Methodology

How we evaluate and rank providers. Last revised May 12, 2026.

What this directory is

notDMCA is an editorial directory of hosting providers, VPS and domain registrars that operate outside the US DMCA regime, accept anonymous signup, and take Monero or other privacy-preserving payment. Every entry is independently researched, sourced and dated.

We are not a marketing site, not an affiliate aggregator, and not a "bulletproof" / illegal-content directory. Providers operating in violation of the law of their host jurisdiction are out of scope.

How we choose providers

To be listed, a provider must meet at least three of the following:

• Operate from a jurisdiction outside the US DMCA regime or publicly resist DMCA notices.
• Accept signup without government-issued ID (no-KYC).
• Accept Monero, Bitcoin, cash by mail, or another privacy-preserving payment method.
• Offer WHOIS privacy or an owns-on-behalf domain model (registrars only).
• Have a published track record of at least 12 months under the same brand.

How we score

Each provider is rated on five axes (0–10):

• Privacy — quality of anonymity at signup, payment privacy, data-collection minimization.
• DMCA resistance — likelihood that a DMCA-style takedown will fail or be ignored, based on jurisdiction, published policy, and observed history.
• Reliability — uptime, longevity of the brand, infrastructure quality, support responsiveness.
• Value — price relative to competitors at the same spec.
• Support — responsiveness and quality of customer support.

The headline score is a weighted average:

privacy × 0.30 + dmca_resistance × 0.30 + reliability × 0.15 + value × 0.15 + support × 0.10

Privacy and DMCA-resistance carry the most weight because that is the directory's editorial focus. A reliability-and-value-first directory would weight differently — and you should treat our score as one input, not a verdict.

How we verify

1. Provider's own published documentation: terms of service, acceptable-use policy, DMCA / abuse policy, payment page, signup flow.
2. Public order pages: pricing, specs, payment options listed at checkout.
3. Third-party reporting: TorrentFreak, ArsTechnica, LowEndTalk, community forums where the provider has a multi-year discussion thread.
4. Direct verification when budget allows (manual signup, test order, support response time).

Every provider page has a Sources section listing the URLs and access dates we relied on. If we have not independently verified a claim, the field is marked TBV rather than fabricated.

How often we update

Each provider entry shows a last_verified date in its frontmatter and on the page. We aim to revisit every entry at least every 90 days and immediately after any of:

• A reported price change.
• A jurisdictional or ownership change.
• A reported policy change (DMCA, KYC, payment).
• A user-reported incident (abuse handling, downtime).

Material changes are logged on the public updates page with a date stamp and the affected provider IDs.

What we do not do

• Affiliate links by default. No provider page contains an affiliate or referral link unless explicitly disclosed in a banner at the top of the page. Most do not.
• Sponsored placement. Ranking is determined entirely by the methodology above. We do not sell positioning.
• Hosting illegal directories. We will not list providers whose primary advertised use case is unambiguous criminality.

Corrections & take-downs

If a provider believes a claim on its page is inaccurate, or if a third party identifies an error, contact us with the source data and we will re-verify. Verified errors are corrected within 7 days; the change is logged on the updates page.

Disclaimer

This directory is published for journalists, researchers and privacy-conscious users. It does not promote or facilitate illegal activity. Users are responsible for compliance with the laws of their jurisdiction.