Surfshark introduces a new free add-on to its current VPN users, which displays a discrete alert once a previously-breached website is visited. The feature can be turned on manually through the Surfshark VPN browser extension and runs once it is connected. The newly added feature seeks to show the scope of data breaches happening worldwide and help internet users be more mindful about the sites they give their personal information to.

Last year alone, nearly 1 billion internet users worldwide were affected by data breaches as major platforms like Facebook, Raychat, ParkMobile, Reddoorz, and many others have been hacked. These types of attacks endanger millions of email addresses, names, telephone numbers, and other personally identifiable information. 

To help users keep track of platforms that may be compromised, Surfshark released a new feature that flags domains that have been breached in the past. A feature  appears as a warning notification on the top of the page, which does not interfere with regular internet surfing. A thin red line informs that the website has  been breached or has been part of a data leak.

"We saw data breach numbers slow-down towards the end of the year, but annual statistics remain alarmingly high. Almost one billion emails were exposed last year, affecting nearly 1 out of 5 internet users," - says Vytautas Kaziukonis, Chief Executive Officer of Surfshark. "Having this in mind, Surfshark created website safety warning feature that encourages people to be more mindful about the data they are giving to websites and digital platforms."

Safety warnings can be turned on manually in Surfshark's web application on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers. The function is active only when connected to Surfshark VPN and is free of charge to existing users. A full activation guide is available in the blog post here.

The company's breach detection mechanism will provide users with up-to-date information as new breach instances appear. Surfshark also offers another separate tool Surfshark Alert, which informs people if their email, IDs, or credit information leaks on the internet. The vision behind these products is to make data safety simple and accessible to all as data breach numbers continue to rise.