# ZeroTier privacy rating

Peer-to-peer virtual network platform that joins devices into encrypted virtual Ethernet networks, managed through ZeroTier's hosted controller or a self-hosted one.

## Summary

ZeroTier scores 38 out of 100 (grade F) on the mesh VPNs and private networks criteria. It meets 1 of 7 criteria: keys stay on devices. It partly meets open source, no ads or data sales and self-hosted coordination server. It does not meet no trackers or telemetry and independent audit. Still needing evidence: no connection logs by default. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.

- Website: https://www.zerotier.com
- Source code: https://github.com/zerotier/ZeroTierOne
- Jurisdiction: United States. Five Eyes member. Subject to the US CLOUD Act.
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
- Home page trackers: Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, HubSpot, Microsoft Clarity
- Category: [Mesh VPNs and private networks](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/)
- Grade: F (38/100)

## Criteria

| Criterion | Answer | Note | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Partial | The core is MPL-2.0, but parts of the repository use a source-available license and the hosted ZeroTier Central is closed source. | https://github.com/zerotier/ZeroTierOne/blob/dev/LICENSE.txt |
| No trackers or telemetry | No | The website loads Google Analytics, HubSpot, Microsoft Clarity, Facebook, LinkedIn and Reddit trackers. | https://www.zerotier.com/privacy-policy/ |
| No ads or data sales | Partial | Funded by paid plans with no ads in the product, though the website shares data with ad partners for ZeroTier's own marketing. | https://www.zerotier.com/pricing/ |
| Independent audit | No | No independent audit is published. |  |
| Keys stay on devices | Yes | Each node creates its identity keys locally. Traffic is end-to-end encrypted and cannot be read by root servers or network controllers. | https://docs.zerotier.com/protocol |
| Self-hosted coordination server | Partial | The network controller can be self-hosted, but its code uses a source-available license that forbids commercial use without a paid license. | https://github.com/zerotier/ZeroTierOne/blob/dev/nonfree/LICENSE.md |
| No connection logs by default | Unknown |  |  |

Source: https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/zerotier/
Edit: https://github.com/privacyratings/privacyratings.com/edit/main/ratings/mesh-vpns/zerotier.md