The CEO of Windscribe is an Elon stan so you didn't switch to a more left-leaning provider than Proton.
this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2025
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I switched to windscribe last month because the proton CEO starting spewing politcal BS, and I wanted port forwarding that wasn't locked behind a shitty GUI.
As far as I was concerned setup was super easy, the VPN speeds were great, and port forwarding worked really nicely. The whole price for a fixed server and port forward, + unlimited data was a bit much (at $95/year) but for the ease of use and speeds I was getting, I was happy to stick with them.
My setup is a always-on server with a 1gbps connection, where yes, I fucking seed my shit, all of it. I have about 30TB of linux ISOs and counting, and it's rare that my combined upload speed is less than 1MBps, ever.
Which lead me to getting banned from windscribe with no notice or warning in the middle of last week. This lead to me having to spend tracker points to avoid HnR, and i'm also unable to grab any new ISOs until I find a new VPN provider that won't ban me for actually using the service full time.
I did shoot them an email (after talking' with their AI bot first), and they were actually helpful enough. The offered to restore support, so long as I promised to not torrent with them again (which, I honestly did promise not to. I'm not sticking with a VPN service that can't handle me actually using it for what it's advertised for) and they did unban the account. Whole email chain took about three days to get resolved.
My sticking point is that they still have instructions on setting up torrents on their own website, and that they specifically allow for unlimited data (with the plan i paid for) so long as it's just one user. I did not break those rules. After clarifying that in the support email, they still said that I was using too much data (despite the unlimited data advertisement) and that torrenting was not allowed on their service.
TL:DR: Windscribe bans you if you use a lot of data, and support says torrents aren't allowed, despite their website advertising such. Proof in the attached images.
If y'all have any other suggestions for a VPN that allow port forwarding i'd really appreciate it.
Holy shit, you're not lying. The literal first Post on his Twitter
I suspect most CEOs are, The vast majority just have enough common sense not to ruin their relations with the 99 percenters.
I'd recommend AirVPN. Here's why I'd recommend them, in their own words:
No traffic limit. No time limit.
No maximum speed limit, it depends only on the server load
Every protocol is welcome, including p2p. Forwarded ports and DDNS to optimize your software.
AirVPN seems really good, I liked Mullvad but unfortunately they dropped port forwarding which really ruined them as a VPN service for Torrenting.
I switched to AirVPN about 6 months ago and I've been really happy with the service. Was previously using NordVPN, which was fine, but I was looking for a VPN provider that offered port forwarding and AirVPN does that. I don't have hard stats on this, but I do feel that having access to port forwarding has improved my overall torrent speeds since switching.
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As a rule, the more outdated a service's website is, the better the service is.
It's funny that you mentioned this, because the crappy website is one of the things that sold me on it. It reminds me of the old internet.
It's also surprisingly affordable, I got a 3 year subscription for something like $60. I was during a sale.
Came to give AirVPN a shoutout too. Been with them since 7 years. Using both their client and native wireguard kernel module. Very happy.
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Wasn't sure if this was the right place, but I figured someone should know about this. For what it's worth, I would actually recommend windscribe if you don't plan on doing torrents all the time, or you have sub 1gbps internet. Just sucks that I hit their "unlimited" internet limits on my home connection.
They have a page on their site about chargebacks. They're confidant they'll win them, but they still ban because it costs them money. I've done one anyways; as far as my reading of their tos goes, I was in the right. Might as well make this experience cost both of us money, instead of just them.
Their guide for using torrents with their service; https://windscribe.com/knowledge-base/articles/using-windscribe-with-torrent-clients/
Their FAQ on bandwidth and chargebacks: https://windscribe.com/knowledge-base/articles/why-did-my-account-get-disabled/
The fact that they have anti-chargeback wording on their public website speaks volumes. I bet they have anti-union posters in their breakroom too. Fuck this company!
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It sounds like they banned you for excessive usage. They allow at least 1tb a month because ive used that amount regularly with them.
It is a bit misleading for them to be calling it "unlimited" tho
It is a bit misleading
If it's limited, it isn't unlimited. That looks like a lie to me, and not "a bit misleading".
It's not "a bit misleading" for them to call it unlimited and then ban people for using too much data, it's extremely misleading, almost bordering on scammy. If I were OP I would've done a chargeback and switched VPNs instead of begging them for an unban. They deserve it for lying and trying to deceive customers. Vote with your wallet (and chargebacks) if you want companies to stop doing shitty shady like this.
The unban was just to check if the refund process would go through. Since it didn't then I did a chargeback.
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I don't think this is misleading. Misleading is when you use technically true facts to draw someone towards an incorrect conclusion. Calling a plan unlimited then having a limit is more like fraudulent if you ask me.
Buried deep in the terms of service where nobody will ever read will be a "reasonable use" clause. That's the justification for why it wouldn't count as a fraud.
