Head to head
The gap
The security score is not a total of good things. It starts at 100 and eight channels each take a share of what is left, so one channel can settle a record on its own. Both records are drawn here on the same scale — the model’s own cap of 0.9 — rather than on a scale fitted to this pair, which would make every comparison look equally dramatic.
Line by line
Every field the contract publishes about a provider, in the contract’s own groups, including the rows where the two agree — a table that printed only differences would invent a disagreement, and one that printed only the interesting rows would be us choosing what is interesting. Open a group to read its rows; each one says how many it holds and how many of them the two records answer differently.
A green cell means the methodology itself prices that value below the other one, not that we prefer it. Rows the model does not price carry no mark at all: price is never marked, because nothing in the model says cheaper is safer, and neither is coverage, platform count or devices. Where a value was never established the cell says so instead of showing a zero.
What actually happened
Other pairs
Pairs within the top ten get a page — 80 comparisons in all. Records below that are not paired here: a comparison earns a page where the choice between the two is a real one, and that choice is made near the top of the register.
No demand on the public record
1 documented demand, none of which produced data
Recent changes
1 change logged, on 13 Sep 2026
Open questions
Still open on this record.
One no-logs audit, in 2019. IVPN is unusually explicit about what it does not do: its own post states that its last and only no-logs audit was Cure53 in March 2019, and that it has deliberately not repeated the format because such a stamp describes one day and not the days after it.
What the claim rests on now. Every audit since targets apps and services, so the no-logs claim on the infrastructure rests on the March 2019 engagement and on the February 2023 gateway review, not on anything recent.
The audit not yet published. The eighth annual Cure53 audit was scheduled for July 2026 and no report for 2025 or 2026 is published yet, which is why the latest report date is the April 2024 one.
The August 2026 incident. In August 2026 an attacker exploited a vulnerability in the self-hosted BTCPay Server, before it was public, and took IVPN's own Lightning operating funds. IVPN published the account four days later, unprompted, and scoped it to that machine: the VPN gateways were not involved, no customer records were reached, no customer money was lost.
Why it costs nothing. The model charges nothing for this, which is the point — an operator that says so promptly is behaving the way the field is meant to reward, and the entry is here so a reader knows it happened rather than to move a number.
What the engagements covered. The app pentest (iOS, Android, Electron, the daemon) is from March 2022 and the gateway/server-OS review from February 2023; neither tested the no-logs claim itself, the 2023 report says so explicitly, so retention rests on the privacy policy declaration alone.
The latest report is not the relevant one. April 2024's engagement, Cure53's sixth with IVPN, tested the customer account website, API and hosting; its own scope page names client apps and VPN servers out of scope, so it extends neither the app nor the gateway evidence, and V03_audit_subject reads unknown for it rather than carrying that credit forward. The seventh engagement, on the new email and DNS services, was only announced for May 2025; no report for it is published.
What the primary site never establishes. RAM-only is recorded as partial because IVPN describes it as a transition with test deployments under way, and has not announced its completion. Server hardware ownership (leased vs owned), traffic modification at the exit, and the beneficial owner's personal jurisdiction are unestablished: no primary IVPN page states any of the three, nor does user-base scale.
Three fields the knowledgebase answers, not the pages read at first fill. IP allocation is shared by design — "crowding" pools users on one address to blunt attribution. P2P is allowed everywhere, but IVPN asks customers to avoid US exits, citing upstream DMCA pressure. Streaming carries no guarantee, though the company says many customers do reach it.
Still open on this record.
No independent audit. No third-party security, infrastructure or no-logs audit of OVPN's own systems was found on its site, in press or in help documentation; the closest adversarial test of its no-logs claim is the 2020 Swedish court proceeding, which is not an audit and does not speak to the current WireGuard/OpenVPN stack in detail.
Owner-group history predates OVPN's acquisition. The adverse finding behind this record's inclusion (X04) is a 2017 complaint against AnchorFree, Pango's corporate predecessor, over Hotspot Shield's ad-network data sharing — six years before Pango acquired OVPN. It was never adjudicated by the FTC, and OVPN's own infrastructure and policies are separately documented in this record.
Corporate structure split across two entities. OVPN's current Terms of Service and Privacy Notice name OVPN Inc. (Redwood City, California) as the contracting party, while OVPN's own help center names OVPN Integritet AB (Sweden, org. no. 556999-4469) as the operator. Both are described as under the same ultimate owner, Pango; which entity holds the infrastructure and legal responsibility for a given user was not resolved further.
Notes
On the record as a whole.
First fill 2026-08-26. Sourced entirely from ivpn.net's own pages, the Cure53 audit PDFs and IVPN's blog — no affiliate or review-aggregator site cited.
IVPN and OVPN were assessed by the HushFleet team: IVPN scores 38/100 for security, in the Weak band, and OVPN 24/100, in the Insufficient band. They share sign-up without an account. The 14-point gap opens widest on Integrity — “Has it been caught saying one thing and doing another?” — taking 0% from IVPN and 32% from OVPN.
