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Some VPN provider's claims were verified in court and thus it's known they don't keep logs, so the article's claims just fall apart:

https://www.techspot.com/news/82259-keeping-private-5-vpns-h...

Edit: Many coutries have mandatory data retention policies [1], so if you're from one of those countries it's virtually guaranteed that your internet usage logs for the last months/years are logged somewhere. On the otherhand, a VPN provider has a strong financial incentive to not log your data (because their repuatation has a high financial value) and in some cases it can be known that (at least at some point in the past) they weren't logging, so there is a very high probability that they are not logging now.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_retention

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Some other VPN providers claims were tested by hackers and security researchers and found wanting [0].

The point the article was trying to make was you can never be sure which providers are trustworthy and which ones are not, and even the trustworthy ones today might not be trustworthy tomorrow and you have no way to verify whether they are or aren’t keeping logs.

0: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/ufo-vpn-data-ex...

from that link there is only one "verified" case, and that is with PIA, all others are audits from private firms, or seizure of one particular server that is assuming just a dumb node. even with PIA it's not sure what exactly was asked because its not a USA company, so if i ask you to give me logs for a server in USA, but you don't keep the logs on that server, can you say we dont keep logs on that server.

and do you have time to verify every source of information.

It's logically impossible to verify, but any number of facts can be easily disproved by one evidence, previously unknown

Their upstream providers are happy to tap the traffic if someone with enough $$$ knocks on their door.

Also, why are these companies registered in Panama or the British Virgin Islands?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshore_financial_centre

I get that - but building trust comes not with a company registration in a tax heaven.

They don't have a data retention policy [1]. The European Union for example requires "the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC" for up to 2 years:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_retention

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