I do agree however that as a consumer we are constantly being defrauded by corporations free to do whatever they wish without repercussions.
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I agree, but the 40gb limit on my phones "unlimited" plan seem to disagree with reality, as does the $30 per 500gb comcast would charge me if i use over 1.2tb....
Not saying it isnt false advertising, but its how a lot of internet service providers choose to advertise things these days.
"a bit". this post just proves they are lying all around
Didn't the, do the same with the lifetime VPN for 10€/year and later stated the lifetime is meant to be Putin's lifetime, i.e. when he dies the offer expires? Same with the 40gb/month for free which they randomly changed...
Windscribe encrypts your browsing activity, blocks ads, and unblocks entertainment content
so that was a lie
What's concerning to me is, how do they know what you use their services for if supposedly they don't keep any logs. https://windscribe.com/privacy/ https://windscribe.com/features/no-identifying-logs/
There is a big difference between "not keeping logs" and "dont have a way to check what you are doing right now".
No logs just means they can't check what you did last week but they can always check the traffic you are producing in that moment. If they see traffic from a torrent protocol they know you are torrenting.
Edit: they do claim they do "No Monitoring" so yeah by their own words they should not be able to tell you are torrenting.
No Monitoring
We don’t monitor your activity and have no way of seeing what sites you are visiting. We do store when you last used Windscribe as well as the total amount of data used in a 30 day period (to enforce free account limitations and to prevent abuse).
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Like most any paid VPN service they need to track bandwidth usage somewhat. They can't see what you're accessing but they can see how much of whatever it is. Windscribe also offers a free 10gb/mo plan so they do track it for that purpose as well, much like any VPN with a free tier would.
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Their own website says they allow p2p so I would see what your options are for getting a refund. If you purchased with a credit card, file a chargeback and include the documentation.
Ha!
My ISP sends me emails saying (paraphrased) “we’re only forwarding this email because we have to. We don’t track your data and your IP logs are wiped every 30 days. Your best option is not to respond because then they would know who you are.”
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Meh, switch to usenet. Download as much as you want, at max bandwidth 100% of the time, with 0 need for a vpn and no obligation to re-seed content for months on end.
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Thanks for the warning!
I’m not trying to convince you either way, but can you point to the ‘political BS’ Proton guy said that made you flip? I use Proton and also veer hard left wherever politics are concerned, and I personally think the whole thing is way overblown. I may have missed something though, happy to hear otherwise, because in my understanding all he did was soft-endorse someone who identifies as republican at the moment
Here's the exact post that got the Proton CEO in trouble:
Maybe Gail Slater really is a great pick for Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. Frankly, I have no idea. But I won't do business with any company that carries any water whatsoever for Trump.
He also went on Reddit and defended his statements by saying he wasn't familiar with American politics and he's sorry if he triggered people. So he's claiming to be unaware of thing because he doesn't engage in American politics, and at the exact same time, he's using right-wing talking points like misusing the term "triggered" to mean "upset left-leaning people". Something he could only have picked up if he's lurking in right-wing spaces.
he's using right-wing talking points like misusing the term "triggered" to mean "upset left-leaning people".
At this point you can pretty much pick up that term from anywhere. We might think it's dumb, we might use it sarcastically, but it's entered our lexicon.
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Yeah I'm with you. I'm more pissed with Proton for disengaging via Mastodon than at the stupid CEO - but none if it is a good reason enough to opt for lesser services. Proton's doing good stuff.
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“Unlimited” isn’t a promise any provider can reasonably keep anyway. It’s bullshit—there’s always a limit. Always read the fine print and find out what the limit is to make sure it works for you before buying. If the limit isn’t stated now, it will be as soon as somebody really puts it to the test. Either that, or the company will go out of business, which will permanently limit your use of their services.
Not really. Unlimited means no data cap, not infinite bandwidth, and that's perfectly reasonable to provide. Data isn't a limited resource, the only thing that's committed is the amount you can get right at that second.
Agreed that a monthly data cap is stupid for a VPN, because to your point, bandwidth and number of simultaneous connections are the real constraints for a VPN service, which is why most VPNs limit connections and bandwidth. Limiting these does effectively set a monthly data cap, though, and you won’t be torrenting a petabyte a month for $5 no matter what. “Unlimited” is bullshit either way and it’s best to understand what the limits are and how they’re enforced.
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I use airvpn with an always on server setup, port forwarding, and constant seeding. If you're okay with manually using a wireguard or openvpn client instead of an airvpn specific client it works great.
Edit Plus, they have a progressive pricing thing that lets you buy a few days for like 2€ just to test stuff.
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Odd. I’ve been torrenting with them for years at this rate. Even have my media server up 24/7 with qBittorrent running. I guess I’ll have to find an alternative in case this winds up happening to me.
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A search of the comments didn't turn up any mention of seedboxes. So I'll throw that hat in the ring as an option.
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