Security
Usability
Rank 3 of 68 in the register
Gibraltar · Commercial VPN
Exits in 41 countries
Security
Usability
Rank 8 of 68 in the register
United States · Commercial VPN
Exits in 20 countries
By circumstance
| IVPN | OVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Torrenting | Allowed on some servers partial | Allowed yes |
| Streaming | Some services reachable partial | Reachable yes |
| Devices at once | 5 | 4 |
| Under censorship | Claimed to work claimed | Claimed to work claimed |
| Exits in mandate countries | None | None |
| Hosting in those countries | — the question does not arise | — the question does not arise |
| Company under a mandate | No such mandate no | — not established |
| Secret orders | No secret-order regime on record none_known | National security letters or their equivalent nsl_equivalent |
| IVPN | OVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Security | 38 weak · rank 3 of 68 | 24 insufficient · rank 8 of 68 |
| Usability | 66 out of 100 | 62 out of 100 |
| Record completeness | 89% usability 100% | 70% usability 100% |
| IVPN | OVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Who operates the exit | Run by the provider itself provider_operated | Run by the provider itself provider_operated |
| Retention as declared | Nothing that links traffic to a person none_linkable | Nothing that links traffic to a person none_linkable |
| RAM-only diskless servers | Part of the fleet partialBivpn.net · | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declaredBovpn.com · |
| IP allocation model | Exit address shared between users sharedBivpn.net · | Dedicated address offered as an option dedicated_optionBsupport.ovpn.com · |
| Signup without email | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declared | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declared |
| Anonymous payment options | Cash · Cryptocurrency paid directlyBivpn.net · 2 sources · | Cryptocurrency through a processorBsupport.ovpn.com · |
| Own DNS inside the tunnel | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declared | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declared |
| Worst third-party SDK category in the app | No third-party SDK noneBivpn.net · | Crash reporting crashBapps.apple.com · |
| Worst third-party tracker category on the site | Analytics analytics | Analytics analytics |
| Who owns the hardware | — not establishedno source published | Owned by the provider ownedBovpn.com · |
| Offered countries that sit under a logging mandate | None | None |
| Hosting in the mandate countries it offers | — the question does not arise | — the question does not arise |
| Incorporation country mandates retention | No such mandate nono source published · | — not establishedno source published |
| Beneficial owner sits under a retention regime | — not established | — not established |
| Persistent device identifier | An identifier scoped to the app app_scoped_idBivpn.net · | None held noneBplay.google.com · 3 sources · |
| Weakest protocol still offered | — the question does not arise | — the question does not arise |
| What the exit does to passing traffic | — not established | — not established |
| IVPN | OVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| At least one independent audit | Yes, and the report was read yes_verifiedAcure53.de · 3 sources · | — not establishedno source published |
| How the report is published | The full report is published full_pdfAcure53.de · 3 sources · | — not establishedno source published |
| Subject of the audit | — not established | — not established |
| Server fleet coverage | — the question does not ariseno source published | — not establishedno source published |
| Auditor name | Cure53Acure53.de · 3 sources · |
| IVPN | OVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Server seizure by law enforcement | No seizure on record none_known | No seizure on record none_known |
| Actual disclosure history | No disclosure on record none_known | No disclosure on record none_known |
| Court record of compelled production | Told a court it had nothing to produce unable_to_produce | Told a court it had nothing to produce unable_to_produce |
| Response to a national logging mandate | Was never present in that country no_presenceBivpn.net · | — not establishedno source published |
| Transparency report | Current, with request numbers fresh_with_numbers | Current, with request numbers fresh_with_numbers |
| Reported numbers plausible for this scale | The numbers are plausible at this scale plausibleno source published · | — |
| IVPN | OVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Documented gap between claim and behaviour | No documented lie none | No documented lie none |
| Marketing against audit findings | No gap on record none | No gap on record none |
| Ownership structure transparency | Ownership is stated and checkable clear | Ownership is stated and checkable clear |
| Adverse events on the owner group record | Nothing adverse on record cleanCivpn.net · | A history of adware or malware adware_malware_historyAcdt.org · |
| How the service is paid for | Paid subscriptions only paid_only | Paid subscriptions only paid_only |
| Claims of 100% anonymity or military-grade crypto | Makes no such claim no |
| IVPN | OVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | IVPN Limited, 5 Secretary's lane, GX11 1AA, GibraltarBivpn.net · | OVPN Inc.Bovpn.com · |
| Where the company sits | Gibraltar GIBivpn.net · 2 sources · | United States USBovpn.com · |
| Year the service launched | 2009Bivpn.net · | 2014Bovpn.com · |
| IVPN | OVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms with a client | 6 Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Routers | 6 Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Routers |
| Countries with an exit | 41 countriesBivpn.net · | 20 countriesBovpn.com · |
| Paying monthly | $6.00 per monthBivpn.net · | $12.00 per monthBovpn.com · |
| Paying yearly | $60.00 a year at renewal, billed onceBivpn.net · | $59.88 a year at renewal, billed once |
