• Anti-censorship bridges auto-reroute connections on restrictive networks
• Battery life, connection reliability, account controls all see meaningful gains
• QR code support, auto-connect, lockdown mode are up for future releases

NymVPN has rolled out version 2026.15 of its apps, headlined by anti-censorship bridges designed to keep the service working on networks that try to block VPNs outright.

The update lands on every platform — Android/F-Droid (v2026.15.1), iOS, macOS, Windows and Linux —and is the decentralized VPN’s latest push to stay usable wherever VPNs are unwelcome.

From hotel and airport Wi-Fi to corporate networks, university campuses, and even national firewalls, VPN connections are routinely blocked at the ports and protocols they depend on.

This is the kind of problem the best VPN services are increasingly looking to solve. Version 2026.15 of NymVPN takes that problem head-on, arriving alongside longer battery life, tighter account controls, and a series of reliability fixes.

Getting past the block

Leading the latest update is the new anti-censorship bridges feature.

Bridges are adaptive tools: when a network attempts to shut down VPN traffic, an ordinary connection simply fails, leaving users stranded on an unprotected network — or offline entirely. The new bridges detect the interference and re-establish the connection through whatever route is still open.

Users have three options:

• Auto: the sensible default for most, starts every connection on standard WireGuard and switches to a bridge if the network interferes;
• On: forces a bridged connection everywhere, useful for anyone traveling through heavily censored regions;
• Off: disables bridging entirely.

Nym pitches the feature for restrictive Wi-Fi and censored countries — anywhere a straightforward VPN connection stands little chance of surviving.

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Practical improvements across the board

Away from censorship work, the update tackles the annoyance of battery drain. NymVPN previously checked a user’s remaining fair usage data over the network frequently enough to take a noticeable toll on battery life. That accounting now happens locally, and the app checks in with the network sparingly as a result.

Connection statuses have been made more trustworthy as well. Notifications now track the true state of the tunnel, putting an end to false "connected" flashes and ensuring error states persist only for as long as the underlying problem does.

On Android, the server list now opens instantly from cache and updates quietly in the background, while SOCKS5 connections shut down cleanly on disconnect.

Account control gets a boost as well.

Android users can now delete their account from inside the app. Across all platforms, the pre-expiry notice for plans and free passes has been upgraded from a passive heads-up to a full dialog with the option to renew directly.

The momentum continues

The pace of development is telling. Earlier this year, version 2026.12 brought one-click connections, reworked WireGuard handshakes for steadier mobile use, expanded split tunneling, and added a new six-month pricing tier — while retiring the two-year plan.

More is close behind. The next release promises QR code support for faster account setup, auto-connect, and country exclusion for finer control over where traffic travels. Further out, an optional lockdown mode will block every connection whenever the VPN isn’t active.

Nym is also letting users steer the NymVPN roadmap directly: feature proposals and votes on nym.com determine what rises to the top of the development queue. For a young, decentralized VPN finding its feet, that open-door approach may prove just as important as any single update.

Planet VPN has 50 million downloads on Android and says that its free VPN has “no limits on traffic, bandwidth, or time.”

However, free VPNs often come with caveats and need to earn money somehow. In the case of Planet VPN, this may be achieved via Planet Search — a Chrome extension that re-routes users' internet searches through intermediary platforms before they reach monetized Yahoo search results.

Planet Search has 2 million users, according to its Google Web Store page, and its parent company, Free Planet VPN S.R.L., was recently referenced in an investigation by Socket into ‘searchjacking’ apps.

While its role modifying a user's search engine has previously been documented and is identified in the Chrome Web Store, our investigation reveals that the developer was actively funneling users from its VPN product to its Chrome extension until at least mid-January this year.

Planet search, redirect & monetize

According to Socket’s report, these ‘searchjacking’ apps can “take over the browser's default search engine, route every query through a suspicious proxy server, and collect partner referral payments from Yahoo or Bing under a syndication partner ID.”

