NordVPN has announced the results of a fourth audit by Deloitte, one of the Big Four. The company said it opened its doors from 30 November until 7 December 2023 for the auditors to poke around, interview employees and generally check that the VPN servers aren’t recording any sensitive data about how subscribers are using the service.
And the good news is that they didn’t find anything untoward, meaning it’s safe to use NordVPN.
Most people don’t appreciate that when they use a VPN service, that company could – if they wanted to – see which websites you visit, which videos you watch and which files you download.
That’s because you’re sending all that data via a VPN server. Although VPNs encrypt the data sent over your internet connection, that lasts only until it gets to the VPN server where it’s decrypted.
At that point, any data that wasn’t already encrypted anyway is plain to see, and it needs to be that way, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to browse websites and use web services. The internet just wouldn’t work properly.
This is why it’s crucial to only use a VPN service you trust, which means one that doesn’t record any information – called logging – about what you do while connected to the service.
Lots of VPNs claim that they have a no-logs policy, but those are just words on their websites. What’s important is that each company proves its claims by enlisting an independent company, such as Deloitte, to examine server logs, infrastructure and other aspects to verify that it sticks by its claims and does not record any user-identifiable data.
Not everyone needs ultimate privacy from a VPN, but if you’re going to subscribe to one, it’s certainly a good idea to pick one whose privacy policy has been verified.
This is the fourth time NordVPN has called in the auditors, exactly a year after the previous one. It’s great to see these regular audits because they are just a snapshot in time. Other VPNs may have had audits in the past, such as Hide.me back in 2015, but who’s to say if things haven’t changed in the meantime.
The latest report is available online for anyone to read, whether they’re an existing NordVPN user or not.
“While we work hard to create and develop world-leading cybersecurity solutions to protect our customers, we also take privacy very seriously, and we are fully committed to our promise to not monitor or record the online traffic of our users. We firmly believe that a no-logs policy should be an industry standard and that an independent assurance engagement by a trusted Big Four firm reassures customers of our commitment to a safer and radically better internet,” said Marijus Briedis, CTO at NordVPN.
If you’re already a NordVPN subscriber, the news should just reassure you that you chose well. If you’re not, you might like to read our review: the service still sits at the top of our list of the best VPN services.