These popular free VPNs all share the same shady security practices – here’s why

September 13, 2025

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Security woes, hidden family ties exposed in popular VPN apps — Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

Three VPN families analyzed, linking 18 apps to parent groups.
Security issues found, including hard-coded Shadowsocks keys.
Study shows many free VPNs may have shady security practices.

A new academic study has revealed suspicious origins and security vulnerabilities in apps collectively downloaded from the Google Play Store over 700 million times.

When you choose a Virtual Private Network (VPN)…

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