TechRadar has independently analyzed the source code of Planet Search and confirmed that it changes Chrome’s default search engine — using the chrome_settings_overrides.search_provider manifest key — to planet-search[.]com.

Using planet-search[.]com as the default search engine redirects users’ search queries through several intermediary platforms before landing on Yahoo’s syndication endpoint (/yhs/search) configured with commercial syndication parameters and campaign tracking tags.

While Planet Search states in the Chrome Web Store that it alters default search settings, the listing explicitly promises that “default search results will be provided by Google.” On another page it says the provider will be switched to Microsoft Bing. However, during our tests we consistently landed on Yahoo search result pages.

While TechRadar’s technical analysis traced the redirect hops to a Yahoo search endpoint, Planet Search’s privacy policy discloses that “certain web search services” are provided through CodeFuel, a search monetization platform. The same document also states the service may "gather data related" to usage, specifically citing "search queries" along with "the time and date of your search queries."

The Socket.dev report suggests many of the extensions may have obtained users via paid advertising campaigns. However, our research suggests that in the case of Planet Search, some of its users have been funneled from its VPN product.

Planet VPN's installer promoted the extension

TechRadar’s analysis of older Planet VPN desktop clients confirms that in version V.2.10.69.99, released on January 13, 2026, the app prompted users to install the Planet Search extension at setup.

However, frustration over the extension goes back years, with several people highlighting difficulties removing the tool .One user said they had "tried everything like deleting all of the folders on my PC" to get rid of the extension, while another said "it feels like malware."

TechRadar has not verified whether the current Planet Search extension still uses methods which make it difficult to remove.

How Planet Search may profit

When you enter a query while using the extension, that query is routed via its planet-search[.]com domain and several intermediary domains. The query is then handed off to major search providers (in our case Yahoo) with partner syndication tags (e.g. hspart or hsimp) at the end of the URL.

In search revenue-sharing arrangements of this kind, a user clicking on sponsored ads may generate a referral commission for the ad network, which may then share revenue with the extension publisher. TechRadar could not confirm whether Planet Free VPN receives any revenue from this arrangement.

While common among ad-tech toolbars, routing searches through redirect hops may expose user search intent to third-party commercial networks and is not something normally associated with the digital privacy protections of a VPN.

The free VPN privacy dilemma

All commercial VPNs exist to make a profit. And when an app is free, more often than not, you are what’s generating that profit.

While there are a few reputable free VPN providers, even the most well-established providers come with caveats — whether data limits, the inability to choose servers, or limited access to international servers.

For this VPN, Planet Search may be one way the provider is able to make money, although TechRadar could not confirm whether it earns revenue through the extension. It also offers paid-for tiers and may be monetizing its products in other ways.

Free Planet VPN S.R.L. did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

I don’t know what I’d do without Google.

I rely on its search engine for answers to all my questions; I’m writing this article up using Google Docs; its Calendar and Gmail apps help run my life; my phone and tablet are both powered by Android; Chrome is my go-to browser of choice; Google manages my passwords and is my authenticator app for 2FA, and I watch an ungodly amount of YouTube — I could go on, but you get the picture.

It’s scary if you sit and think about Google's stranglehold over our daily lives for too long, and so I’ve been desperate to try and de-Google where possible. I was glad, then, when the Fairphone 6 Plus came across my desk.

The standard Fairphone 6 Plus runs Android 16, but the model I’ve been testing for the past month comes preinstalled with /e/OS. This custom mobile OS removes all proprietary Google services, tracking, and built-in Google apps, but is still technically a fork of Android, which means it plays nice with many Android-compatible apps (solving one of the biggest hardware barriers to de-Googling).

The /e/OS Fairphone 6 Plus is available exclusively through Murena for $699.99 / £583 (around AU$1,009); that's slightly more than the standard model, which retails for $649.99 / £569 (roughly AU$1,100).

Armed with this Google-free phone and a list of apps to install, I was ready to see if I could de-couple from Google once and for all.

