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Hotspot Shield vs Surfshark: Jurisdiction Safety Explored

Discover how US-based Hotspot Shield compares with Lithuania's Surfshark in protecting your digital privacy across different legal landscapes. Act now to safeguard your data!

Last updated: March 7, 2026โ€ขReviewed by Built in EU Team

Should You Switch to Surfshark?

What You Gain

Gain GDPR compliance, no Cloud Act, and advanced privacy features

Privacy advantage
Trade-offs

None significant

Surfshark matches features
Bottom Line

Switch to Surfshark for better privacy; ideal for privacy-focused users

At a Glance

Data Location
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธUS

US data laws

๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡นLT

GDPR protected

Pricing

Hotspot Shield

Contact

Surfshark

subscription

Migration
Easy difficulty~30 minutes

Privacy & Compliance Comparison

Critical data sovereignty factors at a glance

CriteriaHotspot ShieldSurfshark
Server Location
US (AWS), EU (optional)EU
GDPR Compliance
Partial (SCCs)Full
Open Source
E2E Encryption
OptionalOptional
Data Portability
LimitedLimited

CLOUD Act Notice

Hotspot Shield is a US company and must comply with CLOUD Act data requests, even for data stored in EU data centers. Surfshark is not subject to US jurisdiction.

Switching from
Hotspot Shield logo

Hotspot Shield

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

Aura

VS
Switching to
Surfshark logo

Surfshark

๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น

Surfshark

US Data Storage

Data subject to US CLOUD Act and may be accessed by US authorities

EU Data Protection

Data protected under GDPR with EU-only data residency

Certifications & Compliance

No certifications listed

EU-Based
GDPR Compliant
ISO 27001

Reasons to Switch

  • โœ“Unlimited devices with Surfshark vs limited with Hotspot Shield
  • โœ“Surfshark has 4500+ servers in 100+ countries
  • โœ“Surfshark's RAM-only servers enhance data security
  • โœ“Surfshark's MultiHop feature adds extra VPN layer

Things to Consider

  • !Learning curve for Surfshark's advanced features
  • !Potential migration issues with device settings
  • !Surfshark lacks open-source transparency
Migration difficulty:
Easy
~30 minutes

Migration Overview

Full guide
Difficulty
Easy
Time Estimate
~30 minutes

Depends on data size and complexity

Quick Steps

1

Create your Surfshark account

2

Export data from Hotspot Shield

3

Import to Surfshark and verify

Other alternatives to Hotspot Shield

Ready to make the switch?

Start using Surfshark today and take control of your data privacy.