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.
1 documented demand, none of which produced data
1 documented demand, 1 of which produced data
Security
Usability
Rank 7 of 68 in the register
United States · Censorship tool
Exits in 4 countries
Security
Usability
Rank 6 of 68 in the register
United States · Commercial VPN
Exits in 91 countries
Notes
On the record as a whole.
First fill 2026-08-26, refreshed 2026-09-12 on P03_court_record, P12_case_history and V12_client_open_source, refreshed again 2026-09-13 on M08_user_scale, P02_disclosure_history, P03_court_record, P05_transparency_report, P06_report_plausibility, P08_requests_received, P09_data_provided and P12_case_history, and refreshed again 2026-09-13 on U04_price_monthly and U04b_price_yearly.
The 2026-09-13 pass found PIA had published its Q1 2026 and Q2 2026 transparency reports since the record's last look at Q4 2025; the record now cites the Q2 2026 post (19 requests received, 0 resulting in data provided, covering April-June 2026, published 2026-08-06) as the freshest, with the same subpoenas/warrants/other/foreign breakdown structure as before.
M08_user_scale, P02_disclosure_history, P03_court_record and P12_case_history were re-read against the same sources and stand unchanged; the main transparency-report page still names no case beyond the 2016-2017 subpoenas already on file. The pricing re-read against the same buy-vpn-online page found both figures unchanged: month-to-month $11.95, one-year plan $47.88 billed for the first year and autorenewing at the same $47.88 with no intro/renewal gap, consistent with PIA's flat-rate pricing noted elsewhere in the catalogue.
Sourced from privateinternetaccess.com's own pages and blog, the two Deloitte ISAE 3000 (Revised) 'Independent Limited Assurance Report' PDFs (April 2024 and December 2025, both opened and read directly), Kape Technologies' own site, the Isle of Man/Companies House-sourced reporting on Kape's 2023 take-private by Unikmind Holdings (Teddy Sagi), and the official pia-foss GitHub organisation for the open-source clients.
The public CourtListener docket for United States v. McWaters (9:16-cr-80043, S.D. Fla.) was opened but names no subpoena, VPN provider or outcome; the affiliate writeup (vpncompare.co.uk) that describes that subpoena in detail was dropped as a forbidden source, and TorrentFreak's own coverage returned HTTP 403 to every fetch attempt this run, curl included. P03/P12 now rest on PIA's own transparency-report self-declaration instead.
Wikipedia was dropped from V12 in favour of the GitHub organisation itself. No affiliate or 'best VPN' aggregator site was used as a factual source anywhere in this record, even though several turned up repeatedly in search results with plausible-looking numbers (server counts, user counts, audit dates) that could not be cross-checked against a primary page and were discarded rather than used.
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.
Recent changes
No change logged on this record
Open questions
Still open on this record.
What the report is. The security score rests on a Deloitte Audit SRL limited assurance report under ISAE 3000 (Revised), signed 19 December 2025 for the configuration as of 31 October 2025. Read what that is: the conclusion is negative assurance — "nothing has come to our attention" — against a description PIA's own management wrote, and the report states it provides no assurance for any other period.
Who the report is for. The auditor also restricts the report to PIA management and disclaims responsibility to any other reader, so the strongest document in this record is one whose author declines a duty of care toward the person reading it here. Procedures were performed on a sample basis, which is why fleet coverage is recorded as a sample.
What it did not examine. The report covers infrastructure only. C07a_app_sdk and C12_device_identifier are app-side facts it never examined; they now cite the privacy policy instead, which describes analytics for website visitors and opt-in diagnostic reports carrying platform and app version. Reading either as a statement about SDKs compiled into the app is the weakest link in this record, and the open-source clients are where it would actually be settled.
The 2016 subpoena rests on PIA's own word, not the court file. The only detailed account of the McWaters case (S.D. Fla., 9:16-cr-80043) sits on an affiliate site this record cannot cite; CourtListener's docket for that case names no subpoena, no provider and no outcome. P03_court_record and P12_case_history now stand on PIA's own transparency-report statement that it was subpoenaed in 2016-2017 and produced nothing — a B-level self-declaration, not a verified court record.
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.
