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Express AI, launched on March 31, 2026, is ExpressVPN's attempt to answer a question many AI users haven't thought to ask: who can read your chats? The platform offers access to five AI models inside a confidential computing environment, where prompts and outputs are cryptographically isolated from everyone, including ExpressVPN itself. That's a bold claim in a category where privacy policies tend to be long on language and short on enforcement.

The platform comes bundled with ExpressVPN's Pro plan at no additional cost, positioning it alongside the company's password manager, secure mail, and identity protection tools. I've been covering AI platforms and business software for TechRadar Pro for years, including our 2026 buying guide for vibe coders and our guides on OpenClaw and Moltbook.

For this review, I spent time using Express AI across a range of everyday tasks: drafting, summarising documents, and reasoning through technical problems, to see how it holds up against better-known AI platforms.

Express AI is a multi-model AI chat platform built by ExpressVPN and accessible at app.expressai.com. At launch, it offers access to five general-purpose AI models, each selected for a different task type. What separates it from platforms like ChatGPT or Claude isn't the model lineup, but the underlying architecture: every interaction runs inside a confidential computing environment where encryption keys are generated inside the hardware itself, mathematically isolating conversations from cloud providers, model operators, and ExpressVPN.

The platform targets professionals and individuals who routinely share sensitive information in their AI chats, such as financial questions, work documents, and personal communications, and want guarantees that their data won't be retained or used to train future models. It's particularly well-suited to users already in the ExpressVPN ecosystem, since access is tied to the Pro subscription.

Privacy claims in the AI space are easy to make and hard to verify, which is why ExpressVPN commissioned an independent audit from Cure53, a German cybersecurity firm known for rigorous assessments. The pre-launch review, conducted in February and March 2026, covered penetration testing, source code inspection, and analysis of the platform's cryptography and key management. Cure53 confirmed that Express AI processes user interactions within confidential computing enclaves and found no unresolved vulnerabilities at launch.

Attribute

Notes

Underlying model(s)

Five open-weight models: GPT OSS 120B, DeepSeek R1 Distill 32B, Qwen2.5-VL 32B, Qwen3.5 35B-A3B, and Nemotron 12B

Best for

Privacy-conscious professionals, sensitive document analysis, multi-model comparison

Distinguishing functions

Confidential computing, Ghost Mode, encrypted vault, side-by-side model comparison, zero data retention

UI features

Clean chat interface with per-model selection, credit tracker, file upload support

Subscription costs

Included with ExpressVPN Pro; no standalone free plan

API pricing

No public API access available at launch

• You share sensitive information with AI tools. If your prompts routinely include personal, financial, or professional details, Express AI's zero-access architecture offers a layer of protection that mainstream platforms don't.
• You want multiple models without multiple subscriptions. The platform bundles five models covering everyday writing, document analysis, and coding in one interface, which reduces the cost and friction of juggling several accounts.

• You're not already an ExpressVPN subscriber. Access requires a Pro plan, so you'd be paying for a full VPN suite alongside the AI platform. That's poor value if you only want an AI chatbot.
• You need API access or developer-level control. Express AI has no public API at launch, which makes it a non-starter for developers building on top of AI models.

The interface is spare and deliberately uncomplicated. You select a model, type your prompt, and get a response. There's no sidebar full of tools or settings buried three menus deep. I found the model-switching to be the most useful feature in practice: running the same prompt through DeepSeek R1 Distill 32B for a reasoning-heavy task and then Qwen2.5-VL 32B for document analysis took seconds rather than the tab-switching juggle that typically comes with using multiple platforms.

Ghost Mode worked as described: conversations disappeared after the session ended with no residual trace in the history panel. The encrypted vault stores past conversations behind a user-set password, which means chat history isn't accessible server-side, though a forgotten password loses the history permanently. That's a reasonable trade-off for the privacy guarantee, but it's something to keep in mind for anyone who relies on conversation history for workflow continuity.

One honest caveat: I couldn't independently verify the confidential computing claims beyond what Cure53 has stated in its public report. I'm taking the audit at face value, just as most users will. The 500 daily credits at one credit per prompt felt adequate for my testing but could frustrate users running long, iterative research sessions.

