From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

Free, no account, cross platform privacy-respecting VPNs are disappearing.
Q: What free no-account no-registration cross-platform VPN do you use?
A: ?

Slowly the free cross-platform VPNs that don't require payment or
registration account are dwindling, which is too bad because the instant
you pay for anything or the instant you create an account, your privacy is toast since everything you do is logged to that transaction forever.

It's the same reason why only operating systems which don't require a mothership account offer any chance of providing any modicum of privacy.

Looking up free no-account VPNs, apparently these three pop up recently
that "supposedly" offer binaries for macOS/Windows/Linux (some are FOSS).
1. CalyxVPN (wireguard, free, no account)
2. RiseupVPN (wireguard, free, no account)
3. VPNGate (openvpn.exe, free, no account)
4. ? any others ?

Apparently, unlike free OpenVPN VPNs, each requires a specific app
1. CalyxVPN apparently no longer has cross platform app downloads???
<https://calyxinstitute.org/>
I can only find the Android Calyx free no-registration VPN binary.
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.calyxinstitute.vpn/>
2. RiseupVPN does seem to have cross platform app downloads
<https://riseup.net/en/vpn> {macOS/Windows/Linux/Android}
3. VPNGate VPN works on all platforms using openvpn.exe & a config
<https://vpngate.net>
4. ? any others ?

Note that Psiphon, Tor, Snowflake, Warp, etc., are different things, but
note that if anything requires an account, then it's worthless for privacy.

Also note that CloudflareWarp (free, no account) is not a privacy VPN.
<https://one.one.one.one/> {macOS/Windows/Linux/Android,iOS}
But it does change your IP address to a Cloudflare IP address.
The exit node is likely the nearest Cloudflare server to your location.
curl icanhazip.com will show a Cloudflare IP
It's kind of like a region-locked proxy tunnel to Cloudflare.
curl ipinfo.io/org
AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc.
So while a VPN completely replaces your network identity, Warp will use a Cloudflare server near you, so your network location won't change by much.

Other than those above, what free cross platform VPN sans login do you know about, so that everyone on this newsgroup can benefit from your knowledge?

Note: We don't need a lecture that if it's free then you're the product
because that simply means you don't understand what a VPN does. Likewise,
we don't need a lecture about the security of various VPNs as that's a
topic that ignores that every person has varying requirements.

When I talk about VPN, I'm mostly talking about proxies with encryption.
You want to hide your network ID but we're not doing anything illegal.

All you want is basic privacy from your ISP and from the final location.
--
Of the thousand things we need to know about privacy, most know only 3.
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

Maria Sophia wrote:

Slowly the free cross-platform VPNs that don't require payment or registration account are dwindling, which is too bad because the instant
you pay for anything or the instant you create an account, your privacy is toast since everything you do is logged to that transaction forever.

why is it in anyone's interest to provide such a VPN, are they behaving altruistically, or might they have ulterior motives? How do you decide
who to trust?

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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

Andy Burns wrote:

Maria Sophia wrote:

Slowly the free cross-platform VPNs that don't require payment or
registration account are dwindling, which is too bad because the instant
you pay for anything or the instant you create an account, your privacy is >> toast since everything you do is logged to that transaction forever.

why is it in anyone's interest to provide such a VPN, are they behaving altruistically, or might they have ulterior motives? How do you decide
who to trust?

Hi Andy,

You don't need to trust the VPN provider's motives because you only need to trust the architecture of the system (remember we're not breaking the law).

Q: Does the VPN hide your network identity from the final destination?
Q: Does the architecture hide your real identity from the VPN provider?
*For privacy, motive is irrelevant. Architecture is everything.*

Normally I'd leave the answer at that, since that really is the answer.
The architecture is what protects you, not the stated motive.

People who worry more about motive are always those who know nothing of architecture, since they should worry more about architecture than motive.

That's why I usually deprecate such a question, but coming from you, whom I respect, I'll give a deeper response that matters, to me, to your issue.

First off, let me tell you *why* I deprecate that question, OK?
The reason is everyone who asks that, never has any useful suggestions.

That is, for the past two decades I've been posting about VPNs on Usenet, I hear the same "complaints" from people who never can add on-topic value.

So, I deprecate the question because in two decades of following free VPNs
on Usenet, I've never seen anyone ask that question who knows about VPN.

They're just worry worts.
They know nothing, in general, and even less, in specifics.

So that's why I don't really want to play psychologist to their fears.

But, I respect you, so I take your question seriously, even as I do note
that you didn't provide any solution to the problem set that was asked.

Nobody who complains about VPNs ever has anything to add, it turns out.
I wish that weren't true. But all you'd have to do is prove me wrong.

Secondly, who cares what their motive is for providing a free product?
As long as it hides your identity from the final site, why do you care?

How does it NOT hide your identity compared to a non-free product?
At least a free product only has your IP address to tie your ID to.

