Mullvad VPN vs Obscura: privacy compared
Mullvad VPN and Obscura are both rated in VPN providers against the same 13 public criteria. Mullvad VPN is based in Sweden (Fourteen Eyes); Obscura is based in the United States (Five Eyes).
| Criterion | Mullvad VPN Our pick | Obscura |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade B B (78/100) | Grade C C (60/100) |
| Jurisdiction | Sweden Fourteen Eyes | United States Five Eyes |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | Partial source | Partial source |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | Yes source | Yes source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | Yes source | No |
| Transparency report Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds? | Partial source | No |
| Tells users about requests Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it? | No | No |
| TLS configuration Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Security headers Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | No source |
| Modern web standards Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test? | Partial source | No source |
| Audited no-logs policy Has an independent audit confirmed that activity and connection logs are not kept? | Partial source | Partial source |
| Anonymous payment Can an account be created and paid for without an email address, name or card? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Open-source apps Are the apps for every platform open source? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Modern protocols Is WireGuard (or another modern audited protocol) supported? | Yes source | Yes source |
Which is more private, Mullvad VPN or Obscura?
Mullvad VPN scores higher on the public criteria: 78 out of 100, against 60 for Obscura. Mullvad VPN does better on independent audit, transparency report, security headers and modern web standards. How scoring works
Summaries
Mullvad VPN. Mullvad VPN scores 78 out of 100 (grade B) on the VPN providers criteria. It meets 8 of 13 criteria: no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, independent audit, TLS configuration, security headers, anonymous payment, open-source apps and modern protocols. It partly meets open source, transparency report, modern web standards and audited no-logs policy. It does not meet tells users about requests. It is based in Sweden: Fourteen Eyes member; EU member (GDPR). Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+, Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+ and Internet.nl website score 73%.
Obscura. Obscura scores 60 out of 100 (grade C) on the VPN providers criteria. It meets 6 of 13 criteria: no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, anonymous payment, open-source apps and modern protocols. It partly meets open source and audited no-logs policy. It does not meet independent audit, transparency report, tells users about requests, security headers and modern web standards. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A, Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade C+ and Internet.nl website score 64%.