I've built vetr.is – privacy respecting host, looking for beta testers/feedback

6 points by falkensmaze66 201 days ago | 5 comments

I've been working on something for the past few months and wanted to share it with you all. I've built vetr.is, a VM hosting service that's a bit different from the usual suspects.

What's special about it? ------------------------

   100% renewable energy - All servers run on geothermal and hydroelectric power in Iceland
   Privacy-focused - Tor network support, anonymous payments accepted
   Transparent pricing - Pay for exactly what you use, no hidden fees
   Server locations - Iceland (99.9% uptime, minimal latency across EU/US)
   Performance - AMD Ryzen & Epyc processors, NVMe SSDs
   Security - Full host disk encryption, isolated networks, regular audits

What I'm offering -----------------

I'm looking for 10 beta testers to try it out and give me honest feedback. First 10 people who register will get €15 in credit, enough to run a decent server (2 cores, 2GB RAM, 30GB NVMe) for a full month.

Why am I doing this? Because I want to build something that actually respects your privacy and doesn't nickel and dime you. I'd rather get real feedback from people who know what they're talking about than spend thousands on marketing.

What I want from you --------------------

   Try it out (even for a few days)
   Give me honest feedback: what sucks, what's good, what's missing
   Report bugs if you find any
   Let me know what you think about the pricing model
   Suggestions for features you'd actually use

The boring stuff ----------------

Standard terms, privacy policy, and acceptable use policy apply (no crypto mining, illegal stuff, etc.).

If you're interested, just sign up at vetr.is and send me the first 4 characters of your account number (ex. XXX3) via PM (or comment, whichever you prefer), and I'll apply the credit for you (first 10 users). No credit card or anything like that required to start.

Questions? ----------

Ask me anything! I'm here to answer questions about the tech stack, infrastructure, privacy features, or whatever else you're curious about.

What do you all think? Is this something that solves a problem you have, or am I missing the mark?

TL;DR: Built a privacy respecting VM hosting, giving first 10 beta testers €15 credit (1 month of a small server), want real feedback from the community.

hshdhdhehd 200 days ago |

Interesting! What is Iceland like privacy and regulation wise? And the obvious thing, someone signs up anonymous and runs a Tor exit node, can you "handle" that? Maybe you have ToS for that and switch it off?

falkensmaze66 200 days ago | |

That’s interesting, let me tell you how it really is with Iceland when it comes to privacy and regulation, and yeah, the Tor exit node thing comes up a lot.

Is Iceland really a safe haven? No, if someone is operating unsavory activities, it’s Iceland (and Switzerland though their privacy laws are changing soon). No if’s, and’s, or but’s, the terms and conditions on my platform are crystal clear and straightforward. No illegal activity, ever. Local authorities will legally confiscate servers, and foreign law enforcement, hello USA!, will use the Iceland courts to legally compel Icelandic companies and/or citizens.

This has happened to me already. Everything was legal and aboveboard. They walked in, seized it all, gave me no explanation (I actually had to get the court order directly from the Icelandic police), and the returned it after forensic imaging a few days later. Meanwhile, I’d already spun the primary services up from backups elsewhere. I wasn't coming back. Ironically, the US pressure is exactly the reason this new product exists.

So I built in some real safeguards. There’s a public Law Enforcement Guide, standard practice if you’re serious about privacy. Every host is fully encrypted now. Grab the whole server? Good luck. They get nothing unless they bring a proper court order for a specific IP or customer. Blanket seizures just waste everyone’s time and screw over legit users.

And port 25? Blocked by default. Spammers ruin it for everyone. But if a customer has a real reason and explains it, I’ll open it up.

sanskarix 200 days ago |

This looks solid! A few thoughts from someone also launching a product soon:

*What's working:* - The privacy angle is compelling, especially with Iceland's jurisdiction - Transparent pricing is HUGE. So many hosting providers hide the real costs - €15 credit for beta testers is smart—shows you value feedback over vanity metrics

*Suggestions:* - Your Ask HN post is thorough but might benefit from a clearer "hero statement" up top. Right now it's buried. Something like: "Privacy-first VM hosting from Iceland, powered by 100% renewables" - Consider showing a pricing calculator on the landing page. "Pay for what you use" is great, but people want to estimate their costs immediately - The beta tester offer is good, but you might get more traction offering it to the first 25-50 people. HN moves fast and 10 slots will fill quickly (or people won't bother if they think they're too late)

*Question for you:* How are you planning to handle launch/marketing after beta? I'm launching a scheduling tool on Product Hunt soon and wrestling with similar distribution challenges. The indie builder reality is: building is the easy part, getting eyeballs is brutal.

What's your strategy been for building awareness before launch?

falkensmaze66 200 days ago | |

Hey, thanks for the feedback. I'll update the hero statement in a bit, the pricing calculator is available on landing (and actually takes you to the order form with the config you select), although upon further thought it should be more visible so I'll change that too.

I only have 2 servers at the moment, although this will change gradually as customers arrive (my last business took 3 years to become profitable), realistically I have around 27 slots free right now due to the amount of IPs I have available. I want to put it on Product Hunt soon although a lot has changed since I last launched a product and I see a ton of AI related wrapper products that have no real use, and it might get buried underneath.

I plan to advertise it through X, Instagram and TikTok after the beta is over. It's completely bootstrapped, as was my last product, although that one was launched and gained traction through the word of mouth.

But you are right, getting eyeballs (especially paid ones) is quite brutal in the current market.

What do you think about the NoJS Privacy/Tor mode? You can access it via clearnet by pressing on the privacy mode button the the bottom left of the screen in case you haven't looked at it.

galaxy_gas 199 days ago | | |

Need to START in nojs mode.