You may want to check us out: https://obscura.com
We do a Two-Party VPN with Mullvad as the exit hop. You just need to sign up with us and we don't require emails."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["vpn"],"value":"Ask HN: What has been your favorite VPN provider?"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_50317731"],"author":"dongcarl","comment_text":"(Carl from Obscura here, posting over Obscura VPN on airplane WiFi)
You may want to check us out: https://obscura.com
We do a Two-Party VPN with Mullvad as the exit hop. You just need to sign up with us and we don't require emails.","created_at":"2026-11-01T03:54:26Z","created_at_i":1793505266,"objectID":"50322557","parent_id":50317731,"story_id":50317731,"story_title":"Ask HN: What has been your favorite VPN provider?","updated_at":"2026-11-01T14:48:25Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"ysnp"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Is there anything like a generalised protocol which would allow network-privacy seekers to decide each hop? Apple iCloud+ Private Relay (2021), INVISV Relay (2022), Obscura VPN (2025, first of its kind) and so on are OK, but it would be nice if the user/customer could choose any two providers that didn't have business relationships with each other without mirimir-style proxy chaining."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_ysnp","story_49807003"],"author":"ysnp","comment_text":"Is there anything like a generalised protocol which would allow network-privacy seekers to decide each hop? Apple iCloud+ Private Relay (2021), INVISV Relay (2022), Obscura VPN (2025, first of its kind) and so on are OK, but it would be nice if the user/customer could choose any two providers that didn't have business relationships with each other without mirimir-style proxy chaining.","created_at":"2026-09-23T19:52:27Z","created_at_i":1790193147,"objectID":"49821566","parent_id":49807003,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-23T20:11:51Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"(Carl from Obscura here)
I love folks who are also reasoning through security models! A few things to note here:
- We believe that all software running on a user's computer should be open source, so you can audit and build your own client: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client
- With traditional Single-Party VPNs, even if you trust them fully and they're honest, they can still be compromised or hacked. With Obscura, even if we're hacked there's nothing to leak (other than WireGuard packets fully encrypted to Mullvad's servers).
- The change in trust is that instead of trusting a single company (Mullvad), you're trusting that not both Obscura AND Mullvad have been compromised, which is strictly less likely."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_49807003"],"author":"dongcarl","children":[49808992,49823241],"comment_text":"(Carl from Obscura here)
I love folks who are also reasoning through security models! A few things to note here:
- We believe that all software running on a user's computer should be open source, so you can audit and build your own client: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client
- With traditional Single-Party VPNs, even if you trust them fully and they're honest, they can still be compromised or hacked. With Obscura, even if we're hacked there's nothing to leak (other than WireGuard packets fully encrypted to Mullvad's servers).
- The change in trust is that instead of trusting a single company (Mullvad), you're trusting that not both Obscura AND Mullvad have been compromised, which is strictly less likely.","created_at":"2026-09-22T21:33:16Z","created_at_i":1790112796,"objectID":"49808439","parent_id":49807450,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-25T10:10:25Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"We think Mullvad is a great privacy tool, which is why we partnered with them!
As for what's different: We're a Multi-*Party* Relays (vs. traditional VPNs which are Single-Party Relays): https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2024/11/17/where-are-...
With Multi-Party Relays you no longer have a trust a single entity not being malicious or compromised. More on this here: https://obscura.com/#how
Also, all our apps are open-source as well: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client
Disclaimer: I'm the creator of Obscura."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_49807003"],"author":"dongcarl","children":[49808152],"comment_text":"We think Mullvad is a great privacy tool, which is why we partnered with them!
As for what's different: We're a Multi-*Party* Relays (vs. traditional VPNs which are Single-Party Relays): https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2024/11/17/where-are-...
With Multi-Party Relays you no longer have a trust a single entity not being malicious or compromised. More on this here: https://obscura.com/#how
Also, all our apps are open-source as well: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client
Disclaimer: I'm the creator of Obscura.","created_at":"2026-09-22T20:56:58Z","created_at_i":1790110618,"objectID":"49807969","parent_id":49807302,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-25T10:29:25Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Cider9986"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Mullvad, IVPN and Proton VPN are all trusted so choosing depends on your priorities with the small differences between them.
https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/
Obscura by definition is the same or better than Mullvad because of the multi-party relay. Similar with iCloud Private Relay but that's only for Safari which is inadequate.
