PureVPN is a prominent figure on the VPN’s market. The company offers a bunch of curious features at a very attractive price. Too good to be true? Some providers might keep dark secrets while disguising as pro-client services. The biggest lie these services say is that they retain no logs. Is PureVPN one of such VPNs? I meticulously studied the provider’s privacy policy as well as reviews and feedback on the Internet to conclude whether PureVPN keeps logs or not. The results of my investigation are below.
PureVPN Jurisdiction
Most VPNs strive to register their companies in privacy-friendly countries, i.e. territories that don’t have compulsory data retention laws and that are not involved in any surveillance treaties. Despite the fact that Hong Kong is in China’s backyard, it is still considered a freedom island. This is why Edward Snowden fled to Hong Kong fearing for his life after his revelations had gone public. This also became a reason why PureVPN chose Hong Kong to be its home country.
So, Hong Kong doesn’t cooperate with NSA and likewise agencies. Therefore, they can’t force VPN providers to turn over data about their clients. The only way they can get necessary data is if they have a court warrant, but more on that later.
Does PureVPN Really Exercises a No-Logging Policy?
The company’s privacy policy clearly states that they don’t collect any connection or user logs. However, later in the same document, they contradict themselves saying they do store some connection logs (days a user connected to VPN servers, his or her ISP, and the amount of consumed bandwidth). Moreover, the provider additionally issued an explainer to their privacy policy that pinpoints that they keep network logs (another name for connection logs), which include user timestamps (those are associated with IP address and time when you connect to a VPN and terminate a session).
According to the provider, these logs ‘reveal nothing’. In this case, how did this information about ‘nothing’ help to catch a cyber stalker Ryan Lin who was a PureVPN’s client? The provider yielded information about specific connections to FBI and it led them to this person. What is even more interesting is that the service provided this data voluntary since FBI has no jurisdiction in Hong Kong.
Therefore, you should always verify every word VPNs say. If they claim to be ‘no logs services it doesn’t mean they really are. Just like with PureVPN, their zero logs, in fact, implied that they don’t record user logs (let’s be honest, if you are a VPN you can’t keep these logs anyway) but connection logs were in place. This data is not that harmless and the case of Ryan Lin proves it.
If you want to try PureVPN despite what you have just read, here is a review for you with more information.
Are there Truly No-Log Services?
Oh yeah, there are plenty VPN services which logging policies are much better (as well as providers that are more sincere about what they record). NordVPN stands out the most due to their unprecedented policy. They keep no logs. Period. Plus, the company is registered in Panama, a digital privacy paradise. The provider offers a bunch of other security features. So if your privacy matters, NordVPN should be your number one choice.
PureVPN Logging Policy Conclusion
PureVPN’s jurisdiction allows them not to worry about keeping any logs. However, the company does keep some log files and it is not completely honest about it. Connection logs are not innocuous and they can reveal your identity. PureVPN’s zero-logging policy on paper is a complete farce in reality. The fact that they lie in the face of their users undermine their credibility big time. You should think twice before entrusting your security to a service that is not completely honest with you.