Mexico

Mexico Just Dissolved the Agency That Protected Your Data

Mexico's privacy landscape changed dramatically in the past two years. As part of constitutional reforms adopted in November 2024, Congress eliminated the autonomous National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information, and Personal Data Protection — the independent body that had served as Mexico's primary data protection authority. In March 2025, the Chamber of Deputies then approved new transparency and data protection laws that weakened access-to-information rights and data protection obligations. The agency built to protect your data is gone, and its powers now sit inside a general government ministry rather than an independent watchdog.

Mexican Authorities Have Deployed Spyware Against Hundreds of People

Mexico has one of the most extensive documented histories of government spyware use anywhere in the world. Legal documents from a case against NSO Group revealed that Mexican authorities used Pegasus spyware against more than 450 people in just a two-month period in 2019 alone. This wasn't an isolated case — it reflects a sustained pattern of surveillance capability that has outlasted multiple administrations, with additional details about government spyware use continuing to surface as recently as 2025.

Telecom Oversight Has Also Been Dismantled

The independent regulator overseeing telecommunications companies met the same fate as the privacy watchdog. In November 2024, Congress passed constitutional reforms that eliminated the Federal Telecommunications Institute, which had previously regulated telecom companies and their handling of subscriber data. With both the privacy authority and telecom regulator dissolved in the same reform wave, the independent checks that once existed between citizens' data and both government and industry access have narrowed significantly.

A Biometric ID System Is Expanding Even as Oversight Shrinks

At the same time protections are weakening, data collection is expanding. Mexico is actively rolling out a biometric digital identity system alongside a National Cybersecurity Plan for 2025–2030, and is seeking real-time access to digital platforms' transactional information, including personal data of taxpayers and users, for tax audit purposes. More centralized biometric and transactional data, combined with reduced independent oversight, is a combination that increases the stakes of any future data compromise, whether through breach or misuse.

What Mexican Users Should Do Right Now

A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and masks your real IP address, reducing what your ISP and any network-level observer can see about your activity — a meaningful layer of control in an environment where the independent privacy authority has been dissolved and enforcement now runs through a general government ministry with an uncertain new regulatory framework. Choose a VPN with a verified no-logs policy and strong encryption, and pair it with encrypted messaging apps for sensitive communications given Mexico's documented history of government spyware deployment. Keep your device's operating system updated, since spyware like Pegasus has historically exploited unpatched vulnerabilities — this is one of the most effective defenses available against device-level compromise.

VPNs Are Completely Legal in Mexico

Using a VPN to secure internet traffic is completely legal in Mexico. Mexico allows VPN use, and adoption has been growing among both consumers and businesses, with legal frameworks addressing data protection, cybercrime, and telecom regulation — but no broad ban on VPN technology itself. For travelers, Mexico is generally seen as a VPN-friendly destination, especially for securing connections in hotels and cafés.

What to Look For in a UCN VPN for Mexico

A verified no-logs policy matters more here than in many countries. Mexican ISPs must store personal data, including browsing histories and communications metadata, for a minimum of two years — meaning your unencrypted browsing is being retained even for entirely lawful activity. A UCN VPN with WireGuard® encryption routes your traffic before it ever reaches your ISP, so there's nothing sitting in that two-year retention window in the first place.

Why People in Mexico Are Actually Using VPNs

The concerns go beyond routine data retention. Mexican ISPs enforce high levels of censorship on behalf of the government, and content deemed offensive, obscene, or illegal is subject to restrictions, with the government known to block news, streaming services, and websites related to political activism at times. With Mexico co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the country is also expecting a major surge in international travelers who will rely on hotel and stadium Wi-Fi — networks that are convenient but not built with privacy in mind. A UCN VPN is genuinely useful here for securing banking sessions, accessing home-country streaming libraries, and protecting personal data on any shared network.

What "No-Logs" Actually Means

A no-logs policy means the VPN provider stores no record of your browsing activity, IP address, or connection times — so there's nothing that can be handed over, regardless of who asks. Given Mexico's mandatory two-year ISP data retention rule, routing your traffic through a UCN VPN with an independently audited no-logs policy is one of the most effective ways to keep your online activity genuinely private.

Getting Started in Under a Minute

Download the UCN VPN app, sign in, and tap Connect — your traffic is encrypted immediately. Users in Mexico most commonly connect to servers in the USA, Canada, UK, Spain, and Costa Rica for the fastest speeds and best access to international content. Set it up now — especially useful if you're travelling for the World Cup or connecting to hotel Wi-Fi anywhere in the country.

Mexico's internet is open and VPN-friendly — a UCN VPN simply makes sure your data isn't sitting around for two years waiting to be requested.