Free VPNs are not all built the same. Some give you unlimited data, others let you pick a location but cap how much you can use each month. The differences become much clearer once you compare them side by side.

For this X-VPN review, we tested all three under comparable free-plan conditions. We compared their speeds, kill switches, ads, protocol options, privacy practices, device limits, and data restrictions.

The goal is simple: to see how X-VPN Free performs in everyday use, where it stands out, where it falls behind, and how it compares with Proton VPN Free and Windscribe Free.

X-VPN Free vs Proton VPN Free vs Windscribe Free

X-VPN, Windscribe, and Proton VPN all offer a permanent free plan, but they place the limits in very different places.

Here is how the three free plans compare before testing:

On features alone, X-VPN is the least restrictive of the three. It combines unlimited data with no registration, unlimited device use, and a larger selection of free locations. Windscribe offers more control than Proton VPN, but its monthly allowance makes it harder to use continuously. Proton VPN takes the opposite approach: there is no data cap, but free users give up server choice and can connect only one device at a time.

That does not make the feature table a final ranking. A free VPN can offer more locations and still be slow, or include a kill switch that behaves differently across platforms.

The rest of this review tests whether these differences matter in practice. We will check how reliably the security features work, how the three services perform on the same network, and whether restrictions around ads, servers, protocols, and device use change the everyday experience.

How We Tested the Three Free VPNs

We tested X-VPN Free, Windscribe Free, and Proton VPN Free in the United States using the same Wi-Fi connection. Testing was carried out on a 13-inch MacBook Pro running macOS 26.2 and an iPhone 17 running iOS 26.5.1. All speed tests were measured with Speedtest by Ookla.

Every test was run strictly on the free plan. We did not use trials, paid accounts, premium servers, or paid-only features. We also did not keep reconnecting until a VPN produced a better result. If a service assigned the server automatically, we treated that lack of choice as part of the free experience.

How Restrictive Is Each Free Plan?

The three free plans place their limits in different areas. X-VPN removes most account, data, and device restrictions. Windscribe offers stronger server control but caps monthly usage. Proton VPN provides unlimited data but limits both devices and server choice.

Account and Email Requirements

X-VPN free

Windscribe free

Proton VPN free

X-VPN had the lowest entry barrier and collected the least information during setup. Windscribe offered a middle ground by requiring an account but not an email.

Data Limits

Windscribe limits users to 2GB per month without a verified email address, or 10GB with one

Windscribe clearly displayed the remaining allowance in the app. Its cap may be enough for occasional browsing, but it is more restrictive for continuous use.

Device Limits

X-VPN and Windscribe were easier to use across a laptop and phone. Proton required an upgrade for additional simultaneous connections.

Server Access and Location Control

Windscribe provided the most consistent manual server control. X-VPN offered country and city selection on mobile, but not on macOS. Proton gave free users the least control, since both the initial server and any replacement were assigned automatically.

Overall, X-VPN was the least restrictive for registration, data, and device use. Windscribe offered better server control but imposed a monthly cap, while Proton combined unlimited data with stricter device and location limits.

Do the Kill Switches Actually Work?

All three free VPNs included a working kill switch, although they handled it slightly differently.

X-VPN and Proton VPN both left the feature off by default, so we had to enable it manually. Windscribe calls its version Firewall rather than Kill Switch, but it serves the same purpose and switched on automatically when we connected to a free server.

Kill Switch Test Results

We first opened IPLeak without a VPN and confirmed that it showed our real location and IP address. We then connected each VPN, enabled its kill switch where necessary, and refreshed the page to confirm that the VPN server IP had replaced the original one.

Next, we forced the VPN connection to drop and tried to reload the page.

In all three tests, the page stopped loading completely once the VPN connection was interrupted. None of the apps allowed the browser to fall back to the regular internet connection.

Speed Test: Which Free VPN Is Fastest?

Speed is where the three free plans showed the clearest difference. X-VPN kept the largest share of our original connection speed, while Proton VPN recorded the biggest slowdown, particularly on uploads.

