In the past year I've spent tens of hours streaming with VPNs, and one thing is consistently problematic for even the best VPNs — live events.

So, if you're traveling and keen to catch BBC's coverage of England vs Argentina later this evening instead, you might think you're stuck. Thankfully, NordVPN proved to be the one streaming VPN I tested that consistently performed well in these scenarios.

Over the past year, I've used NordVPN with Peacock, BBC iPlayer, TNT Sports, ITVX, and 7Plus. And compared to any other VPN, it's proved the most effective.

I experienced the least delayed streams, the least buffering, and, most importantly, the fewest complete connection dropouts when using NordVPN. So, while cheaper alternatives such as Norton VPN and Surfshark exist, if you want the most reliable performance, this is where I'd put my money.

If you don't want a long term commitment, you could always choose to pick a monthly plan. For $15, you can watch the rest of the tournament and gain all the additional security benefits that come with a VPN.

You don't need NordVPN's most advanced features to watch England with a VPN. That's a good thing, as right now its premium plans are considerably more expensive than many other providers.

With long term plans, Surfshark plans start at $2.49/month, a full dollar cheaper per month; the same goes for Norton VPN. If you're really budget-focused, both PIA and Cyberghost are less than $1.60 per month right now, too.

But, should you choose a NordVPN Plus plan or above, you do get some great perks. NordPass, the best password manager we've tested, cloud storage, dark web monitoring, and more are on offer.

It's worth mentioning that buying the more premium plans monthly will set you back at least $20, so I'd recommend signing up for a longer duration if you prefer these extra features.

• PrivadoVPN has added a built-in MCP server to its Windows, macOS apps
• It lets MCP-compatible AI tools manage your VPN connection
• The server is opt-in, runs entirely on the device, and is restricted to localhost

The latest update from PrivadoVPN hands the keys to your VPN over to your AI assistant.

The provider has built a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server into its Windows and macOS apps, letting compatible AI development tools connect to and control your connection directly from your coding environment.

MCP is the open standard Anthropic introduced in late 2024 to link AI systems with external tools and data. By adopting it, PrivadoVPN joins a growing list of providers wiring their apps into the agentic era, allowing the best VPN services to be driven by natural language rather than menus and toggles.

What PrivadoVPN's MCP server does

PrivadoVPN's server plugs into MCP-compatible tools including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, LM Studio, and Visual Studio Code.

Once it's running, an assistant can connect or disconnect the VPN, switch server locations, and check your current connection, IP address, and status. It can also list available locations, swap between WireGuard, IKEv2, and OpenVPN protocols, toggle the Kill Switch, and run basic network diagnostics.

Under the hood, the server is a local HTTP component embedded in the client. It listens on a fixed port (5801 by default) and is restricted to localhost, so it cannot be reached remotely. Commands run through the official PrivadoVPN app, and any change shows up instantly in the interface.

Security sits at the centre of the design. The server is off by default and has to be switched on by the user; it never leaves the device, and every action is executed by the PrivadoVPN client itself rather than handed to the AI.

The company pitches the feature to developers, QA teams, and power users who routinely run tests across different regions and VPN configurations.

You can see all the technical details on PrivadoVPN's support page.

How to use PrivadoVPN's MCP server

To turn it on, users need to open the PrivadoVPN app, head to Settings, then Application, and turn on the MCP Server option. Once saved, it runs quietly in the background.

From there, you point your AI tool at the endpoint, http://127.0.0.1:5801/mcp.

In Claude Code, for example, a single terminal command registers it, while Codex, Cursor, LM Studio, and VS Code each take a short JSON snippet in their MCP configuration.

The VPN and AI agents race

PrivadoVPN is only the first of a growing but still small list of VPN providers joining the AI agents race.

ExpressVPN, for example, claimed an industry first in March when it launched an MCP server in beta for its desktop apps. Siilarly to Privado, also ExpressVPN's tool is opt-in, local, and covered by its strict no-logs policy.

Norton VPN went further with its "VPN for Agents", an AI-native tool that spins up temporary, Docker-based tunnels so each agent and task gets its own separate connection.

Windscribe took a different route, releasing a skill that lets agents such as OpenClaw drive its command line interface (CLI) on a dedicated machine, while PureVPN turned ChatGPT into a conversational assistant that recommends servers and connects through deep links.