Nym looks promising but mixnets haven't been tested as much as the Tor network."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Donation Controversy"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://mullvad.net/en/blog/donation-controversy"}},"_tags":["comment","author_Cider9986","story_48985249"],"author":"Cider9986","children":[48986079],"comment_text":"Mullvad, IVPN and Proton VPN are all trusted so choosing depends on your priorities with the small differences between them.
https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/
Obscura by definition is the same or better than Mullvad because of the multi-party relay. Similar with iCloud Private Relay but that's only for Safari which is inadequate.
Nym looks promising but mixnets haven't been tested as much as the Tor network.","created_at":"2026-07-20T22:45:37Z","created_at_i":1784587537,"objectID":"48985829","parent_id":48985660,"story_id":48985249,"story_title":"Donation Controversy","story_url":"https://mullvad.net/en/blog/donation-controversy","updated_at":"2026-07-21T17:53:14Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"fartfeatures"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"It's open source which means I can trust having the app installed if I build from source (or I can just use Wireguard directly). I then know I'm directly connected to a Mullvad Wireguard node by checking the public key here: https://mullvad.net/en/servers
Other than Wireguard protocol being broken there is no way for Obscura to snoop presuming I check the public key. I'm not saying I trust Obscura, I'm saying with their model I don't need to trust them which is vastly superior. Nor do I need to trust Mullvad.
You keep hand waving around that Obscura are somehow untrustworthy but you have steadfastly refused to address the fact that their model does not require trust. If you trust Mullvad (which you are claiming to) please show an attack that would work to breach this model. You can't.
You would benefit from reading their FAQs and this blog post: https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/
https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client"},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"UK House of Lords Votes to Extend Age Verification to VPNs"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-house-of-lords-votes-to-extend-age-verification-to-vpns"}},"_tags":["comment","author_fartfeatures","story_46763548"],"author":"fartfeatures","comment_text":"It's open source which means I can trust having the app installed if I build from source (or I can just use Wireguard directly). I then know I'm directly connected to a Mullvad Wireguard node by checking the public key here: https://mullvad.net/en/servers
Other than Wireguard protocol being broken there is no way for Obscura to snoop presuming I check the public key. I'm not saying I trust Obscura, I'm saying with their model I don't need to trust them which is vastly superior. Nor do I need to trust Mullvad.
You keep hand waving around that Obscura are somehow untrustworthy but you have steadfastly refused to address the fact that their model does not require trust. If you trust Mullvad (which you are claiming to) please show an attack that would work to breach this model. You can't.
You would benefit from reading their FAQs and this blog post: https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/
https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client","created_at":"2026-01-28T00:23:08Z","created_at_i":1769559788,"objectID":"46789256","parent_id":46777133,"story_id":46763548,"story_title":"UK House of Lords Votes to Extend Age Verification to VPNs","story_url":"https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-house-of-lords-votes-to-extend-age-verification-to-vpns","updated_at":"2026-03-05T23:27:19Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"kevincox"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"BoringTun is unmaintained. There are various forks being developed.
I work at Obscura VPN and faced with boringtun bugs a few years ago we evaluated a few of the forks and switched our client to be based on top of NepTUN (https://github.com/NordSecurity/NepTUN).
I am curious why Mullvad started their own fork rather than building on top of one of the existing ones. It would be nice if there could be reconsolidation somewhere."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"GotaTun \u2013 Mullvad's WireGuard Implementation in Rust"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["vpn"],"value":"https://mullvad.net/en/blog/announcing-gotatun-the-future-of-wireguard-at-mullvad-vpn"}},"_tags":["comment","author_kevincox","story_46324543"],"author":"kevincox","comment_text":"BoringTun is unmaintained. There are various forks being developed.
I work at Obscura VPN and faced with boringtun bugs a few years ago we evaluated a few of the forks and switched our client to be based on top of NepTUN (https://github.com/NordSecurity/NepTUN).