But after one month of trying, I’ve given up.

What is de-Googling?

This steadily growing trend is, as the name suggests, an approach to choosing software and hardware that's devoid of Google’s interference — specifically, de-Googling involves choosing options that have stronger privacy protections for users and less data-tracking services.

But this isn't just a matter of hopping over to Apple's iOS ecosystem and calling it a day (iPhones, of course, can access almost all Google services). It’s about maximizing privacy in a way that doesn't lock you into a walled garden. For some, de-Googling is also about de-Americanizing — that is, finding hardware and software produced outside of the United States.

Especially in the wake of the US government sanctioning International Criminal Court (ICC) lawyers, which left them unable to access essential online services, and previous efforts to ban non-US citizens from accessing the top-tier AI models, it's understandable that some people want to find tech alternatives produced either in their home region or by more stable allies.

In my case, I used the Fairphone 6 Plus as my day-to-day smartphone, swapped my default search engine to DuckDuckGo, and installed services like Proton to manage my mail.

Instantly, I was glad to be able to access the /e/OS and platforms like its App Lounge (its built-in app store) without a login, which kept my activity anonymous to some extent.

I also liked the neat Advanced Privacy widget, which not only lets you block in-app trackers, hide your IP address, and disguise your location on the fly, but also includes a neat graphic showing how many data leaks you've been shielded from over the last 30 days. It gamifies the experience of de-Googling in a fun way.

And while Proton offers paid tiers, I was able to trial its encrypted mail service with a free account, keeping my costs just as low as they were before I switched from my previous Android phone (albeit with a more limited service).

But for all of these early wins, I started to rub up against the more frustrating realities of de-Googling just as quickly.

/e/OS lacks some must-have Android optimizations — even simple ones, like the option to arrange apps how you want across pages (instead, it takes the Apple approach of apps automatically filling up pages; you can’t create gaps or custom arrangements beyond folders and reordering them).

Others on Reddit have also flagged the jankiness of the aforementioned App Lounge and the difficulty in finding navigation apps comparable to Google Maps. I don't live in a major city, so this hasn't been a big red flag for me, but it's true that most Google Maps alternatives lack the coverage and public transport integration to be relied upon.

Plus, while you can use a free version of services like Proton (like I did), I’d need to pay $12.99 / £10.39 / AU$20.79 a month (or equivalent to $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$15.99 if billed annually) for the experience I got from Google for free, which does add up at a time when costs are rising, and I’d ideally be tightening my purse strings. Remember, too, that this is not a cheap phone.

My frustrations also went beyond the general chore of untangling Google from my life.

I butted up against issues with the Fairphone 6 Plus specifically — its sluggish chipset and good-but-not-great cameras left me wanting to go back to my Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra on several occasions.

I do appreciate the Fairphone's modular, eco-friendly construction, and in our Fairphone 6 Plus review, we noted that its Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset "starts sluggishly" before finding its feet in general use.

I'm also lucky enough to be able to test the best Android phones (like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra) on a regular basis, so I've perhaps been spoiled by their flagship-level performance straight out of the box.

You may, therefore, not encounter the same hardware frustrations, but trying to de-Google on the Fairphone 6 Plus felt like a double-whammy of difficulty.

In for a penny…

The problem with de-Googling is that it’s full of friction points. And I’ve found that when it comes to tackling that friction, people are very binary — they either want next to none, or, if they’re willing to accept some, they’d also be willing to accept a lot to make their privacy-focused tech dreams a reality.

That is to say, if people want to go the proper de-Googling route — and my 'people', I mean the folks willing to put in the effort to find the best app alternatives, and change out their hardware — they are also likely willing (and have the technical confidence) to take the step of installing GrapheneOS on a Google Pixel phone.

The GrapheneOS/Pixel combination still has its drawbacks, but its privacy features are more robust than those you'll find in /e/OS, and newer Pixel models like the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10a edge out the Fairphone 6 Plus in terms of hardware (which, crucially, would be the only Google involvement in this solution).

