Rather than backing a divisive political movement, Windscribe revealed that Sak, the proud owner of a corgi named Snoop, had donated personal funds to Save Our Scruff, a dog rescue in Toronto.

Anticipating that a strict pro-dog stance could "cause division within our userbase", the company quickly added that it had corrected the imbalance.

"So today, we are making one thing clear — we support cats as well, and Yegor has personally donated to the local Annex Cat Rescue organization to support their work," the post noted.

While Windscribe’s parody is light-hearted, it underscores a serious point about brand identity in the cybersecurity industry. VPN users are notoriously privacy-conscious, and they often evaluate a provider's ethical compass just as rigorously as its encryption protocols.

Windscribe concluded its post by mimicking the standard corporate PR playbook, asking users to forgive its "lack of transparency" in the pet debate. The company emphasized that Sak's donations are a reflection of his personal beliefs and will not impact the safety or operation of the software.

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[–] atro_city@fedia.io 5 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Another VPN CEO turned out to be a fascist lover? Is there something in the water that CEOs drink?

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

The "VPN" part is doing some work, too, as would "crypto".

Acknowledging that the world isn't totally safe seems to be right-coded. The left-wing thing is to complain that it isn't, and then immediately place yourself under every boot you can find.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 33 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

This article is in-goddamn-sufferably long-winded for those who already know the drama (and even for those who don't), so here's the Windscribe post. Honestly did not need an article, but then TechRadar is a shitty content mill.

[–] obelisk_complex@piefed.ca 14 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

But then how would I have known that VPN users are typically privacy-conscious? 🐍

(there's still no emoji for sarcasm so I went with a snake because it's not just /s it's /sssss)

[–] microcapybara@sopuli.xyz 5 points 17 hours ago

Count me as a supporter of Super Sassy Sarcasm Snake Sammy 🐍 /sssss

I don’t use much sarcasm online but I will adopt them for my /s needs.

[–] maam@feddit.uk 20 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Windscribe is a Canadian company.

[–] observantTrapezium@lemmy.ca 7 points 23 hours ago

Really not sure it's a good thing. I'm all for supporting Canadian businesses, but VPN is one area where it makes less sense. Even without Bill C-22, don't shit where you eat.

[–] WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Call me cynical, but I'm just waiting for something to come out about them, too. So many others have done bad shit, so I kinda expect any others to be the same - especially the more successful ones.

[–] maam@feddit.uk 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Bill c-22 will ruin Windscribe if it passes.

[–] microcapybara@sopuli.xyz 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Indeed, but they are already looking at exit strategies if this occurs

[–] maam@feddit.uk 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Nice to see! More companies should have nation-exit strategies. I liked how Proton started pulling out of Switzerland due to their creepy politicians cracking down on privacy.

[–] WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Wasn't Proton's CEO also found to have done similar to Mullvad"s?

https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-trump-republicans/

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago

It was largely a mountain out of an anthill.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world -1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Run by a Russian.

[–] Rat_in_a_hat@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

And...?