Express AI launches with five open-weight models rather than building proprietary ones from scratch. GPT OSS 120B handles everyday writing and reasoning; DeepSeek R1 Distill 32B is the pick for multi-step logic and research analysis; Qwen2.5-VL 32B reads and extracts data from images and documents; Qwen3.5 35B-A3B targets coding and complex prompts; and Nemotron 12B from NVIDIA handles technical and math-heavy workloads. In practice, having these in one interface means you can match the model to the task without maintaining separate accounts or API keys.

The side-by-side comparison tool is a standout. You can run the same prompt across multiple models simultaneously to compare outputs, which is especially useful when deciding which model to lean on for a recurring task type. Few standalone AI platforms offer this natively.

Ghost Mode and the encrypted vault address the two main categories of privacy risk. Ghost Mode auto-deletes conversations after each session, leaving no stored record at all. The vault stores history under user-controlled encryption: only the password set by the user can decrypt it, and neither ExpressVPN nor the model providers can access it. These aren't marketing claims; Cure53's February and March 2026 audit verified both mechanisms before launch.

File uploads are capped at 50 MB per file. The 2 GB of secure storage included with the Pro plan is sufficient for most document analysis tasks. I uploaded PDFs and images without friction, and Qwen2.5-VL 32B handled the analysis accurately in my testing. There's also a transparent credit tracker, which shows remaining daily usage clearly rather than burying it in account settings.

What's missing, at least at launch, is agentic capability. Express AI doesn't support tool use, web browsing, or multi-step autonomous tasks. It's a chat interface, and a deliberate one. For users who want AI agents to run workflows or integrate with external services, they'll need to look elsewhere. The no-API position also limits Express AI's appeal to developers, which may narrow the platform's audience more than ExpressVPN intends.

The interface prioritises simplicity, which suits the platform's core audience. New users can start a conversation in under a minute. There's no onboarding tutorial or feature demo, but the layout is intuitive enough that most users won't need one. The Ghost Mode toggle and model selector are front and centre, so the two features that define the platform don't require hunting through menus.

In terms of design, it reads closer to a focused productivity tool than a full AI platform. That restraint works in its favour for privacy-conscious users who don't want complexity, but it may feel bare to anyone coming from ChatGPT or Claude's more feature-dense interfaces. ExpressVPN has described Express AI as part of a broader privacy ecosystem, suggesting the product will expand, but the launch version makes no concessions to power users hoping for immediate depth.

Express AI inherits ExpressVPN's customer support infrastructure, which includes 24/7 live chat via the main ExpressVPN site. Response times in my experience have been fast, typically under two minutes for live chat. Support agents are familiar with the VPN suite but may have limited depth on Express AI-specific technical queries, given how recently the platform launched.

The support documentation for Express AI is currently thin. The knowledge base covers setup and billing questions, but more detailed guidance on model selection, credit usage, and the encrypted vault is sparse. Given that this is a new product, that's understandable, but users who run into edge cases may find the documentation less helpful than they'd expect.

• Included with ExpressVPN Pro. Express AI is available at no additional cost to Pro subscribers, which makes it the most accessible pricing model for existing users.
• Pro plan starts at $7.49/month on a 2-year commitment, rising to $8.99/month on a 1-year plan and $19.99/month month-to-month.
• No standalone or free tier. There is no way to access Express AI without an active ExpressVPN Pro subscription.

The pricing is simple once you accept that Express AI is a bundled benefit rather than a standalone product. Pro subscribers get 500 daily credits, 2 GB of encrypted storage, and access to all five models alongside ExpressVPN's other features. For users who already pay for a Pro plan, Express AI costs nothing extra.

For users who don't need a VPN, the value proposition is murkier. The Pro plan at $19.99/month is competitive with some standalone AI subscriptions — ChatGPT Plus costs $20/month, for example — but you're paying for a VPN suite first and an AI platform second. ExpressVPN hasn't announced a standalone plan for Express AI, so that decision point will remain for the foreseeable future.

