Who owns AVG Secure VPN? Company, jurisdiction and related brands

From a Czech antivirus maker to an American group

AVG was founded in 1991 in Brno by Tomáš Hofer and Jan Gritzbach. For a long time it was an independent antivirus developer, until in 2016 its Prague rival Avast bought the company for about $1.3 billion. In 2022 Avast merged with Norton, and the combined company took the name Gen Digital. Today the VPN is sold by Gen Digital Inc. under the AVG brand, and legally the service is based in the USA.

Which brands sit alongside

The same group runs Avast, Norton and Avira, while AVG itself has AVG Internet Security and AVG TuneUp. The group sells VPNs under several of its own names: Norton VPN, Avast SecureLine VPN, Avast Free VPN, HMA VPN and Avira Phantom VPN. AVG Secure VPN runs on the same Gen Digital VPN platform as Avast, and the brands differ most noticeably in price: a year of AVG costs $53.88 and renews at $109.99, while a year of Avast SecureLine costs $59.88 with a renewal price of $99.99. The full list with ratings is collected on the page Gen Digital VPN brands.

What US jurisdiction means

The USA is part of the 5 Eyes alliance, and for a VPN that is the worst option on our privacy scale. The AVG Secure VPN policy does not explain how the company responds to requests from police and courts. The legal entity for the VPN is listed as Gen Digital Inc. itself, the same company that publishes the group's antiviruses, so there is no separate VPN company behind the brand. Other services with the same jurisdiction are collected in the roundup VPNs from the USA.

Is it the same VPN as Avast?

The platform is shared, while the plans and names belong to the individual brands.