VPNSecure Customers Discover Their Lifetime Subscriptions Were Canceled
That has been the dilemma of some VPNSecure customers, whose lifetime subscriptions were canceled by the new owners of the VPN provider -- without the customers being told in advance that the subscriptions would end.
A Reddit user posted a copy of a message they said they received from VPNSecure's new owners. In that message, the company tells customers that they did not know about the lifetime deals when they purchased the company in May 2023.
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address, which can make your physical location detectable. A VPN enables the user to keep their online activity private and trick apps and websites into thinking you're in a different state or even country. For an in-depth look at VPNs, check out CNET's article "Everything You Need to Know About VPNs and How They Work."
In its email to customers, VPNSecure outlined the situation regarding the lifetime deals. The email said that the owners bought "the technology, domain, and customer database-but not the liabilities. Unfortunately, the previous owner did not disclose that thousands of Lifetime Deals (LTDs) had been sold through platforms like StackSocial."
According to the email, the company deactivated accounts that had been dormant for six months or more, then later canceled all the lifetime deals as of April 28.
In the email, VPNSecure said that its "resources were strained by these LTD accounts" that "provide no sustaining income to help us improve and maintain the service."
A representative for VPNSecure did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Customers are not happy
Several miffed customers weighed in with angry comments on Trustpilot.
"I had bought a 'lifetime' subscription a few years ago," one person wrote. "Horrible new owners come in and cancel everything claiming ignorance. Either they're idiots or they're scammers — not sure which is worse."
In response to customer reactions, VPNSecure is offering discounted new subscriptions to users whose lifetime deals were canceled. They can pay $1.87 for a month (instead of $9.95), $19 for one year (instead of $79.92), or $55 for three years (instead of $107.64). The deals are available until May 31, according to the email that was posted on Reddit.
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