A virtual private network is designed to attain privacy when using the internet. It serves well with its data encryption and assigning of IP addresses. VPN, on the other hand, assigns you an address with a particular location of your choice upon connection. Once it starts running on your device, even your Internet Service Provider (ISP) finds it difficult to accesses your online activities.
That being said, we now know that you can select to opt-in any region of your choice. It sure sounds great, but what many people don’t know is that your preference for location strongly depends on the level of privacy offered. Bring triggered by geo-restrictions, internet, and other privacy policies, the usage of the internet varies, depending on your regional base.
Considering a location when using a VPN
Directing ourselves back to the main point, we noticed that our level of privacy (when using a VPN) is highly dependent on our regional choice. For this reason, it brings a lot of jurisdictions and barriers. What do I mean by that? There are certain places where a VPN works perfectly fine, also offering optimistic privacy.
Also, in consideration are the strict areas that don’t offer optimal privacy. Notably, because of what we call data retention. Let us look at what Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes alliances are.
1. Five Eyes Nations
Five Eyes nations accompany what we call a multilateral alliance. It consists of five countries as follows; the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. More importantly, all five countries come together on an agreement, controlling the surveillance system in each country mentioned above. The alliance proves itself reliable by monitoring signals intelligence. It speaks of its espionage acts and can be very troubling. The level of spying skyrockets in this situation.
Almost all Five Eyes nations have some part of data retention and warrants. The impact also goes beyond imagination as some of them put pressure on services like VPN to give out details from its database, especially logs of their users.
2. Nine Eyes Nations
Not to mention, it’s more like an extension of the Five Eyes Nations. The difference involves the addition of four other countries which saw the need to be in the program. The added countries include France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway. All of them actively participate in the signal intelligence scheme. Although the added countries may not be as strict as the Five Eyes Nations, they still apprehend the policies and laws governing the organization.
3. Fourteen Eyes Nations
Just like some countries see the need to be a member of the Five Eyes Nations, others also joined the program, serving as a third extension to the Five Eyes Nations. The scheme and policies are the same, only that some countries are added to their affected areas. The agreement adds Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Germany, and Italy to the scheme. All countries in this agreement are at this moment subject to privacy suspicion.
Other terms to put into consideration
Moreover, there are some other countries to consider among being strict when it comes to privacy.
European Union
Talking about countries in the European Union, they, however, have ties with the Fourteen Nine Nations, and are also in compliance with the Five Eyes Nations. Of all, people consider them less favorable, as they also subject internet users to data exposure. One thing they won’t let you know is the level of covert surveillance which they carry out. This, however, leaves users no other choice than to be very cautious with their online activities, especially approaches with illegal content.
Mandatory Data Retention
Mandatory data retention laws apply to Internet Service Providers, VPNs, and mostly all tech firms. The rules govern internet usage. As a result, they force the affected areas to retain and keep logs of all traffic that passes through their servers. The laws strictly apply to all internet usage and privacy sectors, talking about VPNs, tech firms, and ISPs.
Warrant and Gag Orders
How surprising might this be? Some ISPs are subjects to warrants and gag orders, which can be negatively penetrative. A gag order allows your service provider to retain information without your idea. Unknowingly, the government assigns ISPs to carry out this act. And who knows what’s up? They do it often without one’s consent.
The Best Jurisdictions
Knowing fully well that some countries are highly favorable when it comes to using a VPN. Their locations tend to be less strict; in turn, they trigger the VPN to provide full privacy.
Most people consider them better for the following reasons:
- Adaptable privacy policies
- Lesser ties with Western governments, FVEY/14-EYES.
- Mediocre economically able to invest in large-scale surveillance
Next is the favorable countries with reasons for considering them.
Hong Kong – has great laws governing the privacy of users on the internet.
Bulgaria – not considered among the Fourteen Eyes Nations, also disregarding the mandatory data retention policy.
Romania – although it is a member of the EU, it distinguishes itself from the 14-Eyes Nations and does not accept the mandatory data retention policy.
Other favorable countries include:
- The British Virgin Islands
- Singapore
- Panama
What is the best VPN to use?
Having considered the factors that affect the level of VPN privacy, you should be concluding to use the best VPN out there.
RitaVPN got you covered with its high speed, easy setup and interface, optimal protection, and reliable encryption.
You may also like:
What is the best VPN in Vietnam?
How Does RitaVPN Protect Your Privacy?
What is the Best VPN for Thailand?
Best VPN for Indonesia – For Safety, Streaming & Speeds in 2020
What is the Best VPN for the United Kingdom?
What is the best VPN for School?
The best VPN for India – private, secure & unblock websites
VPN: How to Surf the Web Anonymously
Also, it might please you to know that RitaVPN has a no-logs policy; hence, your internet data logs are not provided to any external authorities no matter the situation.
Try RitaVPN now.
