{"id":4449,"date":"2025-03-20T23:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T14:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449"},"modified":"2025-03-20T23:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T14:16:11","slug":"the-finest-free-vpns-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449","title":{"rendered":"The Finest Free VPNs for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>In order for you all of the options of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-free-vpns\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">greatest VPN providers<\/a>, you normally need to pay for them. Thankfully, a number of free choices cowl the fundamentals and enhance your on-line privateness. Don&#8217;t be concerned; you do not have to dig via all of the wonderful print to search out one of the best no-cost VPN. Along with our traditional VPN testing, which we have been conducting for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/openvpn-shield-exchange\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">greater than 10 years<\/a>, we have completed the analysis to provide you a listing of one of the best free VPNs. Proton VPN is our best choice totally free and paid VPNs, so you may&#8217;t go mistaken. Even higher, you may strive before you purchase. Nonetheless, it is not your solely possibility. Learn on for our high picks, adopted by what to search for when selecting a free VPN.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>\n                    Deeper Dive: Our High Examined Picks\n                <\/p>\n<section class=\"roundup-product-card mx-auto !mb-16 max-w-3xl rounded-md p-6 shadow-box sm:!mb-32 sm:p-8\" id=\"best-overall\" data-parent-group=\"roundup-product-card\" aria-label=\"Best Overall\" x-data=\"{ intersectItem: $refs.intersectItem }\" x-ref=\"intersectItem\" x-intersect.once=\"window.trackGAImpressionEvents('Best_Product_Card', 'Best Overall', intersectItem)\">\n<div class=\"mb-8 flex flex-col md:flex-row\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"order-last aspect-video w-full border border-gray-300 object-contain md:order-first md:w-1\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-77.fit_lim.size_320x180.v1653509931.jpg\" data-lazy-sized=\"\" viewbox=\"0 0 320 180\" fill=\"%23f7f7f7\" alt=\"Proton VPN's logo\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  true  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_53 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\" role=\"button\"><label for=\"item-6a2760058c27d\" ><span class=\"\"><span style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input aria-label=\"Toggle\" aria-label=\"item-6a2760058c27d\"  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-6a2760058c27d\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Professionals_Cons\" title=\"Professionals &amp; Cons\">Professionals &amp; Cons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Why_We_Picked_It\" title=\"Why We Picked It\">Why We Picked It<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Who_It_is_For\" title=\"Who It is For\">Who It is For<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Specs_Configurations\" title=\"Specs &amp; Configurations\">Specs &amp; Configurations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Finest_for_Free_Location_Spoofing\" title=\"Finest for Free Location Spoofing\">Finest for Free Location Spoofing<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#TunnelBear_VPN\" title=\"TunnelBear VPN\">TunnelBear VPN<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Professionals_Cons-2\" title=\"Professionals &amp; Cons\">Professionals &amp; Cons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Why_We_Picked_It-2\" title=\"Why We Picked It\">Why We Picked It<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Who_It_is_For-2\" title=\"Who It is For\">Who It is For<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Specs_Configurations-2\" title=\"Specs &amp; Configurations\">Specs &amp; Configurations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Finest_for_Free_Virtually_Limitless_Shopping\" title=\"Finest for Free (Virtually) Limitless Shopping\">Finest for Free (Virtually) Limitless Shopping<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#PrivadoVPN\" title=\"PrivadoVPN\">PrivadoVPN<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Professionals_Cons-3\" title=\"Professionals &amp; Cons\">Professionals &amp; Cons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Why_We_Picked_It-3\" title=\"Why We Picked It\">Why We Picked It<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Who_It_is_For-3\" title=\"Who It is For\">Who It is For<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Specs_Configurations-3\" title=\"Specs &amp; Configurations\">Specs &amp; Configurations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Finest_for_Free_US-Based_mostly_Shopping\" title=\"Finest for Free US-Based mostly Shopping\">Finest for Free US-Based mostly Shopping<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Hotspot_Protect_VPN\" title=\"Hotspot Protect VPN\">Hotspot Protect VPN<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Professionals_Cons-4\" title=\"Professionals &amp; Cons\">Professionals &amp; Cons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Why_We_Picked_It-4\" title=\"Why We Picked It\">Why We Picked It<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Who_It_is_For-4\" title=\"Who It is For\">Who It is For<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Specs_Configurations-4\" title=\"Specs &amp; Configurations\">Specs &amp; Configurations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Finest_for_A_number_of_Server_Places\" title=\"Finest for A number of Server Places\">Finest for A number of Server Places<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Disguiseme_VPN\" title=\"Disguise.me VPN\">Disguise.me VPN<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-25\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Professionals_Cons-5\" title=\"Professionals &amp; Cons\">Professionals &amp; Cons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-26\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Why_We_Picked_It-5\" title=\"Why We Picked It\">Why We Picked It<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-27\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Who_It_is_For-5\" title=\"Who It is For\">Who It is For<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-28\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Specs_Configurations-5\" title=\"Specs &amp; Configurations\">Specs &amp; Configurations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-29\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Finest_Firm_Transparency\" title=\"Finest Firm Transparency\">Finest Firm Transparency<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-30\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Windscribe_VPN\" title=\"Windscribe VPN\">Windscribe VPN<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-31\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Professionals_Cons-6\" title=\"Professionals &amp; Cons\">Professionals &amp; Cons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-32\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Why_We_Picked_It-6\" title=\"Why We Picked It\">Why We Picked It<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-33\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Who_It_is_For-6\" title=\"Who It is For\">Who It is For<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-34\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Specs_Configurations-6\" title=\"Specs &amp; Configurations\">Specs &amp; Configurations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-35\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#The_Finest_Free_VPNs_for_2025_Evaluate_Specs\" title=\"\n            The Finest Free VPNs for 2025 \n            Evaluate Specs \n        \">\n            The Finest Free VPNs for 2025 \n            Evaluate Specs \n        <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-36\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Is_There_a_100_Free_VPN\" title=\"Is There a 100% Free VPN?\">Is There a 100% Free VPN?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-37\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Do_Free_VPNs_Work_With_Netflix\" title=\"Do Free VPNs Work With Netflix?\">Do Free VPNs Work With Netflix?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-38\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Are_Free_VPNs_Secure\" title=\"Are Free VPNs Secure?\">Are Free VPNs Secure?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-39\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Are_Free_VPNs_Any_Good\" title=\"Are Free VPNs Any Good?\">Are Free VPNs Any Good?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-40\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#Advisable_by_Our_Editors\" title=\"Advisable by Our Editors\">Advisable by Our Editors<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-41\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=4449\/#What_Is_the_Finest_Free_VPN\" title=\"What Is the Finest Free VPN?\">What Is the Finest Free VPN?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Professionals_Cons\"><\/span>Professionals &amp; Cons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 gap-x-8 gap-y-6 sm:flex-row\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Finest free VPN subscription but&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Quite a few superior privateness instruments&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Sturdy buyer privateness stance&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Giant server community&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Slick, accessible consumer&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Wonderful add pace scores<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_We_Picked_It\"><\/span>Why We Picked It<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>ProtonVPN is our best choice for premium VPNs <em>and<\/em> free VPNs. The corporate locations no restrict on the quantity of knowledge free subscribers might use. ProtonVPN does, nevertheless, restrict free accounts to only one simultaneous connection. Additionally, free accounts can solely entry servers in three nations: the Netherlands, Japan, and america. Not like some VPNs, nevertheless, you may choose which server to make use of. ProtonVPN has a robust popularity for privateness, partly due to the success of its sibling product, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/protonmail\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">ProtonMail<\/a>. ProtonVPN equally has good privateness insurance policies and backs that up with public, third-party audits.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_It_is_For\"><\/span>Who It is For<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>With out knowledge restrictions, Proton VPN is the one service that might be a real each day driver totally free. Nonetheless, the restricted server choices imply that you simply ideally wish to be in or comparatively near the nations the place servers are provided. Moreover, you may solely defend one gadget at a time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Specs_Configurations\"><\/span>Specs &amp; Configurations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 divide-y-1 divide-gray-300\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Information Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Limitless<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model  Server Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            US, Netherlands, Japan<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Simultaneous Connection Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            1<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Can Manually Choose Server In Free Model<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-4 text-green-400\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-prefix=\"fal\" data-icon=\"check\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M413.505 91.951 133.49 371.966l-98.995-98.995c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.971 0L6.211 284.284c-4.686 4.686-4.686 12.284 0 16.971l118.794 118.794c4.686 4.686 12.284 4.686 16.971 0l299.813-299.813c4.686-4.686 4.686-12.284 0-16.971l-11.314-11.314c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.97 0z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Are All Options Out there In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-5 text-red-400\" viewbox=\"0 0 352 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"m242.72 256 100.07-100.07c12.28-12.28 12.28-32.19 0-44.48l-22.24-22.24c-12.28-12.28-32.19-12.28-44.48 0L176 189.28 75.93 89.21c-12.28-12.28-32.19-12.28-44.48 0L9.21 111.45c-12.28 12.28-12.28 32.19 0 44.48L109.28 256 9.21 356.07c-12.28 12.28-12.28 32.19 0 44.48l22.24 22.24c12.28 12.28 32.2 12.28 44.48 0L176 322.72l100.07 100.07c12.28 12.28 32.2 12.28 44.48 0l22.24-22.24c12.28-12.28 12.28-32.19 0-44.48L242.72 256z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Connection Speeds Restricted<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            No<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">No Adverts In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Sure<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mx-auto mb-4 text-center md:mb-8\">\n<p>Study Extra<\/p>\n<p>                    <a class=\"mt-2 inline-block font-semibold leading-normal text-red-400 underline md:leading-loose\" data-module=\"Best_Product_Card\" data-element=\"Best Overall\" data-item=\"Best Overall\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/protonvpn\" aria-label=\"{ $item-&gt;product_name }} Review\" x-track-ga-click=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Proton VPN Overview<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"roundup-product-card mx-auto !mb-16 max-w-3xl rounded-md p-6 shadow-box sm:!mb-32 sm:p-8\" id=\"best-for-free-location-spoofing\" data-parent-group=\"roundup-product-card\" aria-label=\"Best for Free Location Spoofing\" x-data=\"{ intersectItem: $refs.intersectItem }\" x-ref=\"intersectItem\" x-intersect.once=\"window.trackGAImpressionEvents('Best_Product_Card', 'Best for Free Occasional Location Spoofing', intersectItem)\">\n<div class=\"mb-8 flex flex-col md:flex-row\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"order-last aspect-video w-full border border-gray-300 object-contain md:order-first md:w-1\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-31.fit_lim.size_320x180.v1617043542.png\" data-lazy-sized=\"\" viewbox=\"0 0 320 180\" fill=\"%23f7f7f7\" alt=\"TunnelBear VPN logo\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"order-first flex w-full items-center pb-6 md:order-last md:ml-8 md:w-1\/2 md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"w-full md:leading-normal\">\n<h2 class=\"font-stretch-condensed text-lg font-semibold leading-compact text-red-400\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finest_for_Free_Location_Spoofing\"><\/span>Finest for Free Location Spoofing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"font-stretch-condensed my-2 text-2xl font-semibold leading-compact md:text-3xl md:leading-tight\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TunnelBear_VPN\"><\/span>TunnelBear VPN<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  true  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Professionals_Cons-2\"><\/span>Professionals &amp; Cons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 gap-x-8 gap-y-6 sm:flex-row\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Limitless simultaneous connections&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Wonderful privateness insurance policies&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Annual unbiased audits&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Pleasant, approachable design (with bears!)<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>No multi-hop connections&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Cut up tunneling not accessible on all platforms&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Information restrict on free subscription<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_We_Picked_It-2\"><\/span>Why We Picked It<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>With its playful interface and deadpan bears, it is simple to dismiss TunnelBear VPN as all present and no substance. However it will be a mistake, as TunnelBear has sturdy privateness insurance policies that it backs up with a string of annual third-party audits. The free model of TunnelBear VPN permits limitless simultaneous connections. It does put one hefty restriction on free subscribers: a 500MB per 30 days knowledge restrict. You&#8217;ll be able to earn one other 1GB of knowledge on high of that should you publish concerning the firm on social media. Nonetheless, that is not very a lot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_It_is_For-2\"><\/span>Who It is For<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>The free model of TunnelBear VPN permits you to entry any of its world servers, making it a good selection for vacationers or anybody who must spoof their location. However given knowledge limitations, this free VPN is greatest for individuals who plan to make use of it solely sometimes. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Specs_Configurations-2\"><\/span>Specs &amp; Configurations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 divide-y-1 divide-gray-300\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Information Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            500MB &#8211; 1.5GB Per Month<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model  Server Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            All Servers<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Simultaneous Connection Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Limitless<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Can Manually Choose Server In Free Model<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-4 text-green-400\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-prefix=\"fal\" data-icon=\"check\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M413.505 91.951 133.49 371.966l-98.995-98.995c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.971 0L6.211 284.284c-4.686 4.686-4.686 12.284 0 16.971l118.794 118.794c4.686 4.686 12.284 4.686 16.971 0l299.813-299.813c4.686-4.686 4.686-12.284 0-16.971l-11.314-11.314c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.97 0z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Are All Options Out there In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-4 text-green-400\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-prefix=\"fal\" data-icon=\"check\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M413.505 91.951 133.49 371.966l-98.995-98.995c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.971 0L6.211 284.284c-4.686 4.686-4.686 12.284 0 16.971l118.794 118.794c4.686 4.686 12.284 4.686 16.971 0l299.813-299.813c4.686-4.686 4.686-12.284 0-16.971l-11.314-11.314c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.97 0z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Connection Speeds Restricted<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            No<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">No Adverts In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Sure<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mx-auto mb-4 text-center md:mb-8\">\n<p>Study Extra<\/p>\n<p>                    <a class=\"mt-2 inline-block font-semibold leading-normal text-red-400 underline md:leading-loose\" data-module=\"Best_Product_Card\" data-element=\"Best for Free Occasional Location Spoofing\" data-item=\"Best for Free Occasional Location Spoofing\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/tunnelbear-vpn\" aria-label=\"{ $item-&gt;product_name }} Review\" x-track-ga-click=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TunnelBear VPN Overview<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"roundup-product-card mx-auto !mb-16 max-w-3xl rounded-md p-6 shadow-box sm:!mb-32 sm:p-8\" id=\"best-for-free-almost-unlimited-browsing\" data-parent-group=\"roundup-product-card\" aria-label=\"Best for Free (Almost) Unlimited Browsing\" x-data=\"{ intersectItem: $refs.intersectItem }\" x-ref=\"intersectItem\" x-intersect.once=\"window.trackGAImpressionEvents('Best_Product_Card', 'Best for Free (Almost) Unlimited Browsing', intersectItem)\">\n<div class=\"mb-8 flex flex-col md:flex-row\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"order-last aspect-video w-full border border-gray-300 object-contain md:order-first md:w-1\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-1.fit_lim.size_320x180.v1655925049.jpg\" data-lazy-sized=\"\" viewbox=\"0 0 320 180\" fill=\"%23f7f7f7\" alt=\"PrivadoVPN\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"order-first flex w-full items-center pb-6 md:order-last md:ml-8 md:w-1\/2 md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"w-full md:leading-normal\">\n<h2 class=\"font-stretch-condensed text-lg font-semibold leading-compact text-red-400\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finest_for_Free_Virtually_Limitless_Shopping\"><\/span>Finest for Free (Virtually) Limitless Shopping<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"font-stretch-condensed my-2 text-2xl font-semibold leading-compact md:text-3xl md:leading-tight\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"PrivadoVPN\"><\/span>PrivadoVPN<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  true  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Professionals_Cons-3\"><\/span>Professionals &amp; Cons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 gap-x-8 gap-y-6 sm:flex-row\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Very reasonably priced&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Beneficiant free subscription&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>10 simultaneous connections&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Cut up tunneling<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Few extra privateness options&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>No third-party audit&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Uninspiring Speedtest outcomes<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_We_Picked_It-3\"><\/span>Why We Picked It<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>Apart from Proton VPN, PrivadoVPN is as shut as you may get to a vast free VPN expertise. Though PrivadoVPN does restrict free customers to 10GB of knowledge per 30 days, it will not minimize you off when you exhaust that offer. As an alternative, your speeds can be throttled till the clock resets in your knowledge. Different restrictions embrace solely having the ability to entry 12 servers and solely permitting one connection at a time. The corporate has not launched a third-party audit, which isn&#8217;t supreme.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_It_is_For-3\"><\/span>Who It is For<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>That is maybe the one time pace throttling is an efficient factor. With PrivadoVPN, you will not have to fret a lot concerning the 10GB restrict, however you could have to cope with slower speeds consequently. The quick listing of obtainable servers means you shouldn&#8217;t depend on this service for location spoofing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Specs_Configurations-3\"><\/span>Specs &amp; Configurations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 divide-y-1 divide-gray-300\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Information Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            10GB Per Month<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model  Server Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            12 Servers<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Simultaneous Connection Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            1<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Can Manually Choose Server In Free Model<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-4 text-green-400\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-prefix=\"fal\" data-icon=\"check\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M413.505 91.951 133.49 371.966l-98.995-98.995c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.971 0L6.211 284.284c-4.686 4.686-4.686 12.284 0 16.971l118.794 118.794c4.686 4.686 12.284 4.686 16.971 0l299.813-299.813c4.686-4.686 4.686-12.284 0-16.971l-11.314-11.314c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.97 0z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Are All Options Out there In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-4 text-green-400\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-prefix=\"fal\" data-icon=\"check\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M413.505 91.951 133.49 371.966l-98.995-98.995c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.971 0L6.211 284.284c-4.686 4.686-4.686 12.284 0 16.971l118.794 118.794c4.686 4.686 12.284 4.686 16.971 0l299.813-299.813c4.686-4.686 4.686-12.284 0-16.971l-11.314-11.314c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.97 0z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Connection Speeds Restricted<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Sure, After Information is Exhausted<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">No Adverts In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Sure<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mx-auto mb-4 text-center md:mb-8\">\n<p>Study Extra<\/p>\n<p>                    <a class=\"mt-2 inline-block font-semibold leading-normal text-red-400 underline md:leading-loose\" data-module=\"Best_Product_Card\" data-element=\"Best for Free (Almost) Unlimited Browsing\" data-item=\"Best for Free (Almost) Unlimited Browsing\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/privadovpn\" aria-label=\"{ $item-&gt;product_name }} Review\" x-track-ga-click=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PrivadoVPN Overview<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"roundup-product-card mx-auto !mb-16 max-w-3xl rounded-md p-6 shadow-box sm:!mb-32 sm:p-8\" id=\"best-for-free-us-based-browsing\" data-parent-group=\"roundup-product-card\" aria-label=\"Best for Free US-Based Browsing\" x-data=\"{ intersectItem: $refs.intersectItem }\" x-ref=\"intersectItem\" x-intersect.once=\"window.trackGAImpressionEvents('Best_Product_Card', 'Best for Free US-Based Browsing', intersectItem)\">\n<div class=\"mb-8 flex flex-col md:flex-row\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"order-last aspect-video w-full border border-gray-300 object-contain md:order-first md:w-1\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-18.fit_lim.size_320x180.v1593116274.png\" data-lazy-sized=\"\" viewbox=\"0 0 320 180\" fill=\"%23f7f7f7\" alt=\"hotspot shield logo\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"order-first flex w-full items-center pb-6 md:order-last md:ml-8 md:w-1\/2 md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"w-full md:leading-normal\">\n<h2 class=\"font-stretch-condensed text-lg font-semibold leading-compact text-red-400\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finest_for_Free_US-Based_mostly_Shopping\"><\/span>Finest for Free US-Based mostly Shopping<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"font-stretch-condensed my-2 text-2xl font-semibold leading-compact md:text-3xl md:leading-tight\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hotspot_Protect_VPN\"><\/span>Hotspot Protect VPN<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  true  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Professionals_Cons-4\"><\/span>Professionals &amp; Cons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 gap-x-8 gap-y-6 sm:flex-row\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Quite a few server areas&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Slick, approachable consumer&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Open Netflix entry in all examined areas&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Hefty providers bundle<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Costly&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Slowest VPN we have examined&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Free model supported by focused advertisements on Android<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_We_Picked_It-4\"><\/span>Why We Picked It<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>Hotspot Protect VPN&#8217;s free subscription has plenty of give and take. We like that free customers get 500MB of knowledge per day, however we&#8217;re not thrilled on the 2Mbps pace restrict for cellular gadgets. Free subscribers on macOS haven&#8217;t any knowledge restrict, nevertheless. Hotspot Protect VPN additionally makes use of advertisements to monetize its free customers, however solely on Android. Free subscribers can solely join one gadget at a time to Hotspot Protect VPN, and may solely entry US-based servers. The corporate has not launched the outcomes of a third-party audit, however has been evaluated by the opposite firms that license its service (akin to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/bitdefender-premium-vpn\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">Bitdefender Premium VPN<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_It_is_For-4\"><\/span>Who It is For<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>There are plenty of caveats to Hotspot Protect VPN&#8217;s free providing, however should you can thread the needle, it would work very nicely for you. Mac customers are greatest off, for the reason that service locations no knowledge restrict on these gadgets. Different desktop customers will not need to cope with the pace throttling discovered on cellular. Should you should use a cellular gadget, iOS is preferable because it lacks advertisements. Additionally, you are restricted to US-servers, so this service is greatest for people who find themselves within the US.