Hot take: paying for a VPN during an internet shutdown is either a lifesaver or a scam

I dropped $80 on a year of ExpressVPN after my city in Myanmar had a 3 day blackout last spring. It got me on Twitter and WhatsApp for about 12 hours before the speeds dropped to nothing. My buddy spent $30 on a cheaper provider and it worked fine the whole time. So is it worth going premium or is it all just luck based on your location? Has anyone else had a VPN save them or totally burn them during a shutdown?

3 comments

3 Comments

walker.jana1mo ago

Yeah premium doesn't mean premium everywhere.

burns.ruby1mo ago

You said premium doesn't mean premium everywhere, and that reminds me of something that happened to my buddy. He went to one of those fancy mattress stores and bought what they called their 'premium' line. Paid like triple what he would at a regular store. Six months later the thing started sagging in the middle like a hammock. Took it back and the manager tried to tell him it was normal wear and tear. Normal for a 200 dollar mattress maybe but not for what he paid. Had to fight for weeks to get his money back. So yeah, premium is just a word they slap on stuff these days. Means nothing without the quality to back it up.

riverhill1mo ago

Man, nothing says "premium" like a mattress that caves in faster than my will to live.