PrivateVPN, with its motto “unlock anything, protect everything,” promises a straightforward VPN experience. While it gained popularity for its simplicity and strong user reviews, it now faces stiff competition from more feature-rich VPN providers. This review explores PrivateVPN’s strengths and weaknesses to help you decide if it’s the right VPN for your needs.
Simple Interface and Server Selection
PrivateVPN’s Windows client offers two modes: Simple and Advanced. The Simple mode provides a clean interface with a prominent connect/disconnect button and location selection. A handy feature displays ping times next to each server location, allowing users to quickly identify the fastest server. This simplicity is ideal for users who prioritize ease of use.
PrivateVPN Simple Mode
The Advanced mode offers more granular control over connection settings, including protocol selection and encryption level. It also displays real-time data upload and download statistics.
PrivateVPN Advanced View
Features and Settings
PrivateVPN includes essential features like IPv6 and DNS leak protection and a customizable kill switch. The kill switch can be configured to terminate specific applications upon connection loss, offering greater flexibility. The Stealth VPN feature helps bypass VPN blockers and firewalls, proving useful in countries with restrictive internet policies.
PrivateVPN Connection Guard
However, PrivateVPN lacks some advanced features found in competing VPNs, such as split tunneling and multi-hop. While manual WireGuard setup is possible, its absence as a default option is a notable drawback.
Pricing and Subscription Plans
PrivateVPN offers competitive pricing, with a monthly plan at $9.99 and a three-year subscription for $72, averaging $2 per month. However, the lack of a one- or two-year plan may deter users hesitant to commit to a long-term subscription.
PrivateVPN Pricing
Performance and Streaming
In speed tests, PrivateVPN delivered average download speeds around 37% of the baseline, while upload speeds fared better at 65%. This makes it suitable for general browsing and torrenting, and particularly advantageous for video conferencing and file uploads. Impressively, PrivateVPN successfully unblocked major streaming services like Netflix. However, its smaller server network might pose limitations for users traveling to certain regions.
Security and Privacy
PrivateVPN supports OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP protocols, but notably lacks native WireGuard support. Users can choose their OpenVPN encryption level, with AES-256-GCM recommended for optimal security.
PrivateVPN Protocol Selection
PrivateVPN’s privacy policy states that it doesn’t log user activity or traffic. However, it does use cookies on its website for functionality and account access. Payments can be made via credit card, PayPal, or Bitcoin. As PrivateVPN is based in Sweden, a member of the 14 Eyes intelligence alliance, users concerned about government data requests should consider this factor.
Conclusion
PrivateVPN is a user-friendly VPN ideal for streaming and basic browsing. Its competitive pricing and ability to unblock Netflix are significant advantages. However, the absence of advanced features and a limited server network may not satisfy users seeking a more comprehensive VPN solution. While PrivateVPN provides a solid foundation, it needs to evolve to remain competitive in the rapidly changing VPN landscape.
