PrivateVPN Review

PrivateVPN was established in 2009, making it older than many of its rivals. During that period, the VPN has shown to be a reliable and secure choice and has never experienced any problems.

In 2022, the Swedish internet services provider Miss Group purchased PrivateVPN. Despite early worries about how the acquisition would affect things, PrivateVPN’s outstanding performance has not changed.

We put PrivateVPN’s software through our extensive testing procedure for this review. The table below provides an overview of PrivateVPN’s main features. Later in this review, you may contrast it with other solutions.

Who Needs to Use a Private VPN?

You wish to view content from streaming websites that are geoblocked. We were able to access 14 Netflix libraries and all other popular streaming platforms by using PrivateVPN’s dedicated IP servers.
You have a spending plan. You can purchase a PrivateVPN subscription for as little as $2.00 a month if you pay for three years in advance.
This is your first experience using a VPN. One of the easiest VPN programs to use is PrivateVPN, provided you don’t need access to additional capabilities.

Data Cap	Unlimited
Download Speed	95Mbps
Logging Policy	No Logs
Data Leaks	No
Jurisdiction	Sweden (14 Eyes Member)
Servers	200
IP Addresses	7,000+
Countries with Servers	62
US Netflix	Yes
Torrenting	Unlimited
Simultaneous Connections	10
Works In China	Yes
Support	Live Chat
Cheapest Price	$2.00/mo over 3 years
Money-Back Guarantee	30-day Money-Back Guarantee
Official Website	PrivateVPN.com

Netflix, Hulu, and Other Streaming Services

Among the greatest VPNs for streaming is PrivateVPN. All of the streaming services we tested the VPN with, including 14 Netflix locations, were unblocked by its dedicated IP servers. It’s unfortunate that it lacks Smart DNS functionality, but it does offer a feature-rich Amazon Fire TV app.

Streaming Platform	Works with PrivateVPN
Amazon Prime Video	Yes
BBC iPlayer	Yes
Channel 4	Yes
Disney+	Yes
Hotstar India	Yes
Hulu	Yes
ITVX	Yes
Max	Yes
Netflix US	Yes
YouTube	Yes

Recently, PrivateVPN took its dedicated streaming servers off of the app. This is because “all servers now work for streaming,” a PrivateVPN representative informed us when we got in touch with them.

However, we discovered that this is untrue because PrivateVPN occasionally was unable to unblock specific services when utilizing a server from the primary server list.

We had to establish a connection with one of its dedicated IP servers when this occurred. These will provide you with a unique IP address that will make it more difficult for streaming providers to identify and ban you. Even if these servers consistently functioned, they aren’t always accessible.

The low device compatibility of PrivateVPN with TV-connected devices is one of the main drawbacks of using it for streaming. It lacks a Smart DNS capability for Apple TV and gaming consoles, despite having an app for Fire TV and Android TV. Furthermore, there isn’t a router app for Roku and Chromecast devices to utilize.

US Streams Netflix in Numerous Other Areas

After testing every server run by PrivateVPN with Netflix, we discovered that 22% of them are compatible with the streaming service.

This indicates that the VPN unlocks a total of 14 Netflix libraries. Only Windscribe, out of all 65 VPNs we tested, was able to access Netflix content from more regions than PrivateVPN.

Here are all the Netflix libraries that PrivateVPN can access:

• Australia Brazil
• Canada France
• Germany India
• Ireland Italy
• Japan Netherlands
• South Africa Thailand
• UK US

The policy on privacy and logging does not save any user information.

Verified as a no-logs VPN provider, PrivateVPN has never given user information to a third party. Its Swedish base, under 14 Eyes control, is a small drawback, but its private logging policy more than makes up for it.

Data Type	Logged by PrivateVPN
Account Information	Yes
Browsing Activity	No
Date of Last Connection	No
Device Information	No
DNS Queries	No
Individual Bandwidth Usage	No
Individual Connection Timestamps	No
ISP	No
Number of Simultaneous Connections	No
Originating IP Address	No
VPN Server IP	No
VPN Server Location	No

Sweden, where PrivateVPN is headquartered, is generally not the best place for user privacy. Even if PrivateVPN was compelled to abide by the Swedish government’s demands, its no-logs policy prevents it from disclosing any information about its users.

Your email address is the only data that PrivateVPN keeps, and it’s only needed to log you in to the service. We have confirmation from PrivateVPN that this is unrelated to your activity. More expensive services are usually the ones that offer this level of anonymity.

However, one disadvantage of PrivateVPN is that diskless VPN servers are not used. By connecting to one of these servers, you completely eliminate the chance of logging data because they don’t have storage devices. We hope PrivateVPN will soon include these.

