TierZero

Interactive tool

Is this free VPN safe? Score it in two minutes

Answer seven quick questions about any free VPN and get a plain verdict — green light, caution, or avoid. The checklist encodes the same red flags TierZero uses in every review, so you can vet an app before you install it.

Answer the questions to score it

Answer each question about the free VPN you're weighing up. We'll tally the red flags and give you a plain verdict.

What the checklist scores

The checklist scores the seven signals that best predict whether a free VPN is trustworthy. It is not a lab test — no tool can tell you what an app does with your traffic behind the scenes — but the presence of these red flags reliably separates the funnel-funded free tiers you can trust from the data-funded apps you cannot. Each red flag adds to a tally; three or more, and the profile matches the free VPNs that independent researchers keep finding fault with.

The seven red flags, briefly

  1. No findable owner. If you cannot learn the company's name, country and address from the store listing or privacy policy, no one is accountable for your data.
  2. No published audit. A no-logs claim with no independent, dated audit behind it is a marketing line, not evidence.
  3. No paid plan. A freemium free tier is funded by upgrades. A standalone 'free forever' app has to be funded some other way.
  4. 'Unlimited and free' from an unknown brand. Running a global server network costs money; unlimited-free-from-nobody usually means your data pays for it.
  5. Over-broad permissions. A VPN needs the network connection and nothing else. Requests for contacts, SMS, call logs or precise location are a data-collection signal.
  6. In-app ads or bundled software. Ad SDKs are trackers, and bundled extras are how ad-funded free apps monetise attention and data.
  7. A vague privacy policy. A trustworthy policy is specific about what is logged, for how long, and who it is shared with. Vagueness hides the answer.

How to read your result

Zero red flags is a green light — the profile of a free VPN you can reasonably trust. One or two flags means proceed with caution: read the privacy policy and confirm the owner before you trust it with anything sensitive. Three or more is a clear avoid. Treat the score as a fast filter, not the final word — a green-light app can still disappoint, but a three-flag app rarely surprises you in a good way. Each flag is explained at length in the seven free VPN red flags.

The free VPNs that pass every check

If you would rather skip the vetting, we have done it for you. Proton VPN Free clears all seven; Windscribe clears them too. Both are on our ranked list of the best free VPNs, alongside the caveats for the capped alternatives. When you cannot find out who owns a free VPN, the safest score is a no.

About this checklist

Can this checklist prove a VPN is safe?
No — nothing outside a full technical audit can. The checklist scores the observable signals that correlate with trustworthiness, so it is a strong fast filter rather than a guarantee. A high score means the app has the profile of a safe free VPN; a low score means it has the profile of a risky one.
Where do I find who owns a free VPN?
Check the app-store listing (the developer name and country), the provider's About page, and the privacy policy, which usually names the legal entity and jurisdiction. If none of those name a real company, that itself is the answer.
Which free VPNs pass with zero flags?
Proton VPN's free plan and Windscribe's free plan pass every check — named owners, honest freemium models, published audits, and no over-broad permissions. See the best free VPN guide for the full list and the caveats on the capped alternatives.

Want the shortlist that passes every check? See the best free VPNs, ranked by safety or read the seven free VPN red flags in detail.