• ChatGPT (OpenAI): The most widely used AI platform, with broader model access, API support, and agentic capabilities, but no confidential computing or zero-access architecture.
• Claude (Anthropic): A strong alternative for writing and reasoning tasks, with competitive privacy policies, though prompts may be reviewed for safety and model improvement purposes.
• Lumo (Proton): A privacy-oriented alternative from the makers of ProtonMail, worth watching as it develops its AI toolset for privacy-focused users.

• Used Express AI for drafting, summarising, and answering research questions across multiple sessions to assess model quality and response consistency.
• Uploaded PDFs and images to test the Qwen2.5-VL 32B model's ability to extract data and answer questions about uploaded content.
• Tested Ghost Mode, the encrypted vault setup, and credit tracking to confirm they behaved as described in the official documentation and Cure53 audit summary.

For this review, I used Express AI as a day-to-day tool across a three-day period, testing each of the five models for their stated use cases and comparing the experience against mainstream AI platforms I use regularly. I reviewed ExpressVPN's official product documentation, the public summary of the Cure53 audit, and third-party coverage from the March 2026 launch to verify the platform's privacy claims and pricing.

“Don’t open suspicious emails.”

This used to be the baseline mantra with cybersecurity training. Spotting a counterfeit data request was once simple: poor spelling, questionable email addresses, or a direct request for cash accompanied by an incredible story of a prince or ageing millionaire. But those days are over.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) makes prepping sophisticated attack flows (which would have taken months to code) available with just a few keystrokes: as a result, spoofing or phishing emails today are often compelling, topical and personalized, making them hard to spot.

With widely available phishing kits (like Evilginx), threat actors can create fake login pages or even CAPTCHA pages with a planted JavaScript injection attack with ease. In other words, there are now even more intelligent ways for threat actors to penetrate a system and steal data quickly, all with the help of AI.

Many AI-powered attacks aim to trick people into revealing sensitive information. The top three types of AI attacks that business leaders in the UK are concerned about are AI-generated phishing, business email compromise, and malicious AI agents. Of these, AI-generated phishing is one of the most concerning, and with good reason.

There are multiple types of phishing, including deepfake video calls and vishing (voice phishing), a tactic that uses phone calls or other voice messages to impersonate a person or organization.

In recent years, there have been high-profile successful deepfake attacks like the $25 million heist on the engineering firm, Arup, where an employee was tricked into giving away millions of dollars via a fake internal meeting that seemed real.

If a business’s infrastructure simply relies on an employee’s ability to spot a fake without proper training, this opens it to the inevitable reputational damage and financial loss resulting from an attack.

Cybersecurity skill gaps need to be addressed: Security teams need to train their workforce on why phishing continues to be a serious threat and how AI is being used by threat actors to enhance those attacks, because even with AI-driven defenses, employees who are poorly or inconsistently trained could unwittingly lead to devastating outcomes.

Despite the malicious use of AI, AI is an excellent ally in combating cyber-attacks. Next-gen data security and cybersecurity solutions use AI to process large amounts of logging and monitoring data to find anomalies and outliers, block threats, and make recommendations or adjustments to security controls.

AI is also very good at spotting behavioral indicators of compromise (IoC) and correlating seemingly unrelated security activities, making it a must-have capability in the AI era.

The message has never been clearer: today, businesses need to embrace product offerings that apply AI in cybersecurity because the attackers already have.

Additionally, to achieve strong cyber resilience, cyber awareness must be a top priority. AI-powered training solutions can further enhance this by automating, adapting and personalizing the experience for employees, based on their role and their response to ongoing phishing simulations, making it more engaging, efficient and effective.

The double-edged sword of AI presents a conundrum for professionals across sectors. AI is a good investment for security, but a majority of businesses are not deploying it effectively enough yet, which allows attackers to gain an advantage.

AI is here to stay and will continue to impact cybersecurity for the foreseeable future. As organizations embrace the benefits of AI in their day-to-day operations, it becomes even more imperative for them to safeguard against malicious exploits to ensure the integrity and reliability of their business systems in an increasingly interconnected world.

We've featured the best firewall software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

Evil Dead Burn is the sixth installment in the horror franchise, and unfortunately, I found the new movie to be the weakest one of the bunch. Considering the 2013 reboot wasn't great, I think that speaks to how much I'm disappointed in the most recent entry.