Meanwhile, anyone wanting to take the easy route could just switch to Apple.

The Cupertino company's privacy promises are bold (even following its push into AI), and while picking up an iPhone wouldn't technically be de-Googling in purists' eyes, iPhones are slightly better options than regular Android phones for the mildly privacy-conscious.

That leaves the /e/OS Fairphone 6 Plus caught between two paths.

Its privacy features are great, and again, Fairphone deserves credit for offering a truly sustainable smartphone solution. But as someone who was genuinely excited to try to de-Google, I'm not sure whether the trade-offs in both software convenience and hardware quality are worth the hassle.

Still, with some tweaks made to /e/OS and a more flagship-level Fairphone, I'd be willing to try again.

• ExpressVPN’s browser extension now blocks malicious, phishing, and scam sites without the VPN
• Full URL-checking blocks single harmful pages, unlike DNS tools that block whole domains
• The update extends ExpressVPN’s 2026 strategy of bundling security tools into all paid plans

ExpressVPN has added a new layer of security to its browser extension, and it doesn’t require you to switch the VPN on.

The feature, Web Protection, screens each page as it loads, matching it against continuously refreshed databases of sites known to host malware, scams, or phishing attempts, and stops them before they appear.

It’s available now on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, and other Chromium-based browsers, and comes at no extra cost to subscribers on the Basic, Advanced, and Pro plans, as well as ExpressVPN for Teams.

Browsers are where most people encounter online threats in practice – often via a single link to a convincing fake login page. Web Protection places the check at the point a page loads, catching the threat before the user ever sees it.

What makes it different

One of the more notable aspects of Web Protection is how precisely it blocks. Rather than judging an entire domain, it inspects the full web address.

That means a single fraudulent page – a fake login form tucked inside an otherwise legitimate site, for instance – can be shut down while the rest of the site stays accessible. Domain-level filters, which are the norm for DNS-based tools, can’t make that distinction.

Users also get more visibility than typical network-level blocking offers. When a page is stopped, the extension steps in with its own notice spelling out which site was halted, and why.

Users can maintain their own block and allow lists directly in the extension, and a weekly count on the home screen shows how many items Web Protection has flagged, with fuller statistics available in the account portal.

The feature sits alongside, rather than replaces, Advanced Protection, ExpressVPN’s device-wide system that operates inside the VPN tunnel.

The older tool covers all traffic across apps, but only while the VPN is connected and only at the domain level. Web Protection works in the browser with or without the VPN, and the two are designed to complement each other.

Part of a bigger push

Web Protection is the latest addition to the hybrid browser extension ExpressVPN rolled out earlier this year.

The first VPN-proxy hybrid of its kind, it can protect browser traffic on its own or hand control to the desktop app for full-device coverage, complete with Smart Routing rules and WebRTC leak protection.

It also fits into a broader strategy. In February 2026, ExpressVPN rebuilt its plans around a suite of security tools, including an email protection service and a personal data checker, and this week brought tracker blocking to its entry-level Basic plan.

The timing is apt. A recent TechRadar investigation found 369 fake VPN extensions on the Chrome Web Store, including impostors of ExpressVPN itself, collectively installed by more than 218,000 people.

With shady add-ons and phishing pages multiplying, it’s a logical step for ExpressVPN: meet users where the threats actually are, whether or not the VPN is switched on.

• Schellman Compliance’s latest audit of IPVanish has confirmed no traffic, metadata, or session logging
• The audit is the third since 2022, and marks the second audit since IPVanish committed to annual audits
• It follows IPVanish’s recent RAM-only server rollout and expansion to a 150-location network

IPVanish has announced the results of its third independent no-logs audit, and once again its privacy claims have a clean bill of health.

The audit was completed by Schellman Compliance, a leading provider of attestation services, on September 25, 2026.

Following two previous third-party audits in 2022 and 2025, the review is the latest in what's become an annual tradition for the VPN provider: inviting an outside firm to poke holes in its no-logs policy.

