Compare AirVPN and F-Secure FREEDOME VPN on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: ExpressVPN
Italy· VPN Services
Needs review
Strong European option when you need remote port forwarding, Dynamic DNS, and open-source clients. Skip for enterprise fleet VPN or ISO/SOC-led vendor risk — consider WireGuard mesh (e.g. Tailscale/NetBird) or audited privacy VPNs such as Mullvad.
Finland· VPN Services
Needs review
Shortlist when you want a simple Finnish consumer VPN from an established security vendor (now branded F-Secure VPN), multi-device apps, and suite packaging. Skip when you need audited no-logs, anonymous accounts, or an infrastructure path free of US-linked VPN partners—consider Mullvad or Proton VPN instead.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | AirVPN | F-Secure FREEDOME VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Italy | Finland |
| Category | VPN Services | VPN Services |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hosted | No | No |
| Headquarters | Italy | Finland |
| Legal entity | AirVPN di Paolo Brini (also Air di Paolo Brini), Perugia | F-Secure Corporation (F-Secure Oyj), Tammasaarenkatu 7, 00180 Helsinki, Finland |
| Governing law | Italian courts / EU private international law framing (per ToS) | Not listed |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Low | Medium |
| Hosting / residency | Multi-region servers (EU and outside EU). Confirm exit-node policy if you need EU-only traffic. | Finnish consumer controller (F-Secure Corporation). New VPN feature delivered with third-party Pango (US-based Pango Group / Point Wild family; also related non-US entities). Older OpenVPN/IPSec path described separately. Sensitive customer data stated as stored in Finland/EEA under F-Secure control where applicable; global operations, SCCs, and EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework also described. E-store reseller Cleverbridge GmbH. Full public gateway subprocessor/region matrix not published. |
| Summary | Italian OpenVPN/WireGuard VPN with remote port forwarding, Dynamic DNS, and open-source Eddie clients—strong for technical privacy use, not enterprise fleet VPN. | Finnish consumer VPN (historically FREEDOME, now F-Secure VPN) for encrypted browsing, IP hiding, and automatic public Wi-Fi protection from F-Secure Corporation in Helsinki. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | AirVPN | F-Secure FREEDOME VPN |
|---|---|---|
| HQ / entity | Perugia, Italy — AirVPN di Paolo Brini (sole proprietorship) | Not listed |
| Protocols | OpenVPN, WireGuard; OpenVPN over SSH/SSL/Tor | Not listed |
| Clients | Eddie GPLv3 (desktop + Android); configs without GUI | Not listed |
| Inbound ports | Up to 5 reserved remote ports + optional *.airdns.org DDNS | Not listed |
| Sessions | Five simultaneous connections per account | Not listed |
| Commercial model | Prepaid access (see vendor site for current plans) | Paid multi-device subscription + trial/money-back |
| Independent audit | No public no-logs audit found | Not listed |
| B2B packaging | Self-serve ToS; no productized enterprise pack found | Not listed |
| HQ | Not listed | Helsinki, Finland |
| Legal entity | Not listed | F-Secure Corporation (F-Secure Oyj) |
| Product status | Not listed | FREEDOME rebranded to F-Secure VPN; still sold |
| Deployment | Not listed | Consumer SaaS apps (not self-hosted) |
| Account model | Not listed | My F-Secure registration required |
| Server footprint | Not listed | Virtual locations in 20+ countries (vendor claim) |
| New VPN partner | Not listed | Pango / Point Wild group (US-linked) |
| Key capabilities | AirVPN | F-Secure FREEDOME VPN |
|---|---|---|
| EU-operated | Yes | Not listed |
| Open-source client (GPLv3) | Yes | Not listed |
| Remote port forwarding | Yes | Not listed |
| WireGuard + OpenVPN | Yes | Not listed |
| Prepaid access | Yes | Not listed |
| Finnish HQ (Nasdaq Helsinki) | Not listed | Yes |
| Consumer multi-device VPN | Not listed | Yes |
| Auto public Wi-Fi protection | Not listed | Yes |
| Kill switch (Win/Mac/Android) | Not listed | Yes |
| WireGuard on new stack | Not listed | Yes |
| ISO 27001 (company, claimed) | Not listed | Yes |
Remote port forwarding and airdns.org DDNS
Reserve up to five inbound remote ports (TCP/UDP) while a plan is active, optionally map to different local ports, and attach optional *.airdns.org names that follow the VPN exit IP—useful for P2P, seedboxes, and self-hosted services.
Open-source Eddie client with Network Lock
Official GPLv3 client for major desktops and Android with firewall-based Network Lock (blocks traffic outside the tunnel), CLI, multi-provider mode, and hostile-network layering (SSH/SSL/Tor with AirVPN).
OpenVPN, WireGuard, and layered entry
Choose WireGuard or OpenVPN; OpenVPN is available on multiple ports and can run over SSH, SSL, or Tor when middleboxes block or throttle plain VPN handshakes. Dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 and internal VPN DNS with optional block lists.
Minimal identity requirements
Signup does not require real identity fields; email is optional for support. Payment processors handle their own data when used.
Transparent capacity and multi-session use
Five simultaneous connections, free server switches, public live server load, and a stated minimum allocated bandwidth per session. Commercial access is prepaid—see the vendor site for current plans.
One-click personal VPN with unlimited data
Consumer apps connect with a single control and market unlimited bandwidth for browsing, downloads, and general use. Aimed at non-technical households rather than admin-tunable gateway fleets. Requires a My F-Secure account to activate and manage devices.
