That’s basically a conspiracy claim with no evidence. Audit firms have reputations to maintain. Their entire business depends on credability. Plus many audits are public. If all audits were controlled by shadow buyers, every industry audit would be meaningless.

Your condom analogy only works if failure is guaranteed. With a reputable VPN, it isn’t. You’re not eliminating trust, you’re choosing a provider with audits, legal accountability, and a track record instead of defaulting to your ISP. That’s not perfect security, but it’s clearly not the same as “a poked hole.”