On the surface, Evil Dead Burn looks promising. It was directed by Sébastien Vaniček, who is most well known for his movie Infested. I liked that one a lot (mostly because spiders terrify me), and so I was excited for his take on the iconic Evil Dead series.

Vaniček's Evil Dead Burn follows a woman named Alice (Souheila Yacoub) who is grieving over the loss of her husband, William (George Pullar), as she seeks solace with her in-laws. One member of her late husband's family is played by Hunter Doohan, who stars in Netflix's Wednesday, and I must admit it was cool getting to see him in a horror movie.

One by one, the family transforms into Deadites, the malevolent, parasitic demonic spirits we've come to fear throughout the Evil Dead franchise. But it goes in a direction I really wasn't expecting.

I do want to preface my mostly negative review by pointing out that there are some good things about this movie. Horror fans with a thirst for gory set pieces will no doubt have fun, as there are indeed some great moments. Some stand-out scenes involve a dishwasher and a car door, and just thinking about them makes me cringe uncomfortably.

Unfortunately, there's not much else to it beyond some standout gory moments that will stick with you. It's not a patch on the Bruce Campbell-led movies we know and love, and pales in comparison to its predecessor, Evil Dead Rise.

Evil Dead Burn centers around a family terrorized by Deadites, but there's a lot of confusion here surrounding how people become possessed. Sometimes you need a transfer of bodily fluids, and sometimes possession takes longer than others. The inconsistency throughout the movies might frustrate fans, as sometimes, a simpler answer is best.

When the family members are possessed, horrible things happen. It is a very unforgiving movie because the Deadites are particularly cruel here, often to an extreme degree. I should warn people now that yes, there is violence towards animals if that bothers you, and the movie feels nastier than its predecessors as a result.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, as we expect to watch a horror movie to feel uncomfortable and scared. But Evil Dead Burn really struggles to balance these shocking, brutal moments with an actual story, to the point where it feels like you're just watching a montage of gory scenes.

There's also a frustrating overreliance on jump scares here, which previous Evil Dead movies steered away from. There's nothing wrong with a good scare, and horror fans love them, but when you have excessive ones you saw coming a mile away, it becomes tedious.

Sam Raimi wove a really cool horror story when he first created The Evil Dead, but this sequel adds very little to the lore. It's basically a long movie where family members brutally attack and maim each other, and by the credits, I was left with more questions than answers.

Even the post-credits scene isn't really worth waiting for, and since there was a three-year gap between Evil Dead Rise and Evil Dead Burn, it's a shame that's all we got.

Ultimately, Evil Dead Burn is another divisive horror movie that will work for some and not others. It really depends on what you want from a horror movie, and if you're content with some over-the-top gore and repeated easy-to-spot scares, then you'll definitely have fun.

If you want more lore with your gore, then you might want to revisit the previous movies instead. Evil Dead Burn doesn't add much to a long-running franchise, and I found it to be a disappointment.

UK tech retailer Currys has cut the price on a number of big name laptops, including models from HP, Asus and Microsoft.

The Surface Laptop 13.8", Copilot+ PC, powered by a Snapdragon X Elite processor and backed by 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 512GB SSD, sees the biggest discount. Usually priced at £1599, it's currently available for just £999, a solid £600 saving.

If that's not a big enough incentive for you, the laptop also features a Quad HD+ touchscreen and up to 20 hours of battery life, so you won't have to spend ages looking for someone to plug it in.

This Microsoft Surface Laptop runs Windows 11 and is powered by the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 processor. It features 16GB DDR5 RAM, a 512GB SSD, a sharp Quad HD+ touchscreen, and up to 20 hours of battery life.View Deal

This Asus Zenbook laptop runs Windows 11 and features an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H processor, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, a sharp 2K touchscreen, and up to 15 hours of battery life for productivity daily.View Deal

This Asus Vivobook laptop runs Windows 11 and is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 225H processor. It includes 16GB RAM, a spacious 1TB SSD, a vibrant Full HD+ OLED display, and up to 20 hours of battery life.View Deal

This HP laptop runs Windows 11, powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor, with 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD storage, a responsive Full HD touchscreen, and up to 12 hours battery life daily.View Deal

Also on sale at Currys are two Asus laptops. The Zenbook 14 OLED 14" model is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H Processor and comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD.