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Specs_Configurations-4\"><\/span>Specs &amp; Configurations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 divide-y-1 divide-gray-300\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Information Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            500MB Per Day<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model  Server Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Solely US Servers<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Simultaneous Connection Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            1<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Can Manually Choose Server In Free Model<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-5 text-red-400\" viewbox=\"0 0 352 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"m242.72 256 100.07-100.07c12.28-12.28 12.28-32.19 0-44.48l-22.24-22.24c-12.28-12.28-32.19-12.28-44.48 0L176 189.28 75.93 89.21c-12.28-12.28-32.19-12.28-44.48 0L9.21 111.45c-12.28 12.28-12.28 32.19 0 44.48L109.28 256 9.21 356.07c-12.28 12.28-12.28 32.19 0 44.48l22.24 22.24c12.28 12.28 32.2 12.28 44.48 0L176 322.72l100.07 100.07c12.28 12.28 32.2 12.28 44.48 0l22.24-22.24c12.28-12.28 12.28-32.19 0-44.48L242.72 256z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Are All Options Out there In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-4 text-green-400\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-prefix=\"fal\" data-icon=\"check\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M413.505 91.951 133.49 371.966l-98.995-98.995c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.971 0L6.211 284.284c-4.686 4.686-4.686 12.284 0 16.971l118.794 118.794c4.686 4.686 12.284 4.686 16.971 0l299.813-299.813c4.686-4.686 4.686-12.284 0-16.971l-11.314-11.314c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.97 0z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Connection Speeds Restricted<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Sure, 2Mbps<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">No Adverts In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Adverts For Free Android Customers Solely<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mx-auto mb-4 text-center md:mb-8\">\n<p>Study Extra<\/p>\n<p>                    <a class=\"mt-2 inline-block font-semibold leading-normal text-red-400 underline md:leading-loose\" data-module=\"Best_Product_Card\" data-element=\"Best for Free US-Based Browsing\" data-item=\"Best for Free US-Based Browsing\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/hotspot-shield-vpn\" aria-label=\"{ $item-&gt;product_name }} Review\" x-track-ga-click=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hotspot Protect VPN Overview<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"roundup-product-card mx-auto !mb-16 max-w-3xl rounded-md p-6 shadow-box sm:!mb-32 sm:p-8\" id=\"best-for-multiple-server-locations\" data-parent-group=\"roundup-product-card\" aria-label=\"Best for Multiple Server Locations\" x-data=\"{ intersectItem: $refs.intersectItem }\" x-ref=\"intersectItem\" x-intersect.once=\"window.trackGAImpressionEvents('Best_Product_Card', 'Best for Free Everyday Browsing Close to Home', intersectItem)\">\n<div class=\"mb-8 flex flex-col md:flex-row\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"order-last aspect-video w-full border border-gray-300 object-contain md:order-first md:w-1\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-35.fit_lim.size_320x180.v1713822251.png\" data-lazy-sized=\"\" viewbox=\"0 0 320 180\" fill=\"%23f7f7f7\" alt=\"Hide,me company logo\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"order-first flex w-full items-center pb-6 md:order-last md:ml-8 md:w-1\/2 md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"w-full md:leading-normal\">\n<h2 class=\"font-stretch-condensed text-lg font-semibold leading-compact text-red-400\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finest_for_A_number_of_Server_Places\"><\/span>Finest for A number of Server Places<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"font-stretch-condensed my-2 text-2xl font-semibold leading-compact md:text-3xl md:leading-tight\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Disguiseme_VPN\"><\/span>Disguise.me VPN<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  true  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Professionals_Cons-5\"><\/span>Professionals &amp; Cons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 gap-x-8 gap-y-6 sm:flex-row\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Ten simultaneous connections&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Good server distribution&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Sturdy pace check scores&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Helps nameless funds&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Reasonably priced<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-red-400 shrink-0 size-4\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Velocity limitations on free tier<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_We_Picked_It-5\"><\/span>Why We Picked It<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>Totally free subscribers, Disguise.me allots a formidable 10GB of knowledge per 30 days and allows you to entry 5 server areas. Particularly notable is that Disguise.me doesn&#8217;t ask in your fee particulars once you create a free account. Plus, the service has acquired a third-party audit. There are some restrictions, although. Free customers are restricted to only a single simultaneous connection. And should you determine to spring for a paid subscription, it&#8217;s a must to pay a hefty up-front value, though the paid model provides you entry to many options not accessible totally free.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_It_is_For-5\"><\/span>Who It is For<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>Disguise.me&#8217;s free plan is nice for individuals who use a good quantity of knowledge, needn&#8217;t share a plan with another person, and vacationers. The 10GB knowledge restrict is extra beneficiant than what we see from some rivals, however you continue to need to be aware to not run out earlier than the month&#8217;s finish. A single simultaneous connection means you may solely use one gadget at a time. Getting access to 5 server areas provides you extra freedom when touring or trying to spoof your location.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Specs_Configurations-5\"><\/span>Specs &amp; Configurations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 divide-y-1 divide-gray-300\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Information Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            10GB Per Month<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model  Server Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            5 Places<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Simultaneous Connection Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            1<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Can Manually Choose Server In Free Model<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-4 text-green-400\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-prefix=\"fal\" data-icon=\"check\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M413.505 91.951 133.49 371.966l-98.995-98.995c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.971 0L6.211 284.284c-4.686 4.686-4.686 12.284 0 16.971l118.794 118.794c4.686 4.686 12.284 4.686 16.971 0l299.813-299.813c4.686-4.686 4.686-12.284 0-16.971l-11.314-11.314c-4.686-4.686-12.284-4.686-16.97 0z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Are All Options Out there In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-5 text-red-400\" viewbox=\"0 0 352 512\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"m242.72 256 100.07-100.07c12.28-12.28 12.28-32.19 0-44.48l-22.24-22.24c-12.28-12.28-32.19-12.28-44.48 0L176 189.28 75.93 89.21c-12.28-12.28-32.19-12.28-44.48 0L9.21 111.45c-12.28 12.28-12.28 32.19 0 44.48L109.28 256 9.21 356.07c-12.28 12.28-12.28 32.19 0 44.48l22.24 22.24c12.28 12.28 32.2 12.28 44.48 0L176 322.72l100.07 100.07c12.28 12.28 32.2 12.28 44.48 0l22.24-22.24c12.28-12.28 12.28-32.19 0-44.48L242.72 256z\"\/><\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Connection Speeds Restricted<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            No<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">No Adverts In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            Sure<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mx-auto mb-4 text-center md:mb-8\">\n<p>Study Extra<\/p>\n<p>                    <a class=\"mt-2 inline-block font-semibold leading-normal text-red-400 underline md:leading-loose\" data-module=\"Best_Product_Card\" data-element=\"Best for Free Everyday Browsing Close to Home\" data-item=\"Best for Free Everyday Browsing Close to Home\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/hideme-vpn\" aria-label=\"{ $item-&gt;product_name }} Review\" x-track-ga-click=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Disguise.me VPN Overview<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"roundup-product-card mx-auto !mb-16 max-w-3xl rounded-md p-6 shadow-box sm:!mb-32 sm:p-8\" id=\"windscribe-vpn\" data-parent-group=\"roundup-product-card\" aria-label=\"Windscribe VPN\" x-data=\"{ intersectItem: $refs.intersectItem }\" x-ref=\"intersectItem\" x-intersect.once=\"window.trackGAImpressionEvents('Best_Product_Card', 'Windscribe VPN', intersectItem)\">\n<div class=\"mb-8 flex flex-col md:flex-row\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"order-last aspect-video w-full border border-gray-300 object-contain md:order-first md:w-1\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/reviews\/04nsFjYxgdcYmKbESqG7dSM-9.fit_lim.size_320x180.v1718650718.jpg\" data-lazy-sized=\"\" viewbox=\"0 0 320 180\" fill=\"%23f7f7f7\" alt=\"Windscribe logo: A W in an octagon and the word &quot;windscribe&quot; in black on a white background\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"order-first flex w-full items-center pb-6 md:order-last md:ml-8 md:w-1\/2 md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"w-full md:leading-normal\">\n<h2 class=\"font-stretch-condensed text-lg font-semibold leading-compact text-red-400\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finest_Firm_Transparency\"><\/span>Finest Firm Transparency<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"font-stretch-condensed my-2 text-2xl font-semibold leading-compact md:text-3xl md:leading-tight\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Windscribe_VPN\"><\/span>Windscribe VPN<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  true  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Professionals_Cons-6\"><\/span>Professionals &amp; Cons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 gap-x-8 gap-y-6 sm:flex-row\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<ul class=\"!my-0 flex-1 space-y-3 !px-0 text-base font-semibold [&amp;&gt;li]:leading-normal\">\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Trade-leading firm transparency and communication&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Giant variety of fee choices&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Finest free plan of any VPN we have examined&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Useful AI assist bot&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Open Netflix entry in all areas benchmarked&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Limitless variety of simultaneous connections and gadgets&#13;<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"flex items-baseline gap-x-3\">\n                                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"pt-1 text-green-400 shrink-0 size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.66659 6.33331H13.6666V7.66665H7.66659V13.6666H6.33325V7.66665H0.333252V6.33331H6.33325V0.333313H7.66659V6.33331Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                <span>Nameless signup allowed<\/span>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_We_Picked_It-6\"><\/span>Why We Picked It<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>Windscribe VPN provides its full-featured consumer to anybody who desires to make use of the service, with solely the small caveat of a bandwidth restriction of as much as 10GB with an electronic mail deal with at signup or 2GB should you select to stay nameless with no electronic mail account. This is among the most beneficiant offers within the VPN trade proper now and essential for anybody who cares at the beginning about their privateness on-line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_It_is_For-6\"><\/span>Who It is For<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 rich-text !mb-0\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>For individuals who need the complete VPN expertise however do not wish to pay out of pocket, Windscribe VPN&#8217;s free account insurance policies are second-to-none. We suggest Windscribe to anybody who does not thoughts a month-to-month knowledge cap and those that might wish to strive the product earlier than taking the plunge on a month-to-month subscription.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"border-b-1 border-t-1 border-gray-300 [&amp;+section]:border-t-0\" x-data=\"{ drawerOpen:  false  }\">\n        <button class=\"rich-text my-4 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-x-4 text-left md:my-6 [&amp;&gt;*]:!m-0 [&amp;&gt;*]:w-fit [&amp;&gt;h3&gt;strong]:font-semibold\" aria-label=\"Pros &amp; Cons\" aria-controls=\"pros-cons\" :aria-expanded=\"drawerOpen\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Specs_Configurations-6\"><\/span>Specs &amp; Configurations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>        <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col mb-8 divide-y-1 divide-gray-300\" x-collapse=\"\" x-cloak=\"\" x-show=\"drawerOpen\">\n<p>\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Information Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            10GB Per Month<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model  Server Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Model Simultaneous Connection Restrict<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Can Manually Choose Server In Free Model<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Are All Options Out there In Free Model?<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"flex justify-between gap-x-8 text-base leading-normal pt-4 pb-4\">\n                        <span class=\"hyphens flex-1 break-words px-4 font-semibold sm:px-8\">Free Connection Speeds Restricted<\/span><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"flex-1 sm:flex-[2]\"><br \/>\n                                                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"inline-block size-5\" width=\"14\" height=\"2\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 2\" fill=\"currentColor\">\n    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M13.6666 0.333313V1.66665H0.333252V0.333313H13.6666Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>                                                    <\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mx-auto mb-4 text-center md:mb-8\">\n<p>Study Extra<\/p>\n<p>                    <a class=\"mt-2 inline-block font-semibold leading-normal text-red-400 underline md:leading-loose\" data-module=\"Best_Product_Card\" data-element=\"Windscribe VPN\" data-item=\"Windscribe VPN\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/windscribe-vpn\" aria-label=\"{ $item-&gt;product_name }} Review\" x-track-ga-click=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Windscribe VPN Overview<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"my-16 flex flex-col gap-8 py-6\" data-parent-group=\"roundup-compare-chart\" aria-label=\"Roundup Compare Chart\" x-data=\"{&#10;        options: [],&#10;        specNames: [],&#10;        specLength: 0,&#10;        specLengthVisible: 0,&#10;        selectionCount: 0,&#10;        selections: {&#10;            selection_1: '',&#10;            selection_2: '',&#10;            selection_3: '',&#10;            selection_4: ''&#10;        },&#10;        scrollable: false,&#10;        scrollEnd: false,&#10;        gridHeightStyle: '',&#10;        gridRowStyle: '',&#10;        init() {&#10;            $nextTick(() =&gt; {&#10;                this.setSelections()&#10;                window.onresize = (() =&gt; {&#10;                    this.setSelections()&#10;                    this.gridHeightStyle = this.calculateGridHeight()&#10;                })&#10;                if (this.scrollable) {&#10;                    $refs.specs.addEventListener('scroll', () =&gt; this.scrollEnd = $refs.specs.scrollTop + $refs.specs.clientHeight &gt;= $refs.specs.scrollHeight)&#10;                }&#10;            })&#10;    &#10;            $watch('selections', () =&gt; { this.gridHeightStyle = this.calculateGridHeight() })&#10;    &#10;            this.options = [{&quot;id&quot;:9135,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:360665,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:null,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;product_uuid&quot;:&quot;07MzChxv6c3GEopWVEsNLtg&quot;,&quot;spec_sheet_uuid&quot;:&quot;06lWQ6LeMwOhpO7nWLcJo30&quot;,&quot;roundup_id&quot;:315,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Proton VPN&quot;,&quot;page_title&quot;:null,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;protonvpn&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;deck&quot;:&quot;The best VPN gets even better&quot;,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;focus_keyword&quot;:null,&quot;no_link_injection&quot;:0,&quot;is_editors_choice&quot;:true,&quot;use_hero_image_gallery&quot;:0,&quot;is_preview&quot;:false,&quot;show_specs&quot;:true,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;5.0&quot;,&quot;people_involved&quot;:null,&quot;hours_spent&quot;:null,&quot;hours_researched&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN isn't the biggest, the flashiest, or even the cheapest VPN, and yet it's one of the best services available. It places an enormous emphasis on security and user privacy, and has an excellent client that's very easy to use. It also offers a suite of advanced privacy tools usually reserved for far more expensive products. For all that, and its amazing free version that has no limit on data usage, it's an Editors' Choice winner and one of the &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-vpn-services&quot;&gt;best VPNs&lt;\/a&gt;. If you're dipping your toe into VPNs, it's a great way to start with no risk.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;What Is a VPN?&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When you activate your VPN, it creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a server operated by the VPN company. Sending your traffic through the tunnel keeps it hidden from anyone on the same network as you, and from your ISP that is all too willing to sell your anonymized data. A VPN also hides your true IP address, making it harder for advertisers to track you across the web. If you select a distant server, you can even spoof your location to appear in a distant country.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;VPNs are valuable tools for improving your privacy online, but they can't do everything. I still recommend that everyone use a &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-password-managers&quot;&gt;password manager&lt;\/a&gt;, activate &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/how-to\/two-factor-authentication-who-has-it-and-how-to-set-it-up&quot;&gt;two-factor authentication&lt;\/a&gt; wherever it's available, and install an &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-free-antivirus-protection&quot;&gt;antivirus app&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;ProtonVPN Pricing and Features&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Most VPN services offer the same set of features across all pricing tiers. For those services, the tiers are less about upgrades and more about longer-term subscriptions at a reduced rate. ProtonVPN goes in the opposite direction. There is a 20 percent discount for annual versus monthly subscriptions, but more generous features are unlocked or added as you move up the four price tiers.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;On its pricing page, ProtonVPN includes speed classifications for its subscription tiers. These are just estimations based on the expected number of users. &lt;i&gt;ProtonVPN does not throttle your speeds&lt;\/i&gt;, regardless of the subscription you use. The Free subscription has &quot;Low&quot; speeds because ProtonVPN expects it will have many users crowded into a few servers, while the paid subscriptions have &quot;High&quot; speeds because they have access to more servers and fewer users per server.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;150&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%; height: 100%;&quot; src=&quot;https:\/\/mashable.com\/videos\/blueprint:1On8Y6WYlB\/embed\/?player=pcmag&amp;amp;autoplay=true&amp;amp;mute=true&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot;&gt;&lt;\/iframe&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The first subscription tier of ProtonVPN is its free offering, which includes just three VPN server locations, and only allows one device to be connected at a time. You'll also have to create an account with ProtonVPN in order to access even its free tier. Despite those limitations, ProtonVPN is unique in that it does not limit the amount of data a free subscriber can use, as mentioned earlier. &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/tunnelbear-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;7387&quot;&gt;TunnelBear VPN's&lt;\/a&gt; free offering limits you to 500MB of secured traffic per month, Hotspot Shield limits your bandwidth to 500MB per day, and KeepSolid places no data restrictiosn on its limited free version. Other free VPNs pile on other restrictions. Because of all that, I recommend ProtonVPN over all the other free VPNs I've tested.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The second tier is ProtonVPN Basic, which costs $5 per month ($48 annually). This tier grants access to all the VPN locations ProtonVPN has to offer, but limits you to just two devices. P2P file sharing is allowed at this tier. Mullvad offers unfettered access to its service for a smidge more, at $5.54.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;For this review, I signed up for a $10 per month ($96 annually) Plus account, which is the third of four pricing tiers. This is dead-on for the average monthly price of a VPN, and still less than competitors with similar features, such as NordVPN. This tier lets me access all the VPN servers in ProtonVPN's network, and use up to five devices&amp;mdash;the average for the industry. This tier grants access to Plus servers. These are servers restricted to the highest two tiers of ProtonVPN, and intended to be less crowded and therefore higher performing. Plus subscribers also get access to the Tor annonymization network, a rare feature. You don't need to use a VPN to access Tor, but it's nice to have. There are also specially designated servers for streaming media at the Plus level.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-30.v_1584972175.png', 'ProtonVPN 2020', 'ProtonVPN 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-21.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-21.png' width='1280' height='720'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-21.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-21.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The Plus tier also includes access to Secure Core servers, which are a bit unusual and merit further explanation. These are servers owned by ProtonVPN and kept in secure facilities (in one example, an underground demilitarized NATO bunker). This way you can be assured that no one has tampered with the servers, to expose your information. When you connect via Core Servers, your VPN connection makes two hops. First, from your device to the Core Servers, and then onward to the VPN server you select.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While a VPN protects your data with its encrypted tunnel, that doesn't mean anything if an attacker has taken control of the VPN server. What the Core Server scheme does is guarantee that your information is secure from your computer to the Core Server, which is under lock and key. If the next VPN server you connect to &lt;i&gt;after&lt;\/i&gt; the Core Server has been compromised, whoever has taken control won't be able to glean anything about you because your traffic will appear to be coming from the Core Server and not your actual computer. This is similar to &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/tor-browser&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2455&quot;&gt;Tor&lt;\/a&gt;, but Tor goes above and beyond with many more hops in between you and your destination.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Unsurprisingly, this comes at a pretty hefty tradeoff in terms of speed and performance, but is a unique feature that should put even the most paranoid mind to rest. Other companies may offer similar multihop VPN connections and &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/cyberghost-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2456&quot;&gt;CyberGhost&lt;\/a&gt; also boasts about the integrity of its NoSpy data center. ProtonVPN brings it all together.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;If all that is insufficient, you can upgrade to a $30 per month ($288 annually) Visionary plan, the top of the four pricing tiers. This includes all of the features listed in the previous tier but raises the number of devices that can be simultaneously connected to 10. What you're really getting with a Visionary plan is access to the highest paid tier of &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/protonmail.com\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;ProtonMail&lt;\/a&gt;, the encrypted email service also operated by ProtonVPN. That means 20GB of ProtonMail storage, 50 email aliases, support for 10 email domains, and up to five users on a single email account.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN subscriptions can be purchased via major credit card or PayPal. You can make Bitcoin payments, but only when you upgrade from one plan to the other; you can't create a paid account using Bitcoin. TorGuard, to name just one, is a VPN service that gives you far more options for making anonymous payments. That said, ProtonVPN has announced &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/ProtonMail\/comments\/871zl0\/this_is_why_proton_is_doing_proton_coin_telegram\/dwfdh84\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;its own cryptocurrency&lt;\/a&gt;, suggesting that anonymous payments could someday come to the forefront.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;VPN Protocols&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;VPN technology has been around a long time, and there are lots of different flavors of encrypted tunnels to choose from. I prefer VPN services that make use of the OpenVPN protocol, which is thoroughly vetted by virtue of being open source and has a reputation for being fast and reliable.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN tells me that it uses OpenVPN UDP\/TCP in its Windows app and IKEv2, another good protocol, in all of its Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows apps. I'd like to see it deploy OpenVPN more widely, although that might matter less with the arrival of the super fast, experimental &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/opinions\/the-vpn-industry-is-on-the-cusp-of-a-major-breakthrough&quot;&gt;WireGuard protocol&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Servers and Server Locations&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In terms of distribution, ProtonVPN covers a respectable 44 countries, a little below the 52 countries provided by VPNs on average. CyberGhost covers 90 countries, and &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/expressvpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;7874&quot;&gt;ExpressVPN&lt;\/a&gt; an impressive 94. More server locations is good because it means you're more likely to find a VPN server near to you, giving you better performance. It also means more options for spoofing your location.