Editorial Policy

Last updated: April 23, 2026

This page explains how I test, review, and rank VPN services on All Things VPN — and, just as importantly, what I refuse to do. If you’ve read content on this site, this is the framework behind it. I update this policy when my practices change; the “Last updated” date above reflects the most recent revision.

If anything on All Things VPN ever contradicts what’s written here, the policy takes precedence. Contact me and I’ll fix the content.

Who runs this site

All Things VPN is written and operated by ATV. I’ve been publishing VPN content on YouTube for over two years, with 200+ hands-on video reviews, tutorials, and comparison tests. Every VPN I write about on this site, I’ve personally used — not tested once and forgotten about, but installed on my own devices and used as my actual VPN for weeks or months before writing about it.

This isn’t a team of anonymous contractors pumping out AI-generated coupon pages. It’s one person who uses VPNs daily, tests them on camera, and writes about them in the same voice you’d hear in my videos.

Contact: [your contact email or form] YouTube: https://youtube.com/@allthingsvpn

How I test VPNs

Every VPN covered on this site goes through the same testing process before I write about it. I don’t rank or recommend services I haven’t personally used.

Hands-on testing period

Minimum 30 days of actual daily use before any review is published. For flagship recommendations (Surfshark, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN), testing periods have exceeded a year. I install the VPN on the devices I actually use — phone, laptop, Firestick, router — not a test environment I’ll tear down once the article is done.

What I test specifically

Speed — using Ookla (speedtest.net) across multiple server locations, with my actual home connection as baseline. I publish the numbers, not vague “fast” claims.
Streaming — Netflix (multiple regions), Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Hulu. Specific servers, specific results.
Leak testing — DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leak tests using dnsleaktest.com and ipleak.net across multiple servers.
Kill switch — I deliberately trigger disconnections to confirm the kill switch actually blocks traffic as advertised.
Apps — installed and used on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Fire TV/Firestick minimum. Linux and routers when applicable.
Customer support — I contact support with a real question and time the response. I don’t recommend VPNs whose support is unresponsive or incompetent.
Money-back guarantee — I’ve personally tested the refund process on multiple VPNs to verify the guarantee is honored.

What I can’t test

I’m based in [your general region]. My testing reflects VPN performance in that region. Performance in other regions — particularly restrictive countries like China, UAE, and Russia — is based on user reports and publicly available information, not my direct testing. When I make claims about restrictive-country performance, I flag that I haven’t personally tested there.

My testing environment is a residential internet connection, not an enterprise or data center setup. Enterprise performance may differ from what I measure.

How I rank VPNs

There’s no ranking algorithm or weighted formula. My rankings reflect my honest editorial judgment after testing, informed by:

Actual performance on speed, streaming, security, and usability
Value for money at current pricing
Privacy credentials — jurisdiction, audits, logging policy, corporate ownership
Who the VPN is genuinely best for — because no VPN is best for everyone

Ranking order can change when:

A VPN drops significantly in price or adds a major feature
An audit reveals a privacy issue
A company is acquired by a parent with concerning practices
My testing reveals a change in performance
A competitor rolls out something meaningfully better

When rankings change, I update the affected pages and note the change in my next weekly update cycle.

What I refuse to do

This is the most important section of this policy — the commitments that shape every decision on this site.

I won’t let commissions determine rankings

Different VPN affiliate programs pay different commission rates. Some pay significantly more than others. Those differences don’t determine which VPNs I rank highly or recommend to readers.

Concretely:

My #1 ranked VPN (Surfshark) is not my highest-paying affiliate. Other programs in my portfolio pay more per conversion. Surfshark ranks #1 because I think it’s genuinely the best fit for most users.
I’ve declined affiliate partnerships with VPNs I don’t trust, even when the commission was competitive or above market rate.
I’ve featured VPNs with below-average commissions when I think they’re the right recommendation for specific use cases (for example, Proton VPN for privacy-focused users).

Commission rates vary across the programs I partner with. Rates are set by each VPN independently and I don’t negotiate rankings or coverage based on them. Where two VPNs are close in my editorial judgment, the higher-paying option doesn’t get the ranking bump — in fact, in those cases I specifically choose based on user fit to avoid any appearance of commission-driven bias.

I won’t invent coupon codes

Every coupon code, discount percentage, and price on this site is verified at the VPN’s actual checkout flow before publication. I don’t list “exclusive” codes that don’t exist, fabricate promotions that aren’t running, or display old pricing as current. If a deal changes, the page changes — or gets flagged while I investigate.

I won’t hide flaws

Every review includes a cons section with substantive weaknesses. Every coupon page flags the renewal-price trap and any other issues users should know before buying. If a VPN has had a breach, audit issue, or controversy, I mention it and explain what it means — even when doing so might reduce conversions.