• The UK government confirmed it will not limit VPNs
• Data reveals only 7-10% of teenagers use a VPN to bypass age checks
• Social media curfews, autoplay restrictions were also announced

The UK government has officially scrapped the idea of restricting virtual private networks (VPNs) to enforce its impending social media bans, delivering a massive victory for digital privacy advocates.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast today, the government confirmed a major U-turn on the subject, with Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan stating: "We decided not to limit VPNs."

This was further cemented in a written parliamentary statement by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall, who clarified that the government will not age-gate or ban the best VPN software because "VPNs have legitimate privacy and security uses."

The announcement ends fears that sweeping age verification laws could inadvertently break online privacy for millions of adults.

Cybersecurity experts and privacy groups previously warned that restricting these tools would be a disaster waiting to happen, prompting an open letter from the industry urging lawmakers to leave everyday privacy tools alone.

Privacy wins, but platforms face new rules

While VPNs are safe from a blanket government ban, the social media ban loophole hasn't been completely ignored.

Kendall confirmed the onus will now fall on social media platforms "to take robust steps to detect and prevent attempts by underage users to circumvent age assurance measures."

To achieve this, the government has tasked Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to report by October on how platforms can better detect and prevent VPN use for age-check circumvention. The government also plans to engage directly with VPN providers regarding voluntary actions.

This shift in responsibility aligns with newly released government research.

A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) report revealed that while 26% of 11- to 17-year-olds use a VPN, findings show they do so primarily for privacy.

Only 7-10% use them to bypass age checks, whereas 45% simply enter a false date of birth.

Midnight curfews and AI limits

While everyday privacy tools have been spared, the government is pressing forward with strict new rules to combat digital addiction — that online commentators already deemed "ineffective and useless" — with the first regulations coming into effect in early 2027.

Following the upcoming blanket ban on social media for under-16s, new measures will ensure 16- and 17-year-olds don't face a sudden "cliff edge" of addictive features. Government consultation revealed that nearly one in three children actively want help managing their screen time.

Under the new rules, older teens will face default social media curfews from midnight to 6 am. Additionally, persuasive features like autoplaying videos and personalized infinite feeds will be switched off by default to make logging off easier.

"This is about giving these older children more choice and control over the feeds and reducing that sense that they can never switch off being online," Kendall stated.

The protections also extend to artificial intelligence.

The government will require mandatory breaks for under-18s using AI chatbots to prevent emotional dependency. Furthermore, lawmakers are working with health regulators, including the MHRA and DHSC, to consider banning therapy chatbots entirely if they provide dangerous or unverified mental health advice to minors.

• The US Treasury has sanctioned First VPN's administrator for aiding ransomware attacks on American infrastructure
• Another suspect was targeted for selling "cryptors" that cloak malware from security systems
• The move follows a May 2026 takedown by European law enforcement and the FBI that seized the VPN's infrastructure

The United States government has officially issued sanctions against the operators of a notorious free virtual private network, escalating a global crackdown on digital infrastructure used to facilitate ransomware attacks.

On Monday (July 13), the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated First VPN Service (also known as 1VPNS) and its Ukrainian administrator, Dmytro Rashevskyi, for abetting cybercriminals. The service, which has operated since 2014, was heavily favored by ransomware gangs targeting American hospitals, municipalities, and businesses.

While the best VPN services are designed to protect everyday consumer privacy, rogue networks like First VPN provided malicious actors with the tools to "hide the origins of their attacks, deploy malware, and manage exfiltrated data," according to a Treasury Department press release.

As part of the same action, the Treasury also sanctioned Yegeniy Vladimirovich Silayev, a Belarusian national accused of selling "cryptors" to ransomware operators.

While Silayev is not directly affiliated with First VPN, his inclusion in the sanctions package highlights a broader strategy of targeting the entire cybercriminal supply chain. Cryptors are tools specifically built to disguise ransomware as harmless files, preventing security systems from detecting or deactivating the malware.

A haven for cybercriminals

The US Treasury's latest move is an update to an ongoing international operation against First VPN.

In a massive May 2026 takedown, a coordinated effort led by European law enforcement agencies and the FBI successfully seized the service's website and server infrastructure.

Prior to the takedown, Rashevskyi aggressively marketed First VPN on dark web forums. To lure cybercriminals, he promised total anonymity and boasted that the network "does not keep logs of users' identities or activities, and that it refuses to cooperate with law enforcement investigations into illegal activity originating from the servers it rents to customers".

According to the US Treasury, Rashevskyi went to great lengths to keep the operation running. He utilized false identities, such as "Maksim Sorin" and "Roman Chabanenko," to "buy infrastructure from companies that might otherwise refuse to do business with him because of complaints of abuse from internet service providers about illegal activity originating from 1VPNS servers".