Test Conditions

We tested all three VPNs in the United States using the same MacBook, Wi-Fi network, and testing period. All results were measured with Speedtest by Ookla.

X-VPN was tested over WireGuard, Windscribe over its Stealth mode, and Proton VPN connected over IKEv2 in our test. We recorded a fresh no-VPN baseline before testing each app. Since the baseline changed slightly between runs, the percentage loss gives a fairer comparison than the raw Mbps figures alone.

Speed Test Results

X-VPN delivered the fastest result in our test configuration. It retained about 80% of the baseline download speed and remained comfortably fast for browsing, downloads, and high-resolution video.

X-VPN baseline speed without a VPN: 248.01 Mbps download and 216.53 Mbps upload

X-VPN Free speed over WireGuard: 198.65 Mbps download and 138.03 Mbps upload

Windscribe remained usable, but its download speed fell by about 54%, while uploads dropped by 57%.

Windscribe baseline speed without a VPN: 247.90 Mbps download and 213.25 Mbps upload

Windscribe Free speed over Stealth mode: 114.31 Mbps download and 91.61 Mbps upload

Proton VPN had the weakest result. Download speed fell from 235.27 Mbps to 88.05 Mbps, and upload speed dropped to just 5.76 Mbps. The download connection was still sufficient for everyday browsing and other download-heavy tasks, but the upload result could be restrictive for cloud backups, large file transfers, or video calls.

Proton VPN baseline speed without a VPN: 235.27 Mbps download and 203.97 Mbps upload

Proton VPN Free speed over IKEv2 during our test: 88.05 Mbps download and 5.76 Mbps upload

Speed Verdict

Based on this round of testing, X-VPN Free delivered the best balance of download and upload performance. Windscribe placed second, while Proton VPN showed the largest speed loss.

These results reflect the free server assigned or available during our test, rather than the maximum speed each service can achieve. Free-server load, distance, and automatic server selection can all affect performance, so results may differ by location and time.

Ads

The three free apps handled ads very differently.

X-VPN’s desktop experience was just as clean as Windscribe and Proton VPN. Its mobile ads added some friction, but they did not prevent us from connecting or using the VPN normally. Windscribe and Proton VPN provided the cleaner overall experience because neither displayed ads.

Protocol Choice on the Free Plans

Which Protocols Are Available?

X-VPN Free let us manually select Everest, OpenVPN, or WireGuard. These options were available without upgrading or signing in.

Windscribe also offered several protocols, including WireGuard, IKEv2, OpenVPN, and its Stealth mode.

Proton VPN took a simpler approach: the free app selected the connection protocol automatically and did not provide a manual protocol menu.

Are the Protocols Easy to Find?

X-VPN displayed each protocol by name under VPN Settings > Protocol, making the options easy to find and switch between.

Windscribe also showed protocol names inside the app.

Proton VPN required no protocol setup, which may be easier for beginners, but it also gave free users no control over which protocol was used.

Overall, X-VPN and Windscribe offered the most flexibility. Proton prioritized automatic configuration over manual choice.

Privacy: What Do Free Users Give Up?

All three services extend their core no-logs protections to free users. The main difference is how much information they require at signup and how much limited account data they retain.

X-VPN Free

X-VPN applies the same no-logs policy to free and paid users. Its systems and supporting operations underwent an independent limited assurance engagement by Deloitte Singapore under ISAE 3000 (Revised), with testing concluded on February 28, 2026.

According to the report and privacy policy, X-VPN does not collect or store user or destination IP addresses, browsing activity, visited websites, VPN server information, DNS queries, downloaded content, connection timestamps, or sensitive payment details. Free users can also connect without creating an account or providing an email address, giving X-VPN the strongest data minimization at signup.

Windscribe Free

Windscribe requires a username and password, but an email address is optional. Its privacy policy states that it does not store source IP addresses, visited websites, or historical VPN sessions.

It does retain the total amount of data transferred over a 30-day period, the timestamp of the account’s last activity, and the number of simultaneous connections. Windscribe says this information is used to enforce free-plan limits and prevent abuse rather than track browsing activity.

