Independent auditors have just confirmed the no-logs claims of one of the best VPN services on the market.
This means that NordVPN never logs any users' identifiable information as stated in its Privacy Policy. Its security software passed the assurance engagement carried out by industry-leading auditing firm Deloitte with flying colors as no violations could be identified.
In a continuous effort to retain users' trust, this is the forth time the popular VPN provider put its privacy claims under independent scrutiny since 2018.
A truly private VPN
"While we work hard to create and develop world-leading cybersecurity solutions to protect our customers, we also take privacy very seriously, and we are fully committed to our promise to not monitor or record the online traffic of our users," says Marijus Briedis, CTO at NordVPN.
In all our guides at TechRadar, we firmly recommend looking out for a strict no-logs policy when signing up to a new VPN, in fact. That's especially important for those users whose primary use-case is boosting their online privacy.
Beside some inevitable logs of basic data, like the number of users connecting to the same server and the email address associated with a user's account, a no-log VPN should guarantee that no personal or usage data are ever collected.
This means that if a malicious hacker or government manages to acquire this data, no sensitive information about any users will be leaked. Such details simply won't exist. A clear example of this is how Swedish authorities were left empty-handed after an inconclusive police raid on Mullvad's servers last year.
Deloitte conducted their testing between November 30 and December 7, 2023.
The security assessment includes inquiries with responsible NordVPN employees, alongside inspections of relevant features. Specifically, auditors verified the configuration and deployment process of all Nord's available servers: from its standard and Double VPN servers, to the Obfuscated, Onion Over VPN (TOR) and P2P servers.
Additional privacy relevant settings were also checked, including the tools responsible for blocking viruses and malware.
Following the testing, Deloitte auditors were able to conclude that NordVPN is configured to work in accordance with its no-logs privacy policy.
Commenting on the results, Briedis said: "We firmly believe that a no-logs policy should be an industry standard and that an independent assurance engagement by a trusted Big Four firm reassures customers of our commitment to a safer and radically better internet."