The Verification of Logging Policy Is Done Through Actual Tests

One of the few VPN providers that has had a real-world case validate its no-logs privacy promise is PrivateVPN. Law enforcement has repeatedly requested user data from the VPN, but the VPN has been unwilling to comply.

Though it is unknown to the general public, papers we have seen demonstrate that PrivateVPN has consistently refused to comply with requests from law enforcement for user data because of its no-logs privacy policy.

While we do not support any illicit activity carried out through the use of a VPN, these actual incidents serve as a reliable and useful litmus test for the logging policies of VPNs.

Failed to Declare Data Collection on Users of the Free Trial

According to our investigation, PrivateVPN had previously recorded the IP addresses of those who joined up for its free trial. These IP addresses, according to PrivateVPN, were safely kept in a “dummy database” and connected to “no other data.”

Despite the fact that PrivateVPN only conducted this kind of logging in order to guard against unauthorized usage of its free trial, the issue is that the company made no mention of it anywhere.

To its credit, PrivateVPN quickly altered their conduct when we brought up this problem. The IP address of new free trial sign-ups is no longer tracked by the VPN.

Quick on close-by connections, but sluggish on distant ones

As seen by our test results, PrivateVPN is quick when connecting to a nearby server. Our download speeds only decreased by 5%, indicating that the VPN is sufficient for virtually all other activities in addition to streaming and gaming. But PrivateVPN’s international speeds aren’t as fast, and slowdowns are frequently caused by its crowded servers.

We measured our internet speeds both before and after connecting to PrivateVPN servers located all over the world to ensure impartial and fair speed testing. Over the course of several days, we conducted a number of tests, averaging the results.

	No VPN (New York)	US (New York)	Canada (Toronto)	US (Los Angeles)	UK (London)	Germany (Berlin)	Brazil (São Paulo)	Japan (Tokyo)	South Africa (Johannesburg)	Australia (Sydney)
Download Speed	100Mbps	95Mbps	92Mbps	85Mbps	90Mbps	90Mbps	82Mbps	84Mbps	61Mbps	76Mbps
Upload Speed	100Mbps	88Mbps	77Mbps	80Mbps	93Mbps	92Mbps	86Mbps	93Mbps	83Mbps	66Mbps
Ping	1ms	6ms	15ms	89ms	78ms	84ms	113ms	143ms	240ms	212ms
Distance	0mi	5mi	300mi	2,500mi	3,500mi	4,000mi	4,800mi	6,700mi	8,000mi	9,900mi

As you can see, PrivateVPN has excellent short-distance speeds. Our measured speed of 95 Mbps is comparable to the performance of other premium VPNs that are much more expensive.

On the other hand, when connecting to some distant servers, the performance drops significantly more than anticipated. Our download speed decreased by 24% and 39% when we connected to Australia and South Africa, respectively.

The other VPNs on the list above have far larger server networks and more 10Gbps servers than PrivateVPN in order to avoid server congestion. In a later version, we hope to see PrivateVPN fix both of these problems.

Value & Price Outstanding Value for Extended Subscriptions

Excellent value is provided by PrivateVPN considering its comparatively inexpensive pricing. Its $2.00 monthly fee is less expensive than any of its rivals, and you’ll also get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Here are PrivateVPN’s different pricing plans:

• Monthly $11.99/mo Billed $11.99 every month
• 3 Month(s) $6.00/mo Billed $17.99 every 3 months Save 50%
• 3 Year(s) $2.00/mo Billed $72.00 the first 3 years, annually thereafter Save 85%

When choosing a VPN, PrivateVPN is an excellent option for those on a tight budget due to its affordable long-term contracts. However, when compared to other inexpensive VPNs, the $11.99 monthly fee is pricey.

For customers who prefer not to pay for three years in advance, we would also like to see PrivateVPN have an annual option.

Free Trial of PrivateVPN

Regretfully, there is no longer a free trial available for PrivateVPN. The feature is still advertised on the VPN, but when we tried to join up for it, we were taken to the page for the premium subscription.

One of the VPN’s most prominent features used to be the free trial. It didn’t require any payment information and ran for seven days. Since its termination, PrivateVPN has become a far poorer service.

We were informed that the free trial is not accessible at this time “due to the amount of abuse” after contacting it. We would want to see the VPN switch to a freemium business model, similar to Windscribe and Proton VPN, in order to avoid this.

However, if you want to use PrivateVPN for free right now, you’ll need to take advantage of its 30-day money-back guarantee.

