To prove its no-logs policies, Private Internet Access (PIA) recently underwent an independent audit. To be more specific, PIA allowed Deloitte, one of the "Big Four" auditing firms, access to its server environment to verify that server configurations comply with the VPN's internal privacy policies.
According to Deloitte's research, which was reviewed by ATK's team, Private Internet Access does not maintain any logs that could be used to identify users at any time. It's important to note that PIA is incapable of tracking user behavior in any way.
Specifically, according to a report by Deloitte, Private Internet Access does not keep or share users' IP addresses, DNS queries, downloaded files, browsing history, or any other information related to their incoming or outgoing network traffic.
PIA has disabled error logs and debug information from all services running on their VPN traffic servers to ensure that no traces of user activity are left behind. PIA also uses no hard drives because its servers only use RAM (and are set up to restart frequently). Consequently, every time the system is restarted or the power goes out, all data is erased.
Only the raw number of users connected to the server and hardware usage data (CPU load, memory used, etc.) are recorded in real time by PIA (but not their IPs, identities, or activity).
Furthermore, PIA's allocation of dedicated IP addresses maintains complete privacy. Token-based systems, which are only stored locally on the client, cannot be used for server-side associations. If you add this feature to your subscription, not even PIA will know which dedicated IP you're assigned.
We will state that the findings of this most recent audit do not shock us. To its users, PIA has repeatedly demonstrated its dedication, making it one of the most transparent VPN services available. In the past, the VPN had been served with subpoenas, proving that it did not have any relevant information to disclose. And the code for PIA's apps is open-sourced, so anyone can look at it if they want to.