Disrupting the cybercriminal ecosystem

This latest wave of sanctions was coordinated alongside the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and carries severe consequences for the designated individuals.

Under the new sanctions, all property and interests belonging to Rashevskyi and Silayev within the US are blocked, and US citizens are strictly prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them. Beyond the immediate financial freeze, OFAC sanctions serve as a massive reputational blow designed to choke off future revenue streams.

By focusing on the service providers and tool suppliers who facilitate these attacks, rather than just the ransomware operators themselves, authorities are aiming to maximize their impact and disrupt multiple gangs at once.

"Under President Trump's leadership, Treasury is using every available tool to disrupt the cybercriminal ecosystem and protect the American people," said Gene Lange, who is performing the duties of the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. "We will continue targeting the actors who enable ransomware attacks against Americans and our critical infrastructure".

Nym Technologies has released a major update to the NymVPN iOS app, adding several new connectivity and convenience features.

At the core of the update are new features designed to give users control over the balance between privacy and performance.

NymVPN is one of the more technical VPNs on the market. Central to its operation is the titular Nym mix network, or mixnet, which hides user metadata by routing traffic through a mixture of servers, scrambling IP addresses on both sides of the connection.

At the same time, a blend of other users’ traffic and decoy traffic is sent through the same mixnet, making it effectively impossible to trace any actions back to you.

NymVPN has seen several notable improvements of late, adding post-quantum encryption as standard in June this year, split tunneling for Windows users in April, and an ad-blocker earlier in 2026.

It now resembles a typical VPN a little more closely, though the new features and fixes included in the 2026.11.0 iOS update are a bit more complex than your typical VPN update. Read on for a breakdown of the new features (based on the information NymVPN has given us, anyway).

Key features

The update introduces Server Families, a new alert system that lets users know when their chosen mixnet servers may belong to the same operator or subnet. This allows users to maintain decentralization by choosing servers from different operators for each node in the mixnet.

All Nym servers are community-run and decentralized using blockchain technology, but using different operators for each node maximises the possible obfuscation of network traffic.

Additionally, the update adds a new Mixnet Tuning feature in beta, allowing users to adjust the balance between anonymity and privacy.

Mixnets operate through a number of ‘hops’, referring to individual nodes between the origin and destination of network traffic. Nym uses a five-hop mixnet as standard, with an entry, exit, and three connection points in between.

This creates latency – according to Nym, its mixnet adds 15ms of delay per hop by default, totalling 75ms across five hops.

This is an intentional measure designed to hide the timing of your network traffic, as well as its origin and destination, but could be annoying for streaming video or playing online games, where latency should be as low as possible to maximise performance.

Mixnet Tuning adds two settings that allow users to adjust the NymVPN’s default instructions while maintaining connection. These are the ‘Send traffic continuously’ setting, which offers a range of 0.7Mbps to 2Mbps for decoy traffic, and ‘Packet mixing profile’, which changes how long each mix node holds onto your traffic, from 0ms to 200ms.

Keeping it convenient

NymVPN’s latest iOS update also brings some quality-of-life improvements to the app, and while it’s still a fair way from our list of the best VPNs, it’s good to see that the app will now be easier to use on the best iPhones and best iPads.

These improvements include the ability to change the app icon to a calculator or notepad to avoid prying eyes, a bug fix for an issue that displayed subscription data incorrectly after a fresh install, and stronger ad blocking.

Nym’s blog says that the app’s daily data allowance has been increased, but at the time of writing the company hasn’t confirmed the total allowance or by how much it’s been increased.

Similarly, Nym has not expanded on its claim that the update makes it NymVPN easier to use in areas and territories that restrict VPN use.

TechRadar has reached out to NymVPN for more information on these areas, and we'll update this article once we know more.

• Government report shows British kids mainly use a VPN to improve their privacy
• Only a fifth of VPN users use the tech to bypass age verification
• Pretending to be older is the most common way to dodge age checks

As the debate surrounding potential VPN restrictions heats up in the UK, a government report has cast doubt on whether such drastic measures are justified.

According to the study commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), digital privacy is the primary driver behind VPN use among British children.

Content unblocking ranks as the second most common motivation, with children using the tools to access specific apps and media from other countries.

Crucially, the desire to bypass mandatory age checks ranks much further down the list, with only about a fifth of young VPN users actively using the software to evade age checks. This equates to just 7% of all British children using a VPN to access restricted platforms.

