Notes from the
private internet.
Plain-language essays on privacy, security, and how we build PlanetProxy. Short enough to read on a coffee break. Long enough to get the actual answer.
PrivacyWhat a VPN actually does (and what it doesn't)
Strip away the marketing — here is what an honest VPN can promise you, and what it cannot. Spoiler: it cannot make you anonymous, and it cannot beat a court order.
NetworkingPP · DispatchWireGuard vs OpenVPN in 2026: which one to useNetworking·9 min readWireGuard vs OpenVPN in 2026: which one to use
Two protocols with very different histories. One is from 1999 and weighs 70,000 lines of C. The other is from 2018 and weighs 4,000. Here's when to pick each.
Apr 4, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchA survival kit for public Wi-FiGuides·6 min readA survival kit for public Wi-Fi
Hotel networks. Airport lounges. The cafe with the cute logo. Six concrete habits that take ten seconds and stop 95% of network-level attacks against you.
Mar 22, 2026Read →
SecurityPP · DispatchHow to read a no-logs audit (without the marketing gloss)Security·8 min readHow to read a no-logs audit (without the marketing gloss)
Every VPN claims "no logs". A small fraction back the claim with an audit. An even smaller fraction publish the audit. Here's how to actually read one.
Mar 8, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchSplit tunneling: when it's a feature, when it's a foot-gunGuides·5 min readSplit tunneling: when it's a feature, when it's a foot-gun
Letting some apps skip the VPN sounds great until you discover your banking app went out the back door. Here's a clean rule for when to use split tunneling.
Feb 19, 2026Read →
SecurityPP · DispatchThe kill switch: the small detail that decides whether a VPN actually protects youSecurity·6 min readThe kill switch: the small detail that decides whether a VPN actually protects you
A VPN is only as good as the moment its tunnel drops. Here is what the kill switch is, why most implementations are weak, and how to verify yours actually works.
Apr 22, 2026Read →
Inside Planet ProxyPP · DispatchWhy we are domiciled in Panama (it is not the cliché)Inside Planet Proxy·5 min readWhy we are domiciled in Panama (it is not the cliché)
Privacy companies always seem to be from Switzerland, the British Virgin Islands, or Panama. Here is the actually-substantive reason we picked Panama, and the trade-offs that came with it.
Apr 8, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchWhy your VPN keeps getting blocked by streaming services (and the fix)Guides·7 min readWhy your VPN keeps getting blocked by streaming services (and the fix)
Netflix says "you appear to be using a proxy." Disney+ shows the wrong library. Here is what is actually happening on the back end and how we route around it.
Mar 30, 2026Read →
Inside Planet ProxyPP · DispatchWe rebuilt our mobile app this spring. Here's what changed.Inside Planet Proxy·6 min readWe rebuilt our mobile app this spring. Here's what changed.
A note from inside the design team. Why we threw out two years of UI, what we replaced it with, and the hard choices we made about what to leave on the cutting room floor.
Apr 26, 2026Read →
PrivacyPP · DispatchBrowser fingerprinting: how trackers find you even with a VPNPrivacy·8 min readBrowser fingerprinting: how trackers find you even with a VPN
A VPN swaps your IP. It does not change the way your browser draws a triangle, names your fonts, or pronounces a sine wave. That is the part that gives you away.
Jan 14, 2026Read →
PrivacyPP · DispatchThe data broker industry: how to disappear from people-search sitesPrivacy·9 min readThe data broker industry: how to disappear from people-search sites
Your name, address, phone number, and approximate income are sitting on at least forty websites right now. Here is the supply chain that put them there, and the realistic plan for taking them down.
Feb 3, 2026Read →
PrivacyPP · DispatchIndia's DPDP Act: what it actually means for your personal dataPrivacy·8 min readIndia's DPDP Act: what it actually means for your personal data
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act began its phased rollout in 2025. Here is what is in force, what is not, where it sits between GDPR and CCPA, and why CERT-In quietly complicates everything.
