A Letter from the CEO

Writing this letter has not been easy.

For years, LetsVPN built its reputation around a simple promise: that people could always stay connected. We genuinely believed in that promise ourselves. We operated across more than 30 countries, handled complicated network environments, and thought we understood this industry well.

We failed to deliver what we promised, and we failed to provide a stable service when our users needed it most. Looking back, we also spoke with too much confidence about things we ultimately could not guarantee. For that, I want to sincerely apologize to everyone affected.

I also understand why many Chinese users reacted so strongly when refunds did not arrive as quickly as expected. In China, people have seen too many companies promise refunds that never fully materialized. Incidents like the bike-sharing refund crisis years ago left many users with the feeling that their time, trust, and frustration were simply ignored.

So when we said refunds would happen, but users continued waiting without clear results, I completely understand the anger and skepticism directed at us. From the user's perspective, those reactions were justified. The responsibility starts with us.

After the outage in April, we made a decision internally very quickly: if we could no longer provide the level of service users originally paid for, then we needed to return their money. We saw this not as a financial calculation, but as a matter of business credibility and responsibility.

What we underestimated was the complexity of actually processing refunds at this scale.

At first, we thought it'd be an easy task since we had sufficient funds. In reality, large-scale refunds involve banking systems, payment processors, compliance reviews, regional differences between issuers, and a long chain of operational coordination. Once the refund volume became massive, the process became far more complicated than we had anticipated.

Some users also asked why people who applied later sometimes received refunds earlier.

This is real, and it is not because we ignored earlier applicants or treated users differently. The current system prioritizes refund requests that can be verified and calculated automatically with higher confidence. Some accounts have relatively simple billing histories, while others involve transfers, promotional periods, or more complicated subscription structures that require manual verification to avoid mistakes.

Over the past several weeks, our teams have been working almost entirely on refund-related systems and support. They have been rebuilding internal tools, adjusting refund calculations, coordinating with payment providers, reviewing edge cases manually, and responding to a massive volume of support requests.

Most users cannot see this work directly, which is part of what has made this situation so frustrating for both sides.

I also want to say something on behalf of our staff.

Many frontline support and operations employees have spent weeks handling angry, disappointed, and anxious conversations while simultaneously trying to solve highly complicated cases. Criticism toward the company is understandable, and we accept it. But some employees have also faced personal insults and harassment while trying to help users resolve issues.

Because of this, we have authorized our customer service teams to end conversations involving personal abuse. As long as users are discussing actual issues, complaints, or refund questions, we will continue doing everything we can to respond and help. But no employee should be expected to continue working while being personally attacked.

There is also another difficult reality we must acknowledge clearly: LetsVPN can no longer continue providing VPN services for mainland China users.

This was not a decision we wanted to make. Chinese users were a major part of our growth over the years, and the trust we received from them helped build the company we became. That is precisely why making this decision has been painful.

But after everything that happened, we also had to confront a difficult truth: the phrase "always connected" is no longer something we can honestly promise in the mainland China market. Continuing to repeat a promise we can no longer guarantee would only create false expectations.

If you are a mainland China user, we sincerely recommend completing the refund process as soon as possible. We will continue processing refunds, but we can no longer tell users that we are able to provide a stable and reliable VPN service in mainland China.

Finally, I want to ask for one thing.

Many users left negative reviews, criticism, and public posts about us during this period. We understand why. When people were waiting for refunds without clear outcomes, questioning us was reasonable.

But if one day you receive your refund and see that we ultimately followed through on our commitments, I hope you may also consider updating those posts or reviews accordingly.

Not because we expect praise, and not because this experience should be forgotten. We simply hope the internet does not permanently preserve only the worst moment of this situation, leaving future readers with the impression that we disappeared, avoided responsibility, or never completed the refunds.