Our Selection Criteria
With hundreds of VPNs and email providers on the market, it is hard to know who to trust. Many “review sites” are owned by the VPN companies themselves.
PC Privacy Tools is different. We only recommend services that meet our strict “Transparency Standard”:
- Open Source Clients: The software must be auditable by security researchers.
- Proven No-Logs Policy: Ideally verified by court cases or third-party audits.
- Privacy-Friendly Jurisdiction: Based in countries with strong data protection laws (like Switzerland, Iceland, or Germany), outside the immediate reach of the “14 Eyes” surveillance network.
- Sustainable Business Model: Funded by subscriptions, not by selling user data.
Why we chose these specific tools
Proton VPN & Mail (Switzerland)
Proton was founded by CERN scientists and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Why we like it: They use Secure Core architecture, routing traffic through hardened servers in bunkers before it leaves their network. Their email service effectively pioneered easy-to-use PGP encryption for the masses.
Tuta (Germany)
Formerly Tutanota, Tuta is a privacy pioneer based in Hanover.
- Why we like it: They are the first email provider to offer Quantum-Safe Encryption. Unlike others, they also encrypt subject lines and calendars, offering a higher degree of metadata protection.
Proton Pass (Open Source)
A relative newcomer that has quickly become a top contender.
- Why we like it: Unlike cloud-based competitors that have suffered breaches, Proton Pass uses end-to-end encryption for everything, including metadata. It also includes built-in SimpleLogin email aliases to prevent spam.
A Note on “Free” Services
We offer free tools on this website (Password Generator, Metadata Remover) because they run offline on your device. However, infrastructure costs money.
If a VPN or Cloud Storage provider is “100% Free”, you are the product. They are likely logging your traffic or selling your bandwidth. We strongly recommend investing a few dollars a month in a reputable, paid service to guarantee your safety.