Nordshield VPN — Editorial method
How we keep this guide current
VPN plans change. Free tiers get smaller, logging policies get rewritten, and server lists shift without much notice. This page explains how we watch that drift, fix what slips, and keep every free vpn page on this site worth trusting.
Last reviewed October 2026 — Sydney
Living document — 7 / 5 ledger
A guide that sits still goes stale
A free vpn roundup has a short shelf life. A provider trims a monthly allowance, moves Australian servers behind a paywall, or rewrites its logging page on a Friday afternoon. If we left our pages alone, readers would keep trusting words past their expiry date. That is worse than saying nothing at all.
So we treat this site as a living document. Comparison pages are checked against provider terms, short trials and money-back windows are re-read when coverage in Australia shifts, and reader notes go straight into the queue. When Gizmodo Australia refreshed its 2026 free-VPN shortlist later that year, we took it as a signal and gave our own pages a second pass rather than leaning on a single snapshot.
What this page covers
- What we track across free plans, trials and refund windows.
- How often explainers and comparisons get re-read.
- How to flag an error and what happens next.
Watch list
What we watch
We follow the parts of a vpn offer that actually affect everyday browsing in Australia — the limits, the locations, and the fine print.
Nightly checks happen at our Sydney desk, against provider terms.
Permanent free plans
Allowances, speed rules, and whether Australian servers stay inside the free tier. When a free plan quietly loses Sydney or Melbourne, that changes the advice, so we re-read the plan page itself rather than trusting a cached summary.
Short trials and refund windows
Trial lengths, card requirements, and money-back conditions shown to readers in Australia.
Logging and policy wording
How a provider describes logs, account data, and retention in plain language.
Editorial signals
When a trusted Australian roundup is updated mid-year, that tells us the market moved. We use that refresh as a prompt to re-open our own pages, not as a source to copy.
Review rhythm
How often we revisit pages
Comparison pages get looked at more often than explainers. Limits and server lists move fast; concepts move slowly.
Comparisons — frequent
Free allowances, server cities, and trial terms are re-opened whenever providers edit terms or Australian coverage refreshes.
Explainers — steady
Public Wi-Fi safety basics hold their shape longer, so those pages are reviewed for clarity rather than rewritten for news.
A page explaining how a kill switch works does not need a monthly rewrite. A page listing which free plans include Australian servers does — one removed city can undo the whole recommendation.
Major edits
What we do when a plan changes significantly
If a free tier disappears or gains a hard cap, we rewrite the relevant section instead of adding a footnote underneath the old advice.
Smaller shifts — a renamed tier, a clarified refund step — get a clean edit in place. Larger ones get a full re-read so intro, table, and takeaway agree.
Reader-led fixes
Where corrections come from
Readers, mostly. Someone in Brisbane notices a plan has changed, or a detail reads differently than the provider page, and sends a note through the contact form.
We check the note against the provider's current terms — not against another blog, not from memory. If the page is wrong, we fix it on the page itself. Tell us which page you were on and what you expected to see, and it goes straight to the person who edits that section.
Our limits
What we won't do
We won't fill gaps with made-up metrics, invented testing numbers, or reviews we can't stand behind.
If we have not been able to confirm a detail — an exact allowance on a new tier, a city list that keeps flickering — we say we don't know yet and tell you where to check. That reads less confidently than a bold claim. It is more useful.
No invented speeds, scores, or lab-style readouts dressed up as testing.
No borrowed reviews presented as our own experience.
Plain wording when evidence is thin, with a pointer to the provider page.
Read carefully, then double-check before you decide
The seal matters less than the source — provider terms decide.
How to read a page that might be stale
Check the plan's own website if you are about to make a decision based on something this guide says. We aim to be accurate on the day we publish, but the provider's current terms are always the authoritative source — and it is a quick check.
Look for the allowance figure, the server list, and any card or sign-up requirement. If those three match what we wrote, the rest of the page will usually still hold. If one of them has moved, assume the page needs a refresh and let us know.
Send us what you find
If a detail on any page is wrong or out of date, tell us which page and what you expected to see. It is the fastest way to get it corrected, and we read every message sent to our Sydney team.
Prefer email? Write to [email protected] or call +61 2 9210 5500, Monday–Friday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM.
Questions readers ask about updates
How do I know a comparison is still fresh?
What should I include in a correction note?
Do you test every free vpn plan yourselves?
Kept current, together
Spot something out of date? Tell us today.
Your note is how this vpn guide stays honest for the next reader in Australia.
Nordshield VPN Pty Ltd — Level 14, 333 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia