Product News 2 min. read

AnchorFree’s Hotspot Shield app surpasses 600 million worldwide downloads

AnchorFree’s Hotspot Shield app surpasses 600 million worldwide downloads

Today is a special moment for all of us at AnchorFree; we’ve officially topped 600 million worldwide downloads of our Hotspot Shield application. We’re protecting more people online than any other company in the world; in fact, our total users combined almost doubles the entire population of the United States. And in some countries, the number of Hotspot Shield users exceeds 10% of their total population.

This is something that makes us incredibly proud—and humbled.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen 100 million new Hotspot Shield users alone, fueled by unprecedented data breaches, global issues around government censorship, and political policies designed to strip people of their basic digital rights. Around the world, people are seeking ways to reliably and securely protect themselves and retain their privacy, freedom of information, and the ability for their voices to be heard.

One recent example of this was in Iran. Million of Iranians downloaded Hotspot Shield during a ten-day period when their government imposed an internet blockade and banned all popular social networks and instant messengers in an attempt to quell the country’s massive civil protests. We’ve seen it in the United States, too, with the repeal of net neutrality. And with cyber attacks at a record high, and major corporate data breaches affecting billions of people each year, more than ever people are seeking out technology to protect themselves.

As a company, we didn’t just create Hotspot Shield to protect people from cybercriminals and calamities like the massive Equifax breach or the KRACK vulnerability that rendered virtually every Wi-Fi connection in the world insecure unless protected by a VPN. Our ultimate mission goes far deeper.

We believe that every person on the planet deserves uncensored access to the world’s information. We believe that your online sessions should remain private and that your personal information is secure from prying eyes. We believe in an internet with no walls or borders; it’s what fuels us to keep innovating and building solutions that help citizens around the globe enjoy free, open, and secure online communications.

Now that we’ve crested 600 million downloads in 200 countries, and seen record growth year-over-year, our motivation to keep pushing has never been stronger. After all, in today’s world, the threat to our digital rights remains greater than ever—and we’re committed to continue making a difference.

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