I am curious why Mullvad started their own fork rather than building on top of one of the existing ones. It would be nice if there could be reconsolidation somewhere.","created_at":"2025-12-19T15:04:56Z","created_at_i":1766156696,"objectID":"46326623","parent_id":46324755,"story_id":46324543,"story_title":"GotaTun \u2013 Mullvad's WireGuard Implementation in Rust","story_url":"https://mullvad.net/en/blog/announcing-gotatun-the-future-of-wireguard-at-mullvad-vpn","updated_at":"2026-03-05T23:14:30Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"FlynnLivesMattr"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Hey Carl! This is the first I'm hearing of Obscura. After doing a deep dive into your product, it looks to be a very fascinating privacy tool. However, I'm concerned with your operating under US jurisdiction, as detailed by others here:
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/20059-obscura-vpn-and-mullv...
While I understand potentially not wanting to incorporate in the EU (with Chat Control on the horizon) nor Switzerland (due to their own non-EU-related privacy backslide), why still select the US, which historically other privacy tools have largely avoided? It feels like you're already shooting yourself in the foot, whereas you'd be good in the EU should Chat Control not pass. While it's great that you verifiably can't see a user's internet traffic, you're one US court order away from a forced compromising of the service for a user (or at least, giving up the connecting IP). Historically, EU court orders have been easier and more transparently fought by privacy tools.
Non sequitur, it would be great if you prioritized accepting Monero as payment, like your exit hop Mullvad. Also, how much control do we have over the features Mullvad offers (e.g. DAITA, quantum resistance, DNS filters, IPv6, integration with Mullvad Browser)?"},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["vpn"],"value":"Who owns Express VPN, Nord, Surfshark? VPN relationships explained (2024)"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["vpn"],"value":"https://windscribe.com/blog/the-vpn-relationship-map/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_FlynnLivesMattr","story_45469376"],"author":"FlynnLivesMattr","children":[45508203],"comment_text":"Hey Carl! This is the first I'm hearing of Obscura. After doing a deep dive into your product, it looks to be a very fascinating privacy tool. However, I'm concerned with your operating under US jurisdiction, as detailed by others here:
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/20059-obscura-vpn-and-mullv...
While I understand potentially not wanting to incorporate in the EU (with Chat Control on the horizon) nor Switzerland (due to their own non-EU-related privacy backslide), why still select the US, which historically other privacy tools have largely avoided? It feels like you're already shooting yourself in the foot, whereas you'd be good in the EU should Chat Control not pass. While it's great that you verifiably can't see a user's internet traffic, you're one US court order away from a forced compromising of the service for a user (or at least, giving up the connecting IP). Historically, EU court orders have been easier and more transparently fought by privacy tools.
Non sequitur, it would be great if you prioritized accepting Monero as payment, like your exit hop Mullvad. Also, how much control do we have over the features Mullvad offers (e.g. DAITA, quantum resistance, DNS filters, IPv6, integration with Mullvad Browser)?","created_at":"2025-10-07T08:48:36Z","created_at_i":1759826916,"objectID":"45500822","parent_id":45497218,"story_id":45469376,"story_title":"Who owns Express VPN, Nord, Surfshark? VPN relationships explained (2024)","story_url":"https://windscribe.com/blog/the-vpn-relationship-map/","updated_at":"2026-03-05T22:46:24Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"We should link it in more places, apologies!
Here it is: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client"},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Ask HN: The government of my country blocked VPN access. What should I use?"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_45054260"],"author":"dongcarl","comment_text":"We should link it in more places, apologies!
Here it is: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client","created_at":"2025-08-28T19:46:00Z","created_at_i":1756410360,"objectID":"45056255","parent_id":45055995,"story_id":45054260,"story_title":"Ask HN: The government of my country blocked VPN access. What should I use?","updated_at":"2026-03-05T22:33:27Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"At Obscura we just tunnel WireGuard over QUIC's unreliable datagram mechanism to make it look like HTTP/3 (for DPI): https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client/b...
We just upstreamed our patch to quinn-rs that pads Datagrams to MTU: https://github.com/quinn-rs/quinn/pull/2274"},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"A technical look at Iran's internet shutdowns"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://zola.ink/blog/posts/a-technical-look-at-irans-internet-shutdown"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_44551652"],"author":"dongcarl","children":[44554028],"comment_text":"At Obscura we just tunnel WireGuard over QUIC's unreliable datagram mechanism to make it look like HTTP/3 (for DPI): https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client/b...
