Privacy VPNs: ProtonVPN vs PIA vs Mullvad

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have long been used to hide the origin IP address for privacy reasons, or to access geo-restricted services, or to surf the internet securely on public wifi networks. Most VPN providers collect and store session metadata and logs though, and it is not uncommon for them to share your web browsing history upon request from law enforcement (under legitimate circumstances) or other third parties often without consent. After a lot of research, I find these to be the best privacy-focused VPN services out there:

My rationale for choosing these 3 services is outlined below. Each has its strengths, so while I don't particularly recommend one over the other, you'll find enough data points to help you pick the right one for you.

Privacy-focused VPN comparison

Disclosure: I have used (and continue to use) ProtonVPN and PIA, but have not tested Mullvad yet. Also, if you use the link above to sign up for PIA, we both get 30 days free credit.