Five-star review

Hey y’all, it’s Austin Carr in Boston. Ever use a VPN to hide your internet traffic? You might want to reconsider which products to trust. B [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hey y’all, it’s Austin Carr in Boston. Ever use a VPN to hide your internet traffic? You might want to reconsider which products to trust. But first… Today’s must-reads: • US spies were urged to [use private AI models]( • Microsoft’s gaming [ambitions are in doubt]( • Hackers accessed [Western Digital customer data]( Best VPN? Jan Jonsson, the chief executive officer of Mullvad VPN AB, is tired of sketchy review websites evaluating his service. Mullvad is a well-regarded name in the business of VPNs, or virtual private networks, a system for masking your movements online by routing traffic through servers around the globe. But Jonsson said business competition has given rise to a “very bad market” of ranking sites with dubious editorial practices, including accepting payments for positive reviews. “We got emails from these reviewers saying, ‘Hi, guys, No. 5 spot is now for sale,’” he said. I recently wrote about how the historically opaque and niche VPN industry is [finally going mainstream](, with tech giants such as [Google]( and [Apple Inc. entering the field]( alongside leading brands such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN. The ironic thing about the industry is that consumers must place a huge amount of trust in VPNs to protect their internet privacy; yet, as I learned during my reporting, it’s almost impossible to figure out which VPN apps to trust. A Google search for “best VPNs” will return hits for seemingly legitimate review websites, which are often driven by referral fees for VPN subscriptions purchased through their links. A [2022 study]( from researchers at the University of Michigan found people commonly choose apps based on these rankings even though most of the sites are “money motivated.” Some charge higher commissions for higher listings, according to the study. Jonsson shared several emails showing the behind-the-scenes negotiations between VPN review sites and software makers on the condition Bloomberg doesn’t publish the website names for fear of reprisal. The emails show editors soliciting bids — which Jonsson said his company has always ignored or rejected — for reviews, app ratings and even awards. Kazimieras Celiesius, a former developer at several VPN startups, joked that the landscape has gotten as [shady as the infamous business of online mattress reviews](, replete with paid influencer campaigns and advertising content. Another issue is that certain ranking services are owned by the VPN brands themselves. For example, Kape Technologies Plc, which [owns VPNs including ExpressVPN](, CyberGhost and Private Internet Access, also owns a review website called vpnMentor.com, which ranks those services as the top three VPNs in the world. A Kape spokesperson said vpnMentor transparently discloses Kape’s ownership on its main page and that it’s staunchly committed to editorial impartiality. For people researching products, there’s one more thing to consider: researching the review sites. —[Austin Carr](mailto:acarr54@bloomberg.net) The big story Not even $500 million a year is enough to save Firefox. Mozilla, the maker of the once-popular web browser, is [struggling to regain software glory](. Get fully charged AI is the hot topic on earnings calls [this quarter](. AMD’s progress in AI is winning over [stock traders](. Spending cuts proposed by US Republican lawmakers would [“wreak havoc” on US air systems](, the aviation regulator said. A top Vodafone shareholder, E&, is weighing an increase of its stake to [as much as 25% of the company](. More from Bloomberg Get Bloomberg Tech weeklies in your inbox: - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Tech Daily newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](