These findings challenge the narrative that restricting VPNs is vital to enforcing current age verification laws and the government's proposed under-16 social media ban.

The government is set to share evidence of its public consultation on children's online safety and VPNs this month.

In response to requests for comment, a spokesperson for DSIT shared a press release that confirms that "VPNs play a limited role in circumventing age check."

"As platforms implement more robust age verification to comply with the newly announced restrictions, many of the common routes used to bypass age checks today will become increasingly difficult," they continued.

Kids and VPNs: What the DSIT report found

Following a nationwide survey of over 2,000 young people aged 11 to 17, researchers at BMG Research discovered that familiarity with virtual private networks among British children is high.

58% of children surveyed reported that they are aware of the software, while roughly a quarter of all respondents admitted to using a VPN in their lifetime.

The underlying motivations of these young users appear to challenge the argument in favor of stricter controls.

Among active VPN users, 30% state they use the software specifically to secure their online privacy. This aligns with warnings from digital rights advocates who argue that restricting VPN access could strip vital security tools away from minors.

And while young people do use these apps to bypass content restrictions, the study shows they are primarily interested in evading regional entertainment geoblocks or school network restrictions rather than maliciously outsmarting age verification.

Bypassing age checks ranks fifth on the list of motivations. These findings mirror separate YouGov research commissioned by the VPN Trust Initiative, which revealed that a mere 1.4% of surveyed minors use a VPN specifically to access platforms meant for older demographics.

So how do children actually bypass age checks?

It seems that British children have found much simpler workarounds to evade online controls than using a VPN.

Over half of the children surveyed admitted they simply migrate to different platforms, with 37% choosing websites that completely lack age verification and 34% opting for services known to enforce weak, easily tricked checks.

Posing as an adult remains the most common tactic, with roughly 63% of those who bypass checks admitting they pretended to be someone older.

Specifically, 45% do so by giving a false date of birth during self-declaration checks, while a notable minority (11%) use their parents' or relatives' identification details.

The findings follow a stark warning to Downing Street from a coalition of more than 20 tech firms and privacy advocacy groups, which urged policymakers to protect digital rights and ensure that VPN tools remain unrestricted.

• IPVanish added OpenVPN Data Channel Offload (DCO) to its Windows app
• Internal testing recorded download increases of up to 196%
• The feature cannot be used at the same time as OpenVPN Scramble

IPVanish has released a new Windows client built around High-Speed Mode, the provider's implementation of OpenVPN Data Channel Offload (DCO). The company claims the feature lifts OpenVPN download speeds by up to 196%.

OpenVPN remains one of the most widely supported protocols in the industry, prized for its maturity and its ability to work almost anywhere. Its weakness has always been pace, which is why so many of the best VPN services now steer users towards WireGuard by default.

OpenVPN DCO addresses this problem. It moves the heavy lifting of encryption out of the app and into the deepest core of the operating system, cutting latency and easing CPU load without changing the protocol's security.

IPVanish has also swapped its Windows OpenVPN cipher from AES-256-CBC to AES-256-GCM, a change it says trims 32% off the time needed to connect to a server.

OpenVPN DCO remains an exclusive for Windows users. As the provider confirms to TechRadar, "OpenVPN DCO isn't possible on macOS, iOS, or Android. Those operating systems have locked-down kernels."

What IPvanish's High-Speed Mode actually changes, and how to use it

Standard OpenVPN shuttles data back and forth between the VPN app and the operating system. Every one of those handovers costs time. DCO keeps the data channel closer to the Windows networking layer instead, so encrypted traffic moves through the system with fewer stops.

IPVanish tested servers in New York, London, Berlin, and Tokyo, three times a day across three consecutive days. Averaged out, downloads improved by 131% on TCP and 196% on UDP, while uploads rose 34% and 101% respectively.

"IPVanish is already known for offering fast VPN speeds, and today we're raising the bar for Windows OpenVPN," said Subbu Sthanu, General Manager, Consumer Cybersecurity at IPVanish, adding that streamers, gamers, and remote workers should all feel the difference.

You can turn the feature on by updating your Windows app and going to the OpenVPN protocol in the Settings tab.

One catch is that High-Speed Mode is not compatible with OpenVPN Scramble — IPVanish's obfuscation feature that disguises your VPN traffic to slip past networks that block it. Turn one on, and you lose the other. For anyone connecting from a school, an office, or a country that filters VPNs, Scramble is probably the more important feature.

