Our world has gone digital. Much of what we do every day is somewhere connected to smart technology. You drive to work while checking the traffic status using Google Maps. You probably work on a computer every day. You use your smartphone to click pictures and save memories. You share these memories on social networking websites. You watch your favorite movies and TV shows on streaming channels such as Netflix.
As our world goes digital, many people question if our lives are really as private as they used to be. It is true that we share our best, and sometimes worst, moments as well as our thoughts and opinions on social media. And almost everyone can see what we share on our social profiles. And if that isn't bad enough, then you'd be even more horrified after learning that most websites that we visit actually track us on the internet. They know where we live, and they can also track the other websites that we visit on the internet.
All of this is a violation of our privacy. But thankfully, there exist tools that help us remain private on the internet. One of these tools is a VPN. Most VPN companies claim that they provide complete online security and anonymity to their users. They mention features such as encryption and more that help keep a user secure on the web.
But when we talk about VPNs, we also hear that many of these services actually log user data. This data can include our online browsing activities, the timing of the connections, and more. When this question was openly raised, most VPN brands came up with the term "no log VPN". This apparently meant that these brands keep zero logs of user data, and this term was marketed heavily by all of the major VPN services.
But when we looked at the privacy policy of these VPN services, we realized that the term "no log" is apparently a lie and that many VPN services do store logs of user data. The only VPN services who specifically mention that they keep zero logs are some renowned services such as PureVPN, PIA, and ExpressVPN.
But can we take these VPN services by their word? The answer is no. But we don't have to, because these VPN services have themselves confirmed their statements by allowing independent auditors to perform an audit of their system.
Only six VPN brands have taken this step so far, and the most recent one is PureVPN, who allowed Altius IT to perform an intensive audit of their network. The VPN brand even answered questions posted by BestVPN.co and provided more insights to their audit.
"This audit is part of a series of steps that we are taking to further cement our commitment to true privacy," was one of the answers to this audit. You can read more about this QA from here.