In an era of ubiquitous surveillance and massive data harvests, privacy is no longer a default—it is an active choice. Privacy Shot was founded in May 2023 to empower users with the knowledge and tools necessary to reclaim their digital sovereignty.
While we are experts in encryption and VPN technology, our mission goes further. We investigate the intersection of technology, law, and personal freedom to help you navigate an increasingly monitored world.
What We Cover
Privacy Shot provides deep-dive reporting and practical guides across the entire spectrum of digital privacy:
- Secure Communications: Evaluations of end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messaging, secure email providers, and metadata protection.
- Data Sovereignty: Strategies for "de-googling," managing digital footprints, and understanding how your data is monetized by brokers.
- Anti-Censorship & Freedom: Monitoring global internet shutdowns and testing tools (Obfsproxy, Shadowsocks, Snowflake) that bypass state-level firewalls.
- Legislative Analysis: Breaking down complex laws like the GDPR, CCPA, and evolving encryption mandates to explain how they affect your rights.
- Advanced Encryption: Technical reviews of VPN protocols (WireGuard, Lightway, NordLynx) and emerging post-quantum cryptography.
The Privacy Shot Methodology
Trust in the privacy space is hard-earned. We don't just aggregate news; we perform hands-on testing in our own labs. Every resource on this site is built on four pillars:
- Technical Verification: We run our own leak tests, packet captures, and speed benchmarks on 10 Gbps infrastructure.
- Audit Scrutiny: We prioritize tools and services that have undergone independent, third-party security audits.
- Jurisdictional Awareness: We analyze where a company is based and what legal "gag orders" or data retention laws apply to them.
- Open-Source Advocacy: We champion transparent software, believing that the best security is the kind that can be publicly verified.
Our Independence
Privacy Shot is an independent publication. We are not owned by a VPN conglomerate or a big-tech parent company. Our editorial voice is our own.
To keep our high-level research free for all readers, we use affiliate links. However, these partnerships never influence our rankings. If a service fails to protect our users, we will flag it, regardless of our financial relationship. Our first priority is the integrity of the "Shot"—delivering a clear, unbiased look at the truth.
Join the Privacy Movement
Privacy is a team sport. By subscribing to Privacy Shot, you join a community of researchers, activists, and tech-savvy users dedicated to a free and open internet.
- Newsletter: Get critical security alerts and privacy guides delivered directly to your inbox, bypassing social media algorithms.
- Archive: Full access to our historical testing data and "How-To" library.
- Community: Engage with like-minded individuals in our subscriber-only discussions.
Editorial Transparency
Last Updated: January 2026 Privacy Shot is supported by its readers. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our links, which helps us maintain our independent testing labs.