According to the results shared, the policy is accurate and fully aligned with IPVanish’s public privacy commitments – with its zero-logs promise strictly enforced across the company’s global server network.

Proof, not promises

The evaluation was comprehensive. Schellman’s auditors were given unrestricted access to IPVanish’s systems, configurations, and teams.

Interviews were conducted with engineering and operations staff, and company workflows were reviewed alongside infrastructure, internal documentation, and the administrative procedures governing the VPN app itself.

They also ran test traffic exercises – simulating real-world scenarios and watching closely for any evidence of VPN logging, including DNS queries, VPN metadata, and server responses.

The conclusion: no records of browsing traffic, session history, or connection metadata are collected or stored on active servers. Further, any real-time systems used to detect network abuse operate purely in memory, leaving nothing behind.

The auditors also checked IPVanish’s internal safeguards, confirming that any changes to how its servers work need sign-off from multiple people. This makes it much harder for logging to be quietly switched back on.

“A no-logs policy is only as credible as the evidence behind it,” said Subbu Sthanu, General Manager, Consumer Cybersecurity at IPVanish.

“People shouldn’t have to rely on promises when it comes to their privacy. By committing to annual independent audits of our no-logs policy, we’re making transparency and accountability an ongoing practice, not a one-time exercise.”

Customers who want to dig deeper can download the full report themselves via the Security Reports page in the My IPVanish account portal.

Part of a bigger picture

The audit doesn’t arrive in isolation. IPVanish has spent the past year restructuring its plans – Essential, Complete, and Advanced – around a suite of security extras, while growing a server network that now spans more than 150 locations.

Meanwhile, the company is midway through migrating its infrastructure to RAM-only servers, which wipe all data on every reboot and eliminate the possibility of storage-based logging; it has pledged to complete that transition by 2027.

Taken together, the picture is of a provider treating privacy less as a marketing slogan and more as something baked into how it operates.

In a market where rivals like NordVPN and ExpressVPN have made repeat audits their own baseline, the third-party stamp of approval is now a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. IPVanish seems intent on keeping up.

What do a clinical psychologist from Queensland, an artist from Atlanta, a bio-behavioural scientist from North Carolina, and a tech engineer from Hungary have in common? In spite of their different levels of tech knowledge, all four converted to Linux within the last six months to regain control of their privacy and data.

Nearly a year ago, reports of millions of new Linux downloads signalled a shift in attitude amongst average digital users. The catalyst was the end of free support for Windows 10, followed by Microsoft’s aggressive promotion of Windows 11 and increasingly intrusive data-collection practices that sparked user dissatisfaction.

While ever-expanding surveillance seems to be the hallmark of major tech companies, increasingly user-friendly Linux desktop environments and installation programs, along with LLMs eager to help with configuration issues, are enabling even the least tech-savvy users to reclaim their digital freedom.

TechRadar spoke to those who have already switched to Linux to understand their reasons, how difficult it was to change operating systems, and whether we all need to do so to really be more private online.

Why switch to Linux

Bio-behavioural scientist Christopher Smith says he had no programming experience when he decided to switch. After 25 years using Microsoft, he became increasingly frustrated with the operating system forcing him to accept software and services he never requested.

"Windows was preventing me from managing my laptop freely, thereby depriving me of autonomy in my digital choices," Smith tells TechRadar. "I paid for my laptop, but I felt as though Microsoft was deciding how I could use it."

As Smith looked for alternatives, he first tried Linux from a bootable USB stick before moving on to a dual-boot system. "I didn’t even know the term 'Linux Distribution' at first; I thought it was something for developers or hackers."

Choosing a beginner-friendly Mint distro with a Cinnamon desktop environment helped the transition, as it featured a familiar ‘point-and-click’ interface similar to Windows rather than dropping him straight into an often terrifying command line interface.