Which other VPNs offer OpenVPN DCO

ExpressVPN was among the first providers to unveil OpenVPN DCO in March 2025, claiming a 2,000% jump in UDP performance. Windscribe also added DCO on Windows at the same time, recently extending it to Linux, too.

Norton VPN followed in September 2025, citing doubled speeds and 15% lower latency.

Surfshark, NordVPN, and PrivadoVPN all ship a DCO adapter in their Windows clients, too. It's still a short list, with most providers betting on WireGuard instead.

• 20+ digital rights groups and tech firms urge the UK not to restrict VPNs
• Age-gating VPNs would undermine the online privacy of millions, they warn
• Signatories believe VPN restrictions are ineffective, technically unfeasible

The UK government's ongoing debate around tightening online safety rules to protect kids has drawn fierce pushback from the global cybersecurity sector.

On July 9, a coalition of 24 major digital rights organizations and top VPN providers, including Amnesty International, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and Mozilla, issued a stark warning to the UK government: leave VPNs alone.

In an open letter to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall, the group stressed that while keeping kids safe is a shared goal, it must not come at the cost of breaking the internet's fundamental privacy infrastructure.

As lawmakers weigh up potential restrictions ahead of an expected online safety consultation update this month, the stakes for your digital privacy have never been higher.

If you currently use the best VPN to protect your personal data on public Wi-Fi or secure your connection while working remotely, new regulations could fundamentally alter how these tools work. Any move to force VPN providers into verifying the age of their users would require you to hand over sensitive personal data, effectively destroying the anonymity you pay to protect.

"Restricting VPNs would undercut security"

The heart of the coalition's argument is that virtual private networks (VPNs) are, first and foremost, essential security software.

"The challenge is ensuring measures strengthen child safety without weakening the privacy and security millions of people rely on every day, including children," the letter explains.

Beyond everyday consumers, the coalition notes that VPNs provide critical protection for vulnerable groups.

The open letter emphasizes that these tools are a lifeline for "human rights defenders and journalists, domestic abuse survivors, the LGBTQ+ community, and others at heightened risk online." As rights groups have noted previously, weakening this protection could actively infringe human rights.

Addressing the reality check of age verification head-on, the group didn't mince words about the dangers of ID checks.

"Age-gating VPNs would require everyone to surrender sensitive personal information simply to access tools designed to protect privacy," the letter states.

A technically unfeasible approach

Critics of the UK's proposed teen social media ban have repeatedly pointed out that restricting privacy tools is a flawed approach to child safety. The letter backs this up with hard data, pointing to Ofcom research which "found that only around 3% of children had used VPNs to access content meant for older audiences."

The coalition also highlights that teenagers will simply find other, lower-tech ways to bypass rules. "Evidence from Australia shows children are much more likely to get around age checks by not being asked, giving false information, or even drawing on a moustache," the letter adds.

Ultimately, the cybersecurity industry is warning that while restricting privacy tools is failing to protect kids, it will succeed in punishing regular users. "Blocking VPN traffic reliably is technically unfeasible," the letter warns, noting that it risks locking employers and schools out of the web, while pushing regular citizens toward "unregulated, data-exploiting services that are harder to oversee, leaving them less secure."

Rather than breaking encrypted tools, the coalition urges the government to focus its upcoming policies on the root causes of online harms, suggesting investments in "strong enforcement of platform obligations, better parental controls, investment in digital literacy, and safety- and privacy-by-design obligations."

• West Coast Labs found that the VPN battery drain is just a myth
• Leaving NordVPN on for 24 hours drains just up to 1.8% of battery
• NordVPN's NordLynx uses up to 31% less battery than OpenVPN

One of the biggest reasons people turn off their cybersecurity apps is the fear of a dead smartphone. For years, the conventional wisdom has been that running a virtual private network (VPN) in the background will relentlessly chew through your daily charge.

However, new independent research commissioned by NordVPN reveals that this long-held belief is actually a massive misunderstanding. If you've been avoiding firing up the best VPN to save a few precious battery percentage points, your phone has probably been lying to you.

West Coast Labs carried out an evaluation across flagship Apple, Samsung, and Google devices. Testing showed that running NordVPN continuously for a full 24 hours added a mere 1.4% to daily battery use on Android and just 1.8% on iOS.

To put that into perspective, leaving the VPN active all day on a premium Android device means you would only need to charge it roughly half a day earlier over the course of an entire month.

Why your phone's battery screen is lying to you

"Battery drain is one of the biggest reasons people avoid using a VPN," says Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer (CTO) at NordVPN. "We wanted to know if that myth holds up, and it turns out it largely doesn’t. Your phone makes VPN battery use look a lot scarier than it actually is."

