IVPN on Nostr on Nostr: Why you shouldn't pay with credit card or PayPal for a VPN service Payment methods ...
Why you shouldn't pay with credit card or PayPal for a VPN service
Payment methods that support anonymity can help keep your service account (e.g., your randomly generated IVPN Account ID) separate from your personal information tied to CC/Paypal. When paying with cash, Lightning, or XMR a trustworthy VPN provider only sees your IP address, with no ability to link it to revealing payment details. If the provider has no identifying data, they can't misuse it, leak it or share it with third parties.
Paying with a credit card or PayPal exposes personally identifiable information to the service provider. Further, the payment gateway and each participants in the payment processing chain can learn you are using that specific provider. In the event of a leak, official request, or compromise, your use of the VPN service could be tied to you personally, and in the worst case your activities could be directly correlated to you as well.
The above also highlights why you should use providers that don't require an email or other personal information to sign up and accept anonymity-friendly payment methods without an third-party.
Should all of this matter to you?
As we often remark, it all comes down to your personal threat model. What information you want to protect? Who are the adversaries?
If you occasionally use a VPN to watch BBC iPlayer and you trust your provider, the risks are minimal. If you are concerned about potential compromise, or you might be at threat if your personal information is correlated to your activities, it's better to minimize the amount of information you (are required to) share.
Payment methods that support anonymity can help keep your service account (e.g., your randomly generated IVPN Account ID) separate from your personal information tied to CC/Paypal. When paying with cash, Lightning, or XMR a trustworthy VPN provider only sees your IP address, with no ability to link it to revealing payment details. If the provider has no identifying data, they can't misuse it, leak it or share it with third parties.
Paying with a credit card or PayPal exposes personally identifiable information to the service provider. Further, the payment gateway and each participants in the payment processing chain can learn you are using that specific provider. In the event of a leak, official request, or compromise, your use of the VPN service could be tied to you personally, and in the worst case your activities could be directly correlated to you as well.
The above also highlights why you should use providers that don't require an email or other personal information to sign up and accept anonymity-friendly payment methods without an third-party.
Should all of this matter to you?
As we often remark, it all comes down to your personal threat model. What information you want to protect? Who are the adversaries?
If you occasionally use a VPN to watch BBC iPlayer and you trust your provider, the risks are minimal. If you are concerned about potential compromise, or you might be at threat if your personal information is correlated to your activities, it's better to minimize the amount of information you (are required to) share.