Mar 11, 2026Read →
PrivacyPP · DispatchWhy "Incognito mode" is not what you think it isPrivacy·7 min readWhy "Incognito mode" is not what you think it is
A private window deletes your local browsing history when you close it. It does not hide you from your ISP, your employer, the Wi-Fi access point, or the website itself. Here is what each browser's private mode actually does — and the small set of tasks it is genuinely good at.
Apr 22, 2026Read →
SecurityPP · DispatchPost-quantum cryptography: why "harvest now, decrypt later" is the threat that mattersSecurity·8 min readPost-quantum cryptography: why "harvest now, decrypt later" is the threat that matters
A large quantum computer is probably still years away. The recordings of your traffic from this afternoon are not. Here is what HNDL actually means, what NIST finalised in 2024, and what "post-quantum ready" looks like for a VPN that is not just selling a sticker.
Jan 14, 2026Read →
SecurityPP · DispatchAI-powered phishing in 2026: how the attack changed and what works against itSecurity·7 min readAI-powered phishing in 2026: how the attack changed and what works against it
The "Nigerian prince with three typos" is gone. The replacement is fluent in your dialect, knows your boss's name, and can call you in your CFO's voice from 60 seconds of podcast audio. Here is what the data says, what defences are actually holding, and which "best practices" are now folklore.
Feb 4, 2026Read →
SecurityPP · DispatchPasskeys vs passwords: a calm explanation of why we are moving onSecurity·8 min readPasskeys vs passwords: a calm explanation of why we are moving on
Passkeys are not a marketing reframe of passwords with extra steps. They are a different cryptographic primitive that makes most credential-stuffing, most phishing, and most password reuse simply inapplicable. Here is the actual model, the migration playbook, and the genuine weaknesses nobody at the launch event will tell you about.
Mar 11, 2026Read →
SecurityPP · DispatchDeepfake voice scams: the family playbookSecurity·7 min readDeepfake voice scams: the family playbook
Sixty seconds of audio is enough. Your nephew's podcast guest spot, your dad's Instagram reel, your own voicemail greeting — that is the training set. Here is how the attack actually runs, who it targets, and the small set of habits that make a family or a finance team mostly immune to it.
Apr 22, 2026Read →
NetworkingPP · DispatchDNS-over-QUIC: the third generation of encrypted DNSNetworking·7 min readDNS-over-QUIC: the third generation of encrypted DNS
Do53 was plaintext. DoT bolted on TLS. DoH hid queries inside HTTPS. DoQ skips the compromises and runs DNS directly over QUIC. Here is why that matters, and how to turn it on today.
Jan 14, 2026Read →
NetworkingPP · DispatchHTTP/3 and QUIC: why your browser already changed protocols and you didn't noticeNetworking·8 min readHTTP/3 and QUIC: why your browser already changed protocols and you didn't notice
About a third of the web now runs over HTTP/3, which means it runs over QUIC, which means it runs over UDP. Your browser made the switch silently. Here is what changed mechanically, where it breaks, and what it does to VPN throughput.
Feb 5, 2026Read →
NetworkingPP · DispatchIPv6 leaks: the hidden way your "secure" VPN can give you upNetworking·8 min readIPv6 leaks: the hidden way your "secure" VPN can give you up
Most consumer VPN clients tunnel your IPv4 traffic and pretend IPv6 does not exist. Meanwhile your machine has a perfectly working IPv6 address from your ISP, and every site that supports IPv6 — Google, Cloudflare-fronted, Facebook, GitHub — sees it. Here is how to check, and how to fix it.
Feb 26, 2026Read →
NetworkingPP · DispatchMTU, MSS, and the silent reason your VPN feels slowNetworking·8 min readMTU, MSS, and the silent reason your VPN feels slow
Speed test reads 800 Mbps. Real browsing feels sluggish. SSH stalls every time output gets noisy. Video calls drop frames during screen-share. The diagnosis you have not heard a hundred times: your VPN MTU is wrong, and the resulting fragmentation is killing real-world throughput.
