BeePass VPN

FAQs

 1. Can BeePass make me anonymous online?

No, BeePas VPN is not an anonymity tool. BeePass VPN protects your privacy from potential network onlookers.

BeePass VPN does not offer you full anonymity on the websites you visit, because they can still identify you when you log in and sometimes through techniques, like browser fingerprinting. For mobile apps, most modern smartphones have APIs that allow installed apps to retrieve your location independent to your proxy as they can rely on the embedded GPS.

VPNs in general offer important protections, particularly from internet surveillance, but there are always risks to operating online. Even with a VPN, if an ISP is already aware of your identity and able to observe your network traffic, it may be able to determine the IP address of your BeePass server. This information can be used to block access to the BeePass server or learn usage patterns, like when you’re typically online, and possibly your rough location.

 2. What kind of user data does BeePass VPN collect when using the BeePass distribution system?

BeePass servers are run and administered by the BeePass team. Like other VPN services BeePass team in theory can see what information is being transmitted through its servers.

We collect Email addresses or users’ Telegram IDs to be able to reach back to the users for server modifications, issues and new servers. We also use this information along with the list of servers you used to make sure we distribute servers properly. Also we use the list of the servers and users connected to each server, along with total bytes transferred to monitor the usage and performance of servers, in order to be able to create and shut down servers in a timely fashion.

 3. Why does BeePass Server distribution require either my email address or Telegram ID when requesting for a new server?

To create support services:

In the BeePass system, there is no process to find alternative servers, and it is only the user who has to enter the server address in the application. BeePass VPN needs to inform users about new changes made to the servers.

This system is unique to BeePass VPN because its servers are not publicly available, and when there is an issue with a server there will be no way for the users to automatically get a new server. Therefore, If there is a problem with the server, the user can get a new one from BeePass Email or Telegram bot. However, there might be a situation where there will be no available servers. As a result, If we don’t have access to users’ ID or Email addresses we cannot inform them about new servers.

Server synchronization for users:

The BeePass VPN server distribution service requires the user's Telegram unique ID to synchronize the servers used by that user. Normally, by requesting a new server, the previous server will be deleted. But when a user needs to use the same BeePass server on a different device they don’t need to request a new server. For this purpose, knowing the user's unique ID allows us to send her previously requested servers. As long as the user is satisfied with the function of a server, it is not necessary to request a new server for a new device.

 4. When using BeePass distribution service How does the BeePass protect your data?

All information collected when using BeePass VPN server distribution service is encrypted using HSTS security standards. This means all connections between your device and the database is encrypted using HTTPS protocol.

The information we collect is stored in a database that is encrypted at rest. The traffic to and from the database is encrypted with HTTPS protocol and the database is not open and accessible from any unauthorized access.

 5. Who has access to the information collected when using BeePass Server distribution System?

Only the BeePass team has access to the information collected, we are not sharing your data with any entity.

 6. Why did BeePass VPN decide to use Outline as its software/protocol foundation?

There is a long history of collaboration between the Outline team and ASL19. From the very early days of Outline alpha testing, onward to actively contributing to the development of Outline linux client and scaling Outline access key distribution to support thousands of users.

Outline is designed for anyone to run their own personal VPN. One advantage of Outline clients compared to other commercial VPNs was the server discovery process. This makes it difficult for censors to find the list of servers that the client is trying to connect. The setup allows any individual or organization to create their own VPN server(s), and distribute it among their user base.

This model was pretty interesting for the Paskoocheh team. We gave it a try. Initially we started distributing Outline server access keys through a manual process. Then we hit 40% growth on user requests in less than a month.

Through ongoing sessions of ideation and brainstorming on how best we can automate this process, we came up with a solution that could scale and support thousands of users. That led us to develop a distribution system called Outline Distribution.

Up until now we supported +100K users. We automated the process of distributing Outline access keys through a Telegram and Email Bot . We’re actually about to open source this project so anyone can create their own scalable VPN solution \0/.

If you have read this far, you probably can tell why we decided to start our journey with Outline. Nonetheless, there is one important question to ask:

“How can we sustain BeePass in the long-term, especially being Free?”

This is a valid question, and we have a solution. We will be creating our own in-house advertisement management system, where we are able to sustain BeePass VPN by connecting civil society/media organizations to Iranian users. This means for every time a user connects to BeePass VPN, they will be redirected to a landing page. This means that organization helped keep BeePass VPN free so you can browse and access whatever information you like and go beyond censorship. <3

In summary this is why we decided to start BeePass VPN using Outline Code:

• We believe the amazing Outline team has built an amazing open-source software
• It has been security audited two times (1, 2)
• Outline was tested in Iran with thousands of users
• We know every ins and outs of Outline
• We feel comfortable to take Outline and build upon it
• BeePass has a sustainable model to grow