Automatic public Wi-Fi protection and trusted-network bypass
Detects untrusted/public Wi-Fi and can secure traffic without manual per-hotspot setup. On Android and Windows, trusted networks can bypass the tunnel so home/LAN devices stay reachable. Best for travelers and café users, not for policy-managed corporate SSIDs.
Kill switch on Windows, Mac, and Android
When enabled, the kill switch can block internet access if the VPN drops, reducing clearnet IP/DNS leaks during reconnects. Availability is platform-specific (documented for Windows, Mac, Android—not presented as universal across every OS feature parity).
Virtual locations in 20+ countries
Choose gateways in more than twenty countries, sometimes with multiple cities, to change apparent IP location for privacy and basic geo-access. Server footprint is smaller than mega-VPN networks; treat streaming reliability as verify-yourself, not a guaranteed specialty.
Protocol stacks including WireGuard on the new VPN
Privacy docs describe an older path (OpenVPN, IPSec/IKEv2) and a newer path (Hydra, WireGuard, IPSec). The new path is delivered with third-party provider Pango—confirm which stack your app build uses under Settings before assuming F-Secure-only infrastructure.
| Assurance & compliance | AirVPN | F-Secure FREEDOME VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Independent no-logs / security audit | Not found Privacy notice describes no mass-storage activity/IP logs; architecture claims are first-party only. | Not found Vendor privacy notice describes no destination-connection logs plus 90-day operational session logs; no public third-party no-logs audit PDF found for this VPN. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found | Vendor claimed Company financial/sustainability materials state F-Secure received ISO 27001 covering company operations (reported from late 2024). Re-verify certificate scope for the VPN service. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found | Not found No public SOC 2/3 report located for the consumer VPN service during research. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed EU (Italian) operator; privacy notice cites GDPR and related EU directives. | Vendor claimed Finnish EU controller; privacy notices reference GDPR, SCCs, and DPF. Consumer product—confirm processing roles for any B2B resale. |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Vendor claimed No known US parent from public research — indicative exposure low vs US-owned brands; multi-region exits still matter. | Partial EU entity / no known US parent, but new VPN stack uses US-linked third party Pango; global transfers and DPF described. Not a clean EU-only path. Not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Not found No productized enterprise DPA flow found; consumer ToS/privacy notice only. | Not found Consumer VPN/store terms dominate public materials; no clear self-serve B2B DPA for VPN-only enterprise procurement found. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable VPN connectivity product; not an AI system under typical procurement framing. | Not applicable Core product is a consumer VPN; AI features exist elsewhere in the F-Secure suite (e.g. scam tools) but are not the VPN evaluation core. |
| Considerations & known limitations | AirVPN | F-Secure FREEDOME VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Italian resident restriction | High ToS and footer ban residents of Italy. Orgs with Italian-based staff cannot use AirVPN as a universal approved VPN; exclude that population or choose another vendor. | Not listed |
| No public independent no-logs audit | Medium If vendor risk requires ISO/SOC or a no-logs audit letter, treat this as a gap until evidence is obtained offline. | Medium Trust rests on first-party privacy wording and brand reputation. Privacy-maximizing buyers often require third-party audits that were not published for this VPN at research time. |
| Multi-region exit nodes | Medium Traffic can exit outside the EU depending on server choice. Strict residency policies need operational controls, not just EU HQ. | Not listed |
| Small operator / sole proprietorship | Medium Long-running activist project with a small operating structure; set continuity and support expectations accordingly. | Not listed |
| US CLOUD Act (indicative) | Low No known US parent from public research. Not a guarantee against other LE cooperation or non-EU exits. | Not listed |
| Operational logs include source IP for ~90 days | Not listed | Medium Despite no destination-traffic logs, session metadata (including source public IP and device ID) is retained for abuse handling. Law-enforcement process can still target what exists; historical Finnish FREEDOME log disputes illustrate the residual risk. |
| New VPN path shares infrastructure with US-linked Pango | Not listed | Medium Privacy notice discloses a third-party provider for the new VPN feature and links Pango. US CLOUD Act / transfer diligence must include that partner—not only F-Secure’s Finnish HQ. |
| Consumer product, not enterprise VPN platform | Not listed | Low My F-Secure account, multi-device household packs, and suite bundling fit consumers. Lack of self-host, limited advanced networking, and thin B2B contracting artifacts limit enterprise remote-access use cases. |
| FREEDOME brand retirement can confuse inventories | Not listed | Low Legacy app names and store listings still say FREEDOME while the commercial product is F-Secure VPN. Asset inventories and MDM allowlists may need cleanup after the 2024 migration. |
When: You need enterprise fleet / zero-trust mesh connectivity
Consider: Tailscale, NetBird, or self-hosted WireGuard
Different product class: org network access vs consumer privacy VPN with inbound ports.
When: You prioritise audited no-logs / accountless anonymity over inbound ports
Consider: Mullvad
Mullvad is stronger on the public no-logs narrative; weaker on multi-port forwarding / airdns.org-style DDNS.
When: You want a free tier and a broader consumer privacy suite
Consider: Proton VPN
When: You need a privacy-hardened specialist VPN with anonymous accounts and strong transparency
Consider: Mullvad
Swedish pure-play VPN; different UX and no antivirus suite bundling.
When: You want a European privacy suite with VPN-first positioning and broader privacy product line
Consider: Proton VPN
Swiss Proton ecosystem; compare free-tier limits and audit publications separately.
When: You need advanced enthusiast networking controls rather than a consumer suite VPN
Consider: AirVPN
More power-user oriented; steeper than F-Secure’s one-click consumer apps.