Windscribe is a VPN and privacy suite — a desktop application and browser extension that work together to tunnel traffic, block ads and trackers, and restore access to region-blocked content. Founded in 2016 by Yegor Sak and Alex Paguis and based in Toronto, it is bootstrapped and founder-led, sold on a freemium model whose free tier is metered by monthly data allowance rather than crippled by feature locks.
Pairing a system-level client with a browser extension is the product's structural choice: the tunnel handles routing, the extension handles the page-level controls a tunnel cannot reach — cookie behavior, fingerprinting surface, and 📝WebRTC leaks that would otherwise expose a real address from inside the browser. R.O.B.E.R.T., launched in November 2018, extends that to DNS-level filtering of malware, phishing, advertising, and tracking domains with user-configurable blocklists — which has the side effect of cutting page weight and cellular data use substantially. The company publishes a real-time transparency report, has open-sourced its client applications, and has stated publicly that it would relocate out of Canada rather than operate under a legal regime that compromised its privacy policy. Greek authorities opened criminal proceedings against Sak in 2023 over a server in that jurisdiction; the case was dismissed in April 2025.
I've used a lot of VPNs and Windscribe has given me the fastest connections of any of them — across the United States, Australia, and Southeast Asia.
Key Features
- R.O.B.E.R.T. — Configurable DNS-level blocking of malware, phishing, ad, and tracking domains, applied before a request leaves the device.
- Browser extension — Page-level controls the tunnel can't reach: cookie handling, leak prevention, and per-site rules.
- Data-metered free tier — A genuinely usable free plan limited by monthly bandwidth rather than by withheld features.
- Transparency reporting — A live report of requests received and complied with, alongside open-sourced client applications.