Windscribe has also published independent audits of its FreshScribe server stack, desktop app, and mobile apps. These are presented as infrastructure and application security audits rather than a recurring annual no-logs assurance program.

Proton VPN Free

Proton VPN’s no-logs policy covers both free and paid users. It states that it does not log internet traffic, communication content, or VPN session data.

Its no-logs infrastructure has undergone five consecutive annual audits by Securitum. The 2026 review examined whether Proton stored browsing activity, DNS queries, destination services, traffic content, or user-identifiable connection metadata and found no persistent records linking a user to activity through the reviewed servers.

Proton required us to create an account and provide an email address. That adds more account data than X-VPN or an email-free Windscribe account, although it does not mean Proton records VPN activity.

Ease of Use

Final Scorecard

Because stability and streaming were not included in the final comparison, we used the following weights:

Final Verdict: Is X-VPN Free Worth Using?

Yes. X-VPN Free is worth considering for users who want a VPN they can install and use immediately without creating an account, watching a data counter, or managing device slots.

Its main advantage over Proton VPN and Windscribe is not a single feature. It is the combination of no registration, unlimited data, unlimited device use, a working kill switch, manual protocol selection, and the best speed result in the configuration we tested. Its main compromises are mobile ads and more limited server control on macOS.

Oil prices have surged sharply in recent days, with some analysts warning that Brent crude could climb to $150 per barrel if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a prolonged period amid the escalating Iran–Israel conflict. After a sharp selloff last week, Indian equities may face further valuation pressure in the near term due to heightened volatility, analysts said.

Crude oil prices crossed the key psychological mark of $100 per barrel last week, the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Despite attempts by the US administration to reassure markets, the conflict in the oil-rich Middle East continues to intensify.

Iran has warned that oil prices could surge to as high as $200 per barrel if the conflict escalates further. Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader and son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic “tool of pressure” that must remain shut during the conflict. In a message aired on state television, he also warned that US military bases across the region could face attacks as Iran seeks retaliation for casualties from the conflict.

Oil prices have risen amid growing expectations that the Strait of Hormuz may remain shut, disrupting global energy trade. The narrow 33-km waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman carries more than 20% of the world’s oil and gas shipments, making it one of the most critical chokepoints in global energy markets.

What lies ahead for oil prices

Global crude oil prices could rise to $120 per barrel in the near term and potentially reach $150 per barrel if the war continues for over a month and geopolitical tensions remain elevated in West Asia, said Kayanat Chainwala, Assistant Vice President at Kotak Securities.

“Any prolonged disruption to this trade route will be bullish for crude oil and negative for other commodities, as it fuels inflation concerns and could delay interest rate cuts,” Chainwala said.
A report by Nuvama also noted that crude prices could climb to $150 per barrel if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for four to eight weeks. However, such extreme price levels could eventually lead to demand destruction and trigger alternative supply responses.The report added that Asian economies are likely to bear the brunt of the disruption, as nearly 13 million barrels per day (mbpd) of oil shipments to countries including China, India, Japan and South Korea pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Systematix Institutional Equities said global crude markets have entered a phase of heightened volatility over the past two weeks, driven by the destruction of oil and gas assets in West Asia, which has added a strong geopolitical risk premium to prices.

“Tanker freight rates and insurance premiums for vessels passing through high-risk zones have also surged, significantly raising procurement costs,” the brokerage said.

How Indian stock markets may react

The Nifty 50 fell 5.3% last week as the Iran–Israel conflict, a weakening rupee, persistent FII outflows and concerns over fuel supply weighed on sentiment. While Systematix expects near-term volatility to impact valuations, it continues to prefer Reliance Industries, Petronet LNG, Deep Industries and Gulf Oil as long-term bets.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, market direction in the coming weeks will largely depend on developments in the Iran conflict and the trajectory of crude prices, given their implications for inflation, corporate margins, the current account deficit and RBI policy flexibility.

“A firm dollar and higher US bond yields may keep FIIs selective and volatility elevated. Selective value opportunities may emerge in fundamentally resilient and domestically driven sectors, while energy-sensitive segments could remain under pressure if crude prices stay elevated,” he said.