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN deserves credit for improving its geographic distribution. The company now offers server locations in Africa, an entire continent often ignored by VPN companies, as well as servers in locations in India. ProtonVPN has one location in South America, another oft-ignored locale. I'd like to see more options in all of these regions, but ProtonVPN does better than most.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN provides servers in Hong Kong and Russia, but not in other regions with government restricted access to the web, such as Turkey, Cuba, and others. Having servers in these regions does not necessarily allow users to circumvent censorship, but it may provide a modicum of security and privacy to the populace.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN has one of the smallest networks of servers, but it's also one that has grown steadily over the years. It now stands at 628, which is a far cry from the 5,000 or more available from CyberGhost and NordVPN. While numerous servers are cartainly nice, they don't necessarily mean better service.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-31.v_1584972175.png', 'ProtonVPN 2020', 'ProtonVPN 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-22.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-22.png' width='1280' height='720'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-22.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-22.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Some readers have expressed concern about VPNs using virtual servers. These are software-defined servers, meaning that a single, physical server can play host to many virtual ones. These can also be configured to appear as if they are in a country other than their physical host. The concern is that people want to know exactly where they are connecting, and through which countries their information is passing.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;A representative for ProtonVPN tells me that the company only rents &quot;bare metal&quot; servers that are dedicated to ProtonVPN, meaning they are not shared with other renters. That's not to say that using virtual servers is bad. GoldenFrog VyprVPN, for example, uses virtual servers in locations it regards as secure in order to service locations where the company cannot guarantee the safety of its hardware.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Your Privacy With ProtonVPN&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;It's important that every VPN company respect your privacy and protect your personal information. After all, the main reason to use a VPN is to limit access to your personal information. The company's &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/protonvpn.com\/privacy-policy&quot;&gt;privacy policy&lt;\/a&gt; clearly lays out this, and more, in just a few short paragraphs. It's not as short as TorGuard VPN's policy, nor interactive, like TunnelBear's, but it's clear and concise. I'll do my best to summarize here. In general, it seems that ProtonVPN is living up to its stated goals of protecting user privacy and security&amp;mdash;both through its policies and its hardware and technology practices.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In conversations with me and in the company's documentation, ProtonVPN says it does not log user activity. In order to prevent brute-force password attacks, it only stores a timestamp of the last successful login, which is overwritten after the next login. That's excellent.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;A representative from ProtonVPN tells me that ProtonVPN only makes money through subscription sales, not by selling user information. ProtonVPN is owned by the parent company Proton Technologies AG, and is based in Switzerland and operates under Swiss law. As such, it only responds to requests for information from an approved Swiss court order, which also requires that the individual who is the target of the investigation be notified. That's in stark contrast to the practice of the US sending National Security letters to companies, requiring information and &lt;em&gt;preventing&lt;\/em&gt; them disclosing the request. Even if ProtonVPN were required to respond to a request, it would only supply login timestamps. The company's &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/protonvpn.com\/blog\/transparency-report\/&quot;&gt;transparency report&lt;\/a&gt; indicates it has not responded to any requests for information. This is all excellent from a privacy and security standpoint.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN recently &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/protonvpn.com\/blog\/open-source\/&quot;&gt;open-sourced its apps&lt;\/a&gt;, and notes that its service passed muster &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/futurereleases\/2018\/10\/22\/testing-new-ways-to-keep-you-safe-online\/&quot;&gt;with Mozilla&lt;\/a&gt;. That's good, but it hasn't undergone a no-logs or infrastructure security audit. TunnelBear, for examples, has committed to annual audits of its service.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In terms of physical security, ProtonVPN says it limits access to its hardware and encrypts its servers so the loss of one would not affect the rest of the fleet. Other VPNs have gone further, having their servers run only in RAM. The company also says that it will inform the public about any data breaches, &quot;as soon as it can be guaranteed that disclosing the information will not put users at risk.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Security is really an issue of trust. Even if a company does everything right, it doesn't matter much if you, the customer, don't trust them. I recommend that consumers consider this information, and choose a service based on which company they feel they can trust.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Hands On With ProtonVPN&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN offers clients for &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/protonvpn-for-android&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;10990&quot;&gt;Android&lt;\/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-iphone-vpns&quot;&gt;iOS&lt;\/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/protonvpn-for-macos&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;12019&quot;&gt;macOS&lt;\/a&gt;, and Windows. The company provides detailed instructions on how to configure a &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/protonvpn-for-linux&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;1680&quot;&gt;Linux&lt;\/a&gt; machine to use the service. I had no trouble getting ProtonVPN's Windows app installed on a &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/intel-nuc-kit-nuc8i7beh-bean-canyon&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;10220&quot;&gt;Intel NUC Kit NUC8i7BEH (Bean Canyon)&lt;\/a&gt; desktop running the latest version of Windows 10.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Because ProtonVPN puts such a heavy emphasis on user privacy and technological excellence, I expected ProtonVPN would lack basic features and be a generally unusable mess. I was pleasantly surprised that ProtonVPN is a slick and well-designed app that's easy to use and doesn't skimp on features. Moreover, it's continued to be a pleasure to use over the years.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-32.v_1584972175.png', 'ProtonVPN 2020', 'ProtonVPN 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-23.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-23.png' width='1280' height='720'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-23.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-23.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When you start up ProtonVPN, it appears as a skinny window similar to a mobile app. There's a very obvious button that quickly gets you online, which I appreciate. The app also shows your connection status, a selection of servers so you can quickly change VPN location, and a toggle switch for the Secure Core servers. Clicking the small grey arrow in the upper right expands the window to reveal ProtonVPN's servers spread out on a map along with a real-time assessment of network traffic.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;You can search or browse the available servers, and I particularly like that you can drill down to the specific servers within a location. The app also displays how much load a particular server is experiencing, whether they are Plus servers (that is, servers reserved for Plus users), and which are specialized servers for Tor, streaming, file sharing, and so forth.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In addition to the specialized servers, ProtonVPN includes Profiles for specific activities. Two Profiles are included by default, one for connecting to the fastest server and another for connecting to a random server. You can also create your own Profiles to meet your unique needs by specifying a country and a specific server within that country with which you wish to connect. You can name your profile, mark it with a color, and require that it use the Secure Core servers, too. I recently realized that unlike most VPNs, ProtonVPN doesn't let you mark a server as a favorite&amp;mdash;that's what Profiles are for. This is a pretty advanced feature, but you can easily ignore it if you're not interested.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-33.v_1584972175.png', 'ProtonVPN 2020', 'ProtonVPN 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-24.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-24.png' width='1280' height='720'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-24.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-24.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN does include a Kill Switch that halts web traffic on your machine should the VPN link become disconnected. That prevents your traffic from being exposed, even if only briefly. The app also includes an easy tool for split-tunneling&amp;mdash;that is, routing the traffic from specific apps or IP addresses either into or outside of the VPN tunnel.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-34.v_1584972175.png', 'ProtonVPN 2020', 'ProtonVPN 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-25.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-25.png' width='1280' height='720'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-25.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-25.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Ideally, a VPN will not leak information about your ISP, your true IP address, or your DNS requests. In my testing with the &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.dnsleaktest.com\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DNS Leak Test tool&lt;\/a&gt;, the server I used protected my information. Note that I only tested one server. Other servers may not be configured correctly.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;ProtonVPN and Netflix&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;It's really difficult to &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-vpns-for-netflix&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;152&quot;&gt;watch Netflix with a VPN&lt;\/a&gt; because Netflix wants to enforce its distribution deals.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In my testing, I found that Netflix was not not-blocked but failed to load while connected to a US server. After manually selecting a Premium server, as ProtonVPN advises you do when watching Netflix, I found I was out and out blocked. This could be an issue. That said, the conflict between VPNs and streaming sites is ongoing, and what works today may be blocked tomorrow.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Beyond VPN&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Many VPN companies try to sweeten the pot by adding additional features beyond VPN protection. TorGuard, for example, offers access to a 10GB network and static IP addresses. Other VPNs claim to block malware at the network level, although we don't recommend using these instead of stand-alone &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-antivirus-protection&quot;&gt;antivirus software&lt;\/a&gt;. Ad blocking is another popular feature, appearing in NordVPN, Private Internet Access, Cyberghost, TorGuard, and PureVPN.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN does not offer static IP addresses for purchase, which is a bit of a disappointment. A static IP address is a &quot;clean&quot; address that is unlikely to be blocked. A company representative has told me that ProtonVPN may offer static IP addresses in the future. ProtonVPN also does not include ad, tracker, or malware blocking. While I like to see these features, they can only complement and not replace standalone solutions, so their loss is no great issue. The highest ProtonVPN tier does provide access to the highest paid tier of the encrypted email service ProtonMail, although this service can be used for free or purchased separately at a lower price.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Speed and Performance&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When you use a VPN to secure your web traffic, your data won't be taking the optimal route to and from the internet. Jumping through the extra hoops of a VPN server and the extra data cables involved tends to increase latency while reducing upload and download speeds. To get an impression of that impact, I perform a series of tests using the &lt;a href=&quot;\/news\/how-fast-is-your-internet-connectionreally&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;26682&quot;&gt;Ookla speed test tool&lt;\/a&gt;. (Note that Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns PCMag.) Read my feature on &lt;a href=&quot;\/about\/how-we-test-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;5963&quot;&gt;How We Test VPNs&lt;\/a&gt; for a complete breakdown of our methodologies, as well as the limitations of our testing.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In my testing, I found that ProtonVPN increased latency by 58.8 percent, reduced upload speed test results by 65.5 percent, and reduced download speed test results by 49.8 percent. These are excellent results, and a staggering improvement over last year's figures. The only reason it's not included in our fastest VPN chart is because its upload results were just outside the median for that category, which was our cutoff for inclusion.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;You can see how ProtonVPN compares in the chart below with the top performers among the nearly 40 services we tested.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-35.v_1584972175.png', 'Fastest VPN 2020 Better', 'Fastest VPN 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='Fastest VPN 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 676'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-26.fit_lim.size_1280x676.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-26.png' width='1280' height='676'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Fastest VPN 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-26.fit_lim.size_1280x676.v_1584972175.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-26.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In my testing, I found that &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/anchorfree-hotspot-shield-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;3961&quot;&gt;Hotspot Shield VPN&lt;\/a&gt; had the best download and latency scores, making it a shoe-in for the title of fastest VPN. However, it's extremely notable that &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/surfshark-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;3990&quot;&gt;Surfshark&lt;\/a&gt; has a significantly lower impact on upload speeds than any VPN I've yet tested. Keep in mind that while my testing is useful for comparison, it may differ greatly for you. Also, I believe that security, privacy, and overall value are far more important differentiators than speed, which should not be the primary consideration when choosing a VPN.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Does ProtonVPN Get Faster if You Pay More?&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;ProtonVPN is unique in that it makes more servers available at higher pricing tiers. It also has a limited free option, and Core Servers, all of which have an impact on speed. Because I am nothing if not thorough, I re-ran my tests to compare the various means of connecting via ProtonVPN. My results are shown in the charts below. For the Free, Premium, and Secure Core tiers I let the app choose the server. I manually selected a Basic server.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-36.v_1584972175.png', 'ProtonVPN Speed Tests', 'ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-27.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-27.png' width='1280' height='720'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-27.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png' data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-27.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The chart above demonstrates a pattern that repeated througout my testing. The Basic and Premium tiers were closely tied, as were the Free tier and Secure Core servers. My testing showed that that the Free tier had a 98.2 percent reduction in download speed test scores, the Basic tier a 61.5 percent reduction, and the Premium tier a 54.9 perent reduction in speed test scores. Using Secure Core reduced download speed test results by 96 percent, slightly better than the Free tier.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-37.v_1584972175.png', 'ProtonVPN Speed Tests', 'ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-28.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-28.png' width='1280' height='720'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-28.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png' data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-28.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The upload speed test results saw a similar breakdown. The Free tier reduced upload speed test scores by 83.5 percent, the Basic tier by 60.8 percent, and the Premium tier reduced upload speed test scores by 72.7 percent. Enabling Secure Core reduced upload speed test results by 80.8 percent.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-38.v_1584972175.png', 'ProtonVPN Speed Tests', 'ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-29.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png&quot;}' data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-29.png' width='1280' height='720'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='ProtonVPN Speed Tests 2020' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-29.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1584972175.png' data-image-path='reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-29.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The pattern seen throughout testing was most pronounced in latency testing, to the point where the chart above is of questionable utility. My testing showed that the Free tier increased latency results by 8,546.1 percent, likely a result of fewer servers being available. Free and Basic were closely tied, increasing latency results by 61.9 and 60.9 percent, respectively. Unsurprisingly, Secure Core servers had the most dramatic results, increasing latency results by 9,839.1 percent.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;There are a couple of conclusions that I can draw from this. First and foremost, it demonstrates that the eccentricities of the VPN server you use have an enormous impact on performance. Second, the difference between the Basic and Premium servers is very small. This was echoed in the same tests I ran last year.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Conventional wisdom would dictate that a limited number of servers and a large user base would result in worse performance. While these results do prove that out, it's not nearly as dramatic as you might expect.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Lastly, while the Core Servers will increase your latency like nobody's business, the impact on performance is not necessarily catastrophic. In fact, it's about the same as using the Free service.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Smart and Flexible&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;At first blush, ProtonVPN's restrictively tiered pricing plans might seem a bit off-putting, but those tiers provide flexibility most competitors can't match. The company also offers a rare, truly free experience that doesn't limit your bandwidth or push ads. ProtonVPN has staked its reputation as a privacy-focused company, which is a refreshing change after seeing so many other VPNs emphasize speed and video streaming. It also has a remarkably good-looking client, which is not something every VPN can claim. All that, coupled with the company's focus on technological excellence, is a powerful combination.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Since we first reviewed ProtonVPN, the service has doubled in size and reach and improved its speed test results as well. The company has shown that it can scale up its product without sacrificing security. It's got a bright future, but is also a great choice right now. It's an Editors' Choice winner along with Surfshark and TunnelBear.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;style&gt;&lt;\/style&gt;&quot;,&quot;body_content_blocks&quot;:[],&quot;images&quot;:{&quot;autoincrement&quot;:106,&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;index&quot;:77,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-77.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:9699,&quot;height&quot;:5456,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;d51482e4cb686dcdc618d4b34761dc19&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1653509931,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Proton VPN's logo&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Proton&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:87,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/066pfhdQmzHcmyEMaZtToWq-87.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:3984,&quot;height&quot;:2240,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;01358993c3ccffea2c9a7ffd98bbb299&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1658934209,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Proton 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free subscribers may use. Free accounts are limited to one simultaneous connection, and can only access servers in three countries. It's the best free subscription option we've seen, and the best overall VPN to boot.&quot;,&quot;best_for&quot;:&quot;Best Overall&quot;,&quot;hero_caption&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2018-07-19T15:34:47.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-10-23T14:01:53.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2025-01-15T18:02:50.000000Z&quot;,&quot;scheduled_at&quot;:null,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2018-04-25T19:07:56.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2025-01-15T18:02:56.000000Z&quot;,&quot;product_title&quot;:&quot;Proton VPN&quot;,&quot;roundup_product_id&quot;:3150,&quot;isReview&quot;:true,&quot;newSpecs&quot;:[{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Data Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Unlimited&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version  Server Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;US, Netherlands, Japan&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Simultaneous Connection Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;1&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Can Manually Select Server In Free Version&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:true},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Are All Features Available In Free Version?&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:false},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Connection Speeds Limited&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;No&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;No Ads In Free Version?&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Yes&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Public Third-Party Audit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:true}],&quot;authors&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:178,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:7224,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;050v6fPGx9K08chnKWledz6&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:62,&quot;is_active&quot;:true,&quot;is_contributor&quot;:false,&quot;first_name&quot;:&quot;Chris&quot;,&quot;last_name&quot;:&quot;Stobing&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;chris-stobing&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Senior Analyst, Security&quot;,&quot;bio_summary&quot;:[],&quot;bio_content_blocks&quot;:[],&quot;email&quot;:&quot;chris_stobing@ziffdavis.com&quot;,&quot;twitter&quot;:null,&quot;linkedin&quot;:null,&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;path&quot;:&quot;authors\/050v6fPGx9K08chnKWledz6.png&quot;,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Chris Stobing headshot&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;PCMag&quot;}},&quot;seo_title&quot;:null,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2020-02-06T22:08:16.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-15T16:18:31.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-15T16:18:24.000000Z&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2019-06-11T02:52:42.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-15T16:18:31.000000Z&quot;,&quot;pivot&quot;:{&quot;authorable_id&quot;:9135,&quot;author_id&quot;:178,&quot;authorable_type&quot;:&quot;review&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2023-12-01T20:00:28.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2025-01-15T18:02:57.000000Z&quot;}}],&quot;brands&quot;:[]},{&quot;id&quot;:7387,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:346257,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:null,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;product_uuid&quot;:&quot;07gTbd8huAzu6dL77AgI3Nt&quot;,&quot;spec_sheet_uuid&quot;:&quot;06lWQ6LeMwOhpO7nWLcJo30&quot;,&quot;roundup_id&quot;:315,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear VPN&quot;,&quot;page_title&quot;:null,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;tunnelbear-vpn&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;deck&quot;:&quot;A serious VPN that doesn't take itself too seriously&quot;,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;focus_keyword&quot;:&quot;tunnelbear&quot;,&quot;no_link_injection&quot;:0,&quot;is_editors_choice&quot;:true,&quot;use_hero_image_gallery&quot;:0,&quot;is_preview&quot;:false,&quot;show_specs&quot;:true,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;4.0&quot;,&quot;people_involved&quot;:null,&quot;hours_spent&quot;:null,&quot;hours_researched&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;&lt;p&gt;n&lt;!-- ZIFFHTML START 4411 --&gt;n&lt;a href=&quot;\/news\/the-best-tech-products-of-2019&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; data-link-type=&quot;lineup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2835&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img alt='Best of the year 2019 Bug' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 181 150'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-16.fit_lim.size_181x150.v_1575681011.jpg&quot;}' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-16.jpg'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Best of the year 2019 Bug' width='181' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-16.fit_lim.size_181x150.v_1575681011.jpg' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-16.jpg'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;n&lt;!-- ZIFFHTML END 4411 --&gt;nIf you're tired of green-on-black hackertext and faceless hoodie-clad hackers in your security products, you're not alone. TunnelBear VPN heads the opposite direction with bright colors, excellent design, and a cadre of cute, but no less powerful, bears. It's bursting with charm, yet it also delivers excellent security tools at a good price. It's an &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-vpn-services&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;315&quot;&gt;excellent VPN&lt;\/a&gt; that you'll actually use, and an Editors' Choice winner.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;What Is a VPN?&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;n&lt;!-- ZIFFHTML START 3993 --&gt;n&lt;A HREF=&quot;http:\/\/securitywatch.pcmag.com\/&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img alt='SecurityWatch' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 95 85'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-1.fit_lim.size_95x85.v_1569469962.jpg&quot;}' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-1.jpg'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='SecurityWatch' width='95' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-1.fit_lim.size_95x85.v_1569469962.jpg' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-1.jpg'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/A&gt;n&lt;!