How donations work at PrivateByRight: the model, rules, and accountability

TL;DR

• A percentage of every PrivateByRight subscription automatically funds privacy, press freedom, and human rights initiatives
• We don't accept payment or advertising from partners, ensuring zero conflict of interest
• Donations are aggregated and anonymized—they are never linked to your individual account
• We publish quarterly impact reports in our Transparency Hub to prove where the money goes
• We fund the work, but we don't take credit for it—our partners are the ones driving real change

How the model works at a glance

✅ What our donation model does: - Automatically allocates a portion of revenue to impact partners - Funds organizations defending digital rights, privacy, and press freedom - Selects partners based on strict mission alignment and accountability standards - Reports all contributions transparently and in aggregate

❌ What our donation model doesn't do: - Require you to opt-in or pay extra - Link your personal account or data to specific donations - Accept kickbacks, advertising, or promotional fees from partners - Claim credit for the hard work our partners do on the ground

When you pay for a VPN, you are buying a tool to protect your personal traffic. But the fight for privacy extends far beyond individual connections. It requires policy changes, legal defense, investigative journalism, and on-the-ground activism.

That is why we built a social-impact model directly into PrivateByRight. We don't view donations as a marketing expense or an afterthought. They are a core part of why this company exists.

This guide explains exactly how our donation model works, the rules we follow to prevent conflicts of interest, and how we hold ourselves accountable to you.

The Model: Built Into the Product

Our approach is simple: a percentage of every subscription goes directly to impact partners.

You don't have to check a box. You don't have to pay an extra fee. The contribution is built into the product's purpose. When you use PrivateByRight to protect your own data, you are simultaneously funding organizations that protect digital rights for everyone.

We aggregate these funds and distribute them to organizations working in critical areas. Because the donations are pooled from our general revenue, your individual account is never linked to a specific contribution. Your privacy remains intact, while the collective impact grows.

What "Impact Partners" Means

We don't just hand out money randomly. We focus our funding on specific cause areas that align with our mission to protect fundamental rights.

Our impact partners typically fall into these categories:

• Privacy and Digital Rights: Organizations fighting mass surveillance, advocating for strong encryption, and defending user privacy in courts and legislatures.
• Press Freedom: Groups protecting journalists, providing secure communication tools for reporters in hostile environments, and fighting censorship.
• Human Rights: Initiatives supporting activists, whistleblowers, and vulnerable populations who rely on secure technology to survive.

We partner with established organizations that have a proven track record of effective action, transparent financials, and strict accountability.

Learn more: Partner spotlight: how we choose impact partners and who's next

The Rules: What We Commit To

Corporate philanthropy is often plagued by conflicts of interest and PR stunts. To ensure our model actually serves the causes we claim to support, we operate by a strict set of rules.

No Conflicts of Interest

We do not accept payment, advertising, or promotional favors from our partners. If we fund an organization, it is because we believe in their work—not because they agreed to promote our VPN. This separation ensures our funding decisions remain objective and mission-driven.

Strict Selection Standards

Partners are selected based on mission alignment and accountability. We review their financial transparency, their operational security, and their actual impact. We don't fund organizations that compromise on encryption or advocate for backdoors.

Aggregated and Anonymized Donations

Your privacy is our primary product. Donation amounts are aggregated from our total revenue and reported as a lump sum. We never track which user funded which organization, and we never share customer data with our partners.

We Don't Take Credit

We provide funding. Our partners do the actual work. We will never claim credit for a legal victory, a published investigation, or a successful advocacy campaign just because we wrote a check. We amplify their voices; we don't co-opt their achievements.

Learn more: Our privacy principles: data minimisation, default protection, and clarity

Accountability Mechanisms

Trust requires verification. We don't expect you to take our word for it when we say we are donating money. We prove it.

Quarterly Impact Reports

Every quarter, we publish a detailed impact report in our Transparency Hub. This report breaks down exactly how much money was distributed, which organizations received it, and what projects were funded.

Audit Trail

Our financial contributions are documented and verifiable. While we protect user data fiercely, we believe corporate finances related to social impact should be open to scrutiny. Our reports include receipts and confirmations from the receiving organizations.

Community Input

We believe our users should have a voice in where the funding goes. While we maintain strict criteria for partner selection, we actively solicit input from our community on which cause areas need the most urgent support.

Learn more: Community: how members shape campaigns and where donations go

How to Verify Our Work

We built the Transparency Hub specifically so you can hold us accountable.

In the Hub, you will find our quarterly impact reports, our partner selection criteria, and updates from the organizations we fund. We encourage you to read these reports, verify the contributions with the organizations themselves, and ask us hard questions if anything seems unclear.

Learn more: Transparency Hub: what we publish and how to read our reports