C01none_linkableSeveral 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
Why this provider is in the catalogueM14_inclusion_basis
hand_picked, adverse_record changed to adverse_record
12 Sep 20263 changes
Chronology of documented enforcement eventsP12_case_history
{"date":"2016-03","kind":"subpoena","outcome":"nothing_produced","source_url":"https://www.vpncompare.co.uk/private-internet-access-no-log-claim-put-to-the-test/"} changed to {"date":"2016-03","kind":"subpoena","outcome":"nothing_produced","source_url":"https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/transparency-report"}
Security scoresecurity.score
27 changed to 25
Requests received in periodP08_requests_received
30 changed to 19
30 Aug 20261 changes
Weakest protocol still offeredC13_weakest_protocol
wireguard changed to not on the record
Private Internet Access and RiseupVPN were assessed by the HushFleet team and both placed in the Insufficient band: Private Internet Access scores 25/100 for security, RiseupVPN 25/100. They share an independent audit. Both land on 25/100, and part most on Retention — “Does a record exist that links traffic to a person, and who checked?” — taking 19% from Private Internet Access and 50% from RiseupVPN.
| ChannelPressure taken from what was left | Private Internet AccessDominant channel: Integrity0 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? | 0.188 | 0.497 |
| IntegrityHas it been caught saying one thing and doing another? | 0.459 | 0.200 |
| JurisdictionCan someone compel what exists, without the provider getting a say? | 0.272 | 0.200 |
| HygieneWhat identifying material is collected in passing, and can the client be checked at all? | 0.101 | 0.070 |
| IgnoranceHow much of this did nobody establish? | 0.071 | 0.097 |
| 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 | 25 | 25 |
| Private Internet Access | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Security | 25 insufficient · rank 6 of 68 | 25 insufficient · rank 7 of 68 |
| Usability | 73 out of 100 | 65 out of 100 |
| Record completeness | 89% usability 100% | 88% usability 64% |
| Private Internet Access | 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, checked by someone independent yes_verifiedAassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| IP allocation model | Dedicated address offered as an option dedicated_optionBprivateinternetaccess.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| Signup without email | No, an email address is required noBprivateinternetaccess.com · | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declaredBriseup.net · 2 sources · |
| Anonymous payment options | Cryptocurrency through a processorBprivateinternetaccess.com · | The service takes no payment at allBriseup.net · |
| Own DNS inside the tunnel | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declaredAassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| Worst third-party SDK category in the app | Analytics analyticsBprivateinternetaccess.com · | No third-party SDK noneBplay.google.com · |
| Worst third-party tracker category on the site | Analytics analyticsBprivateinternetaccess.com · | No third-party tracker noneBriseup.net · |
| Who owns the hardware | Owned by the provider ownedBprivateinternetaccess.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| Offered countries that sit under a logging mandate | 6 United Arab Emirates, China, India, Kazakhstan, Turkey, VietnamBserverlist.piaservers.net · 2 sources · | NoneBapi.black.riseup.net:443 · |
| Hosting in the mandate countries it offers | Physical and virtual both mixedBserverlist.piaservers.net · 2 sources · | — the question does not ariseBapi.black.riseup.net:443 · |
| Incorporation country mandates retention | No such mandate no | No such mandate no |
| Beneficial owner sits under a retention regime | No such regime no | No such regime no |
| Persistent device identifier | An identifier scoped to the app app_scoped_idBprivateinternetaccess.com · | None held noneBriseup.net · 2 sources · |
| 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 · |
| Private Internet Access | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| At least one independent audit | Yes, and the report was read yes_verified | Yes, and the report was read yes_verified |
| How the report is published | The full report is published full_pdf | The full report is published full_pdf |
| Subject of the audit | The no-logs claim itself · The infrastructureAassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | The infrastructure · The protocol · The app's securityAopentech.fund · |
| Server fleet coverage | A sample of servers sampleAassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
| Private Internet Access | 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_knownBprivateinternetaccess.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_produceBprivateinternetaccess.com · | Produced account data produced_account_dataBriseup.net · |
| Response to a national logging mandate |
| Private Internet Access | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Documented gap between claim and behaviour | — not establishedno source published | No documented lie noneAopentech.fund · |
| Marketing against audit findings | — not establishedno source published | No gap on record noneAopentech.fund · |
| Ownership structure transparency | Ownership is partly stated partialBprivateinternetaccess.com · 2 sources · | Ownership is stated and checkable clearBriseup.net · 2 sources · |
| Private Internet Access | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | PIA Private Internet Access, Inc., 5555 DTC Parkway, Suite 360, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, USAAassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | Riseup NetworksBriseup.net · 2 sources · |
| Where the company sits | United States US | United States US |
| Year the service launched | 2010Cen.wikipedia.org · | 1999Briseup.net · |
| User base scale (mass >=10M, mid >=1M, niche <1M) | Mid: a million users or more mid |
| Private Internet Access | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms with a client | 9 Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Routers, Android TV, Apple TV, Browser extensionBprivateinternetaccess.com · 2 sources · | 4 Linux, macOS, Windows, AndroidBriseup.net · |
| Countries with an exit | 91 countriesBserverlist.piaservers.net · 2 sources · | 4 countriesBapi.black.riseup.net:443 · |
| Paying monthly | $11.95 per monthBprivateinternetaccess.com · | — the question does not arise |
