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Mullvad

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Contents8
  1. Consumer-impact summary
  2. Freedom
  3. Privacy
  4. Business Model
  5. Market Control
  6. Products
  7. Reception
  8. References
Mullvad
Basic information
Founded 2009
Legal Structure Private
Industry Virtual Private Network
Also known as
Official website https://mullvad.net/

Mullvad VPN AB is a Swedish based company created in 2009 by Fredrik Strömberg and Daniel Berntsson. The company is a subsidiary of Amagicom AB, 100% owned by Strömberg and Berntsson. Mullvad initially launched their VPN service in 2009, but since 2021, expanded into developing their own encrypted Domain Name System (DNS) service, and browser.[1]

Consumer-impact summary

Freedom

Mullvad states: "We value open source" and develops various open-source projects.[2][3] The Mullvad VPN App for mobile and desktop is released under a GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0 which grants irrevocable permission to use, modify, and redistribute under the same license.[4]

Mullvad requires you to sign up to the service to use, however does not require a name, email address, or other identifiable information. As of March 2026, it costs €5 for 1 month's credit.[5]

Mullvad states it will never log, modify, redirect, or inject data into a user's traffic. They also state they will never filter or block domains unless specifically requested by the owner of an Internet Protocol (IP) address, or if botnet addresses cause servers to be null routed by hosting providers.[5][6]

Privacy

Mullvad has a strict no-log policy on their services and undergo independent audits regularly to solidify these claims.[6][7]

Mullvad does not ask for personal information when signing up for their services, instead they provide the user an account number as an alternative for usernames and passwords.[8]

Mullvad provides various methods of payment depending on the level of anonymity desired from the user, including cash, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, bank wire, credit card, PayPal, Swish, Eps transfer, Bancontact, iDEAL, and Przelewy24.[9]

Business Model

Since its inception in 2009, Mullvad has had a fixed price of €5 per month. As of June of 2022, Mullvad removed subscriptions, defined as automatic recurring payments, as a way to increase user privacy by storing less data. As a result of their decision to remove subscriptions: only one-time payments are allowed.[10]

Mullvad has a very serious policy rejecting paid reviews, influencer sponsorships, and shout-outs as a testament to their integrity. Instead, they purchase ads outdoors, on Google, DuckDuckGo, and the Apple App Store.

They do not run ads on their service applications, website, or blog, and state that any endorsements they give, they are unpaid, and solely of their opinion.[11]

Market Control

According to a survey conducted by security.org, only 2% of the 323 VPN users questioned chose Mullvad VPN.[12] The company sense sates that Mullvad VPN retains an estimated 0.03% market share in the industry,[13] however their methodology for that conclusion is not clearly listed.

Mullvad also provides the service backend for Mozilla FireFox's VPN.[14]

Products

Mullvad currently has five products packaged for readily available consumer use, including:

  • Mullvad VPN - A no-log VPN service used to obfuscate your IP address and increase privacy.
  • Mullvad Browser - A browser created in association with The Tor Project. Out-of-the-box, it includes technology to block third-party cookies, tracking scripts, and browser fingerprints.[15]
  • Mullvad Browser Extension - A more integrated way to use Mullvad VPN inside of your preferred browser. Automatically included in the Mullvad Browser.[16]
  • Encrypted DNS - A DNS service to be used when not connected to a VPN and encrypt your DNS queries to prevent your network or Internet service provider (ISP) from snooping in on your searches.[17]
  • Mullvad Leta - A proxy for the Google Search API which are cached and shared amongst users to obfuscate users' identity, cleared of third-party tracking links.[18] The service was discontinued on 27 November, 2025.[19]

Reception

PCMag.com awarded Mullvad with "Best of the Year - 2020" for "Editor's Choice for inexpensive VPNs."[20]

A YouTuber and privacy advocate, Mental Outlaw, stated in a video "I just love Mullvad, so that is what I am going to use."[21]

The Freedom of the Press Foundation has recommended the use of Mullvad among a short list of other VPN services.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "About". mullvad.net. 2025-08-15. Archived from the original on 2025-10-07. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  2. ↑ "We Value Open Source". mullvad.net. 2025-08-15. Archived from the original on 2025-09-23. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  3. ↑ "GitHub - Mullvad VPN". Github.com. 2025-08-15. Archived from the original on 28 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  4. ↑ "GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE". Github.com. 2018-01-16. Archived from the original on 2025-10-08. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Terms of Service". mullvad.net. 2025-02-19. Archived from the original on 2025-09-24. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Why Mullvad VPN?". mullvad.net. 2025-08-15. Archived from the original on 23 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  7. ↑ "The Mullvad Blog: Audits". mullvad.net. 2025-08-15. Archived from the original on 17 Dec 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  8. ↑ "No-logging of user activity policy". mullvad.net. 2025-05-23. Archived from the original on 5 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  9. ↑ "Pricing". Mullvad. Archived from the original on 27 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  10. ↑ "We are removing the option to create new subscriptions". mullvad.net. 2022-06-20. Archived from the original on 27 Jul 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  11. ↑ "Policy on reviews, advertising, influencers, and affiliates". mullvad.net. 2024-05-15. Archived from the original on 22 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  12. ↑ Cruz, Brett (2025-07-31). "VPN Use in 2025: Trends, Statistics, and Consumer Sentiment". security.org. Archived from the original on 19 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  13. ↑ "Mullvad VPN Market Share". 6sense.com. 2025-08-15. Archived from the original on 13 Dec 2024. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  14. ↑ "Mozilla Subscription Services | Terms of Service". mozilla.org. 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2025-08-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) (Archived)
  15. ↑ "Free the internet. With the Mullvad Browser". mullvad.net. 2025-08-15. Archived from the original on 22 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  16. ↑ "Mullvad Browser Extension". mullvad.net. 2025-06-13. Archived from the original on 22 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  17. ↑ "DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS". mullvad.net. 2025-08-14. Archived from the original on 22 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  18. ↑ "Introducing Mullvad Leta: a search engine used in the Mullvad Browser". mullvad.net. 2023-06-20. Archived from the original on 20 Dec 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  19. ↑ "Shutting down our search proxy Leta". Mullvad. 2025-11-06. Archived from the original on 16 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  20. ↑ Stobing, Chris (2024-09-20). "Mullvad VPN Review". pcmag.com. Archived from the original on 30 Dec 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  21. ↑ "How To Torrent Anonymously With Mullvad VPN". youtube.com. 2025-04-15. Archived from the original on 23 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  22. ↑ Huerta, David (2018-06-29). "An in-depth guide to choosing a VPN". Freedom of the Press Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 Feb 2026.
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