Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I have yet to see you present any evidence besides some theory that has zero backing. If your theory is true, where are the papers and journal articles on it?
This is a place to discuss privacy, not spread misinformation.
I have presented my evidence, the fact that they have offices and developers in Russia, while offering a VPN to bypass the Russian’s firewall which is illegal, and accepting the local payment system.
You might argue that this is not enough evidence, but why take a chance when there are safer alternatives?
You haven’t actually posted any evidence beyond just saying shit, but I’ll do it for you because I’m nice:
Unfortunately, LinkedIn requires a login so no archive link.
Whether this proves some Russian conspiracy is an exercise left to the reader.
This is adguard’s legal address:
ADGUARD SOFTWARE LIMITED is a company registered in Nicosia, Cyprus, registered office is at Klimentos 41-43, KLIMENTOS TOWER, Flat/Office 25, 1061, Nicosia, Cyprus
Only 3 people are located in that city, let alone the office, which proves my point of saying that address is the legal address of a shell company. 19 people are located in Moscow, where they have admitted themselves that they have an office there. While breaking Russian law, accepting Russian payment system and successfully bypassing Russian’s firewall.
Instead of labeling this as Russian conspiracy theory, help me understand how you could operate in a jurisdiction where you are breaking the law?
What’s funny about this whole situation, is that the OP and another poster who mentioned Serveroid are actually from Russia, and I’m from Iran, and it is like common sense to us to be suspicious of this situation, but we are being labeled as conspiracy theorists!
You do raise some valid concerns about Adguard and maybe I was a bit too quick to dismiss your points. While I still don’t think it’s fair to label Adguard as “Russian spyware”, I can definitely see why some would not use their products with their ties to Russia.
List of the most used VPN services in Russia:
Adguard tops the list, offering a free tier, while having an office in Moscow.
There are 14 people in Cyprus who could be working at that office/remotely from other locations in Cyprus, of which 3 were willing to list themselves as being in Nicosia publicly. Jumping to conclusions is what makes this sound conspiratorial, not the facts of the matter.
Did you read the article you linked? It talks about Adguard VPN being banned in Russia alongside other VPNs:
“On Tuesday, a spokesperson for AdGuard VPN provided Cybernews with a copy of the Apple notice sent to VPN providers informing them of the upcoming restrictions.
“I’m reaching out to you to inform you that AdGuard VPN has also been removed from Apple’s App Store alongside more than two dozen VPN services in Russia,” said AdGuard VPN spokesperson Ekaterina Kachalova.
“We received an official communication from Apple notifying us of the impending removal yesterday, July 8th,” Kachalova said.
The letter, signed by App Review, states that the AdGuard application is being removed “per demand from Roskomnadzor… because it includes content that is illegal in Russia” and is therefore non-compliant with “App Review Guidelines.”
That sure doesn’t sound like something that would happen to a company that was a honeypot for the Russian government.
you continue to discard the fact that the most popular VPN in Russia, has a head office in Russia by their own admission, while providing a service that is considered illegal by the Russian authorities. more information on how serious Russia is about their tech and communication service providers:
This is Adguard’s “contacts” page, which since has been removed. let’s take at founders and their backgrounds:
Igor Lukyanov (founder and COO)
Igor is not only working at Adguard, but also works for Serveroid, a cloud infrastructure company, based in, Moscow. is that also a coincidence?
Of course I did. The removal notification from Apple was announced very recently, prior to that, AdGuard as the most popular VPN service in Russia was working just fine. And even now, android users can continue using the adguard VPN in Russia without any problems. while they have a head office in Moscow.
I’m not saying AdGuard is Russian spyware, and no one can undermine their contribution to open source space and the filter lists. but this is an issue that needs to be addressed by them. You can’t just turn a blind eye to the facts, just because they registered a shell in Cyprus, and oh, by the way, they feel so bad about the “conflict”
It’s clear you have a deep mistrust of Russia and the Russian government, and considering recent world events thats understandable. But here are some facts about Adguard:
Their legal headquarters are in Cyprus which means they have to abide by EU GDPR data laws.
They have no servers located in Russia, and none of their services connect to any servers located in Russia.
Their data processing center is in Frankfurt, Germany
Adguard provided plenty if FOSS including Adguard Home, Adguard DNS, and their browser extension.
Adguard VPN was just banned in Russia because it breaks Russian laws
Yes, you are right in stating some of their workforce in located in Russia. But some of their workforce is also located in Ukraine and other countries.
This is getting repetitive, as I have already presented my case for the mistrust, with a lot of data points. so this will be my last post, and I will let other to decide based on the facts presented, and the opposing views on this topic.
adguard’s physical head office is in Russia, as confirmed on reddit by their community manager.
more than 50% of their workforce are residing in Moscow. one of the founders and the current COO is also working for a cloud infrastructure provider based in Russia. [same company mentioned here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Adguard/comments/iypf8d/updated_dns_address_question/]
adguard VPN, which has a free tier, is the most popular VPN in Russia, and still continues to work properly for android users, or iphone users who had previously installed the app on their phones. wouldn’t it be easier for the Russian police to take down adguard by making a visit to their head office in Russia, instead of asking Apple to remove a bunch of VPNs including adguard off of app store? on a seperate note, wouldn’t banning all the other VPN providers, and not banning Adguard would make it obvious that adguard vpn is a honeypot?
adguard accepts the Russian local payment system, without any issue, despite breaking the law regarding the VPN ban.
This means that at least some of the company’s employees are compromised: the Chekists can put pressure on them, as well as on their relatives in Russia. The same applies to Telegram.
I have observed a concerning trend of derogatory remarks and discriminatory language directed towards individuals of Russian descent within this forum. It is important to approach discussions with respect and understanding, rather than resorting to hateful rhetoric. Constructive dialogue is essential in fostering a community that values diversity and promotes mutual understanding. Let us strive to engage in conversations that are informed by knowledge and empathy, rather than perpetuating stereotypes and prejudice…
Putin and his regime do not represent Russian people, as the authorities in China, Iran and North Korea do not represent their people. you are twisting my words. I have absolutely nothing but love and empathy toward Russian people, but when a company operates within a certain jurisdiction, it has to abide by the law of that jurisdiction, which is set by the authority. As I have already mentioned, I’m from Iran, not an American right wing Russian conspiracy theorist, and the OP in this thread is also Russian. how on earth, discussing the facts regarding Aduard’s operation in Russia is racist and derogatory is beyond me.
Thank you for clarifying your stance.
When considering the recent surge in negative sentiments towards Russia, I assume that much of it is related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and a lack of understanding about the broader context and complexities of international relations.
We informed that something happened in 2022 and continues right now.
Respect what?
Did I miss something? Have racist comments been removed?
Safer alternatives are harder to pay for.