-- ZIFFHTML END 3993 --&gt;nWhen your VPN is active, your web traffic travels through an encrypted tunnel to a server managed by the VPN service. That keeps your information safe from data thieves with phony networks. It also helps protect against &lt;a href=&quot;\/news\/trump-officially-hands-control-of-your-data-to-isps&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;10844&quot;&gt;ISPs selling anonymized metadata&lt;\/a&gt; about your web habits. When your traffic exits to the web through the VPN server, you appear to have an IP address at that server's location. This protects your real identity as you browse the Web.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;TunnelBear Pricing and Features&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear is one of the few providers I've reviewed that offers a &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-free-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;216&quot;&gt;free VPN service&lt;\/a&gt;. However, the free TunnelBear tier restricts you to only 500MB of data per month. You can earn more data by Tweeting about the company, which can raise your limit to a total of 1GB for one month. The free version of &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/anchorfree-hotspot-shield-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;3961&quot;&gt;HotSpot Shield Elite&lt;\/a&gt; limits you to 500MB per &lt;i&gt;day&lt;\/i&gt;, while the ProtonVPN free subscription has no data limit.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;If you decide to pay for TunnelBear, it won't break the bank. You can snag the Giant plan for $9.99 per month or the Grizzly plan for $59.99 per year. That's slightly below average pricing for a VPN, and the quality of service makes it an even better value. NordVPN, by comparison, costs $11.95 per month, while &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/private-internet-access-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;4067&quot;&gt;Private Internet Access&lt;\/a&gt; is our most affordable top-rated VPN, at $6.95 per month.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;150&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%; height: 100%;&quot; src=&quot;https:\/\/mashable.com\/videos\/blueprint:1On8Y6WYlB\/embed\/?player=pcmag&amp;amp;autoplay=true&amp;amp;mute=true&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot;&gt;&lt;\/iframe&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;You can pay for TunnelBear using major credit cards or anonymous BitCoin transactions. Other VPN services like &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/torguard-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2758&quot;&gt;TorGuard&lt;\/a&gt; go even further, accepting prepaid gift cards from merchants like Starbucks and Subway. The next time you receive one of these as a gift, consider putting it toward a VPN instead of a venti mocha.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-9.v_1578797666.png', 'TunnelBear VPN', 'TunnelBear VPN', '   Best VPN$9.99 per month TunnelBear doesn't have all the bells and whistles of other VPN services, and it doesn't have nearly as many servers in nearly as many countries as its competitors. What it does have is an affordable service that is extremely reliable and reliably charming. While competitors get lost in the details, TunnelBear has stayed simple and friendly, with character that is simply not present in the competition. It's also committed to privacy in a vocal way, showing that you can have a pretty app without sacrificing technical excellence. This is a VPN people will actually use.Read the Full Review');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 810 456'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-2.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1578797666.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-2.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' width='810' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-2.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1578797666.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-2.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;With either a free or a paid account, you can use up to five devices on a single TunnelBear account. That's average for VPNs, although NordVPN provides six out of the box and CyberGhost provides seven. IPVanish provides for 10 devices, while Avira Phantom VPN and Windscribe VPN place no limit on the number of simultaneous connections. Many services, such as TorGuard, will let you purchase additional device connections using a sliding scale.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Other VPN services offer routers preconfigured to use their service. This provides protection to every device on the network, including ones that cannot run a VPN on their own. TunnelBear doesn't offer this scheme, but it's primarily an option for those used to getting their hands dirty when it comes to networking, which isn't TunnelBear's forte.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Previously, TunnelBear forbade the use of its services for P2P file sharing or BitTorrenting. Thankfully, those days are gone. You can now torrent to your heart's content, though the terms of service do note that using TunnelBear for illegal activity (such as breaching copyright law) is forbidden. If using BitTorrent freely and frequently is a major priority for you, I recommend TorGuard, which offers static IP addresses and other technology specifically tailored for BitTorrent users.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;VPN Protocols&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear secures your connection with the OpenVPN protocol for Android, macOS, and Windows. This is my preferred protocol, as it is newer, faster, more secure, and open source.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The TunnelBear iPhone app, meanwhile, uses the IKEv2 protocol, which is a good option for that platform. IKEv2 is also available for the Windows and macOS clients. You can't change which protocol TunnelBear uses in its app, but that's fine for most users.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Servers and Server Locations&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When I review a VPN, I consider how many servers it offers, where those servers are located, and how many of those servers are virtual. A larger company doing more business will likely have more servers, and companies will spin servers up and down as needed, so it's not a firm indicator of network quality. But I still believe that having more options is generally better.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;At last count, TunnelBear has around 1,800 servers across the globe. That's a robust offering, besting the majority of VPN services. But it's not among the largest offerings. NordVPN, it should be noted, recently took the crown for the most servers with some 5,293 servers. Private Internet Access, CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, and TorGuard have over 3,000 servers.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;A VPN's distribution of servers is also important. The more server locations a service has, the more options you have for spoofing your location. A lot of geographic diversity also means you are more likely to find a close-by server when traveling abroad, which will likely be faster and more resilient than a distant one would be.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-10.v_1569469962.png', 'TunnelBear 2019 Servers', 'TunnelBear VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 810 456'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-3.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469962.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-3.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' width='810' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-3.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469962.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-3.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear offers servers in 22 locations. This collection covers the essentials, but is on the low side, with NordVPN covering 62 countries and ExpressVPN 94 countries, for example. TunnelBear's offering completely ignores Africa, the Middle East, and much of South America, an omission that is, sadly, not unusual for VPN companies. &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/cyberghost-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2456&quot;&gt;CyberGhost&lt;\/a&gt;, notably, has several servers in areas that TunnelBear and other VPN services ignore.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Virtual servers are software-defined servers, which means several virtual servers can run on a single physical server. It also means that a virtual server can be configured to behave like it's located in one country, when it's actually in another. That can be an issue if you want to know exactly where your data is headed. TunnelBear told me that it only uses virtual servers to handle unexpected demand, and has dedicated servers in all of its locations. That means that when you connect to a VPN server, it's located exactly where it says it is located. If you're using TunnelBear, rest assured that your data is exactly where it's supposed to be.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Your Privacy With TunnelBear&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear's greatest strength, besides its cute and powerful bears, is its stance on privacy. It has one of the best &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.tunnelbear.com\/privacy-policy&quot;&gt;privacy policies&lt;\/a&gt; I have seen, explaining in great detail and with plain language, exactly what it collects and why. It also includes discussion sections, where the company explains how it arrived at a particular decision. For example, a pull-out section talks about how the company used to gather users' names to customize communications, but decided that this information didn't need to be gathered or stored and that its loss could put customers at risk. Other VPN companies should take note of this approach.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Notably, TunnelBear says that it will not disclose, sell, or trade personal information with third-party companies. TunnelBear does use third-parties for payment processing, but this is not unusual. Additionally, a company representative confirmed to me that TunnelBear's only source of revenue is subscriptions&amp;mdash;not data mining or ad retargeting. The company says it does not collect information about user activity, nor does it store originating IP addresses.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The company is based in Canada, and incorporated out of Delaware. The company is owned by the antivirus company McAfee. Canada and the US do not have mandatory data retention laws. The company is subject to requests for data that a company like NordVPN, based in Panama, would not be. However, the company says it has legal teams for responding to requests for information, but, &quot;we have no information that can connect customers to usage, so we're unable to provide law enforcement with anything not in our Privacy Policy.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;I don't feel that I can adequately pass judgment on a company's privacy practices based solely on its location. However, I think it is important to know where a VPN company is headquartered and under what legal jurisdiction it operates. I recommend that consumers consider this information, and simply go with the service they are most comfortable with.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear has the notable distinction of having completed not just one, but &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.tunnelbear.com\/blog\/tunnelbear-completes-2nd-annual-independent-security-audit\/?utm_source=email&amp;amp;utm_campaign=audit18&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;two independent code audits&lt;\/a&gt; and publicly released the results. That's great, and I'm pleased to see that TunnelBear is committed to an annual public review process. The company has also participated in a project from the &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/cdt.org\/insight\/unedited-answers-signals-of-trustworthy-vpns\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Center for Democracy and Technology&lt;\/a&gt;, voluntarily explaining aspects of the company's operation. Both of these efforts go a long way to establishing TunnelBear as a company that takes its role as a security company very seriously&amp;mdash;despite its playful image.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Hands On With TunnelBear&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When I went to buy a VPN for my home, I showed my partner all of the top-rated services I had reviewed. I explained what I thought made the best the best, and then asked which my partner would actually use on a daily basis. They didn't miss a beat, and picked TunnelBear. And it's true; we have used it ever since.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The TunnelBear client is sleek and subtle, built around a central map of the world displaying the company's server locations. Select your desired location from the menu above, switch protection on, and you're treated to a surprisingly smooth animation of a bear tunneling away from your current location. All the TunnelBear apps use the same design, so you'll have a familiar experience no matter where you go with TunnelBear.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Unlike other Windows VPN apps, TunnelBear includes a minimized mode. This is more functional than the Taskbar shortcut but less graphical than the full-blown app.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear has a tongue-in-cheek attitude that it brings to every aspect of its app. It's charming and colorful, without ever being overbearing or cloying. For example, whenever you connect to a VPN server, a notification appears bearing a bear with a hat representative of that country.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-11.v_1569469962.png', 'TunnelBear 2019 Disconnected', 'TunnelBear VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 810 456'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-4.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469962.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-4.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' width='810' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-4.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469962.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-4.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear doesn't have many locations to choose from, but a location search box would be an excellent addition&amp;mdash;as would a list of servers, with some basic information such as load and ping time. NordVPN, TorGuard, ExpressVPN, and others provide detailed information about specific servers. NordVPN, notably, also offers servers for special purposes, such as connecting to the Tor anonymization network.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The TunnelBear app does include some advanced features, such as Trusted Networks, which is basically a whitelist of Wi-Fi networks you trust. Another important feature is Vigilant Mode. This prevents data from slipping through your internet connection during the seconds it takes TunnelBear to reconnect should you become disconnected. GhostBear aims to circumvent VPN blocking by disguising VPN traffic as normal HTTPS traffic. A TunnelBear representative told me that the company advises that users switch on GhostBear only when absolutely necessary, as it can reduce performance. It's an impressive offering, but not unique. Other companies, such as &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/golden-frog-vyprvpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;11326&quot;&gt;Golden Frog VyprVPN&lt;\/a&gt;, offer similar custom tools designed to circumvent censorship.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-12.v_1569469962.png', 'TunnelBear 2019 GhostBear', 'TunnelBear VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 810 456'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-5.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469962.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-5.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' width='810' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-5.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469962.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-5.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear does not offer split tunneling in its Windows app, which would allow you to designate which apps send traffic through the VPN tunnel and which app's traffic should travel in the clear. It's useful for accessing LAN traffic, and for keeping certain low-risk activities like gaming or video streaming speedy and unblocked by avoiding the VPN. ExpressVPN and a handful of other services offer this feature.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;One thing you don't want your VPN doing is leaking your personal information. When I test VPNs, I check to see if my IP address changes, if the name of my ISP is hidden, and I use the &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.dnsleaktest.com\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DNS Leak Test&lt;\/a&gt; to see if DNS information is, well, leaking. TunnelBear passed all these tests easily.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;TunnelBear and Netflix&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While no one can tell you're a dog online, streaming companies like Netflix &lt;i&gt;can&lt;\/i&gt; tell where you live and will block you if you're spoofing your location. That's because companies often have to honor geographic restrictions with the content they provide. For example, if you live in the US, you must pay for a &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/cbs-all-access&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;8645&quot;&gt;CBS All Access&lt;\/a&gt; subscription in order to watch &lt;i&gt;Star Trek: Discovery&lt;\/i&gt;. If you live outside the US, you can watch the show through Netflix.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Unfortunately, when I tried to stream a movie from Netflix while connected to a TunnelBear VPN server, I was blocked. That was true when I tested the service, but your mileage may vary&amp;mdash;as is always the case when your try to &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-vpns-for-netflix&quot;&gt;use a VPN with Netflix&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Beyond VPN&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When most VPN companies include ad blocking, they tend to do so on the network level, blocking the ads before they even reach your computer. TunnelBear doesn't do this. Instead, the company has launched a stand-alone browser plug-in called &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.tunnelbear.com\/apps\/blocker&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Blocker&lt;\/a&gt;. This retains TunnelBear's trademark bears and charm, and is surprisingly well polished for a Chrome plugin.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-13.v_1569469962.png', 'TunnelBear Blocker', 'TunnelBear VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 310 550'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-6.fit_lim.size_310x550.v_1569469962.png&quot;}' align=&quot;right&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-6.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='TunnelBear VPN' width='310' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-6.fit_lim.size_310x550.v_1569469962.png' align=&quot;right&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-6.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;When you visit a site, the number of ads blocked appears in the mouth of the little bear icon, as if it had ripped them from the still-warm body of the website. Clicking the arrow next to the Blocking section expands a list of all the elements blocked. TunnelBear Blocker also handles more complex elements, such as Ultrasonic Tags. These are high-frequency tones played during advertisements and received by apps in order to tell advertisers that their ad is being viewed.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;I like this approach, since it allows you to block some elements on a website, but not all of them. You could, for example, block privacy-defying trackers while still allowing ads. Fine controls, like site whitelists, are especially important with ad blockers. Some blockers break elements in sites, making them virtually unusable. Sometimes, enduring a few ads is the price to pay to see a working site.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Similarly, TunnelBear launched a password manager called &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/remembear-premium&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;720&quot;&gt;RememBear&lt;\/a&gt;. Currently, the company offers RememBear clients for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. It's free to use on one device, but if you want the convenience of syncing across all your devices, you'll have to pay the $36 yearly subscription fee. We found it to be a good service that handles the basics in a fun, whimsical fashion, with plenty of animated bears. However, it lacks advanced password-management features such as two-factor authentication, secure sharing, and password inheritance.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Speed Test&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;No matter the VPN you choose, you'll see an impact on your web-browsing experience. That's because you're adding some extra hoops for your traffic to jump through. Speeds are a perennial concern for consumers, but I try and discourage anyone from using speed results alone as a benchmark for choosing a VPN service. At PCMag, we use the Ookla speedtest tool to gauge the impact a VPN has on performance. (Note that Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns PCMag.) We have a whole feature on how we test VPNs, so do read it for more on our methodology and the limits of our tests.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img alt='Related Story' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 35 26'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-7.fit_lim.size_35x26.v_1569469962.jpg&quot;}' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-7.jpg'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Related Story' width='35' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-7.fit_lim.size_35x26.v_1569469962.jpg' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-7.jpg'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;\/about\/how-we-test-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;5963&quot;&gt;See How We Test VPNs&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In my tests, I found that TunnelBear performed well above the median average for upload and download speed, but not latency. That's not too surprising since TunnelBear has only a few US servers, meaning your data will likely travel further to stay within the US.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;You can see how TunnelBear compares in the chart below with the top ten performers among the over 30 services we tested.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-14.v_1569469962.png', 'Fastest VPN 2019 Feb 21 2', 'Fastest VPN 2019', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='Fastest VPN 2019' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1250 590'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-8.fit_lim.size_1250x590.v_1569469962.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-8.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Fastest VPN 2019' width='1250' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-8.fit_lim.size_1250x590.v_1569469962.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-8.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While HideIPVPN currently holds the title of &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-fastest-vpns&quot;&gt;fastest VPN&lt;\/a&gt;, TunnelBear is in second place. As I said, however, I discourage people from focusing too much on speed, as it is difficult to measure and not nearly as important as a VPN's features or overall value. Keep in mind, too, that the performance you experience will likely differ greatly from mine.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;TunnelBear on Other Platforms&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TunnelBear currently offers clients on &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/tunnelbear-vpn-for-android&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2082&quot;&gt;Android&lt;\/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/tunnelbear-vpn-for-iphone&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;9833&quot;&gt;iOS&lt;\/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/tunnelbear-vpn-for-macos&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;4280&quot;&gt;macOS&lt;\/a&gt;, and Windows. All but its iPhone app have earned Editors' Choice awards from PCMag.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;It also offers browser plugins for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, which function as proxies to re-route your traffic through a TunnelBear server. This encrypts your browser traffic&amp;mdash;and &lt;i&gt;only&lt;\/i&gt; your browser traffic&amp;mdash;differently than the VPN app. It's a feature I like, since it offers protection for just about any device that can run a browser. It's not, however, a substitute for the service's complete VPN protection, which is what I tested.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;This VPN Is Just Right&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In the often ossified and overly technical world of security products, TunnelBear dares to be lighthearted and cute. The company has always put a premium on design and user experience, which is sorely needed in the world of VPNs specifically and in all of digital security generally. TunnelBear does all that while still offering a secure, simple product with a robust backbone. It's a great purchase, and one that has become more compelling since we last evaluated it. More important, it has a clear, robust privacy policy&amp;mdash;you can rest assured that you're not going to be sold out by &lt;i&gt;these&lt;\/i&gt; bears.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;What TunnelBear does right is make a security product you'll actually use. It's not a perfect product, but it's a product that perfectly fits into your life. It's an Editors' Choice winner, along with NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and ProtonVPN. Each of these services is excellent. NordVPN leads the pack with its robust global network, Private Internet Access brings an affordable choice, and ProtonVPN marries flexibility with technical savvy.&lt;\/p&gt;&quot;,&quot;body_content_blocks&quot;:[],&quot;images&quot;:{&quot;autoincrement&quot;:52,&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;index&quot;:31,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-31.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1028,&quot;height&quot;:578,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;3c54ec259e79b91248bb492485be6ffd&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1617043542,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear VPN logo&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:18,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-15.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:810,&quot;height&quot;:456,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;b81474efead8b2a3f15212747be6ca13&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1569478609,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;hero&quot;:true,&quot;logo&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear Logo 1&quot;,&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear VPN&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:&quot;528417&quot;,&quot;thumbnail&quot;:true,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;legacy_size&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;photo_credit&quot;:null,&quot;hero_position&quot;:1,&quot;load_image_bits&quot;:false,&quot;legacy_updated_at&quot;:&quot;2017-04-27 14:39:12.677&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:33,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-33.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1960,&quot;height&quot;:1103,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;7c807bc3eee58416745c9e57942d60c8&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1617726198,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;A window showing a map and VPN locations popping down from the macOS taskbar&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:36,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-36.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;height&quot;:360,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;8e2cb64f6fcc69f118ad874d3ca8508f&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1620656352,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Two screenshots from TunnelBear VPN for Android, showing a map with VPN locations&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:43,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-43.