Ownership fields on each provider
parent_company is blank for every provider except NordVPN. Ethics source URLs are what the file cites for the ethics category. A dash is an empty field, not a guess.
| Provider | parent_company | Ethics | Jurisdiction | File flags | Ethics source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | — | 88 | British Virgin Islands | — | https://www.kape.com/ |
| NordVPN | Nord Security | 85 | Panama | — | https://nordvpn.com/about-us/ |
| Surfshark | — | 82 | Netherlands | — | https://surfshark.com/about-us |
| Proton VPN | — | 95 | Switzerland | non_profit | https://proton.me/about |
| Mullvad | — | 98 | Sweden | — | https://mullvad.net/en/about |
| Private Internet Access | — | 75 | USA | cons: KAPE owned | https://www.kape.com/ |
| Windscribe | — | 80 | Canada | — | https://windscribe.com/about |
| hide.me | — | 85 | Malaysia | — | https://hide.me/en/about |
| VyprVPN | — | 78 | Switzerland | — | https://www.golden-frog.com/ |
| CyberGhost | — | 70 | Romania | cons: KAPE owned | https://www.kape.com/ |
| PrivateVPN | — | 70 | Sweden | — | — |
| IPVanish | — | 65 | USA | — | https://www.ziffmedia.com/ |
| Hotspot Shield | — | 60 | USA | — | https://www.aura.com/ |
| Ivacy | — | 60 | Singapore | — | — |
| TunnelBear | — | 82 | Canada | — | https://www.mcafee.com/ |
Read this beside the ethics page, which documents the KAPE penalty, and beside how to read an audit. An owner change would be a reason to re-verify the file. It is not a reason to invent a log transfer that the file does not record.
Related on this site
- Best VPN for privacy — parent cluster.
- Ethics policy — KAPE penalty and non-profit note.
- Which jurisdiction matters.
- Private Internet Access profile — cons include “KAPE owned”; parent_company is empty.
- NordVPN scorecard (parent_company Nord Security) and ExpressVPN scorecard.
- Methodology and comparison JSON.
- Match engine.
FAQ
Does the comparison file list a parent company for every VPN?
No. parent_company is set only for NordVPN, and the value is Nord Security. Other rows leave it empty. Surfshark is one of those empty rows, so this page does not name an owner for Surfshark.
Which providers are tied to KAPE in this site’s scoring?
Methodology and the ethics page say KAPE Technologies owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access, with a −15 ethics penalty. In the JSON, those three ethics sources are https://www.kape.com/, and Private Internet Access lists “KAPE owned” as a con.
Does an acquisition automatically change the editorial score?
Not in this file. Scores change when the published inputs are re-verified. An acquisition is a reason to re-check parent_company, ethics, jurisdiction, and audit_type. The current figures were last verified on 12 June 2026.