Country brief · Updated August 13, 2026
Using a VPN in the US
VPNs are legal, ISPs may lawfully sell subscriber browsing data, and US-incorporated providers are reachable by domestic legal process including gag orders.
Legal and unrestricted
What actually matters here
A provider incorporated outside the United States with an audited no-logs position, if your concern includes domestic legal process.
Most country pages on the web recycle the same global ranking with a place name attached. This one filters on the capability that the situation in the US actually calls for, which is why 6 of our 11 providers qualify rather than all of them.
Highest-scoring provider that meets it: Proton VPN, 90.0/100.
Visit Proton VPNWe earn a commission if you subscribe through this link. It does not change Proton VPN’s score.
The legal position
No restriction on VPN use. Congressional action in 2017 removed the FCC rules that would have required ISPs to obtain consent before selling subscriber browsing information, which is the practical reason many US readers start using a VPN at all.
This is a summary of publicly reported regulation, not legal advice. Rules in this area change without much notice and enforcement varies. If the consequences of getting it wrong are serious for you, check the current position locally.
What the network does
No national filtering system. Blocking is limited to court orders against specific services.
Retention and logging
There is no blanket retention mandate, but US providers can receive subpoenas, National Security Letters and orders accompanied by non-disclosure requirements. A warrant canary is the mechanism some providers use to signal this, and it is a signal rather than a protection.
Providers that meet the requirement
| # | Provider | Based in | Protocols | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proton VPN | Switzerland | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, Stealth | 90.0 |
| 2 | NordVPN | Panama | NordLynx (WireGuard), OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 84.0 |
| 3 | IVPN Unpaid | Gibraltar | WireGuard, OpenVPN | 82.5 |
| 4 | ExpressVPN Unpaid | British Virgin Islands | Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 74.0 |
| 5 | CyberGhost Unpaid | Romania | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 70.0 |
| 6 | PureVPN | British Virgin Islands | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | 69.0 |
Sources
Questions
- Is using a VPN legal in the US?
- Legal and unrestricted. No restriction on VPN use. Congressional action in 2017 removed the FCC rules that would have required ISPs to obtain consent before selling subscriber browsing information, which is the practical reason many US readers start using a VPN at all.
- Which VPN works best in the US?
- Proton VPN on the requirement that matters here: a provider incorporated outside the united states with an audited no-logs position, if your concern includes domestic legal process. 6 of 11 providers in our dataset meet it.
- Does the network block VPN traffic in the US?
- No national filtering system. Blocking is limited to court orders against specific services.
- Are there logging or retention rules that affect me in the US?
- There is no blanket retention mandate, but US providers can receive subpoenas, National Security Letters and orders accompanied by non-disclosure requirements. A warrant canary is the mechanism some providers use to signal this, and it is a signal rather than a protection.