The advantages of getting your privacy claims independently verified are obvious to many VPN providers these days. But, as with so many other aspects of their service, NordVPN has, once more, gone the extra mile.

They were not content with their first independent audit back in 2018 or even their second in 2020. So, they have undertaken an unprecedented third independent audit of their VPN’s no user logs policies.

And for a third successive time, NordVPN has come through the audit with flying colours.

What did this audit look at?

Previously, NordVPN has used big-four auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC) to conduct their independent audit. This time, however, they have gone for another of the big four and employed Deloitte to undertake the task.

Deloitte undertook a detailed audit which included interviews with multiple NordVPN staff to assess both their knowledge and their understanding of how NordVPN’s systems work.

In addition, they also inspected NordVPN’s server configuration, technical logs, and other servers’ infrastructure and technology. This includes not just NordVPN’s standard network of servers but also their specialist servers, including their Obfuscated, Double VPN, Standard VPN, Onion Over VPN, and P2P servers.

The audit was a broad one as well. Some audits of this type take place over two or three days and just give a snapshot of the system during that limited time period.

But the Deloitte independent audit of NordVPN’s no user logs claims took place over several weeks, specifically between November 21st and December 10th 2022.

The Results of the independent audit

The results of the Deloitte independent audit of NordVPN’s no user logs claims were as clear-cut as they can get.

Deloitte’s independent audits concluded that at no stage during the audit did they find any evidence that NordVPN’s was in violation of their no user logs promises in any way.

This is the third successive audit which has reached this conclusion. To the best of our knowledge, this is more audits than any other VPN has undertaken and provides as clear an indication as it is possible to get that the NordVPN no user logs guarantee is one that you can trust.

If you want to know more about Deloitte’s findings, you can also read the full audit report here. Kudos to NordVPN for publishing this too, as many other VPN providers choose to make such reports available only to existing subscribers for reasons that have always baffled us.

Why has NordVPN undertaken this audit now?

Some cynical readers might be wondering why NordVPN is choosing to undertake a third audit of their no user logs guarantee now. They might be wondering if there is some bad news about the service imminent or if they are seeking to hide something in some way.

In their press release, NordVPN claims that it undertakes such audits using reputable auditing companies like Deloitte to reassure users that its no user logs guarantee is robust and trustworthy.

“You need to have confidence in the security and effectiveness of its features and infrastructure. That’s what our audit process is all about,” they say.

There is no mention of the security issue that NordVPN had in 2019 around one of its Finnish servers, which undeniably undermined trust in their service with some users.

Here at VPNCompare, we were impressed with the NordVPN response to this issue and the transparency they displayed around it, despite knowing that it would damage their reputation.

The issue was dealt with swiftly and effectively and, while NordVPN may be using audits as a tool to rebuild confidence among some users, we certainly have no concerns off the back of this one-off incident.

Is NordVPN’s no user logs guarantee trustworthy?

Our answer to this question, in agreement with the independent audits at Deloitte (and indeed PWC before them), is an emphatic yes.

NordVPN’s no user logs promise is rock-solid, and we say that not just from our own testing but also from the results of not just one, not two, but three independent audits.

If you are looking for a VPN that you can be confident of when it comes to data privacy, NordVPN has established itself right at the top of that list.

And with its excellent service, range of advanced features, intuitive apps, and hugely competitive prices, there is no denying the fact that NordVPN is, and remains, one of the very best, most secure, private, and user-friendly VPN providers on the market right now.

It looks set to stay near the top of our rankings for some considerable time to come!