--- title: I stopped using free VPNs after I learned what they do... description: Free VPN apps frequently fail to deliver on their privacy promises. A 2016 CSIRO study found 84% of 283 Android VPN apps leaked IPv6 traffic, 66% leaked DNS... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-free-vpns-after-i-learned-what-they-do-with-your-traffic-elipduerj twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I stopped using free VPNs after I learned what they do with your traffic | daily.dev og:description: Free VPN apps frequently fail to deliver on their privacy promises. A 2016 CSIRO study found 84% of 283 Android VPN apps leaked IPv6 traffic, 66% leaked DNS... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-free-vpns-after-i-learned-what-they-do-with-your-traffic-elipduerj og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/elIPdueRJ.png og:image:alt: I stopped using free VPNs after I learned what they do with your traffic og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I stopped using free VPNs after I learned what they do with your traffic **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Free VPN apps frequently fail to deliver on their privacy promises. A 2016 CSIRO study found 84% of 283 Android VPN apps leaked IPv6 traffic, 66% leaked DNS queries, and 18% encrypted nothing. A more recent MVPNalyzer study found 29 of 281 free Android VPNs still leaked traffic, 61 sent data in plaintext, and over 80% sent data to ad/tracking domains. Free VPNs monetize users through data sales, traffic injection, and affiliate redirects — as seen with Hotspot Shield, Onavo, and Sensor Tower. Trustworthy alternatives include Proton VPN Free (unlimited data, one device, no ads, audited) and Windscribe, whose no-logs policy was validated when Greek prosecutors dismissed a case after the company had no data to produce. Self-hosting a VPN is also presented as a viable option for those who want full control. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What did the MVPNalyzer study find about free Android VPN apps leaking data? Testing 281 free Android VPN apps found that 29 still leaked traffic outside the tunnel, 61 sent data in plaintext, and over 80% sent data to known ad and tracking domains. This follows an earlier 2016 CSIRO study of 283 Android VPN apps, which found 84% leaked IPv6 traffic, 66% leaked DNS queries, and 18% didn't encrypt traffic at all. _Anyone vetting a VPN for real privacy can find vendor claims and independent audits compared on daily.dev._ ### What did Hotspot Shield's free VPN tier get caught doing to user traffic? Hotspot Shield's free tier was caught injecting JavaScript into browsing sessions and redirecting shopping traffic through affiliate partners, similar to the practice that got the Honey browser extension in trouble. This kind of affiliate injection lets a free VPN provider monetize traffic instead of charging subscribers directly. _Developers weighing which free tools quietly monetize traffic can track cases like this on daily.dev._ ### How did Windscribe prove its no-log VPN claim in court? Greek prosecutors charged Windscribe's founder over traffic tied to one of its servers, but the case was dismissed because the company had no logs to produce, demonstrating its no-log architecture held up under legal scrutiny. This is treated as a rare real-world test of a VPN provider's no-logging claims, unlike marketing promises that dissolve once law enforcement asks for data. _Anyone deciding which VPN's no-log promise to trust can follow real legal test cases on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Should You Trust Your VPN Location?](https://daily.dev/posts/should-you-trust-your-vpn-location--qslxmc3cx) · Hacker News · 2 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#privacy](https://daily.dev/tags/privacy), [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#vpn](https://daily.dev/tags/vpn) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-free-vpns-after-i-learned-what-they-do-with-your-traffic-elipduerj) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I stopped using free VPNs after I learned what they do with your traffic","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-free-vpns-after-i-learned-what-they-do-with-your-traffic-elipduerj","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-free-vpns-after-i-learned-what-they-do-with-your-traffic-elipduerj"},"datePublished":"2026-08-07T20:03:13.179Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T06:28:44.225Z","description":"Free VPN apps frequently fail to deliver on their privacy promises. 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