Surfshark
VERIFIEDNL-incorporated VPN (Surfshark B.V., Amsterdam, KvK 81967985) — moved from BVI to NL Oct 2021, merged with Nord Security 2022, RAM-only, Deloitte-audited.
Why this score?
Surfshark is operated by Surfshark B.V. (Kabelweg 57, 1014BA Amsterdam, the Netherlands; KvK 81967985, VAT NL862287339B01) — moved its registration from the British Virgin Islands to the Netherlands on 1 October 2021, which is the structural reason it qualifies as an EU listing — founded 2018 with operations still in Vilnius, Lithuania; in early 2022 it merged with Nord Security under one holding company while keeping independent brands and infrastructure, runs 4500+ RAM-only diskless servers across 100+ countries, and has a Deloitte no-logs audit on record; score held at 3/5 reflecting the Dutch entity (good) plus the same Nord Security holding-level US-VC minority (General Catalyst, 2022 round) and the necessarily global VPN-server fleet (which includes US locations) — better than NordVPN's 2/5 (NL > Panama for an EU buyer) but a notch below pure-EU founder-owned picks like Mullvad.
- SCORE
- 3.0/5
- CLOUD ACT
- CLOUD ACT EXPOSURE
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act.
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None EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor This listing A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
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- OWNERSHIP
- OWNERSHIP
Where ultimate control over the operating company sits.
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EU-owned This listing EU-incorporated and EU-controlled; no significant US ownership.
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EU HQ, US-funded EU-headquartered but US venture- or PE-controlled.
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US-owned US-headquartered, or has a US parent company.
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Other Swiss, UK or another non-EU jurisdiction.
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- SUB-PROCS
- — not disclosed
JUMP TO
About Surfshark
Sub-processor map · not disclosed
Frameworks & certifications · none listed
Capability matrix
Pricing & tiers
Public documents
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missingData Processing Addendum (DPA)— missing
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missingSub-processors list— missing
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Open ↗Terms of Servicesurfshark.com/terms-of-service…
Alternatives in this category
CERN-founded Swiss VPN (Proton AG, Geneva), owned by non-profit Proton Foundation; 15,000+ servers, audited no-logs, open-source apps, free tier.
- EU / adequacy operator
- EU / adequacy hosting
- No US CLOUD Act exposure
- Third-party certification
- Open-source clients
- Public DPA
- Sub-processors disclosed
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act.
-
None This listing EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
-
Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
-
Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
-
Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Italian hacktivist-founded VPN (Perugia, 2010), no-logs, port forwarding — but no longer serves Italian residents (Piracy Shield).
- EU / adequacy operator
- EU / adequacy hosting
- No US CLOUD Act exposure
- Third-party certification
- Open-source clients
- Public DPA
- Sub-processors disclosed
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act.
-
None This listing EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
-
Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
-
Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
-
Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Gibraltar-incorporated VPN (IVPN Limited / ex-Privatus, founded 2009), Cure53-audited no-logs, open-source apps, independent ownership.
- EU / adequacy operator
- EU / adequacy hosting
- No US CLOUD Act exposure
- Third-party certification
- Open-source clients
- Public DPA
- Sub-processors disclosed
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act.
-
None This listing EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
-
Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
-
Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
-
Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.