Thirdly, every VPN provider, free or not, has a set of privacy rules.
For example, did you check the privacy rules inherent in VPNGate.net?

They are extremely well respected and have been around for over 15 years.
I have *thousands* of their free VPN servers I rotate amongst every day.

Who is to say that this is a bad thing?

Fourthly, let's assume you actually do care why they're providing that VPN,
for free, such as with ProtonVPN, as just one common example out there.

What are you going to do with that information once you find it out?
We could go down the list of free VPN providers' motives, for example:

Q: Why does RiseupVPN say they provide VPN for free?
A: Because their political mission is to support activists and dissidents.

Q: Why does CalyxVPN say they provide VPN for free?
A: Because they're funded by donations to support privacy infrastructure.

Q: Why does VPNGate say they provide VPN for free?
A: To fight censorship and provide academic research data.

Q: Why does ProtonVPN say they provide VPN for free?
A: To upsell you to the paid tier.

Q: Why does Psiphon say they provide circumvention for free?
A: To bypass censorship in authoritarian countries.

Q: Why does Tor exist for free?
A: Because it's funded by NGOs and government research grants.

Q: Why does Cloudflare Warp exist for free?
A: To onboard users into Cloudflare's ecosystem & improve telemetry.

Q: Why does Snowflake exist for free?
A: To provide censorship-resistant bridges for Tor.

Q: Why does Mullvad offer anonymous vouchers?
A: Because their architecture is built around not knowing who you are.

Q: Why does Outline VPN exist for free?
A: To help journalists and NGOs deploy their own VPN servers

We could play this psychology game forever, Andy, right?
If the architecture prevents correlation, the motive is irrelevant.
--
Worse, anyone who worries about motive without discussing architecture,
never has anything of value to add to the original question of which VPN.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

Theo wrote:

In comp.mobile.android Maria Sophia <[email protected]> wrote:

Free, no account, cross platform privacy-respecting VPNs are disappearing. >> Q: What free no-account no-registration cross-platform VPN do you use?
A: ?

Slowly the free cross-platform VPNs that don't require payment or
registration account are dwindling, which is too bad because the instant
you pay for anything or the instant you create an account, your privacy is >> toast since everything you do is logged to that transaction forever.

Mullvad is not free (it's a flat EUR5 per month) but allows you to pay by sending cash in the mail. You just send a random ID token generated on
their website (no account possible). They don't log. When the cash runs out, send them another letter with cash and a new ID token and repeat - they have no way to connect your previous token with the new one (in fact, they don't allow token reuse).

They support Wireguard, optional content blocking, and selection of location via different endpoint IPs.

Hi Theo,

Thank you for adding value as I respect your acumen and you hit *exactly*
upon the point of why it matters (or not) that a privacy tool is "free".

I'll never disagree with anyone who has a sensibly logical viewpoint.
So I 100% agree that Mullvad belongs in the list of usable privacy VPNs!
<https://mullvad.net/en/pricing> %5.81/month (USD) or 5 Euros a month

You'll notice in my prior response to Andy what I said about Mullvad VPN:
Q: Why does Mullvad offer anonymous vouchers?
A: Because their architecture is built around not knowing who you are.

How do you get privacy once you pay for something with your credit card?
You can't. But, as you noted, there are ways to privately pay for stuff.

While I've never paid for anything in bitcoin (I wouldn't even know how), I
do agree with your valuable input that Mullvad is *different* that way.

Mullvad makes it trivially *easy* to pay simply by sending them money!
You can send cash, bitcoin, or monero, apparently.
<https://www.security.org/vpn/mullvad/>

So even as Mullvad wasn't on the original list (because it's not free), Mullvad definitely belongs on the list because of *how* it's not free.

By way of comparison, Mullvad is roughly like VPNGate, although Mullvad
saves no logs (although all VPNs will save them when subpoenaed by LE).

Mullvad is available in macOS, Windows, Linux, Android & iOS so it meets
all other conditions stated (since the free part is privately paid).

Thank you for adding useful usable value to the question about how to get a cross platform VPN that you can sign up for without identifying yourself!
--
I'm different from most people in that I care very much to help others.
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

On Tue, 16 Jun 2026 02:09:42 -0500, Maria Sophia wrote:

1. CalyxVPN (wireguard, free, no account)

Requires registration. Is your information outdated?

2. RiseupVPN (wireguard, free, no account)

Looks free, but I don't see any list of servers?

3. VPNGate (openvpn.exe, free, no account)

I already have it bookmarked. It's still free. No registration.

4. ? any others ?

For true VPN, none yet from me.

Note that Psiphon, Tor, Snowflake, Warp, etc., are different things, but
note that if anything requires an account, then it's worthless for privacy.

While it has its own advantages, Tor can't be used as true VPN, since it
only support TCP.

Also note that CloudflareWarp (free, no account) is not a privacy VPN.

It requires registration.
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