Are VPNs really private? It feels like VPNs are the best way to centralize data about people who are worried about their privacy or have something to hide. How

Are VPNs really private? It feels like VPNs are the best way to centralize data about people who are worried about their privacy or have something to hide. How trustful are the most popular VPN companies? In the end, you do run 3rd party software and send all your data through 3rd party servers.