Can I trust FrootVPN? That’s the question we’ve been getting over and over since The Pirate Bay started advertising free VPN service from the company earlier this week. It’s hard because I respect the TPB team and don’t think they would steer users in the wrong direction. Yet I’ve never heard of FrootVPN. In fact this is the first time we’ve ever heard the name. The same is true for everyone contacting us this week. So can you trust them?
I would like to say you can trust FrootVPN but I just can’t. The reason is that we have no idea who they are and why they are advertising free VPN access on TPB. It appears FrootVPN is a new service. Perhaps they are trying to break into the VPN space by giving away VPN access to TPB users? If so they should just come out and say that on their site. The problem is no one knows what the company is up to. Giving away VPN access is not a cheap proposition. Especially when you start advertising it on The Pirate Bay home page.
This is tough because we want to promote online privacy services but we also need to be cautious and help protect our audience. I’m not saying that using FrootVPN isn’t safe. The problem is that I can’t vouch for the service either. Since they are brand new and haven’t made clear why the service is free I would steer clear of them for now. Give it some time and see what others have to say on sites like reddit.
Let’s take a look at a few possible reasons why FrootVPN might want to give away VPN access.
- The service is new and they want to test the network before charging a fee.
- The service is backed by a company with deep pockets and doesn’t need to make a profit anytime soon.
- The company plans to make money off donations.
- FrootVPN plans to build up a large user base and then sell.
- The service isn’t reputable in which case users should be concerned.
I think the first option is the most likely scenario. We’ve seen a number of VPN services give away accounts early on to test the service. I’m talking about a few accounts though. Nothing like advertising free VPN on TPB. That’s part of the reason I’m skeptical. You’re talking about a massive influx of new users. Not just new users but heavy bandwidth users. The kind that will cost FrootVPN a lot of money in bandwidth costs.
You can decide whether or not you think FrootVPN is trustworthy enough to protect your online privacy. Remember that when you use a VPN service they can log your actions. FrootVPN claims not to log but again this is the first time we’ve ever heard of the service so we’ll be skeptical of the free, no log VPN until more is known about the company. If they are serious about protecting users privacy then we wish the FrootVPN team the best of luck. Time will tell and we’ll keep you informed as we learn more about the service.
You can visit vpnsp.com to learn more about VPN. Follow us @VPNSP for the latest VPN news and deals.
