Mullvad Offers Refunds After Co-Founder’s $525,000 Donation to Swedish Populist Party Sparks User Backlash
Mullvad VPN is offering refunds to users who want to leave the company on philosophical grounds after reports that co-founder Daniel Berntsson donated 5 million Swedish kronor — roughly $525,000 — to the Swedish populist Örebro Party.
Swedish newspaper Flamman first reported the donation. It spread rapidly through online privacy communities, prompting users to publicly question whether to cancel their subscriptions.
Mullvad responded the following day in a lengthy post on X, describing itself as “a political company” in the sense that it advocates for free speech, free access to information, and the right to privacy.
The company argued that Berntsson’s donation was a private political act, not a reflection of its mission.
“It should be obvious that Daniel’s private donation to a political party is not part of Mullvad’s values or mission,” the company wrote.
CEO Distances Company From Donation
CEO Fredrik Strömberg also spoke to reporters, telling TechRadar that while the donation was Berntsson’s personal decision, “I don’t like that he made this donation.”
That response has satisfied some users. It has not satisfied others.
No Technical Changes to the Products
The controversy carries no known technical implications for either Mullvad VPN or Mullvad Browser, the company’s privacy-focused web browser built in partnership with the Tor Project.
No security vulnerability has been disclosed, no customer data has been reported as compromised, and the company’s privacy policies and infrastructure remain unchanged.
Mullvad Browser continues its development with the Tor Project regardless of the fallout. Users who want to keep the browser but drop the VPN subscription can pair it with a competing VPN provider or Use It independently.
Refund Offer Goes Beyond Standard Policy
Rather than directing departing users to its standard refund terms, Mullvad made a broader commitment in its X statement.
“If you no longer want to be a Mullvad customer for philosophical reasons, we think it’s important to honor that, and will gladly refund you,” the company said.
That offer goes further than typical software refund policies, which rarely account for ethical or political disagreement as valid grounds for reimbursement.
Where Users Are Turning
For users who have decided to leave, two services have dominated community discussions as alternatives: Proton VPN and IVPN.
The two take different approaches. Proton has expanded into a broader privacy platform that includes encrypted email and cloud storage, while IVPN remains focused solely on VPN services.
Users whose primary concern is anonymous browsing rather than a VPN may opt for Tor Browser instead — a free, open-source browser that routes traffic through multiple encrypted relays to obscure users’ identities online.
Still, the decision facing Mullvad’s user base remains one of trust rather than technology. No feature inside Mullvad’s software has changed.
Mullvad launched in 2009 and built its reputation on a strict no-logs policy — meaning it does not record user activity — and an anonymous account system that requires no email address or personal details to sign up.
