VPNSecure, a VPN provider once popular for its "lifetime" subscription offerings, is going through a turbulent time. Since late April, many users have had their access cut off without prior warning. The service sent them an email announcing that lifetime subscriptions were being disabled "to ensure a quality and secure experience for all users," effective April 28, 2025.
Lifetime Subscriptions... Not So Forever
The explanation behind this decision is surprising, to say the least: the new owners claim to have discovered after the purchase that thousands of these subscriptions had been sold via third-party platforms like StackSocial. The email mentions a 2023 acquisition in the form of an "asset sale only" by the company InfiniteQuant Ltd, which would not have taken over any contracts or past commitments. The team claims that these subscriptions represented an unanticipated financial burden, draining resources without generating recurring revenue.
As compensation, VPNSecure is offering promotional offers to affected subscribers: $1.87 for one month, $19 for one year, or $55 for three years. These rates are valid until May 31. But for many, the pill is hard to swallow.
Since March, complaints have been piling up. On Trustpilot, the service has garnered around twenty pages of one-star reviews. Users denounce a total lack of communication before the outage. "The email should have arrived before the service interruption," writes one disgruntled customer. Another sums up the general sentiment: "They say they thoroughly reviewed VPNSecure's business before the acquisition, but a simple Google search would have been enough to find the lifetime offers." On Reddit, the anger is similar, especially since VPNSecure had already begun deactivating some accounts deemed "inactive" for more than six months. The vagueness surrounding the true entity behind VPNSecure doesn't help: the site lists InfiniteQuant Ltd in the Bahamas, while the terms of service refer to a company in Dubai (HOLDXB Trading FZCO). Before 2024, VPNSecure was registered in Australia. The new owner acknowledges that the transition was handled clumsily. "We take full responsibility for notifying users after the fact," a representative said on Trustpilot. The team also explains that they considered shutting down the service when they discovered the extent of lifetime subscriptions, but claims to have chosen to keep it open, without taking legal action against the original seller.
The VPNSecure case highlights the limitations of so-called "lifetime" subscriptions. While some customers were able to benefit from the service for more than ten years, others only enjoyed it for a few years. And while these offers are often tempting, they are based on a promise that is difficult to keep in the long term, especially in the event of a change of management.
The story also highlights that these offers are often offered by third-party resellers, who are beyond the direct control of the user. Even when they are still visible on web archives like the Wayback Machine, their legitimacy becomes unclear as soon as the company changes hands.
Ultimately, it is the customers who pay the price. VPNSecure, despite its apologies, leaves behind a disillusioned community, for whom the notion of a lifetime subscription will now have a bitter taste.
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