Folks are asking “Why post this here?” I get the question but I think I also get the OP, as a New Yorker who was surprised to see this ad IRL.
Most of our subway ads are for VC-funded Internet darlings (think: mattresses-by-mail, kitschy underwear, online therapy) or for some aspiring blockbuster movie from an Internet giant.
Until I saw this ad, I had never in my life seen a subway ad for a company I actually used, let alone respected.
Seeing this ad in the wild broke my brain. I have advocated for online privacy for over a decade. I have spent so much energy pushing people to use Signal. But I had never before imagined that “online privacy” was a concept that could find an audience in mass marketing.
I don’t know if Mullvad will take off. But I know that seeing these ads moved me. I felt like maybe, MAYBE, our movement is breaking through.
I saw this on the LA lines as well and it made me very uneasy and concerned.
I went down this road with NordVPN back in the day. There ads popping up everywhere was the beginning of a massive decline in services and questionable privacy practices.
Also Ubuntu and many other open source companies…
I’m love Mullvad, and hope very much this isn’t the beginning of the end of one of the few trustworthy VPN’s!
Folks are asking “Why post this here?” I get the question but I think I also get the OP, as a New Yorker who was surprised to see this ad IRL.
Most of our subway ads are for VC-funded Internet darlings (think: mattresses-by-mail, kitschy underwear, online therapy) or for some aspiring blockbuster movie from an Internet giant.
Until I saw this ad, I had never in my life seen a subway ad for a company I actually used, let alone respected.
Seeing this ad in the wild broke my brain. I have advocated for online privacy for over a decade. I have spent so much energy pushing people to use Signal. But I had never before imagined that “online privacy” was a concept that could find an audience in mass marketing.
I don’t know if Mullvad will take off. But I know that seeing these ads moved me. I felt like maybe, MAYBE, our movement is breaking through.
I saw this on the LA lines as well and it made me very uneasy and concerned. I went down this road with NordVPN back in the day. There ads popping up everywhere was the beginning of a massive decline in services and questionable privacy practices. Also Ubuntu and many other open source companies… I’m love Mullvad, and hope very much this isn’t the beginning of the end of one of the few trustworthy VPN’s!