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;7699eb23753ed00403f9fba167597168&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1680716977,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The TunnelBear VPN Windows app, showing a connection to servers in New York City&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:44,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-44.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;cfd3996014aa96a696104b602fa11d7d&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1680716977,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The TunnelBear VPN Windows 11 app showing the settings for VPN protocols&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:45,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-45.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;2c361d8c4da20b6b50b1444e3e9f8037&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1680716977,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The TunnelBear VPN app in Windows 11 showing a VPN connection to Kenya&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:46,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-46.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;a02646e0695d220041cd8a378b554067&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1680716977,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The TunnelBear VPN app in Windows 11 indicating it is not connected to the VPN&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:47,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-47.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;ecfd6e2a46c8f91614b5c4babee18514&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1680716977,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The TunnelBear VPN app in Windows 11 showing a list of available cities&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:48,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-48.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;469cfc4328a5e751e6af7a8413339ee3&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1680716977,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The TunnelBear VPN app in Windows 11 showing a connection to Lithuania&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:49,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-49.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;height&quot;:360,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;7ac49bb9ea2d07f82d805eb9516cff2d&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1687806079,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear's iPhone app's interface&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:50,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-50.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;height&quot;:360,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;bb58b5780ef0d0f49acba12fde0a95d7&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1688670908,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear VPN's interface on Android&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:51,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05oNvAO0EphfS2bLiUEyBmS-51.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:935,&quot;height&quot;:700,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;79521571d6c5629d961df812b313e47b&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1695319404,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear's Interface on the Mac&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: TunnelBear VPN&quot;}}],&quot;metadata&quot;:[]},&quot;hero_image_gallery&quot;:null,&quot;editors_note&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_body&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_image&quot;:null,&quot;should_i_upgrade_body&quot;:null,&quot;pros&quot;:&quot;Unlimited simultaneous connectionsrnExcellent privacy policiesrnAnnual independent auditsrnFriendly, approachable design (with bears!)&quot;,&quot;cons&quot;:&quot;No multi-hop connectionsrnSplit tunneling not available on all platformsrnData limit on free subscription&quot;,&quot;bottom_line&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear limits its free users to 500MB per month, which may be enough for very light use. However, TunnelBear VPN is the only VPN that doesn't limit which servers free users can access. It also boasts excellent transparency policies, and is extremely user-friendly.&quot;,&quot;best_for&quot;:&quot;Best for Free Location Spoofing&quot;,&quot;hero_caption&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2016-07-26T11:54:49.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2023-09-22T14:47:55.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2023-09-22T14:20:53.000000Z&quot;,&quot;scheduled_at&quot;:null,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2016-07-19T19:00:54.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2023-09-22T14:47:55.000000Z&quot;,&quot;product_title&quot;:&quot;TunnelBear VPN&quot;,&quot;roundup_product_id&quot;:3149,&quot;isReview&quot;:true,&quot;newSpecs&quot;:[{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Data Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;500MB - 1.5GB Per Month&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version  Server Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;All Servers&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version 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highly affordable VPN that's light on features&quot;,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;focus_keyword&quot;:&quot;privado vpn 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app while connected, the center has turned green&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:3,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-3.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1323,&quot;height&quot;:744,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;c163ca5fbc10d8721b91ec3af0ac0bee&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1655928979,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;PrivadoVPN when disconnected, the center of the app has turned red&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:4,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-4.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1271,&quot;height&quot;:715,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;efd7945dd62e0fd5a6e20a636f6717ec&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1655928979,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;PrivadoVPN settings panel showing the VPN protocol options&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:5,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-5.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1265,&quot;height&quot;:712,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;710c1dd20abab893a76f7c65927e4643&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1655928979,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;PrivadoVPN showing an open list of available server locations&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:6,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-6.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1266,&quot;height&quot;:712,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;50548a98584ab047726b9a72d9ed2971&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1655928979,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;content-blocks-editor-uploaded-image&quot;:&quot;content-blocks-editor-uploaded-image-15442&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:7,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-7.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1241,&quot;height&quot;:698,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;6956f02f385b06c8b17b0d809665aa52&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1655928979,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;PrivadoVPN docked to the taskbar&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:8,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-8.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1266,&quot;height&quot;:712,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;22f12dc2105b83b12b184c97594ee290&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1655928979,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;PrivadoVPN settings panel for the kill switch&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:9,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-9.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1261,&quot;height&quot;:709,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;2b5fc5289430557ba4b4998167b44111&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1655928979,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;PrivadoVPN split tunneling settings; the current processes are displayed as options by default&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:12,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05aMPUuINtb31ZV8mMU21Pg-12.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:3874,&quot;height&quot;:2179,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;343d336725cfb5da230327347dcb3cc2&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1664392564,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Privado VPN's interface on Android&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: PCMag&quot;}}],&quot;metadata&quot;:[]},&quot;hero_image_gallery&quot;:null,&quot;editors_note&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_body&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_image&quot;:null,&quot;should_i_upgrade_body&quot;:null,&quot;pros&quot;:&quot;Very affordablernGenerous free subscriptionrn10 simultaneous connectionsrnSplit tunneling&quot;,&quot;cons&quot;:&quot;Few additional privacy featuresrnNo third-party auditrnUninspiring Speedtest results&quot;,&quot;bottom_line&quot;:&quot;PrivadoVPN offers a stripped-down VPN experience with a vastly improved interface. Its free subscription limits you to 10GB of data per month, but you won't be cut off when that runs out, just slowed down. It also limits free users to just 12 servers.&quot;,&quot;best_for&quot;:&quot;Best for Free (Almost) Unlimited Browsing&quot;,&quot;hero_caption&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2022-06-24T15:45:48.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2022-09-28T17:18:56.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2022-09-28T19:16:41.000000Z&quot;,&quot;scheduled_at&quot;:null,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2022-06-22T19:10:49.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2022-09-28T19:17:07.000000Z&quot;,&quot;product_title&quot;:&quot;PrivadoVPN&quot;,&quot;roundup_product_id&quot;:15512,&quot;isReview&quot;:true,&quot;newSpecs&quot;:[{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Data Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;10GB Per Month&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version  Server Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;12 Servers&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Simultaneous Connection Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;1&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Can Manually Select Server In Free Version&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:true},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Are All Features Available In Free Version?&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:true},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Connection Speeds Limited&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Yes, After Data is Exhausted&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;No Ads In Free Version?&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Yes&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Public Third-Party Audit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:false}],&quot;authors&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:25,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:6998,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;01fEILUJvyqqE9iQfIH39ks&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:34,&quot;is_active&quot;:true,&quot;is_contributor&quot;:false,&quot;first_name&quot;:&quot;Max&quot;,&quot;last_name&quot;:&quot;Eddy&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;max-eddy&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Former Lead Security Analyst&quot;,&quot;bio_summary&quot;:[],&quot;bio_content_blocks&quot;:[],&quot;email&quot;:null,&quot;twitter&quot;:null,&quot;linkedin&quot;:null,&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;path&quot;:&quot;authors\/01fEILUJvyqqE9iQfIH39ks.jpg&quot;,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;max eddy&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;PCMag&quot;}},&quot;seo_title&quot;:null,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2020-02-06T22:07:20.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2025-02-22T22:42:20.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2025-02-22T22:42:11.000000Z&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2019-06-11T02:52:10.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2025-02-22T22:42:20.000000Z&quot;,&quot;pivot&quot;:{&quot;authorable_id&quot;:15488,&quot;author_id&quot;:25,&quot;authorable_type&quot;:&quot;review&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2022-06-22T19:10:49.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2022-09-28T19:17:09.000000Z&quot;}}],&quot;brands&quot;:[]},{&quot;id&quot;:3961,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:296466,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:null,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;product_uuid&quot;:&quot;03X4uXe3Kd7NiAFtU1xL9gH&quot;,&quot;spec_sheet_uuid&quot;:&quot;06lWQ6LeMwOhpO7nWLcJo30&quot;,&quot;roundup_id&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Hotspot Shield VPN&quot;,&quot;page_title&quot;:null,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;hotspot-shield-vpn&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;deck&quot;:&quot;A smart service with several caveats&quot;,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;focus_keyword&quot;:null,&quot;no_link_injection&quot;:0,&quot;is_editors_choice&quot;:false,&quot;use_hero_image_gallery&quot;:0,&quot;is_preview&quot;:false,&quot;show_specs&quot;:true,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;3.0&quot;,&quot;people_involved&quot;:null,&quot;hours_spent&quot;:null,&quot;hours_researched&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;&lt;p&gt;Virtual private networks, or &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-vpn-services&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;315&quot;&gt;VPNs&lt;\/a&gt;, like AnchorFree's Hotspot Shield, are critically important tools. They protect our online activity from the prying eyes of attackers on insecure networks, and from ISPs that sell our data. While AnchorFree's VPN service is easy to use and includes a slew of features, it is also expensive and turned in lackluster results in our speed tests. We prefer Editors' Choice winners NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and TunnelBear.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;What Is a VPN?&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When you connect with a VPN, it encrypts all internet activity from your PC and routes the packets through AnchorFree's servers. Anyone on your network watching your traffic or trying to serve you bogus websites won't be able to break into that tunnel. That's great, especially if you find yourself using that sketchy, unsecured Wi-Fi at the local coffee shop.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;That's not the only reason &lt;a href=&quot;\/news\/what-is-a-vpn-and-why-you-need-one&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;21377&quot;&gt;you need a VPN&lt;\/a&gt;, either. Because your internet traffic appears to be coming from AnchorFree's servers, your computer, in turn, appears to have the IP address of that server. That means websites, advertisers, and snoopers have a harder time tracking your movements across the web and discerning your actual location.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While using a VPN is always a wise choice for securing important activities such as online banking transactions, VPNs are essential for accessing the internet while traveling or any time you use a public Wi-Fi network. On a larger scale, people living in countries with restrictive control over internet access can circumvent that control with a VPN. This technology has long been a key tool of activists and journalists.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;For some people, VPNs are also a means to access region-locked content. By connecting from the US to a VPN server in the UK, for example, you could watch BBC shows for free instead of paying for BBC America. Note that &lt;a href=&quot;\/news\/use-a-vpn-to-watch-netflix-abroad-prepare-to-be-cut-off&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;26342&quot;&gt;Netflix is fighting back&lt;\/a&gt; against this kind of cheating, as are other services.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;It's important to know what a VPN can and can't do, however. First and foremost, a VPN provides only limited online anonymity. To really disguise yourself online, you should route your traffic through the labyrinthine &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/tor-browser&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2455&quot;&gt;Tor network&lt;\/a&gt;. Also, if you connect to websites or services that don't encrypt traffic via HTTPS, your network traffic may be subject to interception.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;There's a good chance that you have never laid hands on a VPN before. If that's the case, don't worry! We've got a whole feature on how to &lt;a href=&quot;\/how-to\/how-to-set-up-and-use-a-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;21706&quot;&gt;set up and use a VPN&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;iframe width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;150&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%; height: 100%;&quot;  src=&quot;https:\/\/mashable.com\/videos\/blueprint:1On8Y6WYlB\/embed\/?player=pcmag&amp;autoplay=true&amp;mute=true&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen &gt;&lt;\/iframe&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Pricing and Features&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Hotspot Shield has three pricing tiers ranging from a monthly rate of $12.99 to an annual rate of $71.88. Alternatively, you can drop $119.99 on a lifetime subscription, a deal comparable to the Forever subscription from &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/keepsolid-vpn-unlimited&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;11488&quot;&gt;KeepSolid VPN Unlimited &lt;span data-commerce-link=&quot;00RZ4DPXNrmeK13zYripwkv&quot;&gt;&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While I appreciate the range of options, Hotspot Shield's monthly price tag is quite a bit more than the industry average of $10.42. It's more than the already-pricey Editors' Choice winner &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/nordvpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2777&quot;&gt;NordVPN &lt;span data-commerce-link=&quot;036agv40SCXcyS0CC0d4np6&quot;&gt;&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/a&gt;, which costs $11.95 per month, and significantly more than co-winner Private Internet Access, which costs just $6.95 per month.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;If none of those plans fits your wallet, you might consider using a &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-free-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;216&quot;&gt;free VPN&lt;\/a&gt;, such as the one provided by AnchorFree. Note that the free version of HotSpot Shield only allows access to servers in the US. The free version also has bandwidth limits that depend on the device you use. All free accounts are capped at 500MB per day. AnchorFree also uses Android resources to deliver occasional interstitial ads. TunnelBear also has a limited free version, but it won't serve you ads if you opt to go that way. ProtonVPN, too, has an impressive free VPN, though its speed is throttled.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;VPN Protocols&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;VPNs are a mature technology, and there's more than one way to create an encrypted tunnel for your traffic. For the most part, you won't have to worry about picking a particular VPN protocol, but I appreciate services that give consumers that option.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The typical VPN service supports multiple VPN protocols and either uses the one it thinks best for a particular situation or allows the user to choose. These usually include new, secure standards like IKEv2 or my preferred option, the open-source OpenVPN. Instead, AnchorFree created its own protocol called Catapult Hydra and uses it exclusively.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-5.v_1569469940.png', 'AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite Connect', 'AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 810 456'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-1.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469940.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-1.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN' width='810' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-1.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469940.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-1.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;To be clear, in creating Catapult Hydra AnchorFree didn't create a new &lt;i&gt;encryption&lt;\/i&gt; protocol. A new encryption protocol would require an enormous amount of scrutiny since an undiscovered flaw could be used to break it. An AnchorFree representative recently explained that Catapult Hydra uses the Open SSL library to encrypt the data and that the new protocol is simply &quot;an enhancement of the transport protocol.&quot; AnchorFree has previously told me that Hydra creates multiple channels for data to travel, with the goal of increasing speed and reliability.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While plenty of other VPN services create their own protocols, AnchorFree Hotspot Shield is the only one I'm aware of that relies exclusively on its own proprietary protocol. I'm always a little leery of security companies that decide to roll their own services when secure, open-source options like OpenVPN exist. I haven't tested the efficacy of AnchorFree's protocol&amp;mdash;I'll leave that to the expert researchers.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Servers and Server Locations&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When I review VPNs, I look at the number of servers and where those servers are located. The number of servers indicates the service's robustness. The more servers there are, the more bandwidth each person connected to a given server will receive. The number of server locations is also important, but I am more interested in geographic diversity. A lot of different server locations gives you more opportunities to spoof your location, and it also means you're more likely to find a nearby server when traveling.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Hotspot Shield members get just 25 server locations worldwide to choose from, with some 2,500 servers in total. That's a lot of servers, but I'd prefer to see them more widely distributed. Hotspot Shield has servers in Asia, Central America, Europe, North America, and South America. It also maintains servers in areas with restrictive internet access policies, including China, Iran, Russia, and Turkey. Hotspot Shield customers disappointed by its dearth of servers in Africa should consider &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/cyberghost-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2456&quot;&gt;CyberGhost&lt;\/a&gt;, which has a few in the region.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;By comparison, Hide My Ass VPN offers 286 server locations in 220 countries. NordVPN and &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/private-internet-access-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;4067&quot;&gt;Private Internet Access &lt;span data-commerce-link=&quot;04yRzYyvPGG2GqKDbEMlT9V&quot;&gt;&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/a&gt; boast 3,400 and 3,275 available servers, respectively. This puts Hotspot Shield among the most robust VPN services, but its geographic diversity leaves something to be desired.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-6.v_1569469940.png', 'AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite Servers', 'AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 810 456'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-2.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469940.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-2.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN' width='810' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-2.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469940.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-2.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Some VPN companies employ what are called virtual servers. These are software-defined servers&amp;mdash;a single piece of server hardware running multiple virtual servers onboard. These virtual servers can also be configured to appear in a different location than their host hardware server. Consumers deeply concerned about their privacy may take issue with virtual servers, since your data might be traveling to different countries than you expect.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;An AnchorFree representative explained that 20 percent of the servers in the US and Western Europe are virtual servers. But if you're a paying customer, you won't be using any virtual servers. Additionally, all of the VPN servers are physically located exactly where they appear to be. That's not true for services like Hide My Ass and PureVPN.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Your Privacy With AnchorFree Hotspot Shield&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;As VPNs become an increasingly popular tool to help secure your privacy online, more attention is being given to what VPN companies are doing to protect your privacy. After all, these companies could monitor your activity as much as ISPs already do.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;AnchorFree has gone to great lengths to update its &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.hotspotshield.com\/privacy\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;privacy policy&lt;\/a&gt; to be clearer and easily understood, and should be commended for this. However, it still contains several passages that are confusing and worrying without additional context. Its opening two points are continued throughout the document, and are good touchstones of any VPN service:&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;blockquote&gt;rn&lt;p&gt;&quot;Our VPN product will never store or log your IP address beyond the duration of your VPN session, and we always delete your IP address after you disconnect from the VPN.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;We do not keep logs of your online activities and never associate any domains, or applications that you access while the Hotspot Shield VPN is connected with you, your device, or your email.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;\/blockquote&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;AnchorFree previously injected an ad linking back to a page on its own domain onto webpages visited by users. Considering that attackers inject code into websites to trick users into visiting malicious portals, I don't think legitimate software should ever engage in this practice. Thankfully, AnchorFree confirms that it no longer injects ads into websites&amp;mdash;nor do any of the other VPN services in my best-of list.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The only time you see ads with AnchorFree is if you use the free service on the company's Android app. AnchorFree notes that some obfuscated location information is shared with advertisers, although paid customers are not subject to this practice. I'd rather AnchorFree found a way to avoid sharing any location information. From the privacy policy:&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;blockquote&gt;rn&lt;p&gt;&quot;Hotspot Shield does not share your browsing history or any other information you choose to provide, with advertisers. [...] advertisers are prevented from seeing your IP address, however if you are using the free version of Hotspot Shield we may share this approximate (city-level) location. If you are using the premium Hotspot Shield Elite version this approximate city-level location will not be collected and will not be shared.