The confusion stems from how Android and iOS calculate power consumption. When a VPN is active, your device routes all its internet traffic through that encrypted tunnel. Because of this, your smartphone's operating system labels all that transferred data as belonging to the VPN app.

If you stream a video or browse the web, your battery usage screen blames the VPN for the power drop. During an hour of streaming, West Coast Labs found that phones attributed an average of 49% of the session's battery drop to NordVPN.

However, when researchers used hardware instruments to measure the actual electrical current draw, the real VPN overhead was just 1.6% to 2.1%. Essentially, your phone's battery screen is simply counting data volume, not actual power loss. When idle, the background overhead is less than 0.5% of battery capacity per hour.

The commuter test and modern protocols

Another scenario notorious for eating up battery life is the daily commute. Phones rapidly switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data networks can force apps to constantly reconnect, draining juice in the process.

West Coast Labs simulated a two-hour commute with automated network switches every nine minutes. Even under this stress, NordVPN's transition overhead stayed at just 5.1% on Android and 6.8% on iOS. The app also successfully reconnected after more than 99 out of every 100 network switches.

So, where did the battery-draining myth come from? The report points the finger at older technology, specifically OpenVPN. Built in 2001, OpenVPN was designed long before mobile battery efficiency was a priority.

In contrast, NordVPN’s proprietary NordLynx protocol — which is built on the much lighter WireGuard standard — uses modern cryptography requiring significantly less processing power. Benchmarking tests showed NordLynx uses 31% less battery per unit of data than OpenVPN on Android, and 24% less on iOS.

“People deserve to make informed choices about their online security. If battery drain was the reason someone wasn’t using a VPN, we hope this report puts that concern to rest for good," says Briedis.

• Some Mastercard’s users can install NordVPN for free
• The VPN now offers its services as part of the credit card’s perks
• This move indicates that digital awareness is growing among consumers

Do you have a Mastercard? If so, you'll be happy to know that you may be eligible to use NordVPN's services for free.

These days, we know that using a VPN has become crucial for protecting one's digital identity. But when a major payment service provider enables its cardholder to access one of the best VPNs for free as part of the benefits included in their package, you realize that digital security has truly become an integral part of everyday life.

Indeed, Mastercard cardholders can now redeem a NordVPN subscription in exactly the same way they currently access airport lounges, fast-track services, and other lifestyle perks included in Mastercard's list of exclusive benefits.

How to get your VPN

Depending on your bank or Mastercard issuer and the country where you live, your Mastercard payment plan may now include NordVPN Basic and NordVPN Standard.

The basic version is already packed with features and serves as a golden ticket to digital security, thanks to its excellent unblocking capabilities, servers in 126 countries, 10 simultaneous connections, and the ability to block ads and malicious domains.

The luckiest users will be able to take advantage of NordVPN Standard, which exceeds all expectations, especially thanks to its next-gen antivirus digital suite.

The service helps protect your device from ads, trackers, malware, and malicious websites or downloads, and was previously ranked by the cybersecurity specialist AV-TEST and West Coast Labs (WCL) as the best tool for blocking malicious websites and anti-malware evaluation. We also tested it and can confidently confirm that it outperformed most other VPNs.

Mastercard cardholders can redeem their NordVPN subscription by checking their eligibility at https://nordvpn.com/partners/mastercard.

Customers are advised to contact their bank or card issuer to ensure that NordVPN’s digital benefits are included in their plan. Once they activate their NordVPN subscription, the service will ask them to set up their Nord account and download the NordVPN app.

A huge lifestyle plus

The partnership between NordVPN and Mastercard reflects a growing focus on privacy protection within financial services, particularly in industries where digital security is critical because sensitive data is constantly being shared.

In fact, virtual private networks (VPNs) allow cardholders to boost privacy by encrypting their browsing data and masking IP addresses. This provides solid protection against the risks associated with transactions made on public Wi-Fi networks, offering a defense against hackers who might intercept sensitive data.

The fact that a VPN is included among the lifestyle benefits offered by a payment giant shows that customers are paying closer attention to the digital world and view VPNs as an essential tool in their lives — just like vacations or entertainment.

"Digital security is becoming an essential part of everyday life, especially as people increasingly manage their finances, shop, and access important services online," stressed Kestas Saulis, Head of Payments at NordVPN.

Indeed, we might expect an ever-growing demand for digital security among payment services customers as they become increasingly aware of the real risks they face every time they conduct online transactions and share personal data.

