VPN providers flee India as new data law takes hold

Ahead of the deadline to comply with the Indian government’s new data collection rules, VPN companies from around the world have pulled their servers out of the country to protect their users’ privacy.

As of today, the  or CERT — a body appointed by the Indian government to deal with cybersecurity and threats — requires VPN operators to collect and retain customer data including names, email addresses, and IP addresses for at least five years, too subsequently canceled their subscription or account.

In April, CERT said it had to implement those rules because “the required information is not available from the security provider in investigations into cybersecurity threats,” thereby thwarting investigations. The new rules, according to CERT, will “bolster cybersecurity in India” and are “in the interest of India’s sovereignty or integrity”.

VPN companies and privacy experts believe that this move compromises users’ privacy and freedom of expression and defeats the sole purpose of using VPNs, which encrypt users’ internet activities and disguise their locations and identities.

“As advocates of digital privacy and security, we are concerned about the potential impact this regulation could have not only on our users, but on people’s data in general,” says a NordVPN spokesperson. “It appears that the amount of private information held by hundreds or maybe thousands of different companies will increase dramatically.” She adds that similar regulations “have typically been put in place by authoritarian governments to gain more control over their citizens.”

Last year, India became the country with the highest growth rate in VPN service usage in the world. In the first half of 2021, 348.7 million VPNs were installed, a 671 percent jump in growth compared to the same period in 2020, according to an analysis by Atlas VPN in 2021. This massive growth is due to continuous internet shutdowns, a rise in digital scams and the need for Indians to protect themselves online.

“VPNs can be inherently a privacy-enhancing tool and able to protect information security in a variety of ways, being used by individuals and businesses to protect sensitive information,” says Tejasi Panjiar, Associate Policy Counsel at the Internet Freedom Foundation. “They also help secure digital rights under the Constitution, especially for journalists and whistleblowers, as the nature of information transmitted over VPNs is primarily encrypted, allowing them to secure not only sensitive information but their own as well Protect identity surveillance and censorship.”

The government defended its rules, saying it would not violate users’ privacy as information is only collected on a case-by-case basis. This claim ignores the Indian government’s track record of policing critics, politicians and activists. In August, an official investigation into whether Indians were being spied on by the government using Israeli spyware Pegasus found that at least five victims’ phones contained malware, but refused to disclose the report. Instead, the country’s top court recommended that existing surveillance laws incorporate privacy rights and establish mechanisms for citizens to lodge complaints about illegal surveillance.

Although Netflix has a ban on VPNs and proxy servers, it is perfectly legal to use VPNs on Netflix; it just can’t work. Netflix has specific licensing agreements with TV shows and films, which means they are only allowed to offer them to specific audiences broken down by country.

Can emails be tracked with VPN?

Using a VPN to send emails Instead of sending your emails using your own IP address, the VPN assigns you a different IP address, which means the sender of the email cannot actually be identified.

Can the email address be tracked? You can trace an email address back to its sender by looking at the full email header. The e-mail header contains routing information and e-mail metadata – information that you normally don’t care about. However, this information is essential to trace the source of the email.

Can an anonymous email be tracked?

A correctly made anonymous email address hides your real identity. An anonymous e-mail cannot be traced back to the sender, from the sender name to the IP address to the metadata.

Can you be tracked through a VPN?

Can I be tracked if I use a VPN? No, your web traffic and IP address can no longer be tracked. However, if you use a poor-quality VPN, you could still be tracked.

Do VPN providers collect data?

Yes and no. While some VPNs are known for storing data, at least temporarily, most VPN clients have a “no-logs” policy. This usually means that the VPN company keeps no logs or records of any data.

Do VPN Companies Collect Your Data? A quality VPN encrypts data and hides your IP address by routing your activity through a VPN server; Even if someone tries to monitor your traffic, all they see is the VPN server IP and complete gibberish. In addition, you can only be tracked with information you provide to websites or services to which you sign up.

What Kind of Data Do VPNs Collect?

A VPN essentially routes your internet connection, provided by your ISP, through a secure, encrypted network operated by the VPN. This changes the IP address that websites can see while masking your internet service provider’s ability to see your traffic.

Can the VPN owner see your history?

VPNs encrypt all internet traffic, effectively hiding your browsing history from your ISP. However, this does not mean that the ISP is blind to your activities. You may be able to tell you’re connected to a VPN and for how long based on the fact that encrypted traffic is directed to a VPN server’s IP address.

Can your ISP see what you’re doing with a VPN?

A VPN encrypts all Internet traffic from a device and routes it through an intermediary server to a location of the user’s choice. While the VPN is connected, your ISP cannot see what websites you visit, your search history, what apps you use, or the contents of anything you send or receive over the internet.

What Does a VPN Not Protect You From?

It’s important to remember that VPNs don’t work in the same way as full antivirus software. They protect your IP and encrypt your browsing history, but that’s all they can do. For example, they don’t protect you when you visit phishing websites or download compromised files.

What are the dangers of using a VPN? Here are some of the most common dangers of using a free VPN:

  • False claims and compromised security. According to a CSIRO study, despite their claims, about 18% of free VPNs don’t encrypt your traffic. …
  • Get infected with malware. …
  • Data Collection and Disclosure to Third Parties.

Does VPN protect against spying?

Use a VPN – While a VPN cannot prevent spyware from being downloaded onto your device, it can mask your location and prevent your online behavior from being tracked and monitored. The best VPNs also offer anti-malware and ad-blocking software like CyberGhost.

What does a VPN on public WiFi not protect you from?

VPNs use encryption to scramble your data and make it unreadable when sent over a public network. Without a VPN, an ISP has access to all of your browsing history, from the websites you’ve visited to the passwords you’ve entered.

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