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;\/blockquote&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In its privacy policy, AnchorFree makes mention of gathering aggregate data about the websites users visit. A company representative explained that each VPN server monitors the sites requested, divorced of information about who requests it, in order to determine if services are being blocked or are otherwise unreachable. Using Twitter as an example, the representative said that if the company were to see tens of thousands of requests for Twitter and only a handful the next day, that would be indicative of someone censoring Twitter in a particular region. The company takes pains to say that this information cannot be attributed to a specific user. I was troubled by previous wording regarding this specific issue, but have accepted the explanation and no longer consider it to be an explicit threat to privacy.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Elsewhere in its Privacy Policy is this passage, which at first blush looks quite concerning:&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;blockquote&gt;rn&lt;p&gt;&quot;[...] we and our service providers collect device-specific information, such as the unique mobile ID, hardware model, operating system version, language, and network information. We may also use, but never log or store, your IP address to derive your approximate (city-level) location. We use this information to provide and improve the services, troubleshoot, and perform analytics on our services. Our service providers may collect IP addresses for marketing attribution purposes.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;\/blockquote&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;An AnchorFree representative explained these service providers correlate a download to particular website or other &quot;channel.&quot; This is part of the company's analytics model, but also its affiliate marketing strategy. The representative explained, &quot;We ensure that these analytics services don't use the data for any other purpose besides attribution of the download to the channel of where this download came from. The information is needed only to know that a device downloaded our application from a specific website.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;To its credit, AnchorFree completed a transparency report late in 2017 that outlined the requests it had received for information from law enforcement and governments. In it, the company said it provided no identifiable information, and extensively discussed how AnchorFree Hotspot Shield does not store users' real IP addresses. That's great, as is the effort put forth by the company to make a transparency report in the first place. TunnelBear underwent a code audit to publicly verify its efforts toward customer security. CyberGhost has taken similar efforts.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;I appreciate that AnchorFree's privacy policy spells out the limits of what any VPN can provide. For example, it acknowledges that other companies can still track your movements across the web with cookies and beacons, even when the VPN is active. It also spells out nearly every instance of information gathering carried out by the company, why the information is gathered, and how AnchorFree mitigates threats to user privacy. AnchorFree further adds assurances about its ad operations and is emphatic that it does not sell user data. Company representatives have made similar assurances to me directly.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;I ask every VPN company to outline how it generates revenue, as it's important to understand whether or not companies are data-mining or otherwise &quot;selling&quot; their customers. My AnchorFree contact said that the company only draws revenue from subscriptions, ads served to free users of the Android app, and company licensing. That is, other companies using AnchorFree's technology and services to deliver VPN to customers. Bitdefender, for example, licensed AnchorFree and now offers VPN protection as part of &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/reviews\/bitdefender-antivirus-plus&quot;&gt;Bitdefender Antivirus Plus&lt;\/a&gt; and its security suites. It does say something that so many other companies have signed off on AnchorFree's services, especially those like Bitdefender that stake their reputation on customer security.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Some readers may balk at the advertising based model for the free version of Hotspot Shield, but the company argues that these activities are necessary to deliver a quality product, particularly for free users. Moreover, it contends that what information it collects cannot be tied back to specific individuals. It's also worth noting that AnchorFree's 1GB per day limit is the most generous free VPN services available I have yet reviewed.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In addition to a company's privacy policy, it's important to know where a company is located in order to understand what legal framework it operates under. Some countries, for example, require companies to retain specific information for set periods of time. AnchorFree maintains offices in Delaware, in the US, and in Switzerland. I'm not a legal expert, but what I've read indicates that the US and Switzerland do not have data retention laws that apply to VPNs. In fact, Switzerland is one of the better places to store data, if privacy is a major concern.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;I always advise readers to look at a company's policy and decide for themselves if they are comfortable with it. Security companies trade on trust, and if you do not feel that you can personally trust the company, you need to find one you do trust.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Hands On With Hotspot Shield&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;I had no trouble setting up Hotspot Shield on my &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/lenovo-thinkpad-t460s&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;8493&quot;&gt;Lenovo ThinkPad T460s&lt;\/a&gt; running Windows 10. Previous versions of the software were pushier than I like to see, affecting the appearance of the browser and such, and I'm happy to see that behavior removed in the current incarnation. Hotspot Shield also no longer installs any toolbars, which is also a step in the right direction.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The Hotspot Shield client looks much more at home on Windows 10 than other VPN apps. It's a simple, dark blue window with cyan highlights and a modern aesthetic. This matters, I think, because how a service looks is probably going to inform how we feel about it. Private Internet Access, for example, barely has a presence on computers and isn't easy on the eyes at all, which makes it less inviting and accessible to the average consumer.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The main page shows upload and download speeds, as well as your apparent IP address. A map in the lower right shows a stylized view of the world and doubles as a VPN server selector. When it's not connected, the app shows a large Power button, encouraging you to start a connection. I like this much more than PureVPN, which has users jump through hoops before connecting.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;One notable setting is that Hotspot Shield can be configured to connect automatically on unsafe Wi-Fi networks. That's a great option. While you should use a VPN as often as possible for maximum security, this feature means you don't need to remember to switch on the VPN.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Hotspot Shield and Netflix&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Using a VPN often prevents you from accessing Netflix, even if you're connected to a VPN server within the US. The streaming company has been very aggressive about cracking down on people spoofing their location in order to access Netflix content that isn't available in a particular geographic market.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Unfortunately, I was unable to stream the new episodes of &lt;i&gt;Aggretsuko&lt;\/i&gt; on Netflix while connected to an AnchorFree Hostspot Shield VPN server. That's disappointing. NordVPN, TunnelBear, CyberGhost, KeepSolid VPN Unlimited, and TorGuard VPN are a few &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-vpns-for-netflix&quot;&gt;VPNs that work with Netflix&lt;\/a&gt;. Note, however, that any VPN service could work fine today and be blocked tomorrow.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Also, Netflix outlines in section 6c of its Terms of Use that the company will attempt to verify your location, and that you are not guaranteed content outside of your primary country of residence. The document doesn't seem to explicitly ban the use of VPNs, but Netflix clearly takes a dim view of the practice.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Beyond VPN&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In addition to securing your traffic, Hotspot Shield can also warn users whenever they land on known phishing websites or sites that host malware (as determined by a database of more than 3.5 million malicious sites). This kind of &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-malware-removal-and-protection-software&quot;&gt;malware protection&lt;\/a&gt; is unusual among VPN services, but I did not evaluate Hotspot's malware defenses for this review.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While I am always happy to see VPN companies adding additional security features, I am skeptical of their ability to replace a standalone antivirus solution. While there are definite benefits to screening files and websites at the network level, VPN services are likely focused on making good VPN products and less so on advanced malware detection. That's why, despite these sweetener features, I recommend that consumers run standalone &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-antivirus-protection&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;148&quot;&gt;antivirus software&lt;\/a&gt; on their computers.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Speed and Performance&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;VPNs work by adding extra distance to the path your web traffic must traverse, and that distance usually has a negative effect on your browsing experience. To get a feel for the impact of using a VPN, I perform a series of tests using the Ookla &lt;a href=&quot;http:\/\/pcmag.speedtestcustom.com\/&quot;&gt;SpeedTest website&lt;\/a&gt;. (Note that Ookla is owned by PCMag's publisher, Ziff Davis.)&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In my first round of tests, I connect to a local Ookla test server and compare the average test results with and without connecting to a VPN service in the US. This is intended to simulate the situation most users will experience. I then calculate a percent change between the two figures.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-7.v_1569469940.png', 'AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite Connected', 'AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 810 456'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-3.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469940.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-3.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Elite VPN' width='810' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-3.fit_lim.size_810x456.v_1569469940.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-3.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;To push the service harder, and get a sense for how it performs when connecting to far-flung servers, I choose an Ookla test server in Anchorage, Alaska, and a VPN server in Australia. This is probably more strain than the average person would put on a service, but I find it to be an illuminating test.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img alt='Related Story' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 35 26'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-4.fit_lim.size_35x26.v_1569469940.jpg&quot;}' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-4.jpg'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Related Story' width='35' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-4.fit_lim.size_35x26.v_1569469940.jpg' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-4.jpg'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;\/about\/how-we-test-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;5963&quot;&gt;See How We Test VPNs&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In the domestic latency test, AnchorFree Hotspot Shield performed particularly poorly. I found it increased latency by 3,145.5 percent, easily the worst among all the VPNs I have tested. This score is surprisingly bad, and I look forward to testing it again in the future. TorGuard VPN had the best score in this test, actually &lt;em&gt;reducing&lt;\/em&gt; latency by 6.7 percent. Hotspot Shield's performance was slightly better in the international latency test, where it increased ping time by 400.6 percent. TunnelBear had the best score in this test, increasing latency by 270.3 percent.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Redemption did not come for AnchorFree in the all-important domestic download test, as it again achieved the worst score I've yet recorded. I found that it slowed speeds by 73.5 percent, a far cry from TorGuard VPN, which reduced download speeds by only 3.7 percent. Ironically, Hotspot Shield had the best score in the international download test by a significant margin. In those tests, it only lowered download speeds by 39.9 percent. By way of comparison, the next-best score in that test was GoldenFrog VyprVPN, which reduced download speeds by 55.7 percent.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Sadly, the success of Hotspot Shield was short-lived. It took the second-worst score in the domestic tests, reducing upload speeds by 58.6 percent. IPVanish had the best score in these tests, reducing upload speeds by only 2.9 percent. International upload speeds are tightly clustered together, and AnchorFree was shown to slow upload speeds by 98.4 percent. Private Internet Access has the best score in this test, lowering speeds by 97.3 percent.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In general, I don't believe that speed is the most important factor when choosing a VPN. Value, privacy, and trustworthiness are far more valuable than a quick download. It's also worth noting that my tests can't be viewed as the final word on speed. Network conditions can change on a dime, after all. My tests are more like a snapshot. Despite this, the consistently poor performance of AnchorFree Hotspot Shield is worth considering, especially given its high price.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;As far as the &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-fastest-vpns&quot;&gt;fastest VPN&lt;\/a&gt; goes, that title currently belongs to TorGuard VPN. It eked out a slight latency advantage against the competition and topped the domestic download test&amp;mdash;which I consider to be the most important. In the areas where it did not excel, it never disappointed, either.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;AnchorFree Hotspot Shield for Android&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;We haven't had the chance to review the AnchorFree Hotspot Shield &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-android-vpns&quot;&gt;Android VPN app&lt;\/a&gt;. I'll update this review once we get the app and put it through its paces. That said, from what I've seen, it appears to follow the design established with the Windows application, which we appreciate.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;AnchorFree Hotspot Shield for iPhone&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The last time we reviewed the &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/anchorfree-hotspot-shield-elite-for-iphone&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;6613&quot;&gt;AnchorFree Hotspot Shield iPhone app&lt;\/a&gt;, it looked very different. We look forward to updating our review to reflect the recently revamped app. We appreciated its simple, almost elegant design, but struggled to get started. We were also blown away by some of the speed test scores recorded during out testing. That said, we were disappointed by the supported VPN protocols.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While the free version of Hotspot Shield has data restrictions of various volumes for different platforms, that's not the case for iPhone users. Customers with free accounts on iPhone enjoy unlimited data, but are still limited to VPN servers in the US. A paid account is required to access all of the company's servers.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;One noteworthy thing not included in the iPhone version when we last reviewed it was AnchorFree's Hydra VPN protocol. Our last review found that the app relied on the older IPSec protocol. It's not surprising that AnchorFree doesn't include OpenVPN in its &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-iphone-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;169&quot;&gt;iPhone VPN app&lt;\/a&gt;, as Apple requires iOS developers to jump through additional hoops when including that protocol in iPhone VPN apps. Still, it would be better to see a newer protocol, such as IKEv2, instead of IPSec. Of the iPhone VPNs we've evaluated, only VPN Unlimited uses OpenVPN.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;AnchorFree Hotspot Shield for Mac&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;We haven't had the chance to review the AnchorFree Hotspot Shield &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-mac-vpns&quot;&gt;macOS VPN app&lt;\/a&gt;. I'll update this review when we get the chance to evaluate the app.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;From what we've seen, the app seems very much in line with Apple's established look and feel. It also retains the visual language of the other Hotspot Shield apps. You'll probably feel right at home using it.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Hotspot Shield for Chrome and Firefox Browsers&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In addition to its desktop apps, AnchorFree also offers VPN browser plug-ins for Chrome and Firefox. Several VPN companies offer browser plug-ins, but AnchorFree is especially notable because you need neither an account nor a subscription when you connect via these plug-ins. They are completely free.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Free VPN usually means a catch of some kind, and the story is a bit complicated for AnchorFree. If you use the Firefox plug-in, there's no limit on your data and you can use any server you wish, as often as you like. It's totally unlimited. The catch is if you use the Chrome plug-in, you can't connect to US or UK VPN servers, as you can with the Firefox plug-in, but your data is still unlimited. The Chrome plug-in also has links at the bottom of its windows to popular services, which feels a bit like advertising.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;I installed the Chrome Extension (there are two, and I tried both) on my Chromebook and found that they both crashed when I attempted to use them. Furthermore, the Extensions manager flagged both as potentially corrupted. This is apparently a known issue with &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-chromebooks&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;67&quot;&gt;Chromebooks&lt;\/a&gt;. When I tested the plug-in on Windows in the past, I had no such issues.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Note that while VPN browser plug-ins are convenient, and in this case free, they don't offer as much protection as manually configuring your computer or using the company's desktop. When you use the browser plug-in to connect via VPN, only your browser traffic is secured. Any other data flowing from your computer to the internet won't have that benefit. It's a simple, lightweight solution, but one that's not ideal from a security perspective.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;A Shield for Your Hotspot?&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;AnchorFree Hotspot Shield is one of those frustrating products that ticks many of the correct boxes, but comes up short in a few, important ways. On the plus side, AnchorFree has a robust collection of servers. And while it has comparably few server locations, it offers server locations in locales often ignored by competitors. It also looks good and its interface is easy to understand, even for first-time VPN users. It has a very generous free VPN offering, and a thorough (if sometimes confusing) privacy policy. The company has also gone to enormous lengths to establish its security and privacy &lt;i&gt;bona fides,&lt;\/i&gt; which we greatly appreciate, and we hope other companies will do the same.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;On the downside, Hotspot Shield turned in some very unimpressive speed test scores. It also charges significantly more than most of the competition, which makes it hard to argue as a good value. And while its privacy policy reflects a refreshing level of transparency, it also includes some language that may give consumers pause, even when AnchorFree isn't doing anything nefarious. Security companies operate on trust, and clear, simple language in a privacy policy helps convey that trust.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;AnchorFree Hotspot Shield offers a good collection of features, but it was slow in our testing, charges an above average price, and offers a relatively small number of server locations. We continue to recommend our Editors' Choice winners NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and TunnelBear. These services offer more for less, which is a difficult proposition to beat.&lt;\/p&gt;&quot;,&quot;body_content_blocks&quot;:[],&quot;images&quot;:{&quot;autoincrement&quot;:43,&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;index&quot;:18,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-18.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:2386,&quot;height&quot;:1342,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;d775469fd667b57ccc30b9dc26400c45&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1593116274,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hotspot shield logo&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hotspot Shield&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:21,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-21.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1137,&quot;height&quot;:640,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;9fab6038319092a207f809affacd72f7&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1613771495,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;All the apps available with an Aura account&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:22,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-22.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1140,&quot;height&quot;:641,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;9326e87a0493e6bb896965bb417c4517&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1613771495,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The app when connected to the VPN&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:23,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-23.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1040,&quot;height&quot;:585,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;61438b7ca04b8a137c124bb8454a8f68&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1613771495,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The app when not connected&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:24,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-24.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1063,&quot;height&quot;:598,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;272486f7f5a2cec5c0742e16058e244d&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1613771495,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The protocol selection screen &quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hotspot Shield\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:25,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-25.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1084,&quot;height&quot;:610,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;e07dbcc8d79060109d747b18d4dbd8ed&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1613771495,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The app's list of specialized servers&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hotspot Shield\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:26,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-26.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1065,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;879b3b88cd30d43edf26b446ceb63d6c&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1613771495,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The split-tunneling settings screen&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:27,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-27.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1161,&quot;height&quot;:654,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;7fdb7a89f738c85b1a5c30f063a9166b&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1613771495,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;The app's server selector&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:28,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-28.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:2862,&quot;height&quot;:1624,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;5d76750fd64f72439134a7b3afbb43e2&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1615574784,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Hotspot Shield VPN for MacOS&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:30,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-30.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:3862,&quot;height&quot;:2171,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;5ce73ac094f1246abe6813692340530e&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1616703298,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Two views of Hotspot Shield's iPhone interface&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:32,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-32.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;height&quot;:360,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;03e1d4e5ab7338eee7a8861b126c0493&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1617898051,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Hotspot Shield's Android VPN interface&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:33,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-33.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1920,&quot;height&quot;:1080,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;8166f779073cd69cd22d0082ebfee9b3&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1715627683,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hotspot shield ios&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hotspot 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Shield\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:37,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-37.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:835,&quot;height&quot;:786,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;932aee1d5040012151bcb9cb8998333b&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1715636033,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hotspot shield interface&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hotspot Shield\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:38,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-38.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:841,&quot;height&quot;:788,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;d116c7414a9fcd49e2551393d4146332&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1717097279,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hotspot shield speed test&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hotspot Shield\/PCMag&quot;,&quot;content-blocks-editor-uploaded-image&quot;:&quot;content-blocks-editor-uploaded-image-32931&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:41,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/03Zv0ZUOeqGtbYk612UMWbg-41.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:837,&quot;height&quot;:595,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;ec9d39fb06e249fbbbe776e9671b38e7&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1717097279,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hotspot shield settings&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hotspot Shield\/PCMag&quot;,&quot;content-blocks-editor-uploaded-image&quot;:&quot;content-blocks-editor-uploaded-image-76114&quot;}}],&quot;metadata&quot;:[]},&quot;hero_image_gallery&quot;:null,&quot;editors_note&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_body&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_image&quot;:null,&quot;should_i_upgrade_body&quot;:null,&quot;pros&quot;:&quot;Numerous server locationsrnSlick, approachable clientrnOpen Netflix access in all tested regionsrnHefty services bundle&quot;,&quot;cons&quot;:&quot;ExpensivernSlowest VPN we've testedrnFree version supported by targeted ads on Android&quot;,&quot;bottom_line&quot;:&quot;Hotspot Shield VPN limits free users to 500MB per day. Free subscribers get one simultaneous connection and can only access US servers. Mobile free users are throttled to 2Mbps, and see ads in the app. Free subscribers on macOS have no data limit. It's a generous, but complicated, free model.