# It's Time for the VPN Industry to Innovate (Obscura Interview)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/techlore-talks-5778657/it-s-time-for-the-vpn-industry-to-innovate-obscura-interview
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/techlore-talks-5778657/it-s-time-for-the-vpn-industry-to-innovate-obscura-interview.md
Podcast: [Techlore Talks](https://stenobird.com/podcast/techlore-talks-5778657)
Published: 2026-01-17T17:59:50+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/20f8ff5e
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/20f8ff5e/57323aaa.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/techlore-talks-5778657/episodes/it-s-time-for-the-vpn-industry-to-innovate-obscura-interview
Duration seconds: 4161

## Resource

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." 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS • 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 ⏱️ 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 🎥 VIDEO Watch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE Keep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

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## Transcript

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