Since then, Smith hasn’t looked back. Using LLMs to gather information and engage with digital communities, he has quickly learned terminal commands. He recently bought a laptop running a fully Linux-based operating system and a desktop computer on which he is setting up his own Linux server. "I won’t have to rely on Big Tech anymore."

Smith even sparked curiosity among his colleagues as they saw him booting Linux from USB at work. "After that, two colleagues tried it, and they have now told me they are exploring it further," he says.

It’s a privacy game

But is this all really necessary? Or are Smith and his newfound voyagers simply uncovering a new interest — useful, but ultimately just something that piqued their curiosity?

Imre Lóránt Dévai, a Budapest-based technical engineer who recently transitioned to Linux, certainly believes in the former. He told TechRadar:

"Data collection can affect more than privacy: the software companies use to collect data may also consume computer resources, such as CPU, memory, or internet bandwidth. Some people therefore block it both to limit tracking and to reclaim control and resources."

Lóránt Dévai uses his Logitech mouse and its installation process as a micro-example. "On Windows, even managing its buttons and firmware required Logitech software, an account, and an app running in the background. On Linux, I instead wrote simple scripts for the functions I actually needed, such as mapping the buttons and checking the battery," he said.

For Brisbane-based psychologist Aaron Frost, the decision to leave Microsoft stemmed from his professional ethics and the need to protect his patients’ confidentiality.

Specifically, Frost began harbouring doubts about the behaviour of Big Tech following Microsoft’s Recall incident — the AI-powered Copilot feature that periodically captured screenshots of users’ activity to create a searchable history.

"We work in health, and the Australian Privacy Principles treat all health data as sensitive, and I couldn’t see a way you could use Windows and be compliant, so I grabbed an old Windows machine and wiped it," Frost told TechRadar.

Choosing the right distro was the biggest challenge as he moved from Ubuntu to Fedora and Gnome to find the one best suited to his needs — something that in the past may have been a real barrier to adoption.

"I don’t think I would have pushed through the first week without LLMs. The fact that Claude or Gemini or ChatGPT know terminal and know Linux totally removes that barrier to entry," Frost explains.

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AI as a learning ally

Indeed, LLMs are playing a significant part in making Linux less overwhelming than it used to be. "AI can be a patient, nonjudgmental 'virtual admin' that can help people who might otherwise feel intimidated by online forums," explains Lóránt Dévai.

For beginners, the Budapest-based tech engineer recommends using an agent within the terminal rather than an AI assistant service, as this may be more convenient than copying commands from the browser’s chat window.

Cloud-based AI may be fine for setting up a fresh system with no personal files, he explains, but once private photos or documents are on the computer, using a privacy-focused or local model is recommended to keep your data safe.

Although useful, LLMs are not without risks and require cross-checking. "For anything that could delete or change important data, it’s wise to check what the AI proposes before letting it act," Lóránt Dévai stresses.

In the same vein, Atlanta-based graphic artist Dan Rodda has been using LLMs only experimentally during his transition to Linux, including Mistral coding models, and checking their input. He finds them useful for routine technical questions but cautions that answers can be subtly wrong.

"I have occasionally consulted open LLMs for technical help but often have to double-check their solutions," says Rodda. "I think local AI has promising potential to be an automation toolset but have yet to leverage it personally."

How to stop relying on Big Tech

As they continue to progress, the four people interviewed by TechRadar all agreed that switching to Linux meant increasing their detachment from Big Tech.

"My views towards Big Tech have been pretty grim for quite a while, but now it feels like they aren’t even trying to maintain a social license, so I actually enjoy the process of finding a free solution to a service and then migrating and cancelling the subscription," Brisbane-based psychologist Frost explains.

"I have gotten progressively more disenchanted by Big Tech with their greed and surveillance," Atlanta-based graphic artist Rodda adds. "Switching to Linux is an ethical and self-respecting choice in my view. I have substituted most of my cloud storage, search engine use, and personal productivity software with open source or privacy-respecting stuff. I also run a privacy-oriented system on my Google Pixel called GrapheneOS."

