Keezel Portable VPN Gets Green Light

Keezel is the branichild and name of a new privacy product created by Aike Müller and Friso Schmid.  They co-founded a company in Amsterdam to manufacture a portable VPN device named Keezel.  We thought perhaps there was a Dutch to English translation but it doesn’t look like it.  Keezel is simply the name of the company and it’s new product.  The Keezel promises a heightened level of online privacy and security through the use of VPN.  It goes a step further by making the device portable.  You can use it through any wifi connection to create your own secure hotspot using the Keezel connected to a VPN.

Keezel

Aike Müller and Friso Schmid have been working on the Keezel idea since 2013.  They have working prototypes and are ready to produce devices for the public.  The Keezel team launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise the funding to get their portable VPN device into manufacturing.  Their original goal was $60,000.  The Indiegogo campaign is already up to $151,000 with 12 days left.  It looks like Keezel will be rolling out to contributors in the months to come.  The team plans to start shipping devices in December.

After reviewing the Indiegogo site and Keezel presskit we wanted to help promote the up and coming privacy product.  I would think of Keezel as a similar product to the custom routers offered by FlashRouters.  They are similar in that they both use a VPN connection to secure and protect the privacy of every device connected, even if the device doesn’t natively support VPN.  That’s where the similarities end.  The Keezel takes things a step further by offering a portable solution with built-in VPN to ensure your wifi connection is secure when at home or on the go.

We still have some question about the device.  We wish it would allow users to log in with their own VPN accounts.  Instead Keezel acts more like a walled garden in that they control the VPN connection.  The mention that they have partnered with the best VPN providers to combine their networks but there is no mention of the companies they are using.  Without this information it will be harder for users to trust the service.  There are too many shady VPNs out there now a days.  That’s not to say anything bad about Keezel but the company is new.  Customers need to know who they are trusting to secure their data.  It sounds like Keezel will use multiple VPNs in which case it’s even more important to know which companies they are using.

All in all I was very impressed with the upcoming Keezel device.  I look forward to testing one out in the months to come and will gladly share the experience.  In the meantime I hope Keezel publishes the list of VPN providers they are partnering with to offer VPN service to their customers.  That will go a long way in building trust for the new privacy company.  It’s great to see innovation continue in the online privacy and security space.  I look forward to getting my hands on a Keezel.

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