We just upstreamed our patch to quinn-rs that pads Datagrams to MTU: https://github.com/quinn-rs/quinn/pull/2274","created_at":"2025-07-13T21:05:24Z","created_at_i":1752440724,"objectID":"44553727","parent_id":44553338,"story_id":44551652,"story_title":"A technical look at Iran's internet shutdowns","story_url":"https://zola.ink/blog/posts/a-technical-look-at-irans-internet-shutdown","updated_at":"2025-07-17T23:27:36Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"prophesi"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"The client is open source, and I believe the E2E encryption is done when the client creates a new Wireguard tunnel. At least, that's what I'm seeing here[0]. Still poring over the code.
[0] https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client/b..."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura VPN \u2013 Privacy that's more than a promise"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://obscura.net/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_prophesi","story_43109903"],"author":"prophesi","comment_text":"The client is open source, and I believe the E2E encryption is done when the client creates a new Wireguard tunnel. At least, that's what I'm seeing here[0]. Still poring over the code.
[0] https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client/b...","created_at":"2025-02-20T14:08:28Z","created_at_i":1740060508,"objectID":"43114793","parent_id":43114573,"story_id":43109903,"story_title":"Obscura VPN \u2013 Privacy that's more than a promise","story_url":"https://obscura.net/","updated_at":"2025-02-20T14:13:13Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"(Carl from Obscura here)
This is actually quite an interesting point that we\u2019ve been discussing internally.
Right now Obscura rotates your WireGuard key on every \u201cConnect\u201d, but in a future release we will start caching (persist) your WireGuard keys on your client. When we flip that switch, we will also enable recurring key rotation and add a button in the UI for manual key rotation. This rotation would make it harder for Mullvad to track a user across the same key. (Not that they would anyway)
All of this is available for folks to verify at on our GitHub repository: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client"},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura VPN \u2013 Privacy that's more than a promise"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.net/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_43109903"],"author":"dongcarl","children":[43118485],"comment_text":"(Carl from Obscura here)
This is actually quite an interesting point that we\u2019ve been discussing internally.
Right now Obscura rotates your WireGuard key on every \u201cConnect\u201d, but in a future release we will start caching (persist) your WireGuard keys on your client. When we flip that switch, we will also enable recurring key rotation and add a button in the UI for manual key rotation. This rotation would make it harder for Mullvad to track a user across the same key. (Not that they would anyway)
All of this is available for folks to verify at on our GitHub repository: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client","created_at":"2025-02-20T13:59:01Z","created_at_i":1740059941,"objectID":"43114686","parent_id":43111710,"story_id":43109903,"story_title":"Obscura VPN \u2013 Privacy that's more than a promise","story_url":"https://obscura.net/","updated_at":"2025-02-22T20:15:51Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Perhaps my answer [here](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43017681) addresses your concerns!
> The client software is here: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client, we also plan to make reproducible builds of our apps. In fact, I previously led the effort to revamp Bitcoin Core\u2019s reproducible builds system to be [bootstrappable](https://bootstrappable.org/), work that is [referenced by the Tor project](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-b...)."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Trust, 2-Party Relays, and QUIC"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_43016574"],"author":"dongcarl","comment_text":"Perhaps my answer [here](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43017681) addresses your concerns!
> The client software is here: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client, we also plan to make reproducible builds of our apps. In fact, I previously led the effort to revamp Bitcoin Core\u2019s reproducible builds system to be [bootstrappable](https://bootstrappable.org/), work that is [referenced by the Tor project](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-b...).","created_at":"2025-02-11T22:58:59Z","created_at_i":1739314739,"objectID":"43019473","parent_id":43018355,"story_id":43016574,"story_title":"Trust, 2-Party Relays, and QUIC","story_url":"https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/","updated_at":"2025-02-20T07:15:27Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Ah interesting, I didn't know Waterfox used DNS over Oblivious HTTP! (I used to run an Oblivious HTTP proxy)
> Unless I\u2019m mistaken, you\u2019re both controlling the client software (closed source) and the first relay?
