Why do a lot of VPN services are based on offshore locations? You might wonder why. In fact, most reputable virtual private network providers are not based in the US or the UK. And yes, it is recommended for you to use the VPN services that are based on offshore locations instead of the ones based in the US and UK. This is mainly because the US and UK’s governments are known to be very strict in enforcing the surveillance laws toward their citizens. They love to spy on what their citizens are doing.
If you are using the VPN that is based in the US or UK, you might end up not protecting your online privacy at all. Yes, you might be able to unblock censored or restricted websites, but your data will most likely be kept by the US or UK’s government since the VPN companies are required to do that. That’s just one big reason why VPN services that are based in offshore locations are more preferred. There are still many more reasons. Here are the reasons why you should avoid using VPN services that are based in the US and UK:
1. The Global Mass Surveillance Program
The government of the US and UK are very eager at spying their citizens in many things that they do. Let’s take a look at one of US governmental organizations called the NSA, which is famous for spying the citizens both offline and online. Of course, this organization’s goal is to protect the interests of the US and keep the country in a stable and safe situation. However, the practical application of this noble goal might go out of hand sometimes, threatening the very privacy of the citizens that they are trying to protect.
At this stage, it is safe to assume that VPN services that are based in the US and UK have a high certainty of logging the user’s activity and reporting it to the government regularly, or when necessary. This is one reason why you should choose the offshore-based private network services instead.
2. Your Private Data Is Safe And Secure
To take it simply, the services that are not based in the US and UK are not subject to the regulations of the US and UK, meaning that the laws of the US and UK cannot reach these VPN companies. For the users, it means that their data can always be kept safe without any risk of privacy breach. This is because these VPN services don’t log or monitor the user’s activity during their use of the private network. It also means more peace of mind for you.
3. They Log Your Data For The Government
When using one of the US or UK-based virtual private networks, you might think that your privacy is safe, but it is not quite so. Your data will be regulated under the laws of the United States or United Kingdom, which means that should it be necessary, the government can ask the company to reveal the usage data for specific users that they want to know. The private network company will be required under the law to comply with the government’s requests. For this purpose, the service will apply the logging and monitoring of your data while you use it. This is why it is not quite safe for your privacy.
4. The Government Is Always Finding A Way To Spy On You
The US or UK government is well-known for trying to find ways to spy on their citizens, especially online. Even when using private network services, the government has programs that allow them to penetrate into the private network and try to hack it in order to reveal the user’s activity. This practice, although it may or may not succeed depending on the private network’s own security and encryption system, can be dangerous for the online privacy for the VPN users. Another reason to just switch to an offshore-based VPN company.
5. Backdoors Might Be Inserted To The VPN Program
Again, in an effort to spy on the users and monitor their online activity despite using the private network, the government might insert some backdoors to the VPN program. The users might not realize about this malware being deployed in their VPN program, but it will silently send the usage data from the users to the government. Again, it will depend on the quality of the VPN program itself in terms of its security and protection system. In any case, it would be wise for you to avoid any of US or UK-based VPN services, especially free services that you don’t really trust or familiar with.
Your article is the answer why I use Nordvpn provider. Nord is based in Panama, which doesn’t have any data retention laws. It is not one of the 14-eyes countries and their government doesn’t carry out internet surveillance.