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# It's Time for the VPN Industry to Innovate (Obscura Interview)
- URL: https://techlore.tech/its-time-for-the-vpn-industry-to-innovate-obscura-interview/
- Published: 2026-01-17T18:11:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-07T23:24:52.000Z
- Description: Techlore Talks brings you in-depth conversations with the experts at the forefront of digital rights, privacy and security.
- Author: Henry Fisher
- Tags: Techlore Talks

You don't have to trust Obscura—you just have to trust that not both Obscura and Mullvad are compromised. Henry sat down with Carl, former Bitcoin Core developer and founder of Obscura VPN, to discuss how it's the first VPN that mathematically can't log your activity, what makes it censorship-resistant against networks like the Great Firewall, and what it really means to build privacy that's more than "a pinky promise."

🔐

Listen to the podcast on [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techlore-talks/id1652151010), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/1qjWVCYgRcZFL9c8FsLLo0), or any [podcast app](https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/665039d6f749480012b06ac1). You can also watch Techlore Talks on [YouTube](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3KeV6Ui%5F4CZRb5Z4qZjsIGZrUWbDc3Mn) or [Techlore.TV](https://techlore.tv/w/p/iZqf9xe1fE7Ss4pebDKd42)

#### Episode Timestamps

00:00:00 INTRO  
00:01:50 CARL'S BACKGROUND  
00:10:47 APPLE'S PRIVATE RELAY  
00:17:11 TRUSTLESS MODELS  
00:19:05 MULTI-PARTY RELAY PARTNERSHIP  
00:21:39 TRADITIONAL MULTI-HOP  
00:23:39 CENSORSHIP RESISTANCE  
00:27:33 MULLVAD VS. OBSCURA TRAFFIC  
00:29:35 EXIT IP  
00:30:18 BLOCKS, CAPTCHA, & SPLIT TUNNELING  
00:31:16 CUSTOM DNS  
00:32:41 PARTNERING WITH MULLVAD  
00:36:05 OBSCURA VS. PRIVATE RELAY  
00:37:10 OBSCURA VS. MULLVAD  
00:38:33 OBSCURA VS. DECENTRALIZED VPNS  
00:40:57 OBSCURA VS. TOR  
00:41:58 REPRODUCIBLE BUILDS  
00:50:23 CLIENTS & DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE  
00:55:24 SPEED  
00:59:06 DEFAULTS VS. CUSTOMIZATION  
01:00:48 PRICING  
01:02:43 OPEN SOURCE  
01:03:34 THE OBSCURA TEAM  
01:05:39 THOUGHTS ON THE VPN INDUSTRY  
01:07:49 OUTRO

#### Episode Sources

• Obscura: https://obscura.net  
• GitHub: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client  
• Trust, 2-Party Relays, and QUIC: https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/  
• Mullvad: https://mullvad.net