The client software is here: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client, we also plan to make reproducible builds of our apps. In fact, I previously led the effort to revamp Bitcoin Core\u2019s reproducible builds system to be [bootstrappable](https://bootstrappable.org/), work that is [referenced by the Tor project](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-b...)."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Trust, 2-Party Relays, and QUIC"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_43016574"],"author":"dongcarl","children":[43019009],"comment_text":"Ah interesting, I didn't know Waterfox used DNS over Oblivious HTTP! (I used to run an Oblivious HTTP proxy)
> Unless I\u2019m mistaken, you\u2019re both controlling the client software (closed source) and the first relay?
The client software is here: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client, we also plan to make reproducible builds of our apps. In fact, I previously led the effort to revamp Bitcoin Core\u2019s reproducible builds system to be [bootstrappable](https://bootstrappable.org/), work that is [referenced by the Tor project](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-b...).","created_at":"2025-02-11T20:06:36Z","created_at_i":1739304396,"objectID":"43017681","parent_id":43017494,"story_id":43016574,"story_title":"Trust, 2-Party Relays, and QUIC","story_url":"https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/","updated_at":"2025-02-11T22:24:20Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"softveda"},"title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: the first VPN that can't log your activity"},"url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.net/"}},"_tags":["story","author_softveda","story_43024183"],"author":"softveda","created_at":"2025-02-12T11:13:22Z","created_at_i":1739358802,"num_comments":0,"objectID":"43024183","points":2,"story_id":43024183,"title":"Obscura: the first VPN that can't log your activity","updated_at":"2025-02-12T11:27:08Z","url":"https://obscura.net/"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"privacyishuman"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Nym, IVPN, and Obscura are what I would consider for you. IVPN is the most similar to Mullvad while Nym and Obscura make improvements on the traditional VPN."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["vpn"],"value":"Ask HN: What has been your favorite VPN provider?"}},"_tags":["comment","author_privacyishuman","story_50317731"],"author":"privacyishuman","comment_text":"Nym, IVPN, and Obscura are what I would consider for you. IVPN is the most similar to Mullvad while Nym and Obscura make improvements on the traditional VPN.","created_at":"2026-11-01T06:08:47Z","created_at_i":1793513327,"objectID":"50323102","parent_id":50321062,"story_id":50317731,"story_title":"Ask HN: What has been your favorite VPN provider?","updated_at":"2026-11-01T06:58:38Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"rekabis"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Since I work mainly with workstations, and rarely ever with laptops, is there a plan to bring something like Obscura to a router running DD-WRT or OpenWRT? Or would I have to get a full-fat router running OpenBSD/PFSense in order to hook Obscura into it?
If I get any kind of a VPN system, I would want it to cover the entire network with just a single installation. Targeting routers running open-source firmware would be a great next step after the three main desktop platforms.
Plus, this then allows Obscura to protect any manner of net-enabled device, regardless of installed OS. Even my HaikuOS systems would be protected that way.
My second question involves roaming devices, such as phones -- will there be a mechanism in play that would allow a phone to recognize a \u201cfriendly\u201d or \u201chome\u201d network, and disable its own Obscura install in favour of force-redirecting all network communication through the home Obscura? Or would it simply default to running Obscura-within-Obscura?
My last question involves multiple households: is there any plan to provide a bridging solution between multiple households, so they effectively appear like one giant network with a shared Obscura bridge to the Internet? The point being, I have services on my own home network that I would like to share out to my parents and my brother, which is very doable with a home-built VPN, but I also want a VPN that is a lot like Obscura to protect everyone with regards to direct Internet communication."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura VPN \u2013 Privacy that's more than a promise"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.net/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_rekabis","story_43109903"],"author":"rekabis","comment_text":"Since I work mainly with workstations, and rarely ever with laptops, is there a plan to bring something like Obscura to a router running DD-WRT or OpenWRT? Or would I have to get a full-fat router running OpenBSD/PFSense in order to hook Obscura into it?
If I get any kind of a VPN system, I would want it to cover the entire network with just a single installation. Targeting routers running open-source firmware would be a great next step after the three main desktop platforms.
Plus, this then allows Obscura to protect any manner of net-enabled device, regardless of installed OS. Even my HaikuOS systems would be protected that way.