Methods of Payment

PrivateVPN accepts the following payment methods:

• American Express Bitcoin
• Mastercard PayPal
• UnionPay Visa

Server Locations: 62 Countries with Servers

62 countries are available for you to obtain an IP address from with PrivateVPN, which is significantly more than other VPNs in its pricing range. Even if a respectable amount of countries are covered, the network only has 200 servers, which is too few for a well-known VPN provider.

Continent	Number of Countries
Europe	34
Asia	14
South America	5
North America	5
Africa	2
Oceania	2

Popular locations such as the US, UK, Australia, Japan, Germany, and Canada offer servers. Each of these offers an assortment of city-level servers as well, enabling you to establish a connection with the closest server in your nation.

Since many other VPN services only have a presence in Brazil, we especially value PrivateVPN’s six South American server locations.

Having said that, we would want PrivateVPN to include a few well-liked locations in a later version. PrivateVPN does not yet provide IP addresses from well-known countries like Egypt and India. Numerous other VPN services, such as ExpressVPN and Surfshark, have servers located in these nations.

A Few Servers Are Situated Virtually

Because PrivateVPN use virtual server locations, it can provide servers in more countries than the majority of other VPNs. This category includes 13% of PrivateVPN’s server locations, which are geographically situated in a different nation than the IP address they offer.

For instance, we found that the Japan server of PrivateVPN is actually housed in a Canadian data center.

If you connect to a virtually located server thinking it’s close when it’s actually on the other side of the planet, it can slow down your internet speed.

Because of this, we would prefer it if the PrivateVPN software made it clear which server locations are actual and which are virtual. Other VPN providers are quite clear about this, even premium VPNs like CyberGhost.

Using PrivateVPN for Torrenting Is Fantastic

PrivateVPN is a fantastic option for private torrenting because it permits P2P traffic and port forwarding on all of its servers. AES-256 encryption, private DNS servers, and no logging are used by the VPN to make sure that your torrenting activities cannot be linked to you.

Torrenting Attribute	Result
Average Download Bitrate	9.6MiB/s
No. of P2P Servers	200
Logging Policy	No Logs
Kill Switch	Yes
Port Forwarding	Yes

Every time we used PrivateVPN to test it with different torrent clients, we were able to download a torrent file without any problems. It will not be difficult for you to download enormous files, such as software, music, and movies.

While torrenting is permitted on all of its servers, we advise connecting to only those addresses listed under “Dedicated IP.”

Unlike all other servers, which are rented from outside parties, these servers are owned and managed by PrivateVPN. This provides an extra degree of security and control, which is crucial for maintaining the privacy of torrenting activities.

Furthermore, all ports can be automatically redirected by these servers, saving you from having to manually setup it. Because of this, PrivateVPN can torrent more quickly than a lot of other VPNs.

This is demonstrated by the following table, which compares PrivateVPN’s performance to that of other top VPNs for torrenting when a 20GB torrent file is downloaded:

VPN Service	Download Bitrate	Time To Download 20GB Torrent File
No VPN	10MiB/s	32 minutes
PrivateVPN	9.6MiB/s	33 minutes
Surfshark	8.7MiB/s	36 minutes
CyberGhost	3.9MiB/s	1 hour 21 minutes

Device & OS Compatibility

All of the main operating systems and gadgets, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, have native apps for PrivateVPN. Nevertheless, neither a Smart DNS tool nor any browser plugins are available.

Applications

You may download and install PrivateVPN on the following platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and routers.

Six Concurrent Linkages

You can link up to six devices to a VPN server simultaneously with PrivateVPN. This is more than sufficient, a little above average, unless you’re sharing an account with friends or family.

Video game consoles and streaming gadgets

By setting it up on a router, you can use PrivateVPN on the following devices: Xbox, Nintendo, PlayStation, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Apple Fire TV, and Chromecast.

Nevertheless, PrivateVPN does not provide pre-installed routers, in contrast to a lot of other VPN providers. It will require manual setup on your router.

We were shocked to see that PrivateVPN, a VPN service made specifically for streaming, does not have a Smart DNS option. This implies that in order to unblock streaming websites on gadgets like a PS5 or Apple TV, you’ll need to install it on a router.

Simple-to-Use Apps with a Basic Interface

The apps from PrivateVPN are well-designed and simple to use. You’ll have a consistent experience using all of your devices because the interface is the same across all platforms. However, we do wish that changing the protocol and other VPN settings was easier.

Visit PrivateVPN’s website, select Get PrivateVPN, and begin installing and utilizing the service. Select your subscription package and start the app download. It took less than ten minutes to complete this easy task.

