Is it safe to use Speedify with Ubuntu?

Recently I have been reading about how to install Speedify on Linux (Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS). I have found that both "speedify" and "speedifyui" now exist within the Synaptic library and when I do a dpkg test, both packages are already installed. Unfortunately neither package has an active command and there are no man pages for either package as well.

The web page telling me how to install Speedify on Linux starts out with both installation and account configuration. Speedify is already installed on Ubuntu but on my RPi4 board when I try to follow the manual install steps, I cannot install Speedify there either.

There's no such package in Ubuntu repositories so it's nothing that is maintained or monitored by Canonical or the Ubuntu community

So you have to ask yourself, "How much do I trust the people who develop and maintain this software?"

"Safe" is a matter of opinion.

Things to consider:

• Is the source code available? Or is the code proprietary/secret? Do hundreds of people routinely audit the code to make sure it's safe and bug free, or is there a shadow/unknown process that perhaps only one or two people are responsible for?

• Who develops, maintains, audits, and secures the code? Is it a reputable organization who knows how to write secure software? Or is it one or two opportunistic people looking to make a buck who hacked together an app that works on the surface but is full of bad unsafe code?

• How often is the code reviewed and updated for security and bugs? Is the code constantly audited and patched by a huge community? Or was the software last updated 3 years ago?

• What is the motivation of the people who produce this software? Is this a for profit venture seeking to maximize profit? Or is the software developed by a community for the good of a community?

• What access do I have to provide this software? Will the software be able to access your network stack? Will it make changes to your system configuration? Or does the software run in a container isolated from your root system and need no privileges?

Further research showed that speedify (and speedifyui) were both installed on one of my computers since I had installed them there! (not Canonical) Another computer of mine, that I had not used recently, did not have either of the speedify installs on it.

Further web research found a good link (here) described how "Speedify is a relatively young VPN that, according to its CEO Alex Gizis, puts more emphasis on speed than security."

In summary, the VPNmentor article states:

"Free VPNs can be risky – many threaten your anonymity and safety, only to provide you with a low-speed and unreliable service.

Although its CEO makes impressive claims, Speedify is a data-sharing VPN with disappointing connection speeds. A good free VPN should protect your data without compromising on service quality.

The free VPNs we recommend are designed by their providers to entice you to upgrade to a paid service, so you know they will never compromise your security."

At this point I will uninstall speedify & speedifyui from my one computer and look at the alternative VPNs listed in the link above that are both faster and safer to use.