Bio-behavioural scientist Smith lists all the software he uses to replace Big Tech. "I've left Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, and I've moved over to Brave Browser and also Vivaldi."

Budapest-based tech engineer Lóránt Dévai, the most tech-experienced across the group, is even building a home lab — using an old Linux laptop to run services for himself, and reducing his reliance on tech companies. This entails hosting his own search service instead of Google search, running Pi-hole to manage or filter DNS requests rather than relying on Google, self-hosting Bitwarden to store his passwords, and setting up alternative self-hosting to Google Analytics so that the data stays on infrastructure he controls rather than going to a large third-party provider.

"It’s a gradual move towards more control over my data and services," he explains.

In the future, they all would like to de-Google. "Google has decades of my personal information that's already been harvested and scraped, and you know the telemetry of just using their free services because you are the product," Rodda says.

"There's a plan to totally de-Google, but that's a much bigger nut to crack, I think, because I'm tied to the Google environment in various ways, so it's really hard to cut those one by one," Lóránt Dévai adds.

Would you switch to Linux, too?

If you, too, are thinking of making the switch, Lóránt Dévai recommends starting with small steps, trying out Linux first and being mindful of the data that an AI tool can access.

Rodda is very practical. "Take inventory of what you need in your digital life, what you actually use, then do a little research to find out what would be a good fit and try it out for a week. Distro-findere.com and distrochooser.de are good places to start."

Lóránt Dévai recommends experimenting before installing. "Boot a Linux distribution from a USB drive to see how it looks and works. If you like it, you can install it later," he says. You can also keep Windows and Linux side by side with a dual-boot setup and experiment with different distros to find the most suitable for you. The rest will come, they promise.

Ultimately, all our interviewees confirmed that their need to break free from Big Tech’s surveillance far outweighed the sense of familiarity that had previously kept them tied to Windows. Although it’s a small sample, the number of users switching to Linux looks set to rise, as Linux distros become easier to use and LLMs help newcomers regain control over their digital footprint.

"During the switch, I was amazed at the number of people who post in the Linux Mint subreddit that say: I finally made the switch, and oh my god, why didn’t anybody tell me before it was going to be this amazing," says Smith.

As ever, the Linux rabbit hole can run deep. And it is no secret that the switch has incredible potential for improving your privacy. But with many benefits now as simple as loading up a USB stick and your favourite LLM, one has to wonder: what exactly is stopping you today?

• AmneziaVPN's latest update adds location sorting, favorites, and a browser proxy for desktop
• At a more technical level, the update brings log separation, server patching, and design tweaks
• Roadmap hints at seamless location switching and domain-based split tunneling

Amnezia VPN version 5.1.0.6 is now available, bringing location sorting to the forefront of its Premium service. For users comparing it against the best VPN options, this update addresses one of the most frequent user requests as the number of available server locations continues to grow.

With over 50 Premium locations now active, the previous flat list had become difficult to navigate. The new version introduces filtering options that let users organize countries by geographic region or alphabetically.

Navigation features

The latest update places a “Filters” button to the right of the search field, offering two organization modes.

Users can group countries by world region – with alphabetical ordering within each section – or maintain a single alphabetical list spanning all locations. A search bar enables quick lookup by country name.

Users may also mark up to 15 frequently used locations as favorites by tapping a star icon. This feature works across both the main location screen and the Config Files section.

However, favorites are stored locally on each device and tied to the subscription key. This means favorite selections made on a phone will not sync to a desktop computer, though the settings persist through app updates and device restarts.

Browser proxy for desktop users

Amnezia has also introduced a local proxy option for Premium subscribers using Windows, macOS, or Linux. The Xray proxy runs at 127.0.0.1 on port 10808 by default, routing browser traffic through Premium servers without establishing a full system-wide VPN tunnel.

The feature requires the CensorTracker browser extension to function. It operates for a single subscription at a time and automatically stops when the main VPN connection activates. This suits users seeking selective browser routing without affecting other applications on their machine.

