Interview with Surfshark: why VPNs are essential to modern digital life

Learn why people like you invest in VPNs, and what one of the top VPN providers is doing to protect your privacy and improve along the way.

Virtual private networks (VPNs) are becoming an essential part of online activities for millions as users. VPNs shield users from oppressive governments, protect from malicious hackers, and help to circumvent censorship in times of need. Be it your government or just internet service provider (ISP) snooping on you–many turn to VPN providers for help.

While these services are no silver bullet, it’s as close as it gets to preserving your privacy online and accessing various services in a secure manner.

But the VPN market is not without its challenges. Being under rigorous scrutiny of their users and new emerging threats, VPNs are forced to react. Add the component of AI, and you’ve got yourself a very dynamic market and work environment.

To discuss current trends and challenges, we invited Martynas Dainys, senior VPN service manager at Surfshark, one of the most popular providers on the market today.

You're not fully satisfied with Surfshark’s features and service? Well, consider sharing your thoughts in the comment section, as Dainys says consumer feedback is taken into account and helps to improve the service.

This is a Q&A interview.

1. Can you walk us through your professional background, how you ended up at Surfshark, and how your previous experience has influenced your approach to VPN technology and infrastructure?

My professional career began in the United Kingdom, where I operated data centers supporting large-scale systems. A key aspect of my role was managing the inherent trade-offs between cost, performance, and finite resource capacity. This required a diligent approach to ensuring that system performance consistently met established business requirements while maintaining the stipulated service levels.

Subsequently, I was invited to join Surfshark, where I was tasked with addressing challenges related to VPN service quality. This opportunity significantly broadened my understanding of the cybersecurity landscape.

In my current role, my primary responsibility is to ensure that our systems provide the best possible user experience. This involves not only optimizing connection times and speeds but also enabling practical use cases and maximizing the benefits of a VPN for our users.

2. How would you describe Surfshark’s identity in the cybersecurity landscape to someone unfamiliar with the brand?

We build the most beloved security products for everyone. Our goal is to empower people to take full control of their digital lives, raise awareness about evolving online threats, and champion the accessibility and future of the internet. We envision a future where the internet remains an open, inclusive, and invaluable global resource for all.

What are the most common reasons people use VPNs—bypassing restrictions, hiding their location, or something else?

People often use VPNs to enhance their security and privacy online, seeking to protect their data on public Wi-Fi, prevent ISP (Internet service provider) tracking, and avoid targeted advertising as they strive to regain control over their personal information in a relatively open internet environment.

On the other hand, in countries with more restrictive internet networks and authoritarian governments, VPNs are commonly used to bypass these restrictions.

3. What’s Surfshark’s main focus when it comes to keeping users happy and loyal?

Surfshark's highest priority for maintaining customer satisfaction is to cater to the diverse needs of its users. The company is committed to enabling secure and private internet use for all its customers, regardless of their background or specific requirements.

4. Are there any under-the-radar Surfshark features that you think deserve more attention from users?

I believe that Alternative ID/Number and Dedicated IP are the products people should really consider when talking about online privacy and smoother internet browsing. These tools are designed to protect your personal information and reduce your digital footprint.

Alternative ID generates a complete set of personal details, including email, name, address, gender, and date of birth, while an alternative number offers an additional layer of protection by masking your real phone number.

A dedicated IP gives you a consistent, personal IP address with the security of a VPN. This is useful if you work remotely and want VPN protection, often access things from afar, are bothered by CAPTCHAs, or simply need a private IP address alongside VPN security.

5. What are the most frequent VPN-related issues your team deals with when it comes to user troubleshooting?

Surfshark operates across a wide range of platforms, devices, and operating systems, while also maintaining thousands of global servers for users to connect to. This level of diversity introduces a high degree of complexity, where not every combination of hardware, software, and server will always work flawlessly.

This complexity is both our biggest challenge and an important opportunity to improve the VPN experience.

When users run into connectivity or performance issues, it's often due to the many moving parts that must work together seamlessly. Internet technology relies on a long chain of various components, and even a single point of failure can disrupt the connection.

Understanding the complexity of these systems helps to appreciate the technical challenges and highlights the ongoing effort required to ensure a smooth and reliable VPN service.

6. How does Surfshark incorporate user feedback to improve their products?

At Surfshark, we’re always looking for user feedback to improve our products. We actively run surveys, online interviews with our users, and in-app tools to better understand their needs and preferences. One key method is the User Rating pop-up that appears while using VPN. Since Surfshark operates under a strict no-logs policy, we cannot assess the quality of our services users receive, so direct feedback from users is essential. For me, as a VPN Service Owner, it’s especially important to understand how each individual connection performs from the user’s perspective.

Feedback is shaping our development priorities and helps us ensure that every product in the Surfshark lineup is best suited to our users. User feedback is at the core of our service as it drives continuous improvement and helps us deliver tools that truly make a difference.

