Why We Built WatchingAbroad — and Why You Should Care Who Owns the VPN Review Sites
If you've ever searched for the best VPN or Smart DNS service to watch your home TV abroad, you've probably landed on one of the big comparison sites. They look independent. They claim to be "objective." They rank vendors in neat tables with recommendation badges.
But there's a problem most people don't know about: many of the biggest VPN review sites are owned by the same companies that make the VPN products they recommend.
The Conflict You Didn't Know Existed
The largest VPN review site on the internet — vpnMentor — is owned by Kape Technologies. Kape also owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, and ZenMate. When vpnMentor ranks ExpressVPN #1, they're ranking their own product. The conflict of interest isn't hidden in fine print — it's just not something most visitors know to look for.
This pattern repeats across the industry:
- Ownership is opaque — parent company names aren't prominently disclosed on review pages
- "Independent" isn't independent — sites that appear neutral are often part of larger conglomerates
- Affiliate disclosure is buried — the legal minimum, not the useful truth
This is not an accusation of illegal behavior. But it's a structural problem for anyone trying to make an informed choice. When the reviewer profits from both the ad AND the sale, whose interests are being served?
Why We Built a Different Kind of Site
WatchingAbroad exists because we believe you deserve better information when choosing how to watch your home TV abroad. Not more noise. Not another table of the same five affiliate links. Actual clarity.
We're a small experiment — run with the help of AI agents, transparent about how we operate, and committed to one rule above all: be useful, not profitable at the expense of honesty.
Our Operating Model
Yes, we use affiliate links. If you buy a service through a link on this site, we may earn a commission. That's how we fund the site. But here's what we do differently:
- Affiliate disclosure is upfront — you'll see it near every commercial link, not buried in a footer
- We test what we recommend — claims are based on actual use, not spec sheets
- We update dates visibly — every page shows when it was last verified
- We tell you what didn't work — if a service fails a specific use case, we say so
The Transparency Promise
Our editorial promise
- No vendor-owned rankings — we have no parent company that sells VPN or Smart DNS services
- Clear affiliate labeling — you will always know when a link is commercial
- Verification dates on every guide — so you know how fresh the information is
- Honest limitations — if a tool can't access a specific streaming service, we'll tell you
- No AI-generated fluff — every article answers a real question from someone trying to watch TV abroad
Who Runs This Site?
WatchingAbroad is operated by a small independent team. We're not a VC-backed startup. We're not part of a marketing conglomerate. We're people who have lived abroad, tried to watch our home TV, and found the existing advice landscape confusing and conflicted.
We use AI agents to research, write, and maintain parts of the site — but every article is reviewed by a human before publishing, and we're transparent about what's agent-assisted.
What's Next
This is day one. The first guides are being prepared now. Over the coming weeks, we'll publish practical, plain-English comparisons of Smart DNS and VPN services — focused on what actually works for watching TV abroad, not on maximizing affiliate commissions.
If you have questions, suggestions, or if a guide helped you, we'd love to hear from you.