Specifically, on this site you’ll find:

Honest disclosure that four of the nine VPNs I cover (ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, PIA, plus their review-site ownership footprint) are part of Kape Technologies, a corporate group that also owns several major VPN review websites — a legitimate concern for users who care about corporate concentration.
The 2016 IPVanish incident (where user logs were provided to DHS under previous ownership) is flagged on the IPVanish page.
PrivadoVPN and VeePN are identified as lacking independent audits, unlike the more-audited competitors.
Every “renewal trap” — the standard industry practice of auto-renewing discounted plans at full price — is flagged with instructions for how to avoid it.

If something’s an issue, I want you to know about it before you buy, not after.

I won’t recommend the wrong VPN for a commission

When a reader’s specific use case doesn’t match my #1 recommendation, I say so and direct them to the better fit — even when that fit is a different VPN, a different affiliate partner, or sometimes a service I don’t have a partnership with at all.

Examples you’ll find across the site:

If streaming is your primary use case, my Surfshark pages direct you to CyberGhost or my CyberGhost pages if its dedicated streaming servers might be a better fit.
If you need the longest risk-free trial, I direct you to CyberGhost’s 45-day guarantee.
If privacy is your absolute top priority, I direct you to Proton VPN or Mullvad — and I specifically call out that Mullvad is not part of my affiliate partnerships.
If you’re in China or UAE, I recommend NordVPN or ExpressVPN for restrictive-country performance, even though other options pay me more.

I won’t manipulate with fake urgency

No countdown timers showing a deal expires “in 3 hours” when I don’t actually know when it expires. No “only 5 spots left!” scarcity tactics. No emotional manipulation. The deals on this site are typically available year-round — I say so honestly, rather than pretending each one is a limited-time emergency.

I won’t use manipulative affiliate tactics

No cookie stuffing
No spoofing user referrers
No forcing affiliate cookies before a user clicks a CTA
No hidden affiliate links pretending to be something else
All affiliate links use rel="sponsored nofollow" per Google’s guidelines
All affiliate disclosures appear prominently at the top of every page, above the fold

Affiliate relationships and commissions

The honest version

All Things VPN earns commissions when readers sign up for VPN services through links on this site. This is how the site funds its operation — hosting, testing subscriptions, time spent producing content. Without affiliate revenue, All Things VPN wouldn’t exist in its current form.

What this means for you: clicking my links and signing up through them pays me a small amount. It doesn’t cost you anything extra — in many cases, my deal links show better prices than going directly to the VPN’s homepage, because my affiliate links trigger promotional pricing that isn’t otherwise applied.

What this doesn’t mean: it doesn’t buy positive coverage. I’ve been critical of VPNs whose affiliate programs I’m enrolled in (see any of my coupon pages — they all include substantive criticism sections). I’ve declined partnerships with programs whose products I couldn’t stand behind.

Which VPNs I have affiliate partnerships with

Currently partnered with: NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access (PIA), IPVanish, PrivadoVPN, and VeePN.

Partnered through: Impact Radius, CJ Affiliate, and direct partner programs (varies by VPN).

Which VPNs I mention but don’t have partnerships with

Mullvad is the main example. I recommend Mullvad in multiple places on this site for users prioritizing maximum privacy, even though I have no affiliate relationship with them. Mullvad doesn’t run a traditional affiliate program — that’s actually part of why it has the privacy reputation it does. When I recommend them, I earn nothing from it. I mention this specifically so you know my Mullvad recommendations aren’t commission-driven.

Commission rates and disclosure

I’m not going to publish specific commission percentages for each VPN, for two reasons:

Most affiliate program terms prohibit disclosure of specific rates
Rates are competitively sensitive and change over time

What I will tell you:

Commission rates vary meaningfully across the programs I partner with
Rate differences don’t determine rankings or recommendations
I’ve specifically chosen not to rank higher-commission VPNs at the top when lower-commission VPNs fit readers better
When two VPNs are close editorially, I default to the better fit for readers, not the higher payer

If you want to verify any specific claim I make, every major VPN on this site has a 30-day money-back guarantee (Surfshark, NordVPN, Proton, ExpressVPN, IPVanish, PIA, PrivadoVPN, VeePN) or 45-day (CyberGhost). You can test my recommendations yourself and get a full refund if I’m wrong.

Updates and corrections

Weekly verification

Every Monday, I verify the following on every active coupon page:

Current promotional pricing at each VPN’s checkout
Which deals are live vs. expired
Whether exclusive codes (where applicable) still work
Any new promotions to flag

Pages are updated with the current status and the “Last verified” timestamp reflects the most recent Monday check. If you see pricing on my site that doesn’t match what you see at checkout, it means either the deal changed between my last check and your visit, or my update workflow missed something — email me and I’ll fix it same-day.

