Is Riseup VPN legit?
Claims rest on policy alone - no audit, no courtroom test. That is normal for this market, and exactly why the evidence classes exist.
Riseup VPN is the most trustworthy free option for activists and privacy-conscious users who value transparency, no payment trails, and a mission-driven operator - just don’t expect streaming or audit-backed privacy. It’s ideal for basic ISP-level encryption and light censorship bypass, but not for high-risk anonymity. The provider does not run affiliate programs, and there is no evidence it pays
The facts
| Pricing | see provider site moreFree; entirely donation-funded. Operating cost stated at ~$60 USD per person per year - donations requested, not charged. Bitcoin, PayPal and Liberapay accepted for donations. |
|---|---|
| Free tier | completely free, no account registration, donation-funded |
| Payment | bitcoin |
| Signup needs | 1.0 |
| Personal info required | none |
| Logging claim | 'Unlike most other VPN providers, Riseup does not log your IP address' morePolicy-only: 'Riseup does not log your IP address' (VPN service page, re-checked 2026-09-28). No third-party no-logs audit exists (unlikely for a donation-funded collective); the counter-evidence is structural: quarterly PGP-signed warrant canary plus an openly documented 2016 incident where the canary was late and TLS fingerprints were removed without notice (riseup.net/en/canary FAQ; HN thread 2016). |
| Warrant canary | published |
| Apps | linux, macos, windows, android |
| Features | kill switch |
| Open source | apps are open source |
| Jurisdiction | United States |
based on 13 dated external sources · facts checked 2026-09-29 · methodology