this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2025
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I’ve been parsing all of my monthly subscriptions because I’m broke as fuck and the only thing I’d rather not do without is a VPN. Are free VPNs a thing and are any of them worth using? I tried looking this up, but I feel like yall would know better then the normies

edit: had someone hook me up, ty goat

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[–] juniper@hexbear.net 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

If you can't do without it, pay for it. Joining a "free" VPN would almost certainly open you up to all sorts of badware and surveillance. It's a lib thing to say, but if you aren't paying for it, you're the product.

Others may have opinions on VPNs generally, but I'd only trust them for piracy or something. If you are doing anything else that you want to hide, I wouldn't trust a single one in the anglosphere.

[–] GoebbelsDeezNuts@hexbear.net 7 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I wasn’t joking when I said I was broke. Like broke broke

[–] xijinpingist@hexbear.net 3 points 4 days ago

If you have nothing but time then install Tor and get used to solving captcha after captcha.

[–] juniper@hexbear.net 2 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Well it's your digital safety comrade. I'm not sure what you're doing with a VPN that you desperately need to keep doing even though you can't afford it, but I can't reasonably believe that a free VPN would be the way to go in your situation...

[–] GoebbelsDeezNuts@hexbear.net 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

I would still like to be able to consume media without getting threatening letters from my ISP

If the answer is just “no” that’s fine it’s why I asked

[–] robot_dog_with_gun@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago

streaming sites (and ublock origin) shouldn't get you ISP letters, nor should direct download

[–] juniper@hexbear.net 4 points 4 days ago

I feel you, the slop is one of the few things keeping me going in this shithole. You may be able to use a free SOCKS5 proxy to achieve it, and I guess if you only use it when pirate-jammin you'll probably be ok. I would still be highly suspect.

[–] microfiche@hexbear.net 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

im not sure ...

they have little to no need to justify what they're doing. Ease up a tad.

[–] juniper@hexbear.net 5 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Yeah they do. They are only pirating stuff, not doing super secret spy shit. What they may expose themselves to with a "free" VPN could be malware or really anything. I'd rather risk a scary letter from my ISP instead. It would be irresponsible not to educate them on the potential pitfalls.

[–] GoebbelsDeezNuts@hexbear.net 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I do not pay for the internet access where I live and the person footing the bill would not appreciate getting the letters

[–] microfiche@hexbear.net 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

No. They have no reason to justify what they are doing. Not to you, not to anyone. Go Outside

[–] juniper@hexbear.net 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The user asked for technical advice because they don't trust "normies". Explaining what you are using a piece of software for is table stakes in order to provide relevant advice. We can use a different word from "justify" if it makes you upset.