October 9th update: I’m excited to share an exciting update from the Invizbox team. The new InvizBox Go will support both their own VPN service and third-party VPNs. That means those of us that already have a favorite VPN service can connect to it through the new device. You can help support the project and receive your own Invizbox Go for €79. It will also come with two months of their VPN for free. Visit their KickStarter page to get one of the first devices and help fund the project.
Last month Keezel portable VPN got the green light after a very successful crowdfunding. Keezel set a goal of $90,000 on Indiegogo and raised nearly half a million dollars for the project. Now the InvizBox team has their own exciting news to share. They recently launched a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of raising €100,000 to fund their latest project. They want to produce Invizbox Go, a secure wifi hotspot device that you can take anywhere. Use it at home or on the go to secure your wifi connection. Their campaign will run thru Oct. 14th.
The InvizBox Go campaign is underway and raised 13% of their goal on the first day. That puts the InvizBox Go device well on its way to getting funded but they could still use your help. Assuming they hit their goal of raising €100,000 by Oct. 14th the team plans to start shipping the new devices in February of next year. That means supporters won’t have to wait long to receive their InvizBox Go. Let’s take a closer look at the background and prior accomplishments of the InvizBox team.
The original InvizBox device was funded through an Indiegogo campaign that closed on December 16, 2014. Since then their team has shipped over 1,000 devices to users around the world. After proving the idea and technology their aim is higher with the goal to raise €100,000 versus the original campaign which saw 402 people give $20.960 for the initial project. The original InvizBox was a portable device that helped users connect their computer or phone to the TOR network.
The InvizBox Go will take their technology and design a step further. You will be able to carry the new device in your pocket and connect it to any wifi network. From there you can connect your laptop or mobile device securely through their VPN service. They offer free limited bandwidth and an unlimited plan for €4 a month. For €79 you can help support their Kickstarter campaign and receive a reward including one of the first InvizBox Go devices and a year of premium VPN access.
We wish the new device would give users the option of configuring their own VPN. I understand the VPN is part of their revenue stream but a lot of us already pay for VPN access. There is also a matter of who InvizBox has patnered with to provide the VPN. There are too many players in the market now to blindly trust an unknown VPN provider. Hopefully the team at InvizBox will post more details on their premium VPN. Better yet we would love to see them consider adding the ability to configure any VPN to run through the new InvizBox Go device.
Please consider supporting teams like InvizBox and Keezel who are working to add new privacy-related devices to the market. I expect we’ll see the trend continue. We look forward to the first device to offer open ended access to any VPN service. That’s what we’ve all come to expect from custom DD-WRT and Tomato routers. The same is clearly possible for the new devices. I understand that cuts into the device makers profits. Perhaps they could partner with a VPN to offer a year of service with the device. That would help maintain their profits while giving customers the choice to use any VPN at home or on the go.