It also comes with a 2K touchscreen and promises up to 15 hours of battery life, which will be more than enough to get you through a full working day

That model usually sells for £1399 but you can snap it up for £999 at Currys right now, a solid £400 saving.

If you need a larger laptop, the Vivobook S16 OLED S3607CA 16" model is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 225H Processor with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. It also comes with a Full HD+ OLED screen and up to 20 hours of battery life.

That model usually costs £999 but Currys has slashed the cost down to £599, which means you'll also save £400 with that one.

If you're after a laptop with a bigger-than-normal display, then HP's OmniBook 7 AI is the model you want. It features a 17-inch, Full HD touchscreen and is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chip, backed up by 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB SSD.

That model promises up to 12 hours of battery life. It should be enough to get you through a full working day, but depending on what you're using it for, it might require a top up when you're out and about.

While the OmniBook 7 AI usually retails for £999, you can save £699 right now at Currys, which is a welcome £300 off.

For more top picks like this, these are the best business laptops we've tested and reviewed.

• Shop all laptops at Currys

• One of the original Xbox founders, Laura Fryer, suggests Sony is stripping away game ownership via an all-digital future
• It comes after PlayStation announced physical game discs won't be produced starting from January 2028
• Fryer claims Sony let Rockstar 'take the heat' by announcing a digital-only GTA 6 first

Sony is still under fire after its latest announcement of a future all-digital future for PlayStation games, as physical game copies are due to be axed — and not only are consumers livid, some gaming industry veterans are too.

As reported by Notebookcheck, Laura Fryer, one of the original founding members of Xbox, has recently condemned Sony's announcement ending physical game discs for future PlayStation games, and highlights the threat the move poses to game ownership.

The announcement from Sony has since resulted in major backlash regarding game ownership from thousands online, including a slight pushback (or support for physical media) from indie game developers like Astrolabe Games.

In this case, Fryer hasn't been shy about noting just how dangerous the end of physical game discs will be once 2028 arrives, especially since rumors suggest Microsoft may follow in a similar direction with its next Xbox console.

"Digital is convenient until someone else decides you've had enough, and there are some games and movies where I will never have enough of them," Fryer stated, which is arguably a valid statement since Sony recently removed over 500 purchased movies from users' libraries.

It's worth noting that Rockstar Games recently opened GTA 6 pre-orders, with the announcement that there won't be a physical copy of the game, which Fryer highlights as an important step to Sony's latest plans, stating: "Sony waited for Rockstar to make the first move, take the heat, and now they're going all in to make this the new normal."

Fryer even references Don Mattrick's infamous statement regarding an 'always online' Xbox One console experience, as she suggests that this is what Sony, Microsoft, and, frankly, Hollywood are doing today.

"When was the last time you put a disc in and the game just worked without a big download? All the major players, Sony, Microsoft, even Hollywood, they're all aligned here. Digital kills the used market, and it stops your old library from competing with new games on the next console."

That 'always online' future is closer than it ever has been, and with Sony also shutting down PS3 and PS Vita stores in 2027. That means whenever the PS6 (or future PlayStation consoles) eventually becomes a retro console like the PS3, there will be no way to play games on the system unless it's via digital means — and that directly eliminates game ownership completely.

• A software update bricked Philips Hue Bridge Pro devices
• The bug required a very specific set of circumstances
• Philips Hue has promised free replacements to affected users

Over the last few weeks, reports have emerged of Philips Hue Bridge Pro smart home devices becoming bricked, and it looks like the culprit has now been identified. According to Philips Hue, the fault lay with a recent software update — but the company has won plaudits for what it's giving to customers in order to make amends.

The trouble started in late June when Philips Hue released software update 2071353020, which was intended to include “several small changes” that improved the product’s operations. Yet reports started flooding in that the update had caused people’s Hue Bridge Pro devices to fail and become completely unresponsive.

In a statement to Ars Technica, Philips Hue explained the very specific circumstances that caused the problem: “The issue affects users who disabled automatic software updates, remained on an older software version for an extended period, and then manually installed a firmware update after the update package had been stored on the Bridge for more than 10 days.”

