Tom Spark’s response to torguard’s False Smear campaign

This statement provided by TorGuard is riddled with falsehoods and misrepresentations about me and my work, and I feel compelled to set the record straight.

Funny thing too.

TorGuard is so lazy that they even likely used AI to write most of this hit piece on me. I guess if they can’t even write a few paragraphs of fake conjecture on their own, they also probably can’t update their main PC application for nearly a year.

Additionally, I sent TorGuard an email explaining their allegations are false, and proof as much, and they ignored my email.

Here's the truth:

Response:

1. Affiliate Termination:
   I was removed from the TorGuard affiliate program without prior notice, not for violating any rules but likely due to my honest critiques of their service and their stagnation in development. There have never been any valid complaints about my affiliate activity or involvement in illegal actions—this is baseless slander.

To prove my point, countless others have suffered the same exact treatment as me. TorGuard simply ignores affiliates and stops paying them. Here are sources for that:

-Reddit user Sir Jimmy says TorGuard did not pay him.

-Reddit user Thejackmeat says TorGuard did not pay him.

-Countless forum users complain TorGuard did not pay them as well.

-Major tech blog claims TorGuard owes them over $8000 in unpaid comissions

More reddit users claiming non payments:

1. Subreddit and Reddit Presence:
   My subreddit, r/NetflixViaVPN/, was created to help users find VPNs compatible with streaming services, a common need among privacy-conscious users. It has never been linked to scams. The claim that I have been "banned from every major tech and privacy subreddit" is blatantly false—many bans stemmed from TorGuard-related moderators trying to suppress my critiques, not any inappropriate behavior on my part. In fact, I am active in several subreddits and I am not banned from any VPN specific subreddit besides TorGuard restricting me from posting there.

2. YouTube Channel and Content:
   My YouTube channel, Tom Spark Reviews, provides authentic and well-researched content about VPNs and privacy. I’ve tested over 70 VPNs since 2016, and my rankings reflect genuine analysis, not favoritism or an "affiliate strategy." Accusations of using "black-hat sock puppet as a service" groups are laughable and baseless. It’s my theory that certain VPN users are trying to stir up drama and make posts that seem like they are me—as I will discuss later, but such actions do not reflect or mirrior any activity of my own.

3. Claims About TorGuard:
   My critiques of TorGuard are based on facts:

   • The app has experienced stagnation and lacks features like seamless streaming compatibility, split tunnneling, transparency with updates, and an Apple TV app. See more in my latest review which is fair and objective.

   • TorGuard has been unresponsive to users and affiliates alike.
     These are well-documented and observed by many users in the community as mentioned prior.

4. User Base and Bankruptcy Claims:
   I’ve never claimed TorGuard was "bankrupt." The stability of their user base does not negate the reality of their outdated offerings or their failure to keep up with competitors. I’ve seen other users upset with TorGuard make such claims as seen here, but I’ve had nothing to do with that and I cannot control TorGuard’s unhappy community. That said, TorGuard claims to have 100,000 active users in 2025—which does not line up to what I would estimate their userbase to be by observing google trends and my past affiliate data. But I could be wrong. I only base this on my past observations of user activity (forums, my community, etc).

5. Professionalism and Integrity:
   My rankings and reviews are not influenced by affiliates alone. For example, I recently ranked NordVPN and Surfshark highly due to significant improvements in their service, even after a history of skepticism toward them. Conversely, TorGuard ranked #3 as a service, and was then downgraded further when they failed to innovate and cut me off without explanation causing huge issues with my community and others with trusting them.

6. TorGuard blames me for all trolls:

   Furthermore, TorGuard’s tendency to blame me for any criticism on Reddit only highlights their refusal to accept responsibility for user dissatisfaction. For example, they’ve pointed fingers at users like That-Objective-438—claiming they are my alt account, but that doesn’t make any sense. One, because I contacted this user to post my side of the story. But this user attempted to post my response to TorGuard on /r/vpns, and the post was removed. Two, the account clearly is a unique user with an extensive post history that has nothing to do with me.

   Clearly, /r/vpns seems to want the drama—as they let the original post from TorGuard slandering me stay up, while mine was removed. This is a subreddit that has hosted its fair share of critiques about TorGuard and myself.

   To be clear, I do think that users are attempting to rile TorGuard up on purpose and troll me as well. Here is proof of me talking to That Objective, an account TorGuard thinks is me.

   Instead of acknowledging that these criticisms often stem from genuine user experiences and frustrations with their outdated service, TorGuard conveniently uses me as a scapegoat, implying that I’m somehow orchestrating dissent.

   This approach is not only baseless—and relies on defamatory conjecture, but also alienates their user base by dismissing legitimate feedback. The broader Reddit community has a voice of its own, and TorGuard's attempts to deflect blame onto a single individual only further highlight their unwillingness to confront the real issues plaguing their service.

I’ve also been contacted by other users claiming TorGuard banned them as well for any sort of criticism. See this screenshot.

Final Thoughts:

This smear campaign demonstrates TorGuard's inability to handle legitimate criticism. Rather than addressing their shortcomings, they attempt to deflect by attacking a reviewer.

Keep in mind this was a trusted affiliate partner I sent THOUSANDS of customers to over the years, and overnight, that relationship burned to the ground—just like many others who trusted TorGuard to pay their affiliate earnings.

In fact, TorGuard makes my affiliate termination seem like some sort of organized procedure or like they had been notified after discussing with me something I did wrong. The last correspondence I had with TorGuard was them being extremely toxic to me, which bordered on harassment. I’d post the DMs, but leaking DMs isn’t cool. Before that, they had been sending late payments for months, and I had to constantly send emails requesting payment or threatening suspensions from my list for unpaid invoices. This lines up exactly to what others say as well.

And yet they have the gall to say I am “breaking the rules” or conducing illegal activities? Is that why the post is locked, so the community can’t tell TorGuard what they think of slandering a trusted VPN reviewer? Is that why 20+ other affiliates are also not getting paid? Or how about the random people like this troll who promote TorGuard—and who TorGuard promoted their articles, trash other brands, and also coincidentally also hate me? When I called them out on Youtube, suddenly all the videos vanished. And yet, I’m the one who is doing bad things huh?

The only sketchy thing here is TorGuard refusing to pay partners what they are owed—from what I’ve observed—almost its entire affiliate network. They don’t even have the courtesy to explain why. Nope. Dead silence.

My work continues to help thousands of users find reliable privacy tools, and I stand by my reviews and methods as ethical and honest.

It’s unfortunate to see a company stoop to such tactics, but I remain committed to maintaining transparency and professionalism in the VPN review space.