ExpressVPN launches new free privacy tools for subscribers: 'VPN for email,' secure AI, and more
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ExpressVPN is rolling out a suite of new and reworked digital security tools for its subscribers. Most of them will join its existing Basic, Advanced, and Pro plans at no extra cost, and current subscribers can start using two of them immediately.
The suite's freshest features include ExpressMailGuard, an email-disguising service, and ExpressAI, an encrypted AI platform that isn't trained on user data. ExpressMailGuard is available globally as of Thursday, Feb. 5, while ExpressAI will launch at a later date.
ExpressVPN is also turning its built-in password manager and identity protection tools into standalone mobile apps for iOS and Android. ExpressKeys, the former, launches today alongside ExpressMailGuard. The other, Identify Defender, is set for release on Thursday, Feb. 26.
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It bears mentioning that none of these tools will improve ExpressVPN's actual VPN service. Rather, they add to the value of an ExpressVPN subscription.
The goal here is to turn ExpressVPN into a "broader privacy ecosystem," according to a press release, which puts it more in line with competitors like ProtonVPN and NordVPN.
ExpressMailGuard
ExpressMailGuard lets users create disposable email aliases that they can use to sign up for services, apps, and newsletters. If a sender fills your primary email inbox with junk or unwanted messages, you can block the alias associated with them. ExpressVPN said this tool works with any email service and device, "[unlike] existing email alias tools."
ExpressMailGuard makes it so that users don't have to give out their real email address as often, lessening their likelihood of appearing in a data breach. It's "like a VPN for email," said ExpressVPN COO Shay Peretz.
ExpressVPN Basic, Advanced, and Pro subscribers are all receiving varying degrees of access to ExpressMailGuard starting today.
ExpressAI
ExpressAI is billed as "the world's first consumer AI platform built on confidential computing." Translation: User conversations, prompts, and files are encrypted to everyone, including ExpressAI's model providers and ExpressVPN itself. The company said the technology involved was previously exclusive to Nvidia's enterprise data centers. Additionally, ExpressAI's models are never trained on user data. Proton released a similar AI assistant, Lumo, last July.
ExpressAI is designed to better protect sensitive content, "like work files, financial questions, and personal details," compared to other AI platforms, ExpressVPN said.
Users can choose from up to five different models depending on their ExpressVPN subscription tier, including GPTOSS 20B, DeepSeek R1 Distill, Qwen2-VL 2B, Qwen3 32B, and Nvidia Nemotron. The same prompt can be run across multiple models simultaneously for easy comparisons.
All ExpressVPN subscription tiers will include access to ExpressAI.
ExpressKeys
The ExpressKeys app works as a password generator, a password strength checker, a two-factor authenticator, and secure storage for logins, credit card information, and notes. It supports autofill, offline access, and automatic syncing across different devices. Everything is encrypted, so no one can see your data except you.
By moving this tool out of its VPN's mobile apps, where it was previously called "Keys," ExpressVPN will be able to grow it at a greater scale, the company said.
New ExpressKeys users can log in with their ExpressVPN credentials and import information from other password managers. Existing Keys users can continue to use that service until March 5, 2026.
ExpressVPN Advanced and Pro subscribers are getting complete access to ExpressKeys starting today. It's not available for ExpressVPN Basic subscribers.
Identity Defender
Identity Defender's services include dark web monitoring, $1 million in identity theft insurance, change of address alerts, automatic data removal, and a credit scanner. ExpressVPN Advanced and Pro subscribers already have access to these features in their VPN app. They'll move into their own dedicated app later this month.
ExpressVPN Basic subscribers will not get access to the new Identity Defender app.
Topics Cybersecurity
Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.
