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Clearward

About the desk

Clearward is an independent publication about VPN privacy and security. We exist because the category is loud, heavily monetised, and often owned by the very companies it reviews — and someone should cover it on evidence instead.

What we cover

We cover the privacy and security side of consumer VPNs: what a no-logs policy means, which claims are independently audited, how DNS leaks and kill switches work, what a VPN protects you from and what it does not, and the jurisdictions and court cases that decide whether any of it holds up. We do not publish “best VPN” affiliate rankings, and we do not do case-by-case product star ratings — plenty of sites already do, and many are owned by VPN companies.

Our editorial standards

  • Every no-logs or audit claim names the firm and the date. Where we cannot verify one, we label it unverified rather than repeat it.
  • We do not run speed tests, so we publish no “we measured X Mbps” figures. Performance claims we cite are attributed to their source and dated.
  • We never claim a VPN makes you anonymous. A VPN shifts trust to the provider; we say so on every relevant page.
  • Pages carry a verification date and are revisited when facts change — a new audit, a provider caught logging, a court test.

How we stay independent

Some outbound links to VPNs that run affiliate programmes are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission if you subscribe through them. Our editorial picks for privacy — Mullvad and IVPN — run no affiliate programme at all, and we recommend them anyway. An affiliate relationship never changes where a provider appears in our analysis. Full details are on our affiliate disclosure page.