The most trustworthy free VPN on structural grounds: an anarchist Seattle collective that has run since 1999, funds itself by donations, asks no account registration and states plainly that it does not log IP addresses, with a quarterly PGP-signed warrant canary and honest documentation of its own VPN limitations and the 2016 canary incident. But it is still US jurisdiction, there is no independent audit, servers are few, and the client is Bitmask-based with basic features - activists' pick, not a streaming tool.
site reachable · checked 1 h ago · daily check
by the vpncomparison editorial desk · review version 3 · prose updated 2026-09-29 · facts as of 2026-09-29 · how we verify
Riseup VPN is a free, donation-funded service run by the Seattle-based Riseup Collective, an anarchist activist group operating since 1999. It requires no account registration and offers basic, open-source-based privacy for users seeking to hide traffic from their ISP or bypass censorship. While refreshingly transparent about its limitations and funding, it operates under US jurisdiction and provides no independent verification of its no-logs claims.
Riseup claims it “does not log your IP address,” but this is policy-only - there is no third-party audit to verify it. The service issues a quarterly PGP-signed warrant canary, which remains current, and openly documents a 2016 incident where the canary was delayed and TLS fingerprints were removed without notice, raising structural concerns. Jurisdiction is the United States, a Five Eyes member, though the collective’s activist stance and transparency mitigate some risk. No independent evidence proves or disproves logging.
Riseup VPN is completely free to use, with no mandatory payments or account registration. The collective states its operating cost is about $60 per user per year and accepts voluntary donations via Bitcoin, PayPal, and Liberapay. There is no renewal trap since nothing is billed - users pay nothing unless they choose to donate. No contracts, refunds, or free trials apply, as the service is donation-supported with no purchase required.
The service supports OpenVPN and WireGuard via its open-source Bitmask client, with a built-in kill switch on desktop platforms. It lacks obfuscation, multihop, split tunneling, P2P, and streaming support. Servers are limited in number and location (exact counts unlisted), and the focus is on reliability for censorship circumvention, not speed or scale. It supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and Android, but performance has not been independently tested.
Riseup is run by the Riseup Collective, a volunteer-based, autonomous group based in Seattle with members worldwide. No corporate ownership or affiliate ties are disclosed. The collective has a long history of transparency, including public warrant canaries and candid incident reporting, such as the 2016 canary delay and a 2012 FBI server seizure. While no major data breaches are documented, the lack of audits and US jurisdiction remain concerns. Data quality is reported, not independently verified.
Riseup VPN does not offer obfuscation or stealth protocols, meaning it is not designed to bypass deep packet inspection in highly censored environments like China or Iran. However, it has been recommended in activist circles for basic censorship circumvention where full obfuscation isn’t required. For users in repressive regimes, this tool may fail under advanced filtering - alternatives with obfuscation (like Tor or Shadowsocks) are more suitable.
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 review sites.
| Intro price | see provider site |
|---|
See the 3-year total next to the marketing number: true-cost calculator →
affiliate status not verified yet
If we sign up for this program, every link here becomes rel="nofollow sponsored" and routes through /go/. Until then our links point straight to the provider's website with zero tracking. Ranking logic physically cannot read affiliate fields - here is the proof.
Captured by our screenshot bot from the live site (or its public archive). A capture is evidence of what the page showed at capture time - not an endorsement.
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: Riseup VPN scores 6.4/10 in our weighted review. We logged no red flags. User reports, ownership and the incident record are documented with dated sources in the meta-review below.
A free, open-source VPN with no account needed, kill switch support, and basic privacy from your ISP. No streaming, P2P, or obfuscation. Servers are limited and performance untested.
There is no price - Riseup VPN is entirely free. Donations are optional, with no billing or renewal. Over three years, your cost remains $0 unless you choose to donate.
The claim is policy-only: Riseup states it does not log IP addresses, but no third-party audit or court test verifies this. The warrant canary and 2016 incident documentation show transparency, not proof of no logging.
No - Riseup lacks obfuscation and is not designed for deep packet inspection evasion. It may fail in China, Iran, or similar networks. Use Tor or obfuscated tools instead.
No payment is required, so no trail exists. If you donate, Bitcoin is accepted - offering a degree of anonymity, though not guaranteed.
Riseup has operated since 1999 and relies on donations. A shutdown would be announced via its PGP-signed warrant canary and website. Users should have backup tools ready.
Proton VPN’s free tier offers stronger infrastructure and audit-backed no-logs claims, while Riseup remains the ethical choice for activists avoiding any financial trace.
A 500M-install free VPN from the Qihoo 360-linked developer cluster (Innovative Connecting / Autumn Breeze / Lemon Clove, per TTP 2025 and OTF 2025)…
The rare VPN where no investigation is needed - the privacy policy is the evidence. Urban VPN's parent self-declares as a data broker and sells behavior…
The worst documented app in this comparison set: 100M+ installs, ownership in the Qihoo 360-linked shell network (TTP 2025), and a peer-reviewed NDSS 2026…
No comments yet - be the first. Posting runs a short proof-of-work in your browser (anti-spam), no account needed.