&quot;,&quot;best_for&quot;:&quot;Best for Free US-Based Browsing&quot;,&quot;hero_caption&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2012-04-13T10:09:50.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-04T20:08:14.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-10T18:58:50.000000Z&quot;,&quot;scheduled_at&quot;:null,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2012-04-10T18:44:35.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-10T18:58:54.000000Z&quot;,&quot;product_title&quot;:&quot;Hotspot Shield VPN&quot;,&quot;roundup_product_id&quot;:3151,&quot;isReview&quot;:true,&quot;newSpecs&quot;:[{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Data Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;500MB Per Day&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version  Server Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Only US Servers&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Simultaneous Connection Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;1&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Can Manually Select Server In Free Version&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:false},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Are All Features Available In Free Version?&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:true},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Connection Speeds Limited&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Yes, 2Mbps&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;No Ads In Free Version?&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Ads For Free Android Users Only&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Public Third-Party Audit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:false}],&quot;authors&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:178,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:7224,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;050v6fPGx9K08chnKWledz6&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:62,&quot;is_active&quot;:true,&quot;is_contributor&quot;:false,&quot;first_name&quot;:&quot;Chris&quot;,&quot;last_name&quot;:&quot;Stobing&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;chris-stobing&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Senior Analyst, Security&quot;,&quot;bio_summary&quot;:[],&quot;bio_content_blocks&quot;:[],&quot;email&quot;:&quot;chris_stobing@ziffdavis.com&quot;,&quot;twitter&quot;:null,&quot;linkedin&quot;:null,&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;path&quot;:&quot;authors\/050v6fPGx9K08chnKWledz6.png&quot;,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Chris Stobing headshot&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;PCMag&quot;}},&quot;seo_title&quot;:null,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2020-02-06T22:08:16.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-15T16:18:31.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-15T16:18:24.000000Z&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2019-06-11T02:52:42.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-15T16:18:31.000000Z&quot;,&quot;pivot&quot;:{&quot;authorable_id&quot;:3961,&quot;author_id&quot;:178,&quot;authorable_type&quot;:&quot;review&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2024-05-13T19:14:45.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-10T18:58:57.000000Z&quot;}},{&quot;id&quot;:338,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:null,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;06umsJ7j8eTgOilYnNoSu7a&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:null,&quot;is_active&quot;:true,&quot;is_contributor&quot;:false,&quot;first_name&quot;:&quot;Kim&quot;,&quot;last_name&quot;:&quot;Key&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;kim-key&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Senior Security Analyst&quot;,&quot;bio_summary&quot;:[],&quot;bio_content_blocks&quot;:[],&quot;email&quot;:&quot;kim_key@pcmag.com&quot;,&quot;twitter&quot;:&quot;@kimnewsome&quot;,&quot;linkedin&quot;:null,&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;path&quot;:&quot;authors\/06umsJ7j8eTgOilYnNoSu7a.png&quot;,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Kim Key&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}},&quot;seo_title&quot;:null,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2020-09-24T14:48:41.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-16T02:59:54.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-16T02:59:48.000000Z&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2020-09-24T14:48:31.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-08-16T02:59:54.000000Z&quot;,&quot;pivot&quot;:{&quot;authorable_id&quot;:3961,&quot;author_id&quot;:338,&quot;authorable_type&quot;:&quot;review&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2024-05-13T21:20:19.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-10T18:58:57.000000Z&quot;}}],&quot;brands&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:7044,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:null,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:null,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;01lnhuCQ9FXZITnoWZuCMD5&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Aura&quot;,&quot;seo_title&quot;:null,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;aura&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;deck&quot;:null,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2022-05-11T17:31:29.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2022-05-11T17:31:29.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2020-09-17T18:29:34.000000Z&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2020-09-17T18:29:34.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2022-05-11T17:31:29.000000Z&quot;,&quot;pivot&quot;:{&quot;brandable_id&quot;:3961,&quot;brand_id&quot;:7044,&quot;brandable_type&quot;:&quot;review&quot;,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2020-09-17T18:29:57.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-10T18:58:57.000000Z&quot;}}]},{&quot;id&quot;:3060,&quot;legacy_id&quot;:362405,&quot;luna_user_id&quot;:null,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf&quot;,&quot;status&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;product_uuid&quot;:&quot;02nwS0rA4I77JXf1DTxQf3f&quot;,&quot;spec_sheet_uuid&quot;:&quot;06lWQ6LeMwOhpO7nWLcJo30&quot;,&quot;roundup_id&quot;:315,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Hide.me VPN&quot;,&quot;page_title&quot;:null,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;hideme-vpn&quot;,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:null,&quot;deck&quot;:&quot;An inexpensive, feature-rich VPN&quot;,&quot;seo_description&quot;:null,&quot;focus_keyword&quot;:null,&quot;no_link_injection&quot;:0,&quot;is_editors_choice&quot;:true,&quot;use_hero_image_gallery&quot;:0,&quot;is_preview&quot;:false,&quot;show_specs&quot;:true,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;4.0&quot;,&quot;people_involved&quot;:null,&quot;hours_spent&quot;:null,&quot;hours_researched&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;&lt;p&gt;When testing a &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-vpn-services&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;315&quot;&gt;virtual private network, or VPN&lt;\/a&gt;, we always consider the service's price, privacy, and technology. Hide.me does well in all of most of those areas, and is especially notable for its advanced features like Split Tunneling. It is, however, expensive compared to the competition, and, if you don't need those advanced features, the price is hard to justify.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;What Is a VPN?&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When you switch on a VPN, it creates an encrypted tunnel between your computer and a server operated by the VPN company. All of your web traffic is routed through this tunnel, using encryption to keep your activities hidden from the prying eyes of the world. From the VPN server, your traffic then exits onto the internet as normal. When you use a VPN, anyone watching your traffic will see the VPN server's IP address instead of your own. That's handy, since an IP address will probably be fairly close to your actual location.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;n&lt;!-- ZIFFHTML START 3993 --&gt;n&lt;A HREF=&quot;http:\/\/securitywatch.pcmag.com\/&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img alt='SecurityWatch' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 95 85'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-1.fit_lim.size_95x85.v_1569469935.jpg&quot;}' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-1.jpg'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='SecurityWatch' width='95' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-1.fit_lim.size_95x85.v_1569469935.jpg' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-1.jpg'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/A&gt;n&lt;!-- ZIFFHTML END 3993 --&gt;nCriminals aren't the only ones keeping tabs on you. Your ISP has permission from Congress to &lt;a href=&quot;\/news\/trump-officially-hands-control-of-your-data-to-isps&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;10844&quot;&gt;sell anonymized user data&lt;\/a&gt;, but it can't peer inside a VPN tunnel. A VPN can also curb (but probably not entirely stop) efforts by advertisers to track you across the web. Since the NSA's spooks already have the ability to spy on the activities of just about anyone on the internet, using a VPN is a great way to keep their noses out of your business.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;150&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%; height: 100%;&quot; src=&quot;https:\/\/mashable.com\/videos\/blueprint:1On8Y6WYlB\/embed\/?player=pcmag&amp;amp;autoplay=true&amp;amp;mute=true&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot;&gt;&lt;\/iframe&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Pricing and Features&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Unlike most other VPN services, Hide.me has a full-fledged free tier. For the low, low price of nothing (not even your credit card information!), you can access five Hide.me VPN server locations on one device at a time. You are, however, limited to 2GB of data per month.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;There are other &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-free-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;216&quot;&gt;free VPNs&lt;\/a&gt; available if you don't like the offer Hide.me makes. TunnelBear's free version offers less data per month, at just 500MB. &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/protonvpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;9135&quot;&gt;ProtonVPN &lt;span data-commerce-link=&quot;07MzChxv6c3GEopWVEsNLtg&quot;&gt;&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/a&gt; doesn't limit your data usage, but limits the devices and servers available to free users.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-18.v_1570635440.png', 'Hide.me Update', 'Hide.me VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-11.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-11.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-11.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-11.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Hide.me's paid tier is called Premium, which costs $14.95 per month and is what I have tested here. That's significantly more than the current industry average of $10.80 per month. Notably, all of PCMag's highest-rated VPNs are less expensive than Hide.me. &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/norton-secure-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;8100&quot;&gt;Norton Secure VPN&lt;\/a&gt;, for instance, is only $7.99 per month, and ProtonVPN's multi-tier system means you can get an excellent, full-featured VPN for as little as $5.00 per month. Note that Hide.me, like most other VPN companies, frequently offers discounts on its subscriptions. You may see a lower price when you visit the site, but $14.95 is the base listed price.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The Premium tier removes the data cap from the free tier, grants access to all 57 VPN locations Hide.me offers, and raises the device limit to 10. That's twice the industry average for simultaneous connections. Avira Phantom VPN, Surfshark VPN, and Windscribe VPN place no limit on the number of devices you can use.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;As with most VPN companies, Hide.me offers longer subscriptions at a discount. A one-year plan with Hide.me will run you $59.95, and a two-year plan costs $99.95. NordVPN costs a mere $83.88 per year, ProtonVPN's Plus tier costs $96.00 per year, and &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/tunnelbear-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;7387&quot;&gt;TunnelBear's &lt;span data-commerce-link=&quot;07gTbd8huAzu6dL77AgI3Nt&quot;&gt;&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/a&gt; excellent service costs slightly less at $59.88 per year. In general, I advise customers to purchase short-term plans first, then try out the VPN service for a while before committing to a long-term plan. That way, you can be sure the VPN will work for all the services you use most frequently.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;You can purchase an account from the Hide.me website using major credit cards, PayPal, and several anonymous cryptocoin options like BitCoin and Ethereum. That's particularly handy if you want a fully anonymous experience when purchasing a VPN. Some VPN companies, such as TorGuard VPN, let you purchase an account using prepaid gift cards from major retailers, like Subway sandwiches. I did, however, notice that the Privacy Badger tracker blocker made the Hide.me purchase page unusable. This is the first time I have encountered this issue in more than two dozen VPN reviews.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Avid BitTorrent users should note that Hide.me does allow file sharing on its network, but only on certain servers. That's true for nearly every VPN I've reviewed thus far. That said, simply allowing it doesn't mean it's the &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-vpns-for-bittorrent&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;91&quot;&gt;best VPN for BitTorrent&lt;\/a&gt;. TorGuard, for example, offers a slew of specialty offerings designed to protect and support the use of BitTorrent.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;One thing Hide.me doesn't offer is specialized servers. Many VPN companies have servers marked for specific situations, like trying to watch Netflix in the US. NordVPN has many specialized servers, including one that provides double encryption and another that routes your traffic through the &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/tor-browser&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2455&quot;&gt;Tor&lt;\/a&gt; anonymization network via VPN.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;VPN Protocols&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;VPNs have been around for a long time, so people have figured out several different ways to create an encrypted tunnel. My preferred method is by using the OpenVPN protocol. OpenVPN has the advantage of being newer technology, and it's open-source. That means its code has been thoroughly examined by many users for potential vulnerabilities.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-19.v_1570635440.png', 'Hide.me Update', 'Hide.me VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-12.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-12.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-12.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-12.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The Hide.me Windows app that I tested for this review uses OpenVPN, which is a point in its favor. It also supports the IKEv2 protocol, which is new and secure. The service also provides legacy support for L2TP\/IPSec, as well as the older SSTP and PPTP protocols. I would advise against using these last two, but they can be handy for legacy support.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Additionally, Hide.me includes support for the &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/SoftEther_VPN&quot;&gt;SoftEther VPN protocol&lt;\/a&gt;. It's the first service I'm aware of that uses this particular technology, which the company says is designed to be hard to detect and block. Other VPNs offer similar features that seek to disguise VPN traffic in order to circumvent VPN blocking. TunnelBear, for instance, calls this feature GhostBear. &lt;a href=&quot;\/opinions\/the-vpn-industry-is-on-the-cusp-of-a-major-breakthrough&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;3541&quot;&gt;WireGuard&lt;\/a&gt; is the heir-apparent to OpenVPN, promising unrivaled speeds and the latest security. It's still a protocol under development and Hide.me doesn't currently provide support for WireGuard in its Windows app.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Servers and Server Locations&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The number of servers and the location of a VPN company's servers can have a noticeable impact on performance. Companies with only a handful of servers must funnel more customers into crowded servers, reducing the sliver of the bandwidth pie available to each person. Similarly, if a company only has a few locations for its servers, it can mean connecting to an entirely different continent just to get online. For that reason, we pay careful attention to how many servers are offered, and whether there's a good degree of geographic diversity in those servers' placement.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Hide.me has a reasonably sized pool of servers, with 1,400 servers in 56 different locations across 35 countries. For comparison, NordVPN has over 5,200 servers and &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/cyberghost-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2456&quot;&gt;CyberGhost&lt;\/a&gt; offers in excess of 5,600 servers. Private Internet Access, ExpressVPN, and TorGuard all have over 3,000 servers, respectively. Keep in mind that companies will purchase as many servers as necessary to meet demand, so it's not a strict measurement of quality.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;As for the geographic diversity of Hide.me's servers, the company has done a fairly good job covering the Earth. Many VPN companies ignore South America, India, and all of Africa, but Hide.me has a few locations in these regions. It also has servers in China and Turkey, regions known to censor the web. Hide.me does not offer any servers in Russia, but NordVPN and others do. &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/expressvpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;7874&quot;&gt;ExpressVPN&lt;\/a&gt; and CyberGhost lead the pack, offering servers in more than 90 countries.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-20.v_1570635440.png', 'Hide.me Update', 'Hide.me VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-13.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-13.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-13.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-13.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Potential customers may have concerns about VPNs using virtual servers. That's when a single, physical server plays host to multiple virtual machines. Those virtual servers can, in turn, be configured to appear as if they are in a different country than the machine hosting them. If you're very concerned about precisely where your data is headed, that can be an issue. On the other hand, companies use virtual servers to compensate for sudden demand, and can also protect your data by using a physical server in a safe location to offer service to a less-safe location nearby.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;A representative of Hide.me told me that the company only uses dedicated servers located in the designated country. That's excellent from a data transparency perspective.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Your Privacy With Hide.me&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;A big reason to use a VPN is to protect your privacy online, which is why it's important to know if the VPN itself is violating your privacy. While I cannot peer within the hearts of company employees or their servers, I can ask questions of company representatives and read through a VPN company's privacy policy.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Hide.me's privacy policy is very thorough and very long, especially compared with &lt;a href=&quot;\/reviews\/torguard-vpn&quot; data-link-type=&quot;review&quot; data-link-id=&quot;2758&quot;&gt;TorGuard's&lt;\/a&gt; impressively brief policy. It does, however, lay out what data the company gathers, how it goes about gathering it, and what that data is used for. The effort is laudable, but I would like to see a bit more plain English.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The gist of the policy is that Hide.me collects as little information as possible. In fact, the only information it seems to store for any length of time is user email addresses. The policy reads, &quot;We do not request or store your name, IP address or physical addresses or any other personal information.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The company does not monitor what sites you access, log your true IP address, or even timestamp your connection. The company does track the amount of traffic for users, since two of Hide.me's plans have data caps. It also keeps some troubleshooting information, including &quot;customer's randomly generated username and internally assigned (non-public) IP address,&quot; but it deletes that information every few hours. Hide.me could stand to improve in this area, as other VPN services now strive to gather as little information as possible and keep it for as short a time as possible.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Part of why you don't want a VPN storing a lot of information about you and your activities is that the company could be compelled to hand over that information to law enforcement. Hide.me explains the company's stance this way: &quot;If a court order is received from a recognized legal authority with jurisdiction over hide.me then the company shall comply with that order. However, the company cannot be compelled to hand over information which it does not have.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;If you're particularly concerned about receiving a DMCA notice for, say, &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/how-to\/how-to-use-bittorrent&quot;&gt;downloading copyrighted content&lt;\/a&gt;, Hide.me has a ready response: &quot;Since we store no connection logs, we cannot associate the notice with a customer identity even if legally compelled to do so.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In addition to understanding a company's privacy policy, it's also good to know where that company is located and under what legal jurisdiction it operates. Hide.me is clear on this point: the company is based in Malaysia and operates under local law. Hide.me even includes its mailing address, if you're curious.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Hide.me has been &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/hide.me\/en\/blog\/leon-juranic-certifies-hide-me-as-one-of-the-most-anonymous-vpn-provider\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;audited by DefenseCode&lt;\/a&gt;, a step several VPN companies have taken to demonstrate their privacy and security &lt;em&gt;bona fides&lt;\/em&gt; to customers. TunnelBear notably has undergone multiple audits and has pledged to be audited annually. Hide.me does issue an &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/hide.me\/en\/blog\/annual-transparency-report-for-2018\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;annual transparency report&lt;\/a&gt;, a step I appreciate. The company has not participated in the &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/cdt.org\/insight\/unedited-answers-signals-of-trustworthy-vpns\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CDT's VPN questionnaire&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Hands On With Hide.me&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;I had no trouble installing the Hide.me app on my Lenovo ThinkPad T460s laptop running Windows 10. You can opt to forgo the app entirely and &lt;a href=&quot;\/how-to\/how-to-set-up-a-vpn-in-windows-10&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;18654&quot;&gt;manually configure a Windows 10 computer&lt;\/a&gt; to connect via VPN, but it's a bit of a pain.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The Hide.me app is very simple, offering just a blue window with a big button to connect the VPN. I appreciate apps that cut to the chase like this. It's much more straightforward than PureVPN, which has some useful scenario-based connection presets, but lacks a fast and easy way to get online.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The Hide.me app is simple, but it's not exactly friendly. I much prefer NordVPN's app, which uses maps and large buttons to make even complex tools approachable. TunnelBear does something similar with brightly colored bears.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;One quirk I did notice in testing was that when the &quot;Best Location&quot; option was selected, the Hide.me app sometimes connected me to a VPN server in the Netherlands. Now, I have nothing against the Netherlands, but most VPNs will connect you to the nearest server to your actual location by default. That's because the closer you are to the VPN server, the better performance you're likely to see. Also disappointing is how the client tried and failed several times to connect me with a US-based VPN server. I'm surprised that after all the work Hide.me has done to improve its client, this behavior persists.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;While Hide.me does make it obvious which servers allow BitTorrent, it doesn't include server stats like overall load or ping time. It does, however, let you drill down to see specific servers in the app's location list. That's handy, because you might find that one server works better for you than another. You can then add that useful server to your Favorites, for easy access later on.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;The Settings panel does provide some surprisingly advanced features, however. Hide.me even lets you trigger custom scripts for when the VPN fails, which I have never seen before. An Advanced tab lets you mess around with ports and such, if that's your thing. The client also includes a rare feature called Split Tunneling, which lets you designate which apps send traffic through the VPN and which do not. This is handy for negotiating tricky scenarios, like streaming to local media devices or accessing specific services that block VPN traffic.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-21.v_1570635440.png', 'Hide.me Update', 'Hide.me VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-14.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-14.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-14.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-14.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;You can select the VPN protocol you want Hide.me to use, and OpenVPN is an option. By default, Hide.me uses IKEv2, so changing this might be worthwhile. You can also set up a Fallback configuration. If the VPN can't connect with your first choice of protocols, it will try again with the protocols you select.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-22.v_1570635440.png', 'Hide.me Update', 'Hide.me VPN', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1280 720'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-15.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-15.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Hide.me VPN' width='1280' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-15.fit_lim.size_1280x720.v_1570635440.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-15.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;When you use a VPN, it should secure all your data and &lt;a href=&quot;\/how-to\/is-your-vpn-leaking&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;13135&quot;&gt;not leak anything that could identify you&lt;\/a&gt;&amp;mdash;such as your DNS request information, or your real IP address. Using the &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.dnsleaktest.com\/&quot;&gt;DNSLeakTest.com&lt;\/a&gt; tool, I confirmed that my DNS requests were being protected and that my IP address was changed successfully when using Hide.me.