Usenet is private.
With us, most of all.
Usenet is built to be more private than any platform that came after it. What becomes of that, though, is decided by your provider – and there the difference is large: we log nothing, know no real names and sit beyond the reach of US authorities.
The foundation: a network with no centre
Usenet consists of thousands of servers that sync articles with each other. There is no central operator, no database where everything comes together and no company that could throw the switch.
This design is more than a technical footnote: it means there is no single point at which data can be collected, analysed or switched off. If one server fails, the others take over – the service keeps running.
By comparison: on a central platform, content, user accounts and connection data all sit in the same place. One request is enough. On Usenet that place does not exist.
That applies to every provider equally – it is how the network is built, not any provider's achievement. Everything else on this page is.
We do not know you – and that stays that way
On Usenet you download from a server – not from other users. So there is no public subscriber list in which your IP address appears. Only one party could know anything about you at all: your provider.
This is exactly where the wheat is sorted from the chaff. Many providers ask for a real name and address, store connection times or analyse usage. It is possible – it is not necessary.
To sign up with us you need an e-mail address, nothing more. No name, no address, no phone number. And we keep no logs of when you were connected or what you downloaded – not stored for a shorter time, but never collected at all.
If you want even fewer traces, pay with cryptocurrency – then even the payment route is missing as a link.
- Just an e-mail addressno name, no address, no phone number
- No logsneither connection times nor downloads
- Payment by cryptocurrencywith no link to a bank account
- No sharing with third partiesand no selling of data
Encryption at no extra cost, in every plan
The connection between your device and our servers runs over TLS/SSL on port 563 – the same technology banks and public authorities use. That makes the transferred content unreadable to third parties.
Your internet provider therefore only sees that a connection to a Usenet server exists – not what is transferred. No title, no file name, no content.
With some providers TLS/SSL costs extra or is reserved for the most expensive package. With us there is no package without encryption – not even in the cheapest plan. And it costs you no speed, so there is no reason to switch it off.
- TLS/SSLTransport encryption between your device and our servers
- Port 563the standard for encrypted NNTP
- Only the connection is visibleyour internet provider cannot see what is transferred
- No extra chargeincluded in every plan, with no loss of speed
The difference no US provider can make up
The US Cloud Act allows US authorities to demand data from American companies – even when that data sits on servers outside the USA. For customers of American providers that is a real risk.
We are a company based in the European Union and are subject to European law. We fall under the GDPR, one of the strictest data protection laws in the world: it allows only what is genuinely necessary to be collected and punishes breaches with fines of up to four per cent of worldwide annual turnover. The Cloud Act does not apply to us – US authorities have no access to our servers and no lever to compel us to hand anything over.
And even if someone did ask: we would have almost nothing to hand over. No logs, no real names, no addresses – just an e-mail address. Two layers of protection working together: the legal jurisdiction, and the fact that there is nothing to take.
- Based in the European Unionnot a US legal entity, not US law
- GDPR instead of the Cloud Actone of the strictest data protection laws in the world
- No access for US authoritiesneither to the servers nor through any lever to compel disclosure
- Just an e-mail addressno logs, no real names, no addresses
Usenet brings two layers – we bring two more
The design of the network you get everywhere. What goes beyond it is decided by your provider.
Usenet: the technology
A decentralised network with no centre, where you download from servers rather than from users – with no public subscriber list.
Usenet: the connection
TLS/SSL on port 563 – with us in every plan and at no extra cost. Your internet provider sees the connection, not the content.
EasyUsenet: no data
No logs, no real names, just an e-mail address. Payment also by cryptocurrency.
EasyUsenet: EU law
EU company under European law. The Cloud Act does not apply; US authorities have no access.
Private from €3.98 a month
Unlimited Usenet from €3.98 a month – full performance in every plan.
Questions about security and privacy
What we are written to about most on this.