Year in and year out, the idea of an open and connected internet is fading away, farther and farther. More countries are imposing some form of internet censorship, in fact, with the likes of China, Russia, and Iran building ever-higher fences around their national sovereign network. It's in this context that the best VPN apps have become essential tools for the many people worldwide struggling to access uncensored news, stay socially connected, work, and study on the internet. In 2024 alone, Proton VPN recorded a surge of new users in 119 countries across the world. Experts have long compared censorship…