<s>
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
is	O
a	O
public	O
VPN	B-Application
service	I-Application
operated	O
by	O
AnchorFree	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
was	O
used	O
to	O
bypass	O
government	O
censorship	B-Application
during	O
the	O
Arab	O
Spring	O
protests	O
in	O
Egypt	O
,	O
Tunisia	O
,	O
and	O
Libya	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
is	O
developed	O
and	O
operated	O
by	O
Dnick	O
(	O
former	O
AnchorFree	O
Inc	O
.	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
company	O
in	O
Chester	O
county	O
with	O
offices	O
in	O
the	O
Ukraine	O
and	O
Russia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
client	O
app	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
April	O
2008	O
for	O
Windows	O
and	O
macOS	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
expanded	O
to	O
include	O
support	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
in	O
2011	O
and	O
2012	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
client	O
establishes	O
an	O
encrypted	O
VPN	B-Application
connection	O
with	O
one	O
of	O
its	O
supported	O
public	O
VPN	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
through	O
which	O
the	O
user	O
can	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
connection	O
protects	O
the	O
traffic	O
between	O
the	O
user	O
and	O
the	O
server	O
from	O
eavesdropping	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
of	O
the	O
client	O
is	O
not	O
exposed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
bypass	O
censorship	B-Application
using	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
by	O
connecting	O
to	O
a	O
VPN	B-Application
server	I-Application
located	O
outside	O
their	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
client	O
software	O
and	O
the	O
service	O
are	O
freemium	O
:	O
the	O
main	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
client	O
app	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
public	O
servers	O
are	O
available	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
,	O
but	O
users	O
have	O
to	O
pay	O
to	O
get	O
additional	O
features	O
,	O
which	O
include	O
the	O
elimination	O
of	O
advertisements	O
,	O
antivirus	B-Application
protection	I-Application
,	O
connecting	O
to	O
more	O
servers	O
and	O
choosing	O
the	O
geographic	O
location	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
to	O
which	O
they	O
connect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
has	O
been	O
used	O
to	O
bypass	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
in	O
countries	O
with	O
strict	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
Arab	O
Spring	O
protests	O
in	O
2010	O
,	O
protesters	O
used	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
to	O
access	O
social	O
networking	O
tools	O
to	O
communicate	O
and	O
upload	O
videos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
was	O
also	O
widely	O
used	O
during	O
the	O
Egyptian	O
protests	O
and	O
revolution	O
in	O
2011	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
Mubarak	O
regime	O
cracked	O
down	O
heavily	O
on	O
access	O
to	O
social	O
media	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
usage	O
of	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
increased	O
in	O
Turkey	O
,	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
suspected	O
efforts	O
of	O
the	O
Turkish	O
government	O
to	O
censor	O
social	O
media	O
and	O
citizen	O
access	O
to	O
international	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2014	O
,	O
usage	O
of	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
increased	O
in	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
after	O
the	O
outbreak	O
of	O
the	O
2014	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
protests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
usage	O
increased	O
among	O
Mac	O
users	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
Europe	O
,	O
as	O
500,000	O
Mac	O
users	O
were	O
infected	O
by	O
the	O
Flashback	B-Application
virus	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
was	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
protection	O
against	O
the	O
virus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
has	O
generally	O
received	O
positive	O
reviews	O
by	O
industry	O
publications	O
and	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
Center	O
for	O
Democracy	O
and	O
Technology	O
issued	O
an	O
open	O
complaint	O
to	O
the	O
Federal	O
Trade	O
Commission	O
which	O
they	O
state	O
"	O
concerns	O
undisclosed	O
and	O
unclear	O
data	O
sharing	O
and	O
traffic	O
redirection	O
occurring	O
in	O
Hotspot	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
Free	O
VPN	B-Application
that	O
should	O
be	O
considered	O
unfair	O
and	O
deceptive	O
trade	O
practices	O
under	O
Section	O
5	O
of	O
the	O
FTC	O
Act.	O
"	O
</s>
