Privacy & Security Problems Report 2026: What Owners Complain About Most
Updated October 2026
We sorted 508 long-term owner reports on 25 privacy & security products by topic and counted how often each problem comes up. Below, the problems owners raise most in each category, and the models they raise them on least and most.
At a glance
| Category | Most raised problem | Share of reports | Owner reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| VPNs | Connection reliability | 18% | 141 |
| Password Managers | Ease of use | 17% | 139 |
| Cloud Storage | Speed and syncing | 32% | 117 |
| Email Services | Interface and usability | 25% | 111 |
VPNs
141 owner reports on 6 models. The problems raised most:
- Connection reliability18% of reports
- Speed and performance11% of reports
- Privacy and security11% of reports
Connection reliability comes up least for the Surfshark VPN (2 of 22 reports) and most for the ExpressVPN (7 of 23).
Every vpns problem, model by model →Password Managers
139 owner reports on 7 models. The problems raised most:
- Ease of use17% of reports
- Autofill and sync12% of reports
- Features and organization12% of reports
Ease of use comes up least for the 1Password (0 of 20 reports) and most for the LastPass (7 of 20).
Every password managers problem, model by model →Cloud Storage
117 owner reports on 6 models. The problems raised most:
- Speed and syncing32% of reports
- Ease of use14% of reports
- Features and collaboration9% of reports
Speed and syncing comes up least for the Dropbox (3 of 20 reports) and most for the Microsoft OneDrive (12 of 20).
Every cloud storage problem, model by model →Email Services
111 owner reports on 6 models. The problems raised most:
- Interface and usability25% of reports
- Reliability and performance16% of reports
- Privacy and security9% of reports
Interface and usability comes up least for the Fastmail (3 of 20 reports) and most for the Gmail (6 of 18).
Every email services problem, model by model →How the numbers are counted
The reports come from long-term owners in enthusiast communities and forums, the same reports behind our product verdicts. Each report is sorted by topic and counted once per topic, as a problem when it describes a failure or an annoyance. A share is the number of reports raising a problem divided by all reports in that category.
A category appears once it has at least 30 owner reports and two problems raised by several owners, and a model is compared once it has at least 10 reports. The counts refresh when the verdicts behind them are revised.
Using this data
You are welcome to quote these numbers or chart them. Please credit theOwnerSay and link to this page:
Source: theOwnerSay, Privacy & Security Problems Report 2026: What Owners Complain About Most, https://theownersay.com/privacy/problems
Questions about the data: contact@theownersay.com