes that copy themselves, and an installer IT teams can actually deploy.
Your Phone Is Wrong About VPN Battery Drain — New Testing Puts It Under 2%
West Coast Labs measured NordVPN's real battery cost at 1.4% on Android and 1.8% on iOS over 24 hours, while the phone's own battery screen blamed it for 49% of a streaming session. Here's why the two numbers differ so wildly — and what actually saves battery.
NordVPN's HangUp Is a Free Android Call Blocker — No Subscription Needed
HangUp identifies incoming calls, categorises them and blocks whole categories like scam and telemarketing, free with a Nord account. Why category blocking beats blacklisting numbers, whose statistics are whose, and the trade you make installing it.
NordLabs Launches NordBot: An AI Scam Checker That Lives in Your DMs
NordBot checks suspicious texts, links and images from inside WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Messenger and X, free and without a subscription. The placement is smarter than the AI — and there's a reason to be careful with a “Safe” verdict.
IPVanish Brings WireGuard and OpenVPN to Apple TV — Two Days Before the MLS All-Star Game
IPVanish added WireGuard and OpenVPN with Scramble to its Apple TV app on July 27. The MLS All-Star Game streams on MLS Season Pass in that same app on July 29. What actually changed, how far the "only VPN" claim really goes, and which protocol to pick for a live match.
Webshare Restocks USA Dedicated ISP Proxies and Adds Colombia (From $0.45/IP)
Webshare has USA Dedicated ISP proxies back in stock with limited capacity, and has added Colombia to its static residential lineup from $0.45/IP. Why ISP stock-outs happen, what dedicated really costs, and what to check before a yearly commitment.
ExpressVPN+ Gets a Redesigned Dashboard — With Passkey Sign-In as the Real Upgrade
ExpressVPN redesigned its ExpressVPN+ dashboard, unifying account, privacy and security management - and added phishing-resistant passkey sign-in, a one-stop hub, and built-in travel eSIMs. What actually matters for your security, plus new research on how UK kids really use VPNs.
The UK Won't Ban VPNs - and the Reason Is Technical, Not Political
After months of speculation around its under-16 social media ban, the UK has ruled out banning VPNs. The real obstacle isn't politics - it's that VPNs are core internet infrastructure you can't simply switch off. Here's why bans don't work.
Surfshark News: Free Trial Test Launches July 20, Plus Faster macOS Speeds
Surfshark is testing a free trial from July 20 and adding new FastTrack speed locations for macOS. What both updates mean for you — plus the caveats: the trial is a gradual A/B test, and the speed boost is Mac-only for now.
Russia's VPN Crackdown Is Starting to Hurt Online Shopping
Russia's 2026 campaign against VPNs and foreign platforms is breaking more than access to news. It is snagging the checkout flows, fraud checks, and cross-border access online retail depends on.
IPVanish Turns On OpenVPN High-Speed Mode (DCO) on Windows — Up to 196% Faster
IPVanish has enabled OpenVPN High-Speed Mode (DCO) in its Windows client, promising up to 196% faster OpenVPN speeds with the same audited security. Here's what DCO does, the measured gains, how to turn it on, and the caveats — it's Windows-only and won't run with Scramble.
Webshare Adds a Brazil Residential Proxy Location (Plans From $0.45/IP)
Webshare has added Brazil to its static residential proxy network — add it from your dashboard at the provider's usual budget pricing (from $0.45/IP), with 30% off on a yearly plan. What's new, who it's for, and what to check before committing.
FastestPass 5-Year Deal: A Password Manager for $7 (Code Inside)
FastestVPN's password manager FastestPass is running a 5-year deal — Premium for $7 or Family for $9 with code FAMILYPLUS, until 31 July 2026. Encrypted vault, unlimited passwords, sync, autofill and secure family sharing. Here's what you get and whether it's worth locking in.
Will the UK Ban VPNs? What the Under-16 Social Media Debate Really Means
The UK has banned social media for under-16s and is studying children's VPN use, but it has not banned VPNs. We separate realistic enforcement pressure from clickbait.
ExpressVPN's Biggest Network Expansion: 214 Locations Across 113 Countries
ExpressVPN just rolled out its largest network expansion yet — 214 server locations across 113 countries, from Nuuk to Lagos, with all 50 US states and every server still on RAM-only TrustedServer hardware. Here's what actually changes for you.
ExpressKeys Update: Passkeys, Secure Sharing, and a New Cure53 Audit
ExpressVPN password manager ExpressKeys adds passkeys, controlled secure sharing, easy imports, iOS card scanning and a 30-day recovery bin — plus a new Cure53 audit with no high or critical issues.
VPN Streaming in 2026: Why Unblocking Still Changes Every Month
If your VPN unblocks a library one week and fails the next, it is by design. We explain the cat-and-mouse of IP blocklists, DNS and WebRTC leaks, speed, and smart DNS, and how to choose a streaming VPN that recovers fast.
Proton Drive Just Got a CLI and Uploads Up to 4× Faster
Proton Drive added a command-line interface for Windows, macOS, and Linux and made uploads up to 4× faster — closing the two gaps people used to cite for sticking with less private cloud storage.
Post-Quantum VPN Encryption: What It Means and Which Providers Are Moving First
Quantum-safe is the newest VPN buzzword. We explain the NIST 2024 standards, the harvest-now-decrypt-later threat, and how to tell a genuine hybrid post-quantum upgrade from marketing hype.