My second question involves roaming devices, such as phones -- will there be a mechanism in play that would allow a phone to recognize a \u201cfriendly\u201d or \u201chome\u201d network, and disable its own Obscura install in favour of force-redirecting all network communication through the home Obscura? Or would it simply default to running Obscura-within-Obscura?
My last question involves multiple households: is there any plan to provide a bridging solution between multiple households, so they effectively appear like one giant network with a shared Obscura bridge to the Internet? The point being, I have services on my own home network that I would like to share out to my parents and my brother, which is very doable with a home-built VPN, but I also want a VPN that is a lot like Obscura to protect everyone with regards to direct Internet communication.","created_at":"2025-02-20T17:06:31Z","created_at_i":1740071191,"objectID":"43117251","parent_id":43109903,"story_id":43109903,"story_title":"Obscura VPN \u2013 Privacy that's more than a promise","story_url":"https://obscura.net/","updated_at":"2025-02-20T17:13:17Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Cider9986"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"They're really the original "trustworthy" VPN that people that know about them will recommend. It's very straightforward.
IVPN is very similar kind of focus and branding, same with Obscura.
https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/
The ones I can recommend that aren't on this list are Obscura and Nym."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"A statement on the Tor Project's relationship with Mullvad"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://blog.torproject.org/on-tor-relationship-with-mullvad/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_Cider9986","story_50022266"],"author":"Cider9986","children":[50027933],"comment_text":"They're really the original "trustworthy" VPN that people that know about them will recommend. It's very straightforward.
IVPN is very similar kind of focus and branding, same with Obscura.
https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/
The ones I can recommend that aren't on this list are Obscura and Nym.","created_at":"2026-10-09T22:41:22Z","created_at_i":1791585682,"objectID":"50027495","parent_id":50025758,"story_id":50022266,"story_title":"A statement on the Tor Project's relationship with Mullvad","story_url":"https://blog.torproject.org/on-tor-relationship-with-mullvad/","updated_at":"2026-10-11T23:49:20Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Flimm"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"I take your point, but I think Obscura's design would make this a bit more difficult. It would be difficult to distinguish Obscura users from regular Mullvad users. Firefox offers free VPN through Mullvad, so presumably it's not that distinctive to be using Mullvad's network."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_Flimm","story_49807003"],"author":"Flimm","comment_text":"I take your point, but I think Obscura's design would make this a bit more difficult. It would be difficult to distinguish Obscura users from regular Mullvad users. Firefox offers free VPN through Mullvad, so presumably it's not that distinctive to be using Mullvad's network.","created_at":"2026-09-23T18:21:29Z","created_at_i":1790187689,"objectID":"49820320","parent_id":49819835,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-24T05:17:06Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"RandomGerm4n"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"It would be cool if there were a way to use it the other way around. A Mullvad server as the entry point and an Obscura server as the exit point. My main problem with Mullvad right now is that its servers are blocked almost everywhere or generate an excessive number of Captchas. With other VPNs, that\u2019s been much less of an issue so far. Alternatively, a residential proxy might be a good option as an optional exit point. One way to achieve this, for example, would be through a partnership with a regular ISP from which you could then borrow IP addresses."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_RandomGerm4n","story_49807003"],"author":"RandomGerm4n","children":[49812851],"comment_text":"It would be cool if there were a way to use it the other way around. A Mullvad server as the entry point and an Obscura server as the exit point. My main problem with Mullvad right now is that its servers are blocked almost everywhere or generate an excessive number of Captchas. With other VPNs, that\u2019s been much less of an issue so far. Alternatively, a residential proxy might be a good option as an optional exit point. One way to achieve this, for example, would be through a partnership with a regular ISP from which you could then borrow IP addresses.","created_at":"2026-09-23T07:15:57Z","created_at_i":1790147757,"objectID":"49812697","parent_id":49807003,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-23T13:14:05Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Flimm"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"The claim isn't merely that Obscura doesn't log activity. The claim is that Obscura is unable to, because it is a relay to another VPN provider Mullvad. That is distinct from other VPN providers."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_Flimm","story_49807003"],"author":"Flimm","comment_text":"The claim isn't merely that Obscura doesn't log activity. The claim is that Obscura is unable to, because it is a relay to another VPN provider Mullvad. That is distinct from other VPN providers.","created_at":"2026-09-23T05:34:03Z","created_at_i":1790141643,"objectID":"49812035","parent_id":49809060,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-24T05:18:36Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"(Carl from Obscura here)
I totally agree for traditional Single-Party VPNs, which is why we are a Two-Party Relay. More here: https://obscura.com/blog/bootstrapping-trust/"},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_49807003"],"author":"dongcarl","comment_text":"(Carl from Obscura here)
I totally agree for traditional Single-Party VPNs, which is why we are a Two-Party Relay. More here: https://obscura.com/blog/bootstrapping-trust/","created_at":"2026-09-22T21:25:56Z","created_at_i":1790112356,"objectID":"49808334","parent_id":49807802,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-23T06:09:03Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dongcarl"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"(Carl from Obscura here)
Very true, but if even 1 of (Obscura, Mullvad) is honest, there's no de-anonymization.
