A transparency-first circumvention tool, not a privacy VPN - and it says so itself ('If you require anonymity over the Internet then you should use Tor instead of Psiphon', per its own FAQ). Psiphon's strengths are exactly where commercial VPNs are weak: it is free with unlimited data, open source, and built to reconnect where other VPNs die, which is why usage spikes to 1.76M in Belarus (2020) and millions in Iran during shutdowns. The trade-off is structural: its privacy policy documents metadata logging (protocol, duration, bytes, city/ISP, popular-domain byte counts, 90-day retention), the free tier throttles to ~2 Mbps, there is no kill switch, and independent reviewers rate privacy poorly (Top10VPN 0.1/10, vpnMentor 2.7/10 with IP leaks in real-world tests). Government funding (US State Dept/OTF lineage) is disclosed but will deter the most sensitive users. Use it to get online under censorship, not to hide.
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draft generated by Qwen3, fact-checked by the vpncomparison editorial desk · review version 2 · prose updated 2026-10-18 · facts as of 2026-09-29 · how we verify
Psiphon is a free, open-source censorship-circumvention tool developed by a Toronto-based team with roots in the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. It’s not a full anonymity VPN but a hybrid proxy/VPN designed to reconnect where others fail. You get unlimited data and no account is needed for basic use, but it logs metadata by policy - this is transparency, not a privacy guarantee.
Psiphon does not claim to be a no-logs provider and explicitly documents collecting user activity metadata: protocol used, session duration, bytes transferred, city/country/ISP (derived from IP, which is then discarded), and byte counts for popular domains. This data is retained up to 90 days, aggregated, and deleted. No audits verify this policy. Jurisdiction is Canada, a Five Eyes member, but the provider allows for "temporary deviation" from its policy during censorship events. There is no warrant canary.
There is no intro or renewal price for the free tier, which is ad-supported and unlimited in data. Psiphon Pro offers ad-free use, location selection, and speed boosts via subscription, with in-app purchases (PsiCash) varying by platform. No stable USD price is published. Since there’s no fixed-term billing, the renewal trap does not apply - but the real cost is your metadata and capped speeds.
Psiphon supports SSH, SSH+, L2TP/IPsec, and MASQUE protocols, with obfuscation built into SSH+ and constant protocol switching to evade blocks. It lacks a kill switch and multihop, supports split tunneling, and allows P2P only on specific configurations (not default). Servers span 21 countries; devices supported include Windows, Android, and iOS. Streaming and torrenting are not supported. Performance on the free tier is throttled to about 2 Mbps.
Psiphon Inc., based in Toronto, originated from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. It has received funding from the US State Department’s Internet Freedom program and the Open Technology Fund. While its mission is public-interest circumvention, its ad-supported model and documented metadata logging raise red flags for privacy. Independent reviewers consistently rate its privacy poorly (Top10VPN 0.1/10, vpnMentor 2.7/10), and it has no third-party audits.
Psiphon excels here. Its obfuscation methods - SSH+ tunneling, protocol switching, and conduit stations (peer relays) - are built to bypass deep packet inspection and state-level blocks. It’s widely used in Iran, Russia, Belarus, and Cuba during internet shutdowns. MASQUE and HTTP/3-based tunneling make it harder to detect. If you’re in a censored network, Psiphon is one of the few tools that often still works.
Use Psiphon if you’re behind a firewall and need to get online - especially in repressive regions. Don’t use it if you need anonymity or privacy. It’s honest about logging, free, and resilient, but not secure by modern VPN standards. The money trail shows no affiliate program, but its government funding and ad model mean your usage supports a mission, not a profit margin.
| Intro price | see provider site |
|---|---|
| Notes | Free with unlimited data (ad-supported); Psiphon Pro removes ads and adds location selection/speeds via subscription, and PsiCash in-app credit tokens buy per-use Speed Boost. Figures vary by platform/store; no stable USD list price published on psiphon.ca (fetched 2026-09-29). |
See the 3-year total next to the marketing number: true-cost calculator →
| Sign up at | psiphon.ca |
|---|---|
| Identity check | none |
| Payment | fiat |
| Apps | windows, android, ios |
Check the renewal price above before any multi-year plan - true-cost calculator.
Psiphon is operated by Psiphon Inc.. Logging claim: Collects user activity metadata by documented policy: protocol used, session duration, bytes transferred, city/country/ISP (derived from IP, which is 'immediately discarded'), byte counts for a few popular domains; kept at most 90 days, then aggregated and deleted; 'never, ever shared' with third parties - evidence class: no logging claim at all. No incidents on file in our research - absence of evidence is not proof of innocence. Facts verified - operator pages (psiphon.ca home/FAQ/privacy/about/donate), 4 independent reviews, Wikipedia, Google News and two Reddit archives all fetched live 2026-09-29 (not fully verified) as of 2026-09-29 - read the sources below.
Evidence classes and scoring: methodology · user experiences: meta-review.
affiliate status not verified yet
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Before you pay: check the renewal price, the refund window, and whether a cheaper or free path covers your use case - the honest checklist.
Based on our checks as of 2026-09-29: Psiphon scores 3.4/10 in our weighted review. We logged 3 red flags (listed above). User reports, ownership and the incident record are documented with dated sources in the meta-review below.
Unlimited data, no account needed for basic use, ad-supported access with automatic server selection and ~2 Mbps speeds; Pro removes ads, adds location choice and speed boosts via in-app purchase.
There is no renewal price or long-term billing cycle - the free tier is free forever; Pro and PsiCash costs vary by platform with no fixed USD rate, so no 3-year total can be calculated.
Logging is documented in policy: metadata (protocol, duration, bytes, city/ISP, domain byte counts) kept up to 90 days, then aggregated and deleted - no audits, no court-tested no-logs claim, evidence class is "none".
Yes - Psiphon is specifically built for high-censorship environments and is actively used in Iran, Russia, and Belarus; its obfuscation and protocol agility make it resilient where commercial VPNs fail.
No payment is needed for the free tier; PsiCash accounts can use pseudonyms, but no cryptocurrency or fully anonymous payment methods are supported.
If Psiphon ceases operations, its open-source clients and core would remain available, but the server network and updates would stop; users in censored regions would lose access unless alternative relays emerge.
For anonymity, use Tor. For circumvention, try Lantern or the free tier of Windscribe (limited data); Psiphon remains a top pick for uncensored access where speed and privacy are secondary to connectivity.
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