He added that domestic institutional buying has provided some cushion, but a sustained market recovery would likely require clear signs of geopolitical de-escalation, stabilisation in crude prices and improved clarity on fuel supply dynamics.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research – Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said market volatility is likely to persist as geopolitical tensions disrupt the energy market and keep risk sentiment fragile.

“Indian equities have seen a sharp correction in 2026 amid heightened global uncertainty, resulting in significant erosion of market value across segments,” Khemka said.

The Nifty 50 has declined over 11% so far this year, while the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices are down around 10% each. In March alone, the Nifty has fallen about 8%, marking its steepest monthly decline since the pandemic-driven crash of March 2020.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee recently hit a record low of Rs 92.45 against the US dollar as rising energy prices and risk-off sentiment heightened concerns about India’s current account deficit, given the country imports nearly 88% of its crude oil requirements.

Elevated oil prices have also intensified concerns around inflationary pressures, widening external balances and pressure on corporate margins, prompting investors to trim equity exposure and shift towards safer assets.

“Rate-sensitive and cyclical sectors such as banking, financial services and automobiles have seen notable selling pressure,” Khemka added.

Looking ahead, markets are expected to remain highly sensitive to developments in the West Asia conflict, movements in crude oil prices and trends in foreign fund flows.

“Persistent foreign outflows and elevated oil prices could keep sentiment cautious, while any signs of easing geopolitical tensions may provide relief to markets,” he said.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

A flock of crows dive-bombed a Vancouver woman eight times as she ran screaming down the street, landing on her head between attacks. In Los Angeles, a homeowner watched crows slam their beaks against his glass door so hard he feared it would shatter. Neither person had done anything to provoke the birds that day. According to a report in The New York Times, the crows were not confused. They were settling an old score, and crow scores can stay open for a very long time.

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Behind these odd, unsettling encounters lies a piece of science that most people never think about: crows can recognise a human face, remember what that face did to them, and hold on to the grudge for close to two decades. They even teach their chicks to hate the same face. For anyone who has ever startled, trapped, or annoyed a crow, that is not comforting news.

Brains Behind The Beak

Crows are not just noisy backyard birds. They mimic human speech, use tools to solve problems, and recognise individual human faces even in a crowded street. They also gather in groups that look strikingly like funerals when a member of their flock, known as a murder, is killed.

That same intelligence gives crows an unusually long memory for insults. A crow can live for about a dozen years, but a grudge against a specific person can outlive the bird that started it, passed down to chicks and flockmates who never even met the original offender.

When Payback Follows You Home

Gene Carter, a computer specialist in Seattle, found this out the hard way. He once chased away crows that were bothering a robin’s nest and threw a rake into the air to scare them off. What followed was nearly a year of retaliation. The birds waited outside his kitchen, dive-bombed him on his way to his car, and tracked him down every single day at his bus stop.
“They were waiting for me at the bus stop every single day,” he said.He told The New York Times the birds followed him for several blocks on his walk home from the stop, swooping at him the whole way. The harassment ended only after he moved out of the neighbourhood.

Spring Is Attack Season

Most crow attacks are not really personal, experts say. They spike in spring and early summer, when parent crows are guarding nests full of chicks and treat anyone who walks too close as a threat.

But grudges built outside nesting season can last far longer than a single breeding cycle. Dr John Marzluff, a professor who has spent years studying how humans and crows interact, has tracked one grudge for 17 years and counting. In 2006, he trapped seven crows on the University of Washington campus while wearing an ogre mask, then released them. The experience rattled the birds and the flockmates who watched it happen.

To measure how long the memory lasted, Marzluff and his team kept putting on the same ogre mask and walking across campus over the following years. Each time, crows responded with loud, aggressive calls that researchers describe as “scolding.” By around the seventh year of the experiment, roughly half the crows he came across were cawing furiously at the mask, even though most of them had not even been born when the original trapping happened.