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Hide.me and Netflix&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Many &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-video-streaming-services&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;106&quot;&gt;streaming video services&lt;\/a&gt; block the use of VPNs because you can use them to spoof your location and access content licensed for specific regions. BBC's free streaming iPlayer, for instance, is intended only for UK citizens. But if you hop onto a VPN server in London, you may as well be a local resident. In particular, &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-best-vpns-for-netflix&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;152&quot;&gt;Netflix blocks VPNs very aggressively&lt;\/a&gt;, as mentioned above.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;During my testing, I wasn't able to access Netflix when connected to a domestic Hide.me server. Your mileage may vary, but keep in mind that a VPN service that works with Netflix today might not tomorrow.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Beyond VPN&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;With an ever-increasing crowd of competitors, many VPN companies have begun adding features outside of network protection. These can range from simple ad-blocking to TunnelBear's standalone &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-password-managers&quot;&gt;password manager&lt;\/a&gt; called Remembear. A representative from Hide.me tells me that the company doesn't currently offer additional security features, and made the case that ad- and malware-blocking actually further diminishes speeds.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;TorGuard, on the other hand, has a lengthy menu of optional extras. In addition to its slider for adding devices to your account, you can also purchase dedicated IP addresses in 50 different countries, or level up to a 10Gbit network connection. Hide.me also offers dedicated IP addresses, but only for those at the highest subscription tier. These are included in the price of the Premium account, but are not enabled by default.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Speed and Performance&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;A major concern among PCMag's readers is the impact using a VPN will have on their internet speeds. That's a valid concern, because using a VPN forces your web traffic to jump through more hoops and travel farther than usual. To get a sense of the impact from each service, I use the &lt;a href=&quot;\/news\/how-fast-is-your-internet-connectionreally&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;26682&quot;&gt;Ookla internet speed test tool&lt;\/a&gt; to compare test results with and without the VPN. &lt;em&gt;(Note that Ookla and Encrypt.me are owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns PCMag.)&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img alt='Related Story' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 35 26'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-16.fit_lim.size_35x26.v_1570635440.jpg&quot;}' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-16.jpg'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='Related Story' width='35' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-16.fit_lim.size_35x26.v_1570635440.jpg' align=&quot;left&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-16.jpg'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;\/about\/how-we-test-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;article&quot; data-link-id=&quot;5963&quot;&gt;See How We Test VPNs&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In my most recent testing, I found that Hide.me had no appreciable effect on latency. That's excellent. It did, however, reduce upload test results by 68.4 percent and download test results by 75.8 percent. That's a significant drop, but also one of the top five best speed test results I recorded.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;You can see how Hide.me compares in the chart below with the top 10 performers from among the more than 30 services we tested.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; class=&quot;no-underline&quot; onclick=&quot;return popImage('\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-23.v_1570635440.png', 'Fastest VPN Spet 2019 Encrypt.me', 'PCMag', '');&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt='PCMag' src=&quot;data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1264 617'%3E%3Crect fill='%23f7f7f7' \/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot; v-image-loader='{ imageSrc: &quot;\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-17.fit_lim.size_1264x617.v_1570635440.png&quot;}' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-17.png'&gt;&lt;noscript inline-template&gt;&lt;img alt='PCMag' width='1264' src='\/imagery\/reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-17.fit_lim.size_1264x617.v_1570635440.png' align=&quot;center&quot; data-image-path='reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-17.png'&gt;&lt;\/noscript&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;In fairness, this testing is more of a snapshot in time than an overall evaluation of a VPN's speed performance. There are many variables that can affect the outcomes, from the configuration of the VPN servers to physical damage of network infrastructure. Moreover, I don't believe that speed should be the single criteria anyone uses to choose a VPN. All that being said, I currently view Encrypt.me as the &lt;a href=&quot;\/picks\/the-fastest-vpns&quot; data-link-type=&quot;roundup&quot; data-link-id=&quot;258&quot;&gt;fastest VPN&lt;\/a&gt; yet tested.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;Hide.me on Other Platforms&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Hide,me offers apps for Android, iPhone, macOS, and Windows devices. It also provides apps for Amazon Fire devices, which is surprisingly rare. Additionally, you can opt to install Hide.me's proxy plug-ins for Chrome and Firefox. These change the IP address and apparent location of your browser traffic, and only your browser traffic, but do not use the same means to encrypt your traffic as the normal VPN app.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Alternatively, you can follow Hide.me's instructions on how to run a VPN from your router, or purchase a Vilfo router configured to run with Hide.me. While an interesting setup, I don't think that using a VPN through a router is a viable use case.&lt;\/p&gt;rnrn&lt;h2&gt;The Last Mile&lt;\/h2&gt;rnrn&lt;p&gt;Hide.me has some enviable strengths. Its privacy policy is remarkably thorough and transparent, if long. It supports the best VPN technology, provices 10 simultaneous connections, and has a good distribution of servers across the globe. Hide.me also offers a fairly generous free option, which is something of a rarity. Most importantly, it packs in several advanced features often ignored by the competition, but packages them in a simple app most people will understand how to use. Hide.me's main drawback is that it charges well above the industry average per month&amp;mdash;enough to significantly reduce the value of this otherwise impressive service. While Hide.me is especially useful to seasoned security wonks and those looking for a free alternative to other VPNs, our Editors' Choice winners NordVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, and TunnelBear are excellent.&lt;\/p&gt;&quot;,&quot;body_content_blocks&quot;:[],&quot;images&quot;:{&quot;autoincrement&quot;:36,&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;index&quot;:35,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-35.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1400,&quot;height&quot;:557,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;47402f42116f27fbeeb88f1e2070e554&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1713822251,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Hide,me company logo&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:25,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-25.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:848,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;f84009a255d3c6aa347bfdbad9ce3000&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1703697486,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hide.me protocols&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:26,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-26.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1218,&quot;height&quot;:449,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;29319d260418fe94a7ca9760f2f532b9&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1703697486,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hide.me pricing&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:27,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-27.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1301,&quot;height&quot;:733,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;0047afb9256c126e88072d2e21723247&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1703702662,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hide.me locations&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:28,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-28.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:846,&quot;height&quot;:604,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;f6290bea3d3b2e66678d25c63cf2b0ef&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1703796523,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hide.me 2024 interface&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:29,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-29.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:843,&quot;height&quot;:605,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;da364bf79e9e458b9b74eab78d885c9b&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1703796691,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hide.me features&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:31,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-31.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:845,&quot;height&quot;:604,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;32d626bd48455a647aedf1a65bed515d&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1705684386,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;hide.me bolt proxy&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:33,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-33.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1920,&quot;height&quot;:1080,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;48190afba66fcabf22e2cb31d27ef986&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1711124921,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Hide.me's app on an iPhone&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:34,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/05LPlniWsYSaFvNFu6P9tUf-34.jpg&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;jpg&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1188,&quot;height&quot;:1138,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;ec09c58e576a655524f4c1c868c64fc7&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1711124921,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;Hide.me's StealthGuard feature on macOS&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Hide.me\/PCMag&quot;}}],&quot;metadata&quot;:[]},&quot;hero_image_gallery&quot;:null,&quot;editors_note&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_body&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_image&quot;:null,&quot;should_i_upgrade_body&quot;:null,&quot;pros&quot;:&quot;Ten simultaneous connectionsrnGood server distributionrnStrong speed test scoresrnSupports anonymous paymentsrnAffordable&quot;,&quot;cons&quot;:&quot;Speed limitations on free tier&quot;,&quot;bottom_line&quot;:&quot;Hide.me's free VPN limits users to five server locations and cuts out some features, but it does provide a generous 10GB of data use per month. Upgrading to its paid tier will cost you a pretty penny, however.&quot;,&quot;best_for&quot;:&quot;Best for Multiple Server Locations&quot;,&quot;hero_caption&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2018-07-17T12:09:12.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-03-28T13:41:09.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-04-23T20:38:34.000000Z&quot;,&quot;scheduled_at&quot;:null,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2018-07-11T15:37:08.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-04-23T20:38:42.000000Z&quot;,&quot;product_title&quot;:&quot;Hide.me VPN&quot;,&quot;roundup_product_id&quot;:14615,&quot;isReview&quot;:true,&quot;newSpecs&quot;:[{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Data Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;10GB Per Month&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version  Server Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Five Locations&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Simultaneous Connection Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;1&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Can Manually Select Server In Free Version&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:true},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Are All Features Available In Free Version?&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;boolean&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:false},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Connection Speeds Limited&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;No&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;No Ads In Free Version?&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;Yes&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Public Third-Party 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Windscribe\/PCMag&quot;}},{&quot;index&quot;:7,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;reviews\/04nsFjYxgdcYmKbESqG7dSM-7.png&quot;,&quot;extension&quot;:&quot;png&quot;,&quot;animated&quot;:false,&quot;width&quot;:1843,&quot;height&quot;:984,&quot;hash&quot;:&quot;b3674d2134592893aa3af01ce697ad51&quot;,&quot;timestamp&quot;:1718042305,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;altText&quot;:&quot;windscrivbe mobile&quot;,&quot;attribution&quot;:&quot;Credit: Windscribe\/PCMag&quot;}}],&quot;metadata&quot;:[]},&quot;hero_image_gallery&quot;:null,&quot;editors_note&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_body&quot;:null,&quot;final_thoughts_image&quot;:null,&quot;should_i_upgrade_body&quot;:null,&quot;pros&quot;:&quot;Industry-leading company transparency and communicationrnLarge number of payment optionsrnBest free plan of any VPN we've testedrnHelpful AI support botrnOpen Netflix access in all regions benchmarkedrnUnlimited number of simultaneous connections and devicesrnAnonymous signup allowed&quot;,&quot;cons&quot;:&quot;Middling speed results&quot;,&quot;bottom_line&quot;:&quot;From its deep set of features to its class-leading transparency, Windscribe offers an excellent, refreshingly clear-cut VPN experience.&quot;,&quot;best_for&quot;:&quot;Best Company Transparency&quot;,&quot;hero_caption&quot;:null,&quot;first_published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-17T19:47:23.000000Z&quot;,&quot;published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-17T19:47:23.000000Z&quot;,&quot;last_published_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-18T16:33:07.000000Z&quot;,&quot;scheduled_at&quot;:null,&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-06T21:51:24.000000Z&quot;,&quot;updated_at&quot;:&quot;2024-06-18T16:33:12.000000Z&quot;,&quot;product_title&quot;:&quot;Windscribe VPN&quot;,&quot;roundup_product_id&quot;:19849,&quot;isReview&quot;:true,&quot;newSpecs&quot;:[{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version Data Limit&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;value&quot;:&quot;10GB Per Month&quot;},{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Free Version  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'' },&#10;        setSelections() {&#10;            const width = window.innerWidth&#10;            const dropdownCount = width &gt;= 1024 ? 3 : 2&#10;            this.selectionCount = dropdownCount&#10;            this.specLengthVisible = width &gt;= 768 &amp;&amp; this.specLength &gt;= 6 ? 6 : this.specLength &gt;= 4 ? 4 : this.specLength&#10;            this.scrollable = this.specLength &gt; this.specLengthVisible&#10;            Object.keys(this.selections).forEach((key, index) =&gt;  availableOption.uuid : '')&#10;            )&#10;        },&#10;        calculateGridHeight() {&#10;            const node = [...$refs.specs.children].find(child =&gt; child.offsetHeight)&#10;            const childNodes = [...node.children].filter(child =&gt; child.offsetHeight).slice(0, this.specLength &lt; this.specLengthVisible ? this.specLength : this.specLengthVisible)&#10;            const height = Math.round(childNodes.reduce((sum, child) =&gt; sum + child.offsetHeight, 0))&#10;            return `height: ${height}px`;&#10;        }&#10;    }\">\n<h2 class=\"font-stretch-ultra-condensed flex flex-col gap-y-2 leading-compact\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Finest_Free_VPNs_for_2025_Evaluate_Specs\"><\/span>\n            <span class=\"text-base font-bold uppercase not-italic tracking-widest text-red-400\">The Finest Free VPNs for 2025<\/span><br \/>\n            <span class=\"text-3xl font-semibold tracking-wide\">Evaluate Specs<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p>Shopping for Information: The Finest Free VPNs for 2025<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2 id=\"is-there-a-100-free-vpn\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_There_a_100_Free_VPN\"><\/span>Is There a 100% Free VPN?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Few VPNs provide a genuinely free possibility, whereas others provide free trials. The most typical iterations we have seen are three- or seven-day free trials, after which a subscription routinely kicks in.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, the VPN apps listed within the desk above provide totally free subscription ranges. They don&#8217;t seem to be the one ones, however they&#8217;re one of the best we have reviewed up to now.<\/p>\n<p>That stated, each VPN listed does put <em>some<\/em> restrictions on its free model. Some providers restrict the bandwidth you should use in a given interval. Some maintain the variety of simultaneous connections low, usually limiting them to at least one. Some prohibit you to sure servers, that means you may&#8217;t soar to a distinct server to attempt to improve efficiency or simply <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/opinions\/need-to-spoof-your-location-a-vpn-can-help\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">spoof your location<\/a>\u2014extra on this beneath.  <\/p>\n<p>Paying for a VPN subscription sometimes unlocks all these options and sometimes provides extra sweeteners unavailable on the free stage. You get all of the servers in all of the areas, and the service helps extra simultaneous connections.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2 id=\"do-free-vpns-work-with-netflix\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Free_VPNs_Work_With_Netflix\"><\/span>Do Free VPNs Work With Netflix?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>VPNs can bypass oppressive censorship by tunneling out to a VPN server past the management of despots. Nonetheless, that very same means may also be used to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/news\/how-to-unblock-netflix-with-a-vpn\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">entry streaming content material<\/a> unavailable in your nation. Abroad, Netflix subscribers see exhibits and movies that do not seem within the US as a result of Netflix has particular offers to distribute this content material in several areas.<\/p>\n<p>Netflix is not the one service that may be tricked. MLB and the BBC have totally different streaming preparations for various areas. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/best-vpns-for-tiktok\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok ban within the US<\/a> has individuals searching for VPNs in close by nations to avoid the ban. There are quite a few different examples, and lots of of them\u2014particularly Netflix\u2014attempt to block VPN use to implement these regional streaming offers.<\/p>\n<p>Regional blocking is especially difficult totally free VPN customers. Most free VPNs restrict the servers you should use, that means you&#8217;ve got fewer choices (if any) to spoof your location. Free customers even have a more durable time leaping to a distinct server, searching for unblocked entry or higher speeds. One choice to get round a Netflix blockade is to buy a static IP deal with, which usually requires a paid VPN subscription along with the price of the static IP.<\/p>\n<p>Briefly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-vpns-for-netflix\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">watching a streaming service like Netflix with a VPN<\/a> is tough, and doing it with a free VPN is even more durable.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2 id=\"are-free-vpns-safe\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_Free_VPNs_Secure\"><\/span>Are Free VPNs Secure?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Free VPNs have some historic baggage since not all VPN suppliers have at all times been one of the best actors. Some VPNs might have unseemly, if not outright malicious, practices. Determining who&#8217;s and isn&#8217;t on the extent is particularly tough with VPNs, as a lot of their operation is not seen to the skin world.<\/p>\n<p>After we evaluate VPNs, we evaluate every service&#8217;s privateness coverage. This can be a good option to discover out what info the service collects, if any. Ideally, a VPN firm ought to say it doesn&#8217;t accumulate any logs on consumer exercise. We extremely suggest studying the evaluate for a free VPN earlier than committing.<\/p>\n<p>These paperwork can generally be difficult to learn, maybe deliberately so. As a part of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/about\/how-we-test-vpns\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">testing course of<\/a>, we ship questionnaires to every <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-vpn-services\" data-element=\"link-injector\" x-track-ga-click=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">VPN service<\/a> to place firms on the file about particular privateness points. We depend on firms to behave in good religion after we ask them questions and for third-party researchers to ferret out the businesses that do not.<\/p>\n<p>The very best free VPNs have undergone in depth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/news\/what-does-a-vpn-security-audit-really-prove\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">third-party audits<\/a> to show their trustworthiness. Having an audit is not a assure that an organization is doing good work since they typically set the parameters of the audit. A significant audit is an efficient signal, although. TunnelBear VPN, as an example, has dedicated to releasing third-party audits every year and has made good on that promise.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2 id=\"are-free-vpns-any-good\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_Free_VPNs_Any_Good\"><\/span>Are Free VPNs Any Good?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As a result of free VPNs can generally be restricted, you will possible expertise some efficiency points. For instance, servers might be too crowded to offer affordable speeds, the VPN supplier might not enable free customers to entry servers the place you might be, or the info restrict can be too low for the service to be usable. <\/p>\n<div class=\"py-4\" data-parent-group=\"related-stories\">\n<div class=\"mx-0 border border-b border-l-0 border-r-0 border-t border-gray-300 py-4 md:ml-8 md:mr-24\">\n<h3 class=\"font-stretch-ultra-condensed mb-2 text-lg font-semibold uppercase\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Advisable_by_Our_Editors\"><\/span>Advisable by Our Editors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Free VPNs additionally lack the security measures we prefer to see among the many greatest VPNs. You will not discover multi-hop connections or VPN entry to the Tor community\u2014these usually require a paid subscription. <\/p>\n<p>However some free VPNs are price making an attempt! Proton VPN is notable as the one VPN we have but reviewed that doesn&#8217;t place a restrict on consumer bandwidth. It is a good long-term alternative. TunnelBear VPN limits free customers to only 500MB (with an extra 1GB accessible) per 30 days however does enable free customers to entry all its servers and join a vast variety of gadgets. This service is nice for sometimes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/how-to\/need-to-spoof-your-location-a-vpn-can-help\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">spoofing your location<\/a> or restricted use whereas touring. Windscribe VPN can also be a robust alternative totally free plans as a result of it has all the identical options because the common consumer, save for a 10GB per 30 days knowledge restrict should you use an electronic mail to enroll or 2GB with out.<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, all three of those providers have launched the outcomes of third-party audits. If a product has not gone via a public third-party audit, that does not imply it is hiding one thing or is nefarious. For all VPN merchandise we have reviewed, we have spoken to their representatives and located their privateness insurance policies at the least acceptable upon examination. Audits present that an organization is publicly staking its cash and popularity.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2 id=\"what-is-the-best-free-vpn\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_the_Finest_Free_VPN\"><\/span>What Is the Finest Free VPN?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Each free VPN service has some catch, although Proton VPN provides you essentially the most flexibility. There may be loads of variation amongst free VPN providers<strong>,<\/strong> so it is a good suggestion to strive a couple of and work out which one you want greatest. An excellent VPN service ought to be simple to make use of and perceive and should not throw up too many boundaries, even when utilizing a free subscription.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, VPNs alone will not defend you towards each hazard prowling the net. We additionally strongly suggest utilizing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-password-managers\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">password supervisor<\/a> to create distinctive and complicated passwords for every website and repair we use, enabling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/how-to\/two-factor-authentication-who-has-it-and-how-to-set-it-up\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">multi-factor authentication<\/a> wherever it is accessible, and utilizing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/picks\/the-best-antivirus-protection\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">antivirus software program<\/a>. Not all these choices have free variations, however you may combine and match to search out essentially the most reasonably priced mixture.<\/p>\n<p><em>Max Eddy contributed to this text.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n    var facebookPixelLoaded = false;\n    window.addEventListener('load', function() {\n        document.addEventListener('scroll', facebookPixelScript);\n        document.addEventListener('mousemove', facebookPixelScript);\n    });\n    function facebookPixelScript() {\n        if (!facebookPixelLoaded) {\n            facebookPixelLoaded = true;\n            document.removeEventListener('scroll', facebookPixelScript);\n            document.removeEventListener('mousemove', facebookPixelScript);\n            window.zdconsent.cmd.push(function() {\n                ! function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\n                    if (f.fbq) return;\n                    n = f.fbq = function() {\n                        n.callMethod ? n.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments)\n                    };\n                    if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\n                    n.push = n;\n                    n.loaded = !0;\n                    n.version = '2.0';\n                    n.queue = [];\n                    t = b.createElement(e);\n                    t.async = !0;\n                    t.src = v;\n                    s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n                    s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s)\n                }(window, document, 'script', '\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n                fbq('init', '454758778052139');\n                fbq('track', \"PageView\");\n            });\n        }\n    }\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In order for you all of the options of the greatest VPN providers, you normally need to pay for them. Thankfully, a number of free choices cowl the fundamentals and enhance your on-line privateness. Don&#8217;t be concerned; you do not have to dig via all of the wonderful print to search out one of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-input-devices"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4450,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4449\/revisions\/4450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}