As well as that, the spokesperson noted that “Our data shows fewer than 100 Philips Hue Bridge Pro devices have been impacted.”

Still, any disruption like this is a pain. If you’re affected, not only will you have to wait for a replacement to arrive, but you’ll also have to reconfigure your lights and settings from scratch. That’s the kind of disturbance that is made all the more irritating due to the fact that it occurred after users updated their software — something that people are often encouraged to do in order to get the latest bug fixes and improvements.

While it’s always unpleasant to see a software update brick your device, Philips Hue has attracted praise for the way it’s responded. Not only has it issued a fix, but the company has promised that “We will replace affected Philips Hue Bridge Pro devices free of charge, regardless of warranty status.”

The decision has proved popular with Hue owners on Reddit, who've noted in one popular thread that it's a rare example of "big company actually making good". Another comment noted: “Considering the RAM prices too those Bridges went up in costs too. W to Philips on this one.”

If you haven’t updated your Philips Hue Bridge Pro for a while and think your device could be vulnerable according to Philips Hue's description, it might be worth getting in touch with the company first before attempting to update. The last thing you want is a bricked product on your hands.

And if you already have been affected, don’t spring for a replacement device just yet. You might be able to get a free replacement from Philips Hue, so be sure to explore that avenue first before spending a dime on anything new.

• Cast confirms on social media that Mayor of Kingstown season 5 has officially wrapped production
• No official release date has been confirmed, but predictions suggest new episodes could be seen as soon as November 2026
• Plot details have largely been kept under wraps

If you've been keeping a close eye on all things Paramount+ in the last week, you might have noticed that Mayor of Kingstown season 5 has wrapped production.

Tobi Bamtefa, who plays Bunny on the show, confirmed the news on Instagram, adding in a caption, "To those about to start from season 1, I envy you. Your socks are about to get blown off in the best way possible. 5 seasons with no breaks!!"

New episodes of the Taylor Sheridan series are set to be the last ever, despite the crime thriller originally being mapped out to run for seven seasons.

The Hollywood Reporter speculated that the unexpected cut falls in line with other Paramount+ original series, none of which have ever exceeded a fifth season. However, the studio has never given an official statement on this.

With production now finished, thoughts turn to when we might see Mayor of Kingstown season 5 episodes released. No date has been confirmed as of writing, but that doesn't mean that we can't use context clues to hazard an educated guess.

Let's look back at the Taylor Sheridan TV canon to see what sort of release schedules have come before. Landman season 2 was released in November 2025, with filming having completed in early August 2025.

Similarly, Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch wrapped production in March 2026, resulting in an incredibly quick turnaround, ready for its release in May 2026.

In short, Sheridan shows that only a matter of months is needed between filming and hitting the small screen as a finished product, which means — in a best-case scenario — we could expect Mayor of Kingstown season 5 to premiere as early as November 2026.

In Sheridan's world, anything is possible, but an exact release strategy will likely depend on what else is confirmed for Paramount+'s year-on-year schedule. We're expecting Dexter: Resurrection season 2 and Yellowjackets season 4 to arrive at some point before the year is out, and I don't think seeing Landman season 3 or The Madison season 2 is too far-fetched, either.

It all comes down to how much of a priority Mayor of Kingstown season 5 is for Paramount+, and that's a question that we just can't answer. However, the editing process starts now, and that can only be a good thing.

The first two episodes of new MGM+ crime drama The Westies are now streaming, but strap in — we've still got another six installments to go.

The new show follows the real-life Irish-American crime family of the same name, who ran the streets of Hell's Kitchen for decades from the 1960s. Basically, it's the perfect warm-up act for MobLand season 2 and The Gentleman season 2, which are both set to return in September.

Led by J.K. Simmons as patriarch Eamonn Sweeney, we've got an epic cat-and-mouse game afoot between our shady leads and the FBI, who have been tasked with bringing them to justice.

The trailer set up the high-stakes drama to come, but some fans weren't entirely happy with the teaser. Scroll through the YouTube comments on the clip below, and you'll see multiple fans complaining that The Westies looks far too tame for a mobster story.