How A Bird Remembers A Face

Crows owe this to extremely sharp eyesight, tuned to pick up fine details in shapes, patterns and movement, including the layout of a human face. When a crow has a strong experience with a person, whether being trapped and harassed or being fed and cared for, its brain links that specific face to that specific outcome.

The bird is not learning to fear people in general. It is learning to fear, or trust, one particular face. What makes crows especially difficult to shake off is that this information does not stay with one bird. When a crow reacts to a threatening face, other crows watching nearby pick up on the alarm and store that same face as dangerous, spreading the warning through the whole flock without the newer birds ever having a bad experience themselves.

Experts stress that none of this is malice. It is simply how a crow’s brain is built to keep it and its flock safe: notice a face, remember what it did, and pass the word along. The same memory works in reverse too. Crows also remember people who feed them or leave out clean water, and tend to treat those humans kindly for years afterwards. A handful of unsalted peanuts left out regularly, experts say, may be a cheaper way to stay on a crow’s good side than moving house.

Nicola Grant, chief people officer at UK insurance provider Hiscox, says she’s noticed a broader shift in how people think about their careers.

Increasingly, individuals – particularly earlier in their careers, she says – want to build a breadth of experience faster, rather than follow a single, linear path. They are building a portfolio of skills.

She’s also found there’s a greater willingness among younger employees to move if they feel their development is slowing, or their options are limited.

“Expectations have changed; people want variety, pace and to build skills that will remain relevant,” she says, “It’s about a desire for growth.”

“That ultimately benefits both the individual and the organisation,” she adds.

Lucy Kemp, a strategic brand and communications leader at the IT company La Fosse and an employee experience specialist, agrees.

To her, lily padding is the future of work, not just a trend, as people who follow the tactic try to reach more senior roles and higher pay.

“Younger people have seen that loyalty doesn’t pay off,” says Kemp. “They want to shape their own careers, based on skills they value.

“There’s a different sense of achievement compared to older generations, a completely different experience of work,” she says.

Kemp also points out that learning in the office from peers isn’t occurring as much since the pandemic, with people working from home and AI taking over basic tasks.

Instead, people are looking at skills that will be relevant in five years’ time. And they’ll get them by switching to a project on another team, a switch to another sector, or a job at another company, Kemp says. “People just want to learn something new and have a purpose.”

That’s how Harris-Nelson feels. “I see my career as an ongoing journey rather than a destination,” she says. “I’m always learning and growing.”

Olive Garden is bringing back its fan-favorite “Never Ending Pasta Pass,” the company announced this week.

Consumers can nab one of the 10,000 passes for $100, plus tax, on July 16 at 2 p.m. ET. Passholders are able to receive 13 weeks of unlimited pasta, sauces and protein toppings in addition to the chain’s unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks.

The product debuted in 2014 and was last offered in 2019.

OLIVE GARDEN PLANS NATIONWIDE ROLLOUT OF LIGHTER PORTIONS MENU FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL TESTING

“Bringing it back felt like the right way to recognize the loyalty of so many guests who have kept it top of mind all these years,” said Jaime Bunker, Olive Garden’s senior vice president of marketing.

The promotion will only last until all 10,000 passes are claimed. The Never-Ending Pasta Pass isn’t available for redemption with to-go orders, but its in-restaurant redemptions are unlimited.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
DRI	DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC.	195.74	-0.95	-0.48%

Olive Garden’s corporate parent, Darden Restaurants, in late June forecast full-year profit below Wall Street estimates and reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales, as higher input costs and increased marketing expenses weighed on margins amid persistent inflationary pressures.

The company, which also owns restaurants Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen and Chuy’s among others, now expects annual earnings per share from continuing operations between $11.10 and $11.35, below an expectation of $11.40 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It expects annual same-restaurant sales to grow 2.5% to 3.5%, the midpoint of which is above analysts’ estimates of 2.81%.

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Darden reported overall sales of $3.72 billion for the fourth quarter ended May 31, missing analysts’ estimate of $3.73 billion.

Its total operating costs and expenses rose 10.7% to $3.20 billion in the fourth quarter from the prior year.

Reuters contributed to this report.