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.
Security
Usability
Rank 8 of 68 in the register
United States · Commercial VPN
Exits in 20 countries
Security
Usability
Rank 7 of 68 in the register
United States · Censorship tool
Exits in 4 countries
1 documented demand, 1 of which produced data
1 documented demand, none of which produced data
Notes
On the record as a whole.
RiseupVPN is a free client of Riseup Networks, a US 501(c)(4) non-profit collective (riseup.net) operating since 1999; the VPN carries no price of its own and is sustained entirely by donations, which is why U04/U04b are not_applicable. RiseupVPN is a rebrand of the older Bitmask/Riseup-Black client built on the LEAP platform; its four gateways (Seattle, Montreal, Paris, Amsterdam) all sit in countries carrying a logging mandate per countries.csv, and hosting there is physical rather than virtual.
OVPN and RiseupVPN were assessed by the HushFleet team and both placed in the Insufficient band: OVPN scores 24/100 for security, RiseupVPN 25/100. They share sign-up without an account. The 1-point gap opens widest on Retention — “Does a record exist that links traffic to a person, and who checked?” — taking 33% from OVPN and 50% from RiseupVPN.
| ChannelPressure taken from what was left | OVPNDominant channel: Retention0 to 0.9, longer is worse | RiseupVPNDominant channel: Retention0 to 0.9, longer is worse |
|---|---|---|
| RetentionDoes a record exist that links traffic to a person, and who checked? | 0.329 | 0.497 |
| IntegrityHas it been caught saying one thing and doing another? | 0.323 | 0.200 |
| IgnoranceHow much of this did nobody establish? | 0.227 | 0.097 |
| JurisdictionCan someone compel what exists, without the provider getting a say? | 0.200 | 0.200 |
| HygieneWhat identifying material is collected in passing, and can the client be checked at all? | 0.104 | 0.070 |
| DisclosureHas it already handed something over? | 0.000 | 0.087 |
| ArchitectureWho operates the exit, and what does it do to the traffic? | 0.050 | 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 | 24 | 25 |
By circumstance
| OVPN | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Torrenting | Allowed yes | — not established |
| Streaming | Reachable yes | — not established |
| Devices at once | 4 | — not established |
| 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 | — not established | No such mandate no |
| Secret orders | National security letters or their equivalent nsl_equivalent | National security letters or their equivalent nsl_equivalent |
| OVPN | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Security | 24 insufficient · rank 8 of 68 | 25 insufficient · rank 7 of 68 |
| Usability | 62 out of 100 | 65 out of 100 |
| Record completeness | 70% usability 100% | 88% usability 64% |
| OVPN | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declaredBovpn.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| IP allocation model | Dedicated address offered as an option dedicated_optionBsupport.ovpn.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| Signup without email | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declared | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declared |
| Anonymous payment options | Cryptocurrency through a processorBsupport.ovpn.com · | The service takes no payment at allBriseup.net · |
| Own DNS inside the tunnel | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declaredBovpn.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| Worst third-party SDK category in the app | Crash reporting crashBapps.apple.com · | No third-party SDK noneBplay.google.com · |
| Worst third-party tracker category on the site | Analytics analyticsBovpn.com · | No third-party tracker noneBriseup.net · |
| Who owns the hardware | Owned by the provider ownedBovpn.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| 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 | — not establishedno source published | No such mandate noBriseup.net · |
| Beneficial owner sits under a retention regime | — not establishedno source published | No such regime noBriseup.net · |
| Persistent device identifier | None held none | None held none |
| Weakest protocol still offered | — the question does not arise | — the question does not arise |
| What the exit does to passing traffic | — not establishedno source published | Traffic passes through unaltered noneBriseup.net · |
| OVPN | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| At least one independent audit | — not establishedno source published | Yes, and the report was read yes_verifiedAopentech.fund · 2 sources · |
| How the report is published | — not establishedno source published | The full report is published full_pdfAopentech.fund · |
| Subject of the audit | — not establishedno source published | The infrastructure · The protocol · The app's securityAopentech.fund · |
| Server fleet coverage | — not establishedno source published | — the question does not arise |
| OVPN | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| 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_knownBovpn.com · 2 sources · | Account data was handed over account_data_disclosedBriseup.net · |
| Court record of compelled production | Told a court it had nothing to produce unable_to_produceBovpn.com · | Produced account data produced_account_dataBriseup.net · |
| Response to a national logging mandate |
| OVPN | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | A history of adware or malware adware_malware_historyAcdt.org · | Nothing adverse on record cleanBriseup.net · |
| How the service is paid for | Paid subscriptions only paid_onlyBovpn.com · | A free tier funded by the paid one |
| OVPN | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | OVPN Inc.Bovpn.com · | Riseup NetworksBriseup.net · 2 sources · |
| Where the company sits | United States US | United States US |
| Year the service launched | 2014Bovpn.com · | 1999Briseup.net · |
| User base scale (mass >=10M, mid >=1M, niche <1M) | — not established | — not established |
| Ultimate beneficial owner as written | PangoB |
| OVPN | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms with a client | 6 Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, RoutersBovpn.com · | 4 Linux, macOS, Windows, AndroidBriseup.net · |
| Countries with an exit | 20 countriesBovpn.com · | 4 countriesBapi.black.riseup.net:443 · |
| Paying monthly | $12.00 per monthBovpn.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
| Paying yearly | $59.88 a year at renewal, billed once |
