Windscribe trolls Mullvad's political donation crisis with a 'scandal' of its own

https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/windscribe-trolls-mullvads-political-donation-crisis-with-a-scandal-of-its-own

Rather than backing a divisive political movement, Windscribe revealed that Sak, the proud owner of a corgi named Snoop, had donated personal funds to Save Our Scruff, a dog rescue in Toronto.

Anticipating that a strict pro-dog stance could "cause division within our userbase", the company quickly added that it had corrected the imbalance.

"So today, we are making one thing clear — we support cats as well, and Yegor has personally donated to the local Annex Cat Rescue organization to support their work," the post noted.

While Windscribe’s parody is light-hearted, it underscores a serious point about brand identity in the cybersecurity industry. VPN users are notoriously privacy-conscious, and they often evaluate a provider's ethical compass just as rigorously as its encryption protocols.

Windscribe concluded its post by mimicking the standard corporate PR playbook, asking users to forgive its "lack of transparency" in the pet debate. The company emphasized that Sak's donations are a reflection of his personal beliefs and will not impact the safety or operation of the software.

106 points · 15 comments · view on lemmy.world

15 Comments

TheTechnician27@lemmy.world · 34 pts · 31d (2 replies)

This article is in-goddamn-sufferably long-winded for those who already know the drama (and even for those who don't), so here's the Windscribe post. Honestly did not need an article, but then TechRadar is a shitty content mill.

obelisk_complex@piefed.ca · 14 pts · 31d (1 reply)

But then how would I have known that VPN users are typically privacy-conscious? 🐍

(there's still no emoji for sarcasm so I went with a snake because it's not just /s it's /sssss)

microcapybara@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 30d

Count me as a supporter of Super Sassy Sarcasm Snake Sammy 🐍 /sssss

I don’t use much sarcasm online but I will adopt them for my /s needs.

maam@feddit.uk · 20 pts · 31d (9 replies)

Windscribe is a Canadian company.

WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today · 7 pts · 31d (5 replies)

Call me cynical, but I'm just waiting for something to come out about them, too. So many others have done bad shit, so I kinda expect any others to be the same - especially the more successful ones.

maam@feddit.uk · 15 pts · 31d (4 replies)

Bill c-22 will ruin Windscribe if it passes.

microcapybara@sopuli.xyz · 14 pts · 31d (3 replies)

Indeed, but they are already looking at exit strategies if this occurs

maam@feddit.uk · 7 pts · 31d (2 replies)

Nice to see! More companies should have nation-exit strategies. I liked how Proton started pulling out of Switzerland due to their creepy politicians cracking down on privacy.

WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today · 6 pts · 31d (1 reply)

Wasn't Proton's CEO also found to have done similar to Mullvad"s?

https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-trump-republicans/

AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 31d

It was largely a mountain out of an anthill.

observantTrapezium@lemmy.ca · 7 pts · 31d

Really not sure it's a good thing. I'm all for supporting Canadian businesses, but VPN is one area where it makes less sense. Even without Bill C-22, don't shit where you eat.

khannie@lemmy.world · -2 pts · 31d (1 reply)

Run by a Russian.

Rat_in_a_hat@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 31d

And...?

atro_city@fedia.io · 5 pts · 30d (1 reply)

Another VPN CEO turned out to be a fascist lover? Is there something in the water that CEOs drink?

CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org · -1 pts · 30d

The "VPN" part is doing some work, too, as would "crypto".

Acknowledging that the world isn't totally safe seems to be right-coded. The left-wing thing is to complain that it isn't, and then immediately place yourself under every boot you can find.