The app design for PrivateVPN hasn’t been updated in a very long time. In comparison to other leading VPNs, it currently appears and feels a little dated.

Strangely, for more than a year, the app’s new UI has been displayed on the company’s website main page. A PrivateVPN representative told us there is “no timeframe” for when this will be released when we asked.

Here are more specifics about our experiences we had with PrivateVPN across all OS systems:

Computer & Tablet (Mac & Windows)

There are two views available on PrivateVPN’s desktop apps: a “simple view” and a “advanced view.”

There are other parameters that you can manually adjust from the app’s advanced view. You can activate advanced features and change the encryption strength. Because of this, the advanced view is fantastic if you want to customize the service to your likings.

On the other hand, if you’re new to VPNs and want a quick and straightforward method to connect and switch servers, the basic view can be ideal for you. However, we do wish that this view could be used to modify some of the more basic options, such as the VPN protocol.

Regretfully, PrivateVPN is unable to select the quickest server for you automatically depending on your location, in contrast to nearly all other VPN apps. Rather, you will need to choose one by hand.

On Windows, selecting a server is made simpler because the application shows and colors-codes the server ping. For optimum speeds, just establish a connection with the server that has the lowest ping. The server list on Mac is empty and does not display the distance between you and the server.

On both platforms, the server list window is excessively huge, as the screenshot above illustrates. At the very least, we would like this to be resizable since the same amount of information may be shown on a window that is half the size.

We also object to the way the server list obscures the app’s home screen and opens in a separate window. It took us some time to figure out that in order to get back to the main app, you had to close the window. You can switch between servers right from the app’s home screen with almost all other VPNs.

Regretfully, PrivateVPN cannot be accessed through the Windows taskbar or the Mac menu bar. This is where you may fast switch the server location with other VPNs; PrivateVPN does not offer this feature.

Smartphones and Android devices

The iOS and Android apps for PrivateVPN are straightforward and user-friendly. The huge on/off button on the home screen allows you to connect or disengage from the VPN.

Unfortunately, though, PrivateVPN hasn’t improved the usability of the software with any mobile-only features. It does not have an iOS Shortcuts app integration, nor does it have a dark mode UI. Moreover, there are no iOS or Android widgets accessible.

The inclusion of server ping in the Android app is the one notable distinction between PrivateVPN’s mobile apps and its desktop counterpart.

The mobile apps do not offer a “simple” or “advanced” view, in contrast to the PC apps. To modify the VPN’s configuration, only select VPN Settings. Although it isn’t activated by default, we advise activating the kill switch from this page as soon as you download the app.

To put it briefly, PrivateVPN offers the most rudimentary mobile apps of any major VPN provider that we have seen. If the VPN doesn’t invest development effort in integrating with the device it was designed for, it will keep falling behind the competition.

App for Linux

While it is feasible, connecting to a PrivateVPN server on Linux is rather challenging. There is no Linux CLI or GUI application available for the VPN.

OpenVPN certificate and key files are required in order to establish a VPN connection on Linux.

It’s a lengthy, complex process which isn’t made any easier by PrivateVPN’s outdated 12-step guide. Utilizing Ubuntu 22.04, we discovered that most of the guidelines made reference to labels and choices that are either no longer available or have been renamed. If you want to be able to connect to more than one server, you will also need to repeat these 12 steps.

We also found that your IPv6 address is leaked by the Linux software, which is something else you may learn about in this review.

We would rather that PrivateVPN take the time to fully support Linux; even ExpressVPN’s CLI app is simpler to use than this one. Like Surfshark, VPNs for comparable prices provide Linux users with fully functional programs that are just as user-friendly as their Windows and Mac counterparts.

Fire TV & Firestick from Amazon

An intuitive and basic app is available for the Amazon Fire TV Stick from PrivateVPN. We could easily connect to a server with it so that we could unblock 14 on our TV.

Additionally, changing the server’s location was easy. Though we would have like not to have to navigate through the list of nations in order to search for a specific place.

The lack of Fire TV optimization in the app’s UI is one of its drawbacks. Since this is a resized version of its Android app, which was made with touch input in mind, it can be challenging to determine which parameter you are currently in control of at any one time. The focused button barely becomes somewhat green around the edges.

We hope PrivateVPN will provide a special Fire TV software to address this. Some VPNs provide Firestick-specific apps, such as CyberGhost and Atlas VPN. These are considerably simpler to use because they were made with larger screens in mind.

Getting Around Web Censorship Does China Support PrivateVPN?

According to our most recent tests, PrivateVPN functions in China. We were able to bypass China’s Great Firewall and access websites and services like Netflix, YouTube, and WhatsApp by utilizing the VPN’s Stealth VPN protocol.