In a way, they have a point. If you're tuning in looking for glory through guts and gore, you're not going to find it. However, that doesn't mean that intense action sequences are few and far between.

Not only have lead stars Simmons and Tom Brittney (James) seen the comments, they're the first in line to disagree — and they've got pretty good reasoning as to why.

"God, no," Brittney says when I ask if The Westies felt tame when filming. "I think I saw that comment. Someone sent something to me about going, 'oh, I think it's tame.' And I was like... well, you better watch then.

"We can't put everything that's in the show into that trailer because you wouldn't be able to show it on TV as a teaser. Especially depending on the time that you're showing it. It's a brutal one. There's some stuff in this that I was surprised that they could get away with."

From a marketing standpoint, it makes complete sense that the best parts of The Westies, which would include the grittiest and most intense fights, won't be revealed immediately. They wouldn't even be in the two-episode premiere... think of them as a reward for investing in the new series long-term.

"If I may... don't watch the trailer. Watch the show," Simmons adds. We're both in it. You know it's gonna be good! So, just watch the show. July 12th. Or you could watch it on the 13th if you want. That's the beauty. Go crazy. Watch it on the 14th, whatever. Just watch it sometime in the first week, please."

You heard the man... lock in now, and reap the benefits as The Westies continues to drop on a weekly basis.

• Australian eSafety Commissioner views VPN detection as a "reasonable step" for tech companies enforcing age limits
• The watchdog notes that service providers must prevent workarounds under new industry codes
• Australia's position mirrors a growing global debate surrounding age assurance and VPNs

Australia's internet watchdog is keeping a close eye on VPN services as the country steps up its efforts to enforce strict online age verification rules.

According to documents obtained by The Guardian under freedom of information (FOI) laws, the Australian eSafety Commissioner expects tech platforms and service providers to actively block workarounds that allow users to bypass age-restricted content and social media bans.

The internal documents explicitly detail how the government plans to approach these privacy tools under its Unlawful Material Codes and Standards. Under the Codes, the documents state, "service providers must take reasonable steps to prevent workarounds like VPNs so eSafety will look at this when considering compliance with codes."

For everyday web users, this raises a troubling question: could turning on a virtual private network (VPN) to protect your personal data soon flag you as a circumventor?

As cybersecurity protections increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs of child safety regulations, digital privacy advocates are sounding the alarm.

Under the new codes, the Australian government is placing the burden directly on industry providers to prevent the exposure of age-restricted material, defined by regulators as Class 1 and Class 2 material.

Because a VPN encrypts your internet traffic and spoofs your IP address, it can easily make you appear as though you are browsing from a different country, bypassing local geoblocks and age gates. That's exactly why VPN downloads skyrocketed after Australia enforced mandatory age verification for adult content last March.

However, Australian authorities are confident that platforms can counter this.

According to the FOI documents, the government's ongoing Age Assurance Technology Trial has convinced regulators that network detection is feasible. The documents note that "the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts knows that tech companies can tell when a VPN is in use."

Consequently, the eSafety Commissioner is treating the detection of these tools as a fundamental requirement. The internal log clarifies that "this is similar to eSafety’s regulatory guidance for the social media minimum age, where eSafety considers VPN detection as a reasonable step to prevent underage users from having an account."

Australia is far from the only country struggling to balance child safety legislation with the right to online privacy. The debate over whether to treat VPNs as essential security software or mere circumvention tools is heating up worldwide.

Recent analysis of Australia's age verification rules suggests that trying to plug these "loopholes" could severely compromise the digital safety of the broader population. In fact, some experts argue that demanding that platforms actively block VPN connections sets a dangerous precedent for civil liberties.

The ripple effect is already visible across Europe.

As the EU launches its own age verification initiatives, regulators are increasingly signaling that VPNs might be next in line for restrictions. Similarly, the shifting role of VPNs in the UK has prompted rigorous discussions about whether incoming social media bans could lead to VPN restrictions.

Ultimately, the eSafety Commissioner’s plan highlights a growing reality: as governments worldwide roll out strict age assurance mandates, child safety measures and VPN use are on a collision course.

Whether everyday Australians will still be able to freely protect their data on public Wi-Fi without being blocked from their favorite sites remains to be seen.