For traditional Single-Party VPNs, you just need to compromise 1 party, with Two-Party Relays, you need to compromise both."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_dongcarl","story_49807003"],"author":"dongcarl","children":[49810958,49812880],"comment_text":"(Carl from Obscura here)
Very true, but if even 1 of (Obscura, Mullvad) is honest, there's no de-anonymization.
For traditional Single-Party VPNs, you just need to compromise 1 party, with Two-Party Relays, you need to compromise both.","created_at":"2026-09-22T21:24:33Z","created_at_i":1790112273,"objectID":"49808315","parent_id":49807579,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-28T00:57:47Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"nalekberov"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"I don't like 'us vs others' kinda comparisons, it's just marketing trick, which means they care more about sales than your privacy.
Secondly, Mullvad did what Obscura does now years ago.
Furthermore who needs a gamified VPN tool?"},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_nalekberov","story_49807003"],"author":"nalekberov","comment_text":"I don't like 'us vs others' kinda comparisons, it's just marketing trick, which means they care more about sales than your privacy.
Secondly, Mullvad did what Obscura does now years ago.
Furthermore who needs a gamified VPN tool?","created_at":"2026-09-22T20:12:26Z","created_at_i":1790107946,"objectID":"49807421","parent_id":49807003,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-23T06:34:19Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"john_strinlai"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"i am very skeptical of most vpn companies, and while i haven't looked too hard at obscura, it is worth noting the official partnership with mullvad (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/mullvad-partnered-with-obscura-v...) which is certainly a positive signal
side note: i really wish more companies did the no email + randomized account number flow. there is a certain popular "pro-privacy" product beloved by many here that requires an email address and refuses to offer a similar account number method, which has turned me off the product."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["obscura","vpn"],"value":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity"},"story_url":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["obscura"],"value":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical"}},"_tags":["comment","author_john_strinlai","story_49807003"],"author":"john_strinlai","children":[49807521,49807528,49807584,49808027,49811872],"comment_text":"i am very skeptical of most vpn companies, and while i haven't looked too hard at obscura, it is worth noting the official partnership with mullvad (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/mullvad-partnered-with-obscura-v...) which is certainly a positive signal
side note: i really wish more companies did the no email + randomized account number flow. there is a certain popular "pro-privacy" product beloved by many here that requires an email address and refuses to offer a similar account number method, which has turned me off the product.","created_at":"2026-09-22T20:00:15Z","created_at_i":1790107215,"objectID":"49807268","parent_id":49807003,"story_id":49807003,"story_title":"Obscura: VPN that can't log your activity","story_url":"https://obscura.com/#faq-technical","updated_at":"2026-09-24T20:23:09Z"}],"hitsPerPage":30,"nbHits":1704,"nbPages":34,"page":0,"params":"query=Obscura+VPN&hitsPerPage=30&advancedSyntax=true&analyticsTags=backend","processingTimeMS":27,"processingTimingsMS":{"_request":{"queue":8,"roundTrip":16},"afterFetch":{"format":{"highlighting":1,"total":1},"merge":{"mergeLoop":{"prepareNextHit":7,"total":7},"total":8},"total":8},"fetch":{"query":8,"scanning":10,"total":19},"total":27},"query":"Obscura VPN","serverTimeMS":38}