I am thinking about changing VPN, I am currently using ProtonVPN and I was thinking about changing to AirVPN (for its prices and port forwarding) or Mullvad (Everyone says it is better regarding privacy but I don’t know why).

Which one would you recommend and why? I have seen a lot of criticism towards AirVPN for being based in Italy, but if they don’t collect the data as they say they do, there shouldn’t be any problem, right?

  • Imprint9816@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 month ago

    I have used both Mullvad and AirVPN for extended periods of time.

    Mullvad is the gold standard. If you don’t need port forwarding and privacy is your biggest concern there is no better choice. Check out their server infrastructure, and tools such as DAITA / Leta / Mullvad browser to see how much they contribute to the privacy community.

    Mullvad is also a much better UX. AirVPN Eddie client feels like its stuck in 1998.

    Both are good VPNs - Mullvad just happens to be the best. The only real issue, from a privacy perspective, with AirVPN is they refuse to be audited so you are stuck just trusting they do what they say but OTOH they have been around for a long time and never given a reason not to be trusted.

    If you do need port forwarding, AirVPN probably has the best implementation of it. They also have customizable DNS on a per device level which is also pretty cool.

    • Trincapinones@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      1 month ago

      What mainly seemed to me a motivation to use AirVPN was the price, 30€ per year with the halloween discount vs the 60€ per year of Mullvad was a good incentive, but seeing so many people criticizing AirVPN without much basis I was worried about making a bad decision, thanks for the great support.

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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        1 month ago

        I switched to AirVPN from Mullvad after they removed port forwarding and it has been working fine for me. The phone client is dated like others say, and I have had a few ads popup in it, but it’s worked fine so far. I don’t have anymore knowledge about their privacy standards than the next guy, but I’m not too concerned as I’m just using it to torrent Linux ISOs.

        I will say that Mullvad is a pretty stand-up company, and I was sad to leave them, but I need port forwarding.

          • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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            1 month ago

            They’re cheap and offer port forwarding and there is a radio button you can click to stop seeing ads. It’s typically just a sale notice for AirVPN.