| ChannelPressure taken from what was left | IVPNDominant channel: Retention0 to 0.9, longer is worse | OVPNDominant channel: Retention0 to 0.9, longer is worse |
|---|---|---|
| RetentionDoes a record exist that links traffic to a person, and who checked? | 0.526 | 0.329 |
| IntegrityHas it been caught saying one thing and doing another? | 0.000 | 0.323 |
| IgnoranceHow much of this did nobody establish? | 0.061 | 0.227 |
| JurisdictionCan someone compel what exists, without the provider getting a say? | 0.030 | 0.200 |
| HygieneWhat identifying material is collected in passing, and can the client be checked at all? | 0.063 | 0.104 |
| ArchitectureWho operates the exit, and what does it do to the traffic? | 0.050 | 0.050 |
| DisclosureHas it already handed something over? | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| SilenceTen years, millions of users and nothing on record? | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| What is left of 100The channels multiply: each one takes a share of what the one before it left standing | 38 | 24 |
| — not establishedno source published |
| Auditor category | A security specialist security_specialistno source published · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Assurance standard | Another standard otherno source published · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Date of latest report | 2024-04-08Acure53.de · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Audit cadence | An annual series annual_seriesBivpn.net · 4 sources · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Total published audits | 7Bivpn.net · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Retention as the report states it | The report does not address retention not_statedBivpn.net · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Client source code published | Every client allBivpn.net · 2 sources · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Reproducible builds | — not established | — not established |
|---|
| Separate pentest | Yes, and the report was read yes_verifiedAcure53.de · 3 sources · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Strength of the assurance opinion | — the question does not ariseno source published | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Warrant canary discipline | Kept current maintainedBivpn.net · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Requests received | 34Bivpn.net · | 0Bovpn.com · |
|---|
| Requests that produced data | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| Secret-order regime | No secret-order regime on record none_knownBivpn.net · 2 sources · | National security letters or their equivalent nsl_equivalentBeff.org · |
|---|
| Chronology of documented enforcement events | 0 No demand on the public recordBivpn.net · 2 sources · | 1 documented demandBovpn.com · |
|---|
Claims total anonymity or military-grade encryption yesBsupport.ovpn.com · |
| Aggressive lifetime subscriptions | Does not no | Does not no |
|---|
| Coverage exists only on affiliate sites | Covered outside affiliate sites too no | Covered outside affiliate sites too no |
|---|
| Security incident and how it was disclosed | Disclosed by the provider, promptly self_disclosed_promptBivpn.net · | No incident on record none_knownBovpn.com · |
|---|
| Affiliate programme and payout tier | No affiliate programme noneBivpn.net · | A standard payout standardBovpn.com · |
|---|
| Owner-run review media discloses the tie | — the question does not arise | — the question does not arise |
|---|
| App store declaration | The store form matches the published policy matches_policy | The store form matches the published policy matches_policy |
|---|
| User base scale (mass >=10M, mid >=1M, niche <1M) | — not established | — not established |
|---|
| Ultimate beneficial owner as written | Nicholas Pestell, founder and CEO, 100% owner of IVPN LimitedBivpn.net · | PangoBsupport.ovpn.com · |
|---|
| Other businesses of the owner group | None disclosedCivpn.net · | A portfolio of other appsCen.wikipedia.org · |
|---|
| Country of the ultimate beneficial owner | — not establishedno source published | USBovpn.com · |
|---|
| Owner group | independentBivpn.net · | pangoBsupport.ovpn.com · 2 sources · |
|---|
| Date the current owner took control | — the question does not ariseno source published | 2023-05-08Bovpn.com · |
|---|
| Role of this brand inside the group | The group's principal brand principalBivpn.net · | A brand the group acquired acquired_brandBovpn.com · |
|---|
| Infrastructure shared with cluster siblings | Separate infrastructure separate | Separate infrastructure separate |
|---|
| Usable free tier | No free tier none | No free tier none |
|---|
| Works under active censorship | Claimed to work claimed | Claimed to work claimed |
|---|
| Protocols offered | 4 WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, An obfuscated protocolBivpn.net · 2 sources · | 3 OpenVPN, WireGuard, An obfuscated protocolBovpn.com · 2 sources · |
|---|
| Kill switch coverage | On every platform all_platformsBivpn.net · 2 sources · | On desktop only desktop_onlyBsupport.ovpn.com · |
|---|
| Split tunneling available | Available yes | Available yes |
|---|
| Simultaneous connections | 5Bivpn.net · | 4Bsupport.ovpn.com · |
|---|
| Friction to start using it | No account needed no_account | No account needed no_account |
|---|
| P2P allowed | Allowed on some servers partialBivpn.net · | Allowed yesBsupport.ovpn.com · |
|---|
| Major streaming services reachable | Some services reachable partialBivpn.net · | Reachable yesBsupport.ovpn.com · |
|---|
13 Sep 20261 changes
Security scoresecurity.score
25 changed to 24
12 Sep 20265 changes
Security scoresecurity.score
42 changed to 40
IP allocation modelC03_ip_sharing
not on the record changed to shared
P2P allowedU12a_p2p_allowed
not on the record changed to partial
Major streaming services reachableU12b_streaming_works
not on the record changed to partial
Subject of the latest auditV03_audit_subject
app_security, infrastructure changed to not on the record
