The VPN provider PureVPN, which advertises its services by specifically claiming that they do not keep any logs of user traffic, has helped close a landmark case for the FBI by handing-over their user's traffic logs.
If you use this companies services, I would recommend using TOR instead.
A Massachusetts man was arrested late last week on suspicion of conducting a cyberstalking campaign against a female former roommate, her friends, and family. Court documents reveal that logs, obtained by the FBI from privacy service PureVPN, helped the prosecution. Until now, PureVPN had always maintained it carried no logs - almost.
Yes, this guy is clearly a piece of shit, and thankfully vulnerable women will sleep easier with this creep in the pen. But that's not the point. A company which is built on providing a certain level of privacy does not actually provide said privacy.
Luckily in this case it was a stalker asshole on the receiving-end of PureVPN's deceit, but it could be an innocent political figure or whistleblower who are being hounded by America's notoriously-evil intelligence agencies. It should come to no surprise that the FBI and CIA don't exactly have an outstanding record for always chasing the 'bad guys'.
It was only PureVPN that were responsible for ratting out their customers; going through his computer the FBI discovered that he was also using TOR and Proton Mail to protect his identity, and these two tools maintained their reputation for privacy as they did not leak anything despite the FBI's best attempts.
So if you require your privacy to be protected (which is a human right and doesn't mean you are a criminal) then please rely on TOR instead of mainstream VPN providers. And if you use them, research their history of assisting law enforcement. Also, use Proton Mail. Those guys are solid.
One FBI bust doesn't mean that all private internet users are criminals
This FBI victory will be used in order to justify handing extra powers and fewer responsibilities to shady intelligence agencies, but don't buy it. Tracking-down one creep doesn't entitle the Orwellian NSA, who have created a global surveillance infrastructure beyond our wildest dystopian nightmares, or the CIA/FBI, who have both slithered into a position of unimpeachable power of influence, to pat each other on the back and claim that they are bastions of freedom and democracy.
They aren't. They are pure evil. Keep browsing privately, and don't be ashamed of it.