One of the safest VPNs to use in China is PrivateVPN. We discovered that it functions 82% of the time. The China uptime of other well-known VPNs, such as NordVPN and Surfshark, is only 5% and 18%, respectively.

Confounds Traffic Using the Proxy for Shadowsocks

In order to use PrivateVPN to get around web censorship, you must first enable Stealth VPN in the VPN app’s settings.

Even though Stealth VPN is marketed as a custom PrivateVPN protocol, traffic is actually routed via the open-source Shadowsocks proxy. Shadowsocks is a feature that many other VPN services offer as well; it is not exclusive to PrivateVPN. It isn’t as secure as specially designed VPN obfuscation tools.

VPN providers like Astrill, in contrast to PrivateVPN, have created unique technology to get around censorship. If you frequently connect out of China, these are a safer option as they do not rely on proxies.

Technical and Security Elements Is the VPN Secure?

Although PrivateVPN lacks some of the cutting-edge capabilities of other premium VPNs, it is still secure. Multi-hop, diskless servers, and WireGuard are not available with this VPN. Nevertheless, it has a kill switch and AES-256 encryption, making it sufficiently safe for common web usage.

There Is No Way to Connect With WireGuard

The only offering among our top 10 VPN services that doesn’t make use of a proprietary VPN protocol or WireGuard is PrivateVPN. Compared to alternatives, WireGuard is a secure open-source protocol that operates at substantially higher speeds.

As an alternative, PrivateVPN makes use of OpenVPN, an outdated and slower VPN technology. We would prefer PrivateVPN to at least include WireGuard as an option, because the majority of other premium VPN services no longer employ OpenVPN by default.

Robust Encryption Preserves Internet Data

You can trust PrivateVPN to encrypt your information and maintain the privacy and anonymity of your online activity.

The AES-256 cipher and 2048-bit RSA handshake, two of the strongest encryption techniques, are said to be in use on the VPN’s website. We examined the logs of the VPN connections to confirm this assertion. We found that the encryption and security of PrivateVPN are robust.

Dedicated IP Servers Stop Illegal Access

You can connect to “Dedicated IP” servers via a distinct tab found in each of PrivateVPN’s apps. In contrast to the majority of other VPNs, this feature is free of charge and comes with every subscription.

Your IP address won’t be shared with any other users when you connect to one of the servers. Because you are the only one with the IP address, these servers are great for getting around geo-blocked streaming. As these IP addresses are still dynamic, each time you rejoin, you will receive a new one.

None of these servers are rented from outside parties; all belong to PrivateVPN. Because there are no longer any additional middlemen handling your data, these servers are great for security and privacy.

We’d Like to See These Technical Features

A premium VPN service should have many of the technological characteristics that PrivateVPN does not. In a later version, PrivateVPN ought to provide the following features:

In order to prevent activity logs from being kept on a VPN server, use diskless VPN servers.
Using split tunneling, you can keep some programs out of the VPN tunnel, such as smart home controls.
Multi-hop servers to provide additional privacy and defense against attacks via traffic correlation.
Use a tracker blocker to improve online privacy and stop cross-site tracking.
As mentioned previously in this analysis, customers can obtain the fastest connection speeds with WireGuard support.

All of the features we’ve mentioned above are also included in other top VPNs, such as NordVPN and Surfshark. PrivateVPN must quickly include these capabilities into its apps in order to match them.

Customer Support

Customer service from PrivateVPN is not as good as that of other leading VPNs. PrivateVPN’s web instructions are sparse, and its live chat crew is not always available, despite the fact that its email support staff is generally knowledgeable.

Customer Support	Available in PrivateVPN
24/7 Email Support	Yes
24/7 Live Chat Support	No
Chatbot	No
Email Support via Online Form	Yes
Live Chat Support	Yes
Online Resources	Yes
Tutorial Videos	No

Its live chat feature isn’t always accessible, even though it’s open 24/7. In response to our request for an explanation, the company informed us that because there aren’t many customer service representatives, the live chat feature is momentarily suspended when there is a long line.

For a premier VPN provider, this is really subpar. Paying for a VPN service should now come with 24/7 customer assistance; if not, live chat is always open at specific times of the day.

Furthermore, certain PrivateVPN support representatives are more beneficial than others. Certain agents possess exceptional knowledge, are friendly, and reply quickly. However, some people are incredibly ignorant, misinterpret questions, and respond slowly.

In the event that live chat is not available, PrivateVPN’s email support will get your query. We tested this email assistance, and we often received a response within an hour. It is