jsr on Nostr: Thoughtful design that addresses one of the biggest issues around VPN use & privacy: ...
Thoughtful design that addresses one of the biggest issues around VPN use & privacy: a single chokepoint point of possible privacy failure & exposure to demands for access.
There are still lots of things VPNs don't do..that people think they do.. but this kind of thing is nudging consumer VPNs closer towards what people think when they use them :)
Example of what ppl think VPNs do but they don't: hiding from most websites you visit. Unless you are actively resisting things like browser fingerprinting, cookies, trackers & never logging in, you're still identifiable to most of the sites you visit.
Here's another: a state can still find you if you use a VPN. Trivially, if they can get enough traffic logs. For example, if SERVICE A still has an IP address + time pairing associated with you that is uniquely identifiable (e.g. you touch your email inbox over your VPN connection).. then there's a good chance that a state can quickly associate you with your other activity on SERVICE B. All they need to do is make a legal request that SERVICE A complies with. Then they see what IP is associated with you at that time, maybe get your useragent & a few other things and ...boom.
Published at
2025-03-31 00:33:19Event JSON
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"content": "Thoughtful design that addresses one of the biggest issues around VPN use \u0026 privacy: a single chokepoint point of possible privacy failure \u0026 exposure to demands for access.\n\nThere are still lots of things VPNs don't do..that people think they do.. but this kind of thing is nudging consumer VPNs closer towards what people think when they use them :)\n\nExample of what ppl think VPNs do but they don't: hiding from most websites you visit. Unless you are actively resisting things like browser fingerprinting, cookies, trackers \u0026 never logging in, you're still identifiable to most of the sites you visit.\n\nHere's another: a state can still find you if you use a VPN. Trivially, if they can get enough traffic logs. For example, if SERVICE A still has an IP address + time pairing associated with you that is uniquely identifiable (e.g. you touch your email inbox over your VPN connection).. then there's a good chance that a state can quickly associate you with your other activity on SERVICE B. All they need to do is make a legal request that SERVICE A complies with. Then they see what IP is associated with you at that time, maybe get your useragent \u0026 a few other things and ...boom.",
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