By circumstance
| Private Internet Access | RiseupVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Torrenting | Allowed yes | — not established |
| Streaming | Reachable yes | — not established |
| Devices at once | unlimited | — not established |
| Under censorship | Claimed to work claimed | Claimed to work claimed |
| Exits in mandate countries | 6 United Arab Emirates, China, India, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Vietnam | None |
| Hosting in those countries | Physical and virtual both mixed | — the question does not arise |
| Company under a mandate | No such mandate no | No such mandate no |
| Secret orders | National security letters or their equivalent nsl_equivalent | National security letters or their equivalent nsl_equivalent |
| Auditor name |
|---|
| Deloitte Audit SRL (Romania)Aassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · |
| Security Research Labs (SRLabs)Aopentech.fund · |
| Auditor category | One of the Big Four big4Aassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | A security specialist security_specialistAopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Assurance standard | ISAE 3000 isae3000Aassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | No standard stated noneAopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Date of latest report | 2025-12-19Aassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | 2025-05-16Aopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Audit cadence | Repeated, at no fixed interval repeated_irregularBprivateinternetaccess.com · 3 sources · | One-off one_offBopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Total published audits | 3Bprivateinternetaccess.com · 3 sources · | 1Bopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Retention as the report states it | Nothing that links traffic to a person none_linkableAassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | The report does not address retention not_statedAopentech.fund · |
|---|
| Client source code published | Every client all | Every client all |
|---|
| 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 | A limited-assurance conclusion limitedAassets-cms.privateinternetaccess.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
Pulled its servers out rather than comply withdrew_physicalBprivateinternetaccess.com · |
| — the question does not ariseno source published |
| Transparency report | Current, with request numbers fresh_with_numbersBprivateinternetaccess.com · 2 sources · | No report noneBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Reported numbers plausible for this scale | The numbers are plausible at this scale plausibleCprivateinternetaccess.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| Warrant canary discipline | Never had one noneBprivateinternetaccess.com · | Kept current maintainedBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Requests received | 19Bprivateinternetaccess.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| Requests that produced data | 0Bprivateinternetaccess.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 demandBprivateinternetaccess.com · | 1 documented demandBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Adverse events on the owner group record | A history of adware or malware adware_malware_historyCen.wikipedia.org · 3 sources · | Nothing adverse on record cleanBriseup.net · |
|---|
| How the service is paid for | Paid subscriptions only paid_onlyBprivateinternetaccess.com · | A free tier funded by the paid one freemium_fundedBriseup.net · 2 sources · |
|---|
| Claims of 100% anonymity or military-grade crypto | Claims total anonymity or military-grade encryption yesBprivateinternetaccess.com · 2 sources · | 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_knownCprivateinternetaccess.com · | Disclosed by someone else third_party_disclosedAopentech.fund · 2 sources · |
|---|
| Affiliate programme and payout tier | A standard payout standardBprivateinternetaccess.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 |
|---|
| — not establishedno source published |
| Ultimate beneficial owner as written | Teddy Sagi, via Unikmind Holdings Limited (Isle of Man), sole shareholder of Kape Technologies plc since the May 2023 delisting; Kape owns PIA Private Internet Access, Inc.Cen.wikipedia.org · 2 sources · | Riseup Collective (self-governed autonomous collective; no external owner)Briseup.net · |
|---|
| Other businesses of the owner group | Antivirus · A review directory · Adtech or adwareCen.wikipedia.org · 2 sources · | None disclosedBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Country of the ultimate beneficial owner | IMBcains.com · 2 sources · | USBriseup.net · 2 sources · |
|---|
| Owner group | kapeBkape.com · 2 sources · | independentBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Date the current owner took control | 2019-12Bkape.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| Role of this brand inside the group | A secondary brand secondary_brandCkape.com · | The group's principal brand principalBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Infrastructure shared with cluster siblings | — not establishedno source published | Separate infrastructure separateBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Paying yearly | $47.88 a year at renewal, billed onceBprivateinternetaccess.com · | — the question does not ariseno source published |
|---|
| Usable free tier | No free tier noneBprivateinternetaccess.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 WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2Bhelpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com · | 2 OpenVPN, An obfuscated protocolBapi.black.riseup.net:443 · |
|---|
| Kill switch coverage | On every platform all_platformsBprivateinternetaccess.com · | On desktop only desktop_onlyBriseup.net · |
|---|
| Split tunneling available | Available yesBprivateinternetaccess.com · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Simultaneous connections | unlimitedBprivateinternetaccess.com · 2 sources · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Friction to start using it | An email address only email_onlyBprivateinternetaccess.com · | No account needed no_accountBriseup.net · |
|---|
| P2P allowed | Allowed yesBprivateinternetaccess.com · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Major streaming services reachable | Reachable yesBprivateinternetaccess.com · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