• Proton launches a map to show how age verification laws spread globally
• Proton CEO said these laws will lead to "the death of online privacy"
• Alternatives to prevent digital safety are possible, Proton argues

It feels like an eternity ago, but it has only been less than a year since Australia made global headlines by introducing the world's first nationwide under-16s social media ban. Even longer, perhaps, since mandatory age verification checks have landed in the UK.

Over the past 12 months, however, mandatory age-verification regulations have been spreading rapidly across the world. The era of anonymous browsing — and perhaps the very concept of online privacy — may be quickly coming to an end.

To keep pace with these seismic changes, Proton — the Swiss-based company behind one of the best VPN and secure email services on the market — has launched an interactive map tracking the global spread of age verification laws.

While these laws continue to provoke criticism from scientists, tech experts, and digital rights advocates, Proton aims to ensure that the public remains properly informed by providing timely updates as new legislation advances.

Proton's age verification map

Proton's age verification map provides a real-time overview of where these measures are being introduced and how they are being implemented.

Clicking on any country reveals information about the progress of legislative proposals in that region, with the tool offering a detailed overview of the different approaches adopted by governments regarding age verification legislation.

A glance at the map is enough to show just how rapidly laws are proliferating.

In Europe, for example, 18 countries have already implemented or proposed age verification requirements targeting adult content. Fifteen of these have already introduced measures specifically aimed at social media platforms.

On the other side of the pond, 49 US states have put forward proposals, and 27 have successfully implemented mandatory age checks for websites with harmful content for minors. In addition, many states have either successfully implemented or are considering parental consent or verified age mechanisms for mainstream social apps.

But this pattern stretches way beyond Europe and North America. In the Asia-Pacific region and the emerging markets of Latin America, governments are targeting a wide range of channels, including adult websites, social media platforms, online gaming platforms, and apps.

The death of privacy worldwide?

Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton, strongly argued that requiring every user to provide their identifying information is simply tantamount to "the death of privacy online."

He is not alone in holding these views. Many privacy advocates and digital rights organizations argue that current age verification methods encourage the growth of surveillance while compromising users' privacy.

Critics also point to past failures in ensuring the security of sensitive data. Breaches involving Discord's third-party age verification service affecting over 70,000 users or the EU’s age verification app, allegedly hacked in two minutes, are just a few examples of the scale of the problem.

The picture looks even bleaker when one considers that many experts from youth organizations and children’s charities seem to agree that such methods could have harmful effects on young people browsing the Internet.

As opposition continues to grow — from scientists calling for the suspension of mandatory age verification to gaming groups and digital rights activists joining forces to prevent the erosion of Internet freedom — Yen argues that alternatives are possible.

Proton advocates for a different approach to child protection. One that does not compromise the very concept of online privacy and is based on client-side processing, with results that are fully anonymized thanks to end-to-end encryption and publicly accessible open-source code.

"We simply can’t afford to get this wrong. Who stands to benefit? The same tech giants who build today’s privacy nightmare," Yan said.

• Australian eSafety Commissioner views VPN detection as a "reasonable step" for tech companies enforcing age limits
• The watchdog notes that service providers must prevent workarounds under new industry codes
• Australia's position mirrors a growing global debate surrounding age assurance and VPNs

Australia's internet watchdog is keeping a close eye on VPN services as the country steps up its efforts to enforce strict online age verification rules.

According to documents obtained by The Guardian under freedom of information (FOI) laws, the Australian eSafety Commissioner expects tech platforms and service providers to actively block workarounds that allow users to bypass age-restricted content and social media bans.

The internal documents explicitly detail how the government plans to approach these privacy tools under its Unlawful Material Codes and Standards. Under the Codes, the documents state, "service providers must take reasonable steps to prevent workarounds like VPNs so eSafety will look at this when considering compliance with codes."

For everyday web users, this raises a troubling question: could turning on a virtual private network (VPN) to protect your personal data soon flag you as a circumventor?

As cybersecurity protections increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs of child safety regulations, digital privacy advocates are sounding the alarm.

The push for VPN detection

Under the new codes, the Australian government is placing the burden directly on industry providers to prevent the exposure of age-restricted material, defined by regulators as Class 1 and Class 2 material.

Because a VPN encrypts your internet traffic and spoofs your IP address, it can easily make you appear as though you are browsing from a different country, bypassing local geoblocks and age gates. That's exactly why VPN downloads skyrocketed after Australia enforced mandatory age verification for adult content last March.

