This page contains affiliate links. We only recommend tools we’d trust with our own security. We earn a commission if you purchase, at no extra cost to you.
Tools we actually use.
Three affiliate programmes. That’s it. We refused the rest. Every tool listed here has passed one test: would we use it ourselves if our security depended on it? If the answer was no, it doesn’t appear on this page.
Not every tool that reached out made the cut. This page only lists what we actually use and would recommend without reservation.
Proton: VPN, Mail and Password Manager
Swiss-based. Open source. Independently audited. The only VPN suite we recommend without caveats.
Why Proton: Swiss jurisdiction means no 14 Eyes intelligence sharing. Full codebase is open source and audited by Securitum. No-logs policy verified under real Swiss court requests. They handed over account metadata only, because connection logs don’t exist. The Stealth protocol maintains connection in environments that actively block VPN traffic.
Best for: Journalists, lawyers, NGO workers, anyone who needs a verified no-logs VPN with a full privacy suite. Start with the VPN, add Mail and Password Manager when ready.
Limitation: Not the fastest VPN on the market. If your primary need is raw throughput, there are faster options. If your primary need is verifiable privacy, there isn’t a better choice at this price point.
See Proton → | Read our full Proton VPN review →
1Password: Password Manager
Used by security professionals in enterprise environments. The password manager that doesn’t compromise.
Why 1Password: Transparent about architecture. Independently audited. The Secret Key system means even 1Password cannot decrypt your vault, unlike some competitors who hold recovery options that create risk. Used by law firms, newsrooms, and security teams with real operational requirements.
Best for: Lawyers managing client credentials, journalists with multiple accounts across sensitive platforms, anyone whose password manager is their single point of failure.
Limitation: Not the cheapest option. Bitwarden costs less. If budget is the primary constraint, Bitwarden is a defensible choice. If you want the most professionally supported option, 1Password.
DeleteMe: Data Broker Removal
Data brokers don’t delete you. They archive you. DeleteMe actually removes your data and monitors for re-listing.
Why DeleteMe: The only data removal service where the process is verifiable. They remove your profile from the major data broker sites that make your address, phone number, and personal relationships searchable and they document every removal. Others claim to. DeleteMe does.
Best for: Anyone going through a divorce or legal dispute (your address is findable), military families (home address + routine is a threat), anyone whose location or personal data being public creates risk.
Limitation: Does not stop data collection at the carrier or ISP level. Addresses the most accessible layer. The one findable by anyone with a credit card. Not a substitute for a VPN.
Mullvad VPN: editorial mention, no affiliate link
The most anonymous consumer VPN available. Mullvad does not run an affiliate programme. We mention them anyway.
Why Mullvad without a link: No email required to register. No identity attached at any stage. Cash payment by post accepted. Swedish police visited their servers with a warrant in 2023. They found nothing, because nothing is stored. There is no commercial relationship between Predaxia and Mullvad. We recommend it because it deserves to be recommended.
Best for: Anyone where account creation itself is part of the threat surface. Journalists registering tools from field locations. Sources verifying their communications are clean.
Read our full Mullvad VPN review → | Proton vs Mullvad. which one for you? →
Tools we refuse to affiliate with.
Some programmes approached us and did not meet our criteria. The full list is in the article below, along with the reason for each decision.