7. We have noticed a trend with VPN providers, where companies broaden the scope of their products and in addition to VPN, they offer Antivirus, Threat protection, Identity protection tools. Do you think this shift toward offering broader cybersecurity tools is driven more by user demand or by the push for innovation? What kind of new skills or areas of expertise did Surfshark gain as a result? What are the challenges that come with it?

Cybersecurity is a broad and evolving field that goes far beyond just securing internet connections. We live in a time where data breaches and leaks happen every day, and people’s sensitive information is frequently exposed online.

By expanding cybersecurity services to include tools like antivirus, threat protection, and identity protection, the goal is to provide a more comprehensive layer of security. These additional tools help users reduce their digital footprint, which means that even if a breach or hack occurs, less sensitive data is available to be exploited.

When personal information is exposed, it often leads to more serious threats such as identity theft, scams, phishing attacks, and financial fraud. A broader approach to cybersecurity helps mitigate these risks and better protects users in an increasingly connected world.

8. While preparing for this interview, we came across some user concerns regarding Surfshark’s jurisdiction in the Netherlands. Could you address these doubts? How would Surfshark operate in case the jurisdiction government required to submit user data?

The laws of the Netherlands do not establish any obligation to log or retain user data. Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes stand for cooperation alliances between countries' intelligence authorities in relation to information sharing, but if the authorities do not collect information, they do not have what to share with the intelligence authorities of other countries.

This is very important for Surfshark due to our No-logs Policy being a significant feature of our services. It means that we do not collect any information about what our users do online. Additionally, all servers run on volatile (RAM) memory, meaning that any information that would usually be on the hard drive is wiped off automatically whenever a server is turned off.

Thus, in case we receive a data request from the law enforcement agencies, we wouldn't have any significant information to disclose about our users’ online activities.

9. The recent French court order in May 2025 requiring several VPN providers, including Surfshark, to block access to specific illegal sports streaming sites has sent ripples through the industry, raising questions about VPNs' role as "technical intermediaries" and the feasibility of such demands given no-logs policies.

How does Surfshark navigate the tension between maintaining its strict no-logs policy and these evolving legal obligations, particularly when faced with content blocking orders or requests for user data related to alleged piracy?

Surfshark remains fully committed to its strict no‑logs policy, which was independently audited and reaffirmed for the second time in June 2025. We do not collect or retain any data about our users' online activity, and therefore, we wouldn't have any significant information to provide, even under judicial request.

Regarding France’s recent order to block illegal streaming sites, at the moment, we do not have a specific blocking mechanism that would allow blocking as requested, and implementing such a mechanism is quite difficult.

While we agree that protecting intellectual property is essential, mandating that intermediaries implement content restrictions brings up critical issues related to freedom of expression, proportionality, and the protection of user rights. We believe this approach is both disproportionate and counterproductive, and we've already begun the appeal process to challenge the ruling.

10. How is Surfshark helping users understand digital privacy beyond just using a VPN?

We go beyond simply offering a VPN by actively educating users on the evolving landscape of digital privacy. Through various awareness campaigns and clear, timely communication, Surfshark keeps users informed about real-world threats, such as data breaches, scams, and other online dangers. This helps users understand not just why privacy matters, but also how they can take control of it.

In addition to education, Surfshark provides multiple layers of protection to strengthen digital privacy. These include real-time security alerts, antivirus, and alternative IDs and phone numbers. By combining proactive education with practical tools, we empower users to stay informed and more secure online.

11. Do you think most users are aware of how much of their data is tracked online every day?

I think it’s hard for people to really understand how much they’re being tracked online or what data is being collected when using any online services. Every time someone uses the internet, they leave behind a digital footprint because data is what fuels the online services we use today.

There can be over 150 unique data points about one person, from their shoe size to personal ID numbers. Although this data is valuable for companies that provide online services like music, shopping, or entertainment, sometimes they collect more information than necessary, like your ethnicity, religion, or even your height, which raises serious privacy concerns. Sadly, when sensitive information is leaked, bad actors can use it to scam people, commit financial or even identity fraud.

12. How do you see AI influencing the future of cybersecurity and VPNs over the next few years?

AI is rapidly becoming one of the most disruptive forces in cybersecurity, not as a protective ally, but as a powerful tool for bad actors. From automating phishing campaigns to generating deepfakes and building malware, AI is making cyberattacks more scalable, precise, and difficult to detect. AI is already being used to bypass traditional security systems and exploit human vulnerabilities at unprecedented speed and scale.

VPN technology is also under pressure, as AI-powered surveillance tools become better at traffic analysis and bypassing privacy measures. As AI continues to evolve, the gap between offensive and defensive capabilities is widening. The challenge isn't how AI can help defend, it’s more how to contain and respond to a threat that learns, adapts, and attacks faster than most systems can react.

13. Lastly, what does the future look like for Surfshark? Will you continue broadening your scope by including more cybersecurity-related products and what are your plans for improving the current suite?

We're working on launching cutting-edge post-quantum protection for our VPN. As quantum computing raises major concerns and only a minority of the most popular apps are resilient, this development is crucial for protecting individuals, businesses, and governments against future technology that could compromise digital security.