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.
IPVanish Drops to $2.39/Month — What the 84% Off Really Means
IPVanish cut its 2-Year Essential Plan to $2.39 a month from September 23, 2026, billed as 84% off. The percentage checks out against its $14.99 monthly list price — but the change is ten cents a month, $2.40 across the whole term. Here is what you actually pay, what it buys, and the two numbers that matter more.
ExpressVPN's Live Sports Deal: 28 Months From $2.99 (Ends Oct 13)
ExpressVPN's Watch Live Sports Securely campaign runs September 23 to October 13: 24 months plus 4 bonus months, from $2.99/mo (80% off) in USD and €2.49 in EUR. Basic holds its price, but Advanced and Pro are both more expensive than the campaign they replace — all six prices, the effective cost over 28 months, and which tier is worth it outside the US.
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.
PIA's Fall 2026 Deal: 85% Off Plus 2 Bonus Months to Stream and Work From Anywhere
Private Internet Access's Fall Campaign 2026 runs September 9-23: 24+2 months at $1.79/mo (85% off) or EUR1.59/mo (85% off), with unlimited devices and a 30-day guarantee. The deal, the fine print on the upfront term and renewal, and whether PIA is worth it for streaming and remote work.
CyberGhost's Fall 2026 Deal: 85% Off Plus 2 Extra Months
CyberGhost's Fall Campaign 2026 runs September 9-23: 24+2 months at $1.99/mo (85% off) or EUR1.99/mo (83% off), with a 45-day money-back guarantee and up to 7 devices. The deal, the fine print on the upfront term and renewal, and whether CyberGhost fits you.
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.
Surfshark's End-of-Summer Deal: The Full One Bundle for the Price of Starter
From August 17 to September 7, Surfshark sells its full One bundle — VPN, antivirus, ad blocker and breach alerts — at the entry Starter price: $2.49/month on the 24-month plan.
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.
Win an iPhone 17 Pro: ExpressVPN's Summer Tech Competition (30 Up for Grabs)
ExpressVPN's Summer Tech Competition is giving away 30 iPhone 17 Pro from 11 July to 9 August 2026. Enter by subscribing to an eligible plan, or take the free no-purchase route. Here's how it works, the dates, and what to check before you buy.
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.
hide.me VPN Summer Deal 2026: 27 Months for $/€/£ 2.59 a Month
hide.me's summer offer (21 July – 30 August 2026): 27 months — 24 plus 3 bonus — for $/€/£ 2.59/month, total 69.99. Plus a Price Guarantee so your renewal stays the same. Here's the deal and what you get.
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.