Apr 1, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchSetting up your home network for privacy in 90 minutesGuides·8 min readSetting up your home network for privacy in 90 minutes
A Saturday-morning checklist that hardens your router, fixes your DNS, segments your IoT junk, and (optionally) puts a VPN on the gateway. No paranoia, no rack of servers — just the settings most people skipped.
Jan 11, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchSmart home, less surveillance: a practical IoT segregation guideGuides·9 min readSmart home, less surveillance: a practical IoT segregation guide
Smart homes saw 29 attempted attacks per day in 2026, and 38% of IoT devices were compromised at least once. Here is how to put your cheap doorbell on a leash without giving up Spotify on the fridge.
Jan 29, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchTravel privacy: the carry-on checklist for crossing bordersGuides·8 min readTravel privacy: the carry-on checklist for crossing borders
Border agents in many jurisdictions can compel a fingerprint or face scan but not a passcode. Cloud sync becomes evidence the moment you cross. Here is the checklist for before, during, and after.
Feb 14, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchTwo-factor authentication done right (and the kinds you should drop)Guides·7 min readTwo-factor authentication done right (and the kinds you should drop)
MFA-fatigue attacks grew 217% YoY in the 2026 Verizon DBIR. SMS 2FA is worse than nothing. Here is the four-tier ranking of every 2FA method, and the migration path from "I use texts" to "I am hardware-key-protected."
Mar 9, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchHow to opt out of every major data broker (a Saturday-afternoon project)Guides·8 min readHow to opt out of every major data broker (a Saturday-afternoon project)
Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages, Intelius, and the rest of the Big 8 all sell your address, your relatives, and your phone number. Here is the direct opt-out URL for each, the bulk services worth paying for, and California's new DROP platform.
Apr 6, 2026Read →
Inside Planet ProxyPP · DispatchWhy we run our servers from RAM (and what that bought us)Inside Planet Proxy·7 min readWhy we run our servers from RAM (and what that bought us)
Diskless boot, tmpfs everything, every reboot wipes the box. The structural reason we can tell auditors there is nothing to log to — and the operational tax we pay for that property.
Jan 22, 2026Read →
Inside Planet ProxyPP · DispatchThe architecture of our streaming-clean exitsInside Planet Proxy·7 min readThe architecture of our streaming-clean exits
A look behind the curtain at the three-tier exit pool, why a residential allocation costs us 3-5x a datacenter one, the burn detector that watches for outbound 5xx spikes, and the 90% success-rate target we are honest about.
Feb 11, 2026Read →
Inside Planet ProxyPP · DispatchHow we picked our 31 cities (and why we are still not in some you might want)Inside Planet Proxy·8 min readHow we picked our 31 cities (and why we are still not in some you might want)
The filtering funnel for new pops: jurisdiction, network topology, peering, datacenter quality, legal counsel cost, demand. Cities we considered and rejected, cities coming in 2026, and the ones we will probably never enter.
Mar 4, 2026Read →
Inside Planet ProxyPP · DispatchA year inside our transparency report: every government request, summarisedInside Planet Proxy·6 min readA year inside our transparency report: every government request, summarised
2025 calendar year retrospective. Fourteen subpoenas served. Zero we could comply with — because there was nothing to produce. The one weird quarter, the warrant canary, and what we are adding to the 2026 report.
Apr 8, 2026Read →
NetworkingPP · DispatchWhy AI agents need a clean exit networkNetworking·8 min readWhy AI agents need a clean exit network
An AI agent's bottleneck usually isn't reasoning — it's getting onto the web. Rate limits, bot walls, and geo-blocks stop agents cold. Here is why egress is the quiet hard part, and how a multi-region exit network fixes the tractable half of it.
Jun 7, 2026Read →
GuidesPP · DispatchGive your AI agent geo-aware web accessGuides·7 min readGive your AI agent geo-aware web access
A practical guide: when to route an agent request through a regional exit, how the call is shaped, how to fail gracefully when a site blocks you, and how to wire it up as an MCP tool without turning your agent into a nuisance.
Jun 7, 2026Read →