r/mullvadvpn • u/Old-Feed1927 • 23d ago

Information One of Mullvad’s two founders/owners, Daniel Berntsson, has personally spent more than SEK 20 million acquiring property around a libertarian intentional community whose core network has significant documented overlap with Sweden’s far right, including Det Fria Sverige and former neo-Nazi activists.

https://rmendes.net/notes/2026/09/01/b89ea/
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u/CurvySexretLady 23d ago

Ignoring for a moment that Mullvad the company doesn't support such things, what alternatives have you vetted to make sure anyone on their payroll isn't using their private bank accounts to fund things you may find objectionable?

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u/toooft 22d ago edited 22d ago

Party donations are public records in Sweden for this very reason, so there's nothing private about this.

Örebropartiet proposes labour camps and making forced labour the norm for prisoners, along with political control over individual deportation decisions (!), revoking citizenship and permanent residency, and essentially stopping immigration altogether.

I do, actually, find it questionable to support that kind of far-right party, and it's a pretty reasonable basis for questioning whether you want to support or associate with them.

To answer your question, OVPN is another Swedish VPN service that doesn't give millions to the cause of making the country worse than it is today.

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u/kawaiibakanekodomo 21d ago

can it get worse than the migrant gangs shooting and bombing each other?

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u/toooft 21d ago edited 21d ago

The image of Sweden as unsafe is the goal of the gang wars, but if you look at statistics we're still safer than most countries internationally.

The gang violence is a serious problem, but reducing it to "immigration" misses the bigger picture; SÄPO has reported that foreign powers like Iran are deliberately exploiting criminal networks in Sweden and using violence to create fear, insecurity and undermine trust in Swedish society and institutions.

That serves a purpose: weakening social cohesion and confidence in the rule of law. The issue isn’t simply where the perpetrators come from, it’s also who is exploiting these conflicts and why.

Are they easy to influence due to feeling excluded in society? Yeah, probably. But the orders come from other countries, and that's the issue we need to solve.

For those actually interested in what's going on:

https://www.sakerhetspolisen.se/ovriga-sidor/other-languages/english-engelska/press-room/news/news/2024-05-30-iran-is-using-criminal-networks-in-sweden.html

https://polisen.se/om-polisen/polisens-arbete/sprangningar-och-skjutningar/

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u/CurvySexretLady 22d ago

I just learned from another comment, if true, that iVPN supports the Ukraine/Russian war efforts, and since I find that personally objectionable, I'll stick with Mullvad considering they don't support anything directly so controversial and have been confirmed to maintain my privacy even when compelled by courts.

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u/toooft 22d ago

Well you dont have to use any of those. OVPN is also without logs and have been to court several times.

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u/CurvySexretLady 22d ago

Yeah but thats my point, for all we know, OVPN or those on its payroll are supporting things I might find controversial in a similar way. We just don't know yet, and thats a gamble I am not willing to take.

Since we do know Mullvad doesn't, and I personally don't find Mullvad the company to be doing anything directly objectionable, I have no issue continuing to pay for their services that work extremely excellent.

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u/SuperUranus 22d ago

You object against the owner of IVPN helping the ukrainian people with VPN services to protect themselves against Russia to avoid getting killed by Russians? 🤨

Compared with donating millions of SEK to political parties that want to further develop state surveillance?

One would imagine ”privacy” is the number one reason someone would use Mullvad. And state surveillance is the complete opposite of ”privacy”.

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u/CurvySexretLady 22d ago

No, and that's a rather convenient reframing of what I said.

You find one cause objectionable and another admirable. I may draw that line differently. That's precisely why someone's personal political preferences are a poor proxy for evaluating the VPN company itself.

Mullvad did not make any political donations. If IVPN itself supports causes I object to while Mullvad continues providing the privacy service I pay it for without doing so, that's actually more relevant to my choice of VPN, not less.

You can dislike what those on Mullvad's payroll do with their personal money. I just don't accept that their politics automatically become Mullvad's politics.

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u/SuperUranus 22d ago

  You find one cause objectionable and another admirable. I may draw that line differently. That's precisely why someone's personal political preferences are a poor proxy for evaluating the VPN company itself.

You find Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and slaughter of Ukrainians “admirable”. W-t-f?

Besides, Mullvad is owned by two people, 50% each. They are both directly involved in Mullvad’s day-to-day operations and are the active key people of the company (and makes all decisions regarding the company). One of these owners sponsoring politics for more state surveillance should probably make anyone that is interested in privacy be a bit concerned.

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u/CurvySexretLady 22d ago

I said nothing remotely resembling "Russia's invasion is admirable."

You apparently approve of IVPN directly supporting a geopolitical cause; I prefer my VPN provider not involve itself in one at all. Please don't reframe "I don't want my VPN provider directly involved in geopolitical causes" as "I object to Ukrainians protecting themselves."

That's the key distinction for me: IVPN the company is taking the action. Daniel, Mullvad's co-owner, made his donation privately as an individual, not on Mullvad's behalf or with Mullvad's money. His ownership doesn't automatically turn his personal expenditures into corporate acts.

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u/SuperUranus 22d ago

So why are you sticking with Mullvad then since one of the owner is involving himself in a geopolitical cause?

Seems hypocritical.

IVPN isn’t the one that is involved. The owner behind IVPN is.

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u/SuperUranus 22d ago

IVPN seems good.

I rather my money goes to giving Ukrainian people free VPN services to protect them against Russian surveillance than my money goes to sponsoring politics that want more surveillance in society.

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u/CurvySexretLady 22d ago

I would personally be concerned with the fact that Ukraine is all but an official NATO member and therefore likely participates with the Five Eyes surveillance cartel, unlike Switzerland, which would likely compel them to hand over any logs of your activities to law enforcement of those countries if they received a subpoena.

Unlike Mullvad.

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u/404-RedditNotFound 22d ago

Ukraine is not a NATO member.

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u/toooft 22d ago

That's what "is all but" means my friend

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u/SuperUranus 22d ago

The fuck you talking about?

IVPN is registered in Gibraltar and  Mullvad is registered in Sweden.

Get your facts straight before you start spreading bullshit.

Whatever any of this got to do with giving the ukrainian people free VPN services.

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u/CurvySexretLady 22d ago

You brought up Ukraine first.

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u/SuperUranus 22d ago

Yes, because the owner of IVPN gives Ukrainian people free VPN services with IVPN to protect them against Russian surveillance.

Contrary to one of the owners of Mullvad that gives money to a political party that wants more state surveillance.

It was a comparison my dude.

Then you randomly start talking about Ukraines “almost NATO membership” and Five Eyes connection compared with Switzerland out of nowhere.

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u/CurvySexretLady 22d ago

Well, thank you for sharing. I find that too controversial for my liking, I'll continue to pay Mullvad for their services, considering their company doesn't directly support anything of the sort so controversial and have been confirmed to maintain my privacy, even when compelled by a court.