| Auditor name | — not establishedno source published | Security Research Labs (SRLabs)Aopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Auditor category | — not establishedno source published | A security specialist security_specialistAopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Assurance standard | — not establishedno source published | No standard stated noneAopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Date of latest report | — not establishedno source published | 2025-05-16Aopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Audit cadence | — not establishedno source published | One-off one_offBopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Total published audits | — not establishedno source published | 1Bopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Retention as the report states it | — not establishedno source published | The report does not address retention not_statedAopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Client source code published | — not establishedno source published | Every client allBgithub.com · 2 sources · |
|---|
| Reproducible builds | — not established | — not established |
|---|
| Separate pentest | — not establishedno source published | Yes, and the report was read yes_verifiedAopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Strength of the assurance opinion | — not establishedno source published | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| — the question does not ariseno source published |
| Transparency report | Current, with request numbers fresh_with_numbersBovpn.com · | No report noneBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Reported numbers plausible for this scale | — not establishedno source published | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| Warrant canary discipline | — not establishedno source published | Kept current maintainedBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Requests received | 0Bovpn.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| Requests that produced data | 0Bovpn.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| Secret-order regime | National security letters or their equivalent nsl_equivalent | National security letters or their equivalent nsl_equivalent |
|---|
| Chronology of documented enforcement events | 1 documented demandBovpn.com · | 1 documented demandBriseup.net · |
|---|
freemium_funded| Claims of 100% anonymity or military-grade crypto | Claims total anonymity or military-grade encryption yesBsupport.ovpn.com · | Makes no such claim noBriseup.net · |
|---|
| 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 | No incident on record none_knownBovpn.com · | Disclosed by someone else third_party_disclosedAopentech.fund · 2 sources · |
|---|
| Affiliate programme and payout tier | A standard payout standardBovpn.com · | No affiliate programme noneBriseup.net · |
|---|
| 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 |
|---|
| Riseup Collective (self-governed autonomous collective; no external owner)Briseup.net · |
| Other businesses of the owner group | A portfolio of other appsCen.wikipedia.org · | None disclosedBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Country of the ultimate beneficial owner | US | US |
|---|
| Owner group | pangoBsupport.ovpn.com · 2 sources · | independentBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Date the current owner took control | 2023-05-08Bovpn.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| Role of this brand inside the group | A brand the group acquired acquired_brandBovpn.com · | The group's principal brand principalBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Infrastructure shared with cluster siblings | Separate infrastructure separate | Separate infrastructure separate |
|---|
| — the question does not ariseno source published |
| Usable free tier | No free tier noneBovpn.com · | A free tier with no data cap unlimited_freeBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Works under active censorship | Claimed to work claimed | Claimed to work claimed |
|---|
| Protocols offered | 3 OpenVPN, WireGuard, An obfuscated protocolBovpn.com · 2 sources · | 2 OpenVPN, An obfuscated protocolBapi.black.riseup.net:443 · |
|---|
| Kill switch coverage | On desktop only desktop_only | On desktop only desktop_only |
|---|
| Split tunneling available | Available yesBsupport.ovpn.com · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Simultaneous connections | 4Bsupport.ovpn.com · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Friction to start using it | No account needed no_account | No account needed no_account |
|---|
| P2P allowed | Allowed yesBsupport.ovpn.com · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Major streaming services reachable | Reachable yesBsupport.ovpn.com · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
Recent changes
1 change logged, on 13 Sep 2026
No change logged on this record
Open questions
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.
Still open on this record.
Hardware ownership is not stated. Riseup's own government FAQ describes physical control of its core Seattle infrastructure ('not hosted in the cloud'), but says nothing about the VPN gateway machines in Montreal, Paris and Amsterdam, which sit on IP ranges typical of commercial hosts. C08_servers_ownership stays unknown rather than assumed from the Seattle statement.
The bare-minimum VPN log is described only by exclusion. The security page lists everything the 5-day rotating log does not contain (no IP, no fingerprint, no DNS requests, no metadata) but never states what it does contain. C01 is filled none_linkable on that exclusion list, but a reader who wants to know what the bytes actually are will not find it here.
Several usability fields have no documentation to read at all. Split tunneling, simultaneous device limits, P2P policy and streaming access are not addressed on any RiseupVPN page found this session, and the kill switch is confirmed only for the desktop tray client, not for Android.
The only independent audit is a client/infrastructure pentest, not a logging audit. The 2025 SRLabs report examined Bitmask and the Menshen bridge registrar for intercept and DPI risks; it never asked what the VPN servers retain, so V11_audit_findings is not_stated and the retention claim in C01 rests on Riseup's own word alone.
The 2012 seizure often cited against Riseup did not touch Riseup's own data. U.S. federal agents took a server from a colocation facility Riseup shared with May First/People Link, but the machine and its data belonged to a third tenant (European Counter Network); no Riseup account or user data was on it, which is why P01_seizure_event reads none_known rather than crediting an event that was never Riseup's to resist.
13 Sep 20261 changes
Security scoresecurity.score
25 changed to 24