Additional improvements

The update also separates app logs from tunnel logs, giving users clearer visibility before sending diagnostic data to support.

Connection handling for Self-hosted servers using XHTTP and XMUX protocols has been refined, alongside fixes for mobile operator connectivity.

The Switzerland P2P location now supports bidirectional traffic, with Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocols enabled there – handy for hosting game servers, for example. Self-hosted users also gain a one-click button for updating server packages, and some interface tweaks lay groundwork for a redesign due in the next release.

What comes next

Users can check for updates within the app under Settings > About Amnezia VPN. Desktop installations apply the update automatically, while mobile users can download from the App Store or Google Play.

Looking ahead, Amnezia has outlined several planned improvements. These include seamless location switching without disconnection, domain-based split tunneling for desktop users, better stability when managing large domain lists, and more transparent Self-hosted server management.

As internet restrictions evolve around the world, tools like Amnezia VPN continue iterating to remain effective. This update signals a focus on usability alongside security – a balance that’s particularly important for users relying on these services for daily access to information.

• ExpressVPN has added tracker blocking to its Basic plan, a tool previously limited to Advanced and Pro plans
• ExpressAI is also now included with 50 daily credits, 1 model, and 100MB of storage
• The change follows the February 2026 shift to three plans offering its new spread of tools

ExpressVPN has expanded what its entry-level Basic plan includes, adding two features that were previously reserved for higher-priced tiers.

Subscribers on Basic now get tracker blocking alongside access to ExpressAI, the company’s private AI assistant.

Until now, that level of protection started with the Advanced plan, while ExpressAI was exclusive to Pro. Here’s what’s changed, and why it matters.

Tracker blocking comes to Basic

The Basic plan already blocked ads, malicious sites, and adult content – a package ExpressVPN calls Lite Protection.

It lacked tracker blocking: the ability to stop scripts that follow you around the web and quietly build a profile of what you browse. That capability used to start at the Advanced tier but is now part of Basic.

For a plan that already sits at the cheaper end of the market, at just $2.99/month, that narrows the gap between budget and mid-tier subscriptions considerably.

Advanced keeps its other perks – 12 simultaneous connections versus Basic’s 10 and a more generous email protection allowance.

ExpressAI arrives on the lower tiers

The bigger addition is ExpressAI, a private AI assistant built on confidential computing. In plain terms, that means conversations are processed inside a protected environment that even the provider itself can’t read – a pointed answer to the growing unease over how much consumer AI chatbots actually see.

Basic subscribers get 50 credits a day, 1 AI model, and 100MB of storage, with web search included. Advanced bumps that to 100 credits daily, the same single model, and 500MB of storage. Pro – still the home for power users – retains the fullest version, with 500 credits per day, six AI models, and 2GB of storage.

Whether 50 credits and 100MB is enough depends on how heavily you lean on an assistant; it’s best thought of as a taste of the full service rather than a replacement for it. Yet for anyone curious about private AI who was put off by the Pro price, there’s now a much lower barrier to entry.

Part of a bigger push

The update extends a strategy ExpressVPN kicked off in February 2026, when it rebuilt its plan lineup around a suite of tools: the ExpressAI assistant, the ExpressMailGuard email shield and the Identity Defender monitoring service, which was limited to US users at launch.

ExpressKeys, the provider’s password manager, moved from the main app to a standalone one as part of the same shake-up. At the time, TechRadar’s Rob Dunne called the restructure “the biggest expansion to ExpressVPN’s portfolio since its eSIM launched in December 2024.”

Even then, Basic users missed out on much of it – no ExpressKeys, no Identity Defender, and no tracker blocking either. That’s what makes the current update notable.

With Black Friday landing on November 27, VPN providers are already dangling enticing offers: Surfshark was one of the first out of the blocks, dropping the price of its mid-tier plan to match its entry-level one. Against that backdrop, ExpressVPN’s richer Basic plan looks well positioned for the sales season.