However, Australian authorities are confident that platforms can counter this.

According to the FOI documents, the government's ongoing Age Assurance Technology Trial has convinced regulators that network detection is feasible. The documents note that "the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts knows that tech companies can tell when a VPN is in use."

Consequently, the eSafety Commissioner is treating the detection of these tools as a fundamental requirement. The internal log clarifies that "this is similar to eSafety’s regulatory guidance for the social media minimum age, where eSafety considers VPN detection as a reasonable step to prevent underage users from having an account."

A global ripple effect?

Australia is far from the only country struggling to balance child safety legislation with the right to online privacy. The debate over whether to treat VPNs as essential security software or mere circumvention tools is heating up worldwide.

Recent analysis of Australia's age verification rules suggests that trying to plug these "loopholes" could severely compromise the digital safety of the broader population. In fact, some experts argue that demanding that platforms actively block VPN connections sets a dangerous precedent for civil liberties.

The ripple effect is already visible across Europe.

As the EU launches its own age verification initiatives, regulators are increasingly signaling that VPNs might be next in line for restrictions. Similarly, the shifting role of VPNs in the UK has prompted rigorous discussions about whether incoming social media bans could lead to VPN restrictions.

Ultimately, the eSafety Commissioner’s plan highlights a growing reality: as governments worldwide roll out strict age assurance mandates, child safety measures and VPN use are on a collision course.

Whether everyday Australians will still be able to freely protect their data on public Wi-Fi without being blocked from their favorite sites remains to be seen.

If you're browsing the web, a VPN is one of the fastest ways to upgrade your privacy. Luckily, the cost of a two-year subscription to one of the biggest VPN providers, ExpressVPN, is now down to only $69.72 right now. You'll be saving $378 in total if you buy a sub this way, compared to a rolling monthly sub, and you'll get an extra four months added onto your plan for free, too.

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VPN pricing is a little unorthodox, and we see deals like these appear all the time, so it's important to point out where the value really lies here. I spent a long time paying month by month for a VPN subscription, not realizing how much money I was actually spending by choosing a rolling, 30-day sub over locking in for a longer period. The $69.72 cost means that you're paying the equivalent of just $2.49 a month for the 28 months of access you're gaining here, compared to $15.99 a month for the 30-day access.

This deal for ExpressVPN's Basic plan unlocks a solution that'll protect 10 devices simultaneously with the same account. You can use it to keep your identity safe while you browsing, but if you're still unsure, new customers can take advantage of ExpressVPN's 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're unhappy, you can ask for a full refund within those first 30 days, giving you enough time to fully test the service to see if it matches up to your expectations.

ExpressVPN is a no-logs provider, meaning it can't give up your data while you're using it, as it doesn't track or store any data about its users' connections. This is regularly audited, with the last audit in 2025 by KMPG confirming "reasonable assurance" of its systems and policies. This is real peace of mind for users: you're free to use the web how you want.

It also gives you a shield of privacy that your regular ISP just can't. A VPN sub like this means you can shop online or browse the web without trackers monitoring where you're from via your IP address. Your location stays hidden, obfuscated through the 105 different countries that ExpressVPN hosts servers, with 24 different server locations in the U.S. alone.

Don't underestimate how important that privacy is in the modern world. Every page you're visiting leaves a trace, whether it's a ping in a server log or a tracker on-page, giving the site owner data to build a profile on who you are, but using a VPN can stop this data from being useful. Likewise, a VPN connection can help you to connect as if you're from a certain location, which is particularly useful if you're traveling abroad and want to be able to access your home streaming services. It's also a good idea to use a VPN as a way to protect yourself if you're accessing the internet from a public WiFi network, where malicious actors could otherwise be snooping on your connection.

Using ExpressVPN, the encryption between your device and its servers is encrypted using industry-standard AES-256 encryption, as well as post-quantum encryption techniques for the initial handshake process. This can stop your data from being intercepted while you're accessing the web. If you lose your connection, features like ExpressVPN's kill switch will stop the data from leaking out, blocking any access until you reconnect. The Basic plan also includes a private email relay service to give you 10 anonymous email aliases to use for registering online, along with basic ad and malicious site protection for your browser.

This $69.72 price tag for the ExpressVPN Basic plan is a good deal for a 28-month privacy upgrade. Yes, VPN pricing can seem confusing, but by locking in for that period, you're getting online privacy protection for the equivalent of just $2.49 a month. You can always give it a go and, if you don't like it, request a refund using ExpressVPN's 30-day money-back guarantee.

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