I Stopped Taking VPN Sponsorships for 2 Years...Did You Even Notice?

It’s been years since we advertised VPNs, and there were some good reasons to stop. Is it time to give them a second chance?

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MUSIC CREDIT
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Intro: Laszlo - Supernova

Outro: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High

CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
1:20 VP-What?
3:28 It’s not magic
5:09 Hoist the colors!
6:28 How do we pick?
7:50 Trust Me, Bro.
11:26 Outro

[MysteryMii]

Real ones remember TunnelBear before LTT dropped them for PIA after they were bought out by McAfee.

[SpeedWeed]

Personally what i hate about vpn ads is the stupid fake discounts, that shit should be illegal

[cm]

It’s hard to believe the actual controversy leading to PIA getting dropped was forgotten. It wasn’t Tom Scott’s video, that was Oct 2019. PIA getting bought by former malware peddlers Kape and the unsavoury characters that came with it was the actual story that led to them getting dropped in WAN show Feb 7 2020 (btw the unlisted QnA with them has the crypto hack link in the description lol)

Kape (who are one of those 24 companies) doesn’t appear in this script and the no logs cases were from before that buy out. This is critical information when talking about safety in a less-free jurisdiction because the leadership is totally different. This isn’t meaningless nuance, missing this point is negligent.

Bringing up this track record without the track record of the acquirer is dishonesty I don’t remember ever seeing in an LTT video before, it’s obscene. Teddy’s history is clearly alluded to here, so I have to assume Kape’s record came up in research. How doesn’t it get spoken about?

The Deloitte audits are great counter arguments! There’s an interesting video here if it was about why to trust PIA despite Kape! But that’s a hard script to write, and honestly this video just felt like a ritual to preempt arguments before accepting VPN sponsorships again, and the eagerness to have an affiliate link in this video really drove that point home.

FWIW I don’t mind VPN sponsorships, I do mind revisionist history and critical questions being sidestepped knowingly or unknowingly (and I don’t know which is worse). I used to trust LMG a lot, but this has me really reevaluating that in a way I didn’t expect.

[svgPhoenix]

I laughed when they suggested getting a fake email from Proton mail, but then didn't even acknowledge Proton VPN

[GileadMaerlyn]

2:15 I did that back in the 2000's. Thanks Hamachi.

[schnow]

Mullvard allows you to mail them your subscription in cash.

Yes, MAILING.

[realcartoongirl]

the problem with vpns is a lot of people use the same ip and websites will flag "suspicious activity" every time you visit any site

[MarshallZelder]

What is this Ad inception you have to fall through one Ad to get to the next Ad only to fiind out it was all an Ad all along

[amithmkini]

One thing I hate about VPN marketing is the pricing page with a countdown clock at the top offering "Limited offer". Even PIA does this bullshit. Linus, I know you are against this (see PC Speed up tools video), can you ask PIA to remove them (along with the absurd 85% off marketing)?

[Sam_on_YouTube]

Tom Scott very specifically worked with a VPN provider only when they approved a script that wasn't false. He always wanted to work with VPNs. His original VPN takedown script was SUPPOSED to be sponsored by a VPN company, but they refused.

[c.s.]

"Why I’ll be Taking VPN Sponsorships Again"

The answer: money, it's always money.

[syrusxd]

saying "this video isn't sponsored by PIA" to increase credibility that your opinions are your own, then saying "PIA is our exclusive VPN partner and here's our affiliate link" while simultaneously not mentioning any other good VPN providers feels pretty misleading as a viewer

[cerealport]

I never really trusted that commercially available cheap/free VPNs would be anywhere near as secure or private as advertised, but they do make it easy to "change" countries.

[aj__]

"this video is not sponsored by any VPN company"

*talks about PIA for 4 minutes*

[mkennedy]

Still sounds like an Ad for PIA. Would have nice to see a comparison between top VPNs.

[BenjaminEmm]

The crazy marketing tactics are what get me. Even going through Linus' link it's "GET 82% OFF + 4 MONTHS FREE!!!" Then when you get to their checkout there is a timer ticking down, making them look like the sketchy "speed up your PC" tools in a previous LTT video. All of that on top of the option being to buy it for two years, and in big bold letters it's priced per month, it's not until you (maybe) read the tiny grey text on an already grey background you see the price for the year.

Oh, and you can't just buy 1 year. It's 1 month, 6 months, or 2 years!

[Kraviken]

I love how your commercial actually contain some useful information. Just when I am about to stop watching your commercial, I still get hooked.

[roddybrod]

PIA literally just sent an email about increasing their price of the annual sub 9hours after this lol

[thilom.]

I am from Germany and I have been using a VPN for years now to access most of the US streaming services (Netflix, MAX, Hulu, Shudder, Paramount, Starz, etc.), buy & rent movies from Fandango or Vudu and get US video recommendations on YouTube. And I love it! And thats what I am paying for. I never believed the protection bs, VPN providers claimed... And I absolutely HATE when YouTube channels brainlessly read out the standard text they agreed on for the promotion deal.

[HyperDroids]

That hairstyle's giving me "There's Something about Mary" vibes.