Corrections policy

I make mistakes. When I do, I fix them.

Pricing errors: fixed within 24 hours of notification or discovery
Factual errors: fixed within 48 hours, with a note at the bottom of the page explaining what changed
Broken affiliate links: fixed within 48 hours
Major errors affecting a recommendation: pulled from rankings pending re-review

If you spot an error, email me. I’d rather be told I’m wrong and fix it quickly than have incorrect information on the site.

Major content updates

Individual VPN reviews are fully re-tested and re-written annually at minimum, more frequently when:

A VPN launches a significant new feature or infrastructure change
An audit is published
An incident, breach, or controversy happens
Ownership changes
Prices shift meaningfully

Every major update includes a new “Last updated” date on the page.

My relationship with VPN providers

What I accept

Affiliate partnerships through public programs open to any qualifying affiliate
Access to PR contacts for factual questions about the service
Occasional press releases and product announcements (used for research, never reprinted as content)

What I don’t accept

Paid reviews — no VPN company has ever paid me to write favorably about their service
“Placements” or “guaranteed positions” in rankings
Sponsored ranking slots in any of my best-of guides
Free extended subscriptions in exchange for positive coverage (I pay for my own subscriptions, including test accounts I later refund)
Pre-publication review approval from VPN companies — no VPN has ever seen my content before it went live, and none ever will

If a VPN company contacts me requesting changes to my coverage, I consider the feedback on its factual merits only. I’ve had several VPNs dispute sections of my content; I’ve made changes when they pointed out a factual error, and I’ve declined when the dispute was about editorial judgment. In neither case has the existence of an affiliate relationship influenced the decision.

If I change this

If I ever accept paid placements, sponsored rankings, or pre-publication review from VPN companies, I’ll update this page and disclose the change prominently across the affected content. If this page says otherwise, it’s accurate as of the “Last updated” date at the top.

FTC compliance

This site follows Federal Trade Commission guidelines for affiliate disclosures:

Affiliate disclosures appear prominently at the top of every page that contains affiliate links, visible without scrolling
Every affiliate link uses rel="sponsored nofollow" per both FTC and Google requirements
Material connections are disclosed whenever relevant
Reviews reflect genuine opinions based on actual use of the products

If you’re reading this from outside the US, I follow the spirit of FTC guidelines regardless of your jurisdiction because I think they’re the right framework for honest affiliate content.

What this site isn’t

A few honest disclaimers:

I’m not a lawyer

If you need legal advice about VPN use in your specific jurisdiction, talk to a lawyer. Laws around VPN usage vary significantly across countries — what’s legal in the US may not be legal in China, UAE, or Russia. My coverage reflects my understanding of the publicly available information, but I don’t offer legal advice.

I’m not a cryptographer or security researcher

I report on VPN security features based on the providers’ claims, independent audit findings when available, and my own hands-on leak and kill switch testing. I don’t independently audit VPN code, assess encryption implementations at the protocol level, or conduct formal security research. For deep security questions, consult the published audits (NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton, and ExpressVPN all have publicly-available independent audits) or independent security researchers.

This site isn’t comprehensive

I cover 9 VPN providers in depth because those are the services I’ve personally tested long enough to write about honestly. There are 50+ VPN providers on the market. I don’t cover most of them — either because I haven’t tested them, because their practices (data harvesting, lifetime deal scams, dubious ownership) fail my basic quality bar, or because they don’t meaningfully differ from providers I already cover.

If a VPN you’re curious about isn’t on this site, that doesn’t mean it’s bad — it means I haven’t personally tested it enough to write about it.

I’m not infallible

I make editorial calls that other reviewers make differently. Some of my rankings may surprise you given that other VPN review sites rank things differently. A few honest contributors to this:

I weight value and price more heavily than sites that focus primarily on enterprise-grade features
I’m more skeptical of corporate concentration (Kape Technologies ownership of multiple VPNs AND review sites) than sites that don’t flag this
I specifically recommend against the “lifetime VPN deal” category that some sites promote
I have two years of on-camera testing which shapes my recommendations differently than purely desk-research reviewers

My rankings reflect my honest judgment. They could be wrong. If you disagree with a specific recommendation, email me with your reasoning — I’ve changed my mind in response to reader feedback more than once.

Contact

Questions, corrections, tips, disagreements, or just want to flag something you think is wrong?

Email: [your contact email] YouTube: https://youtube.com/@allthingsvpn

I read everything sent to me directly. I respond to most things within 2 business days.

This editorial policy was last updated on April 23, 2026. I revise it when my practices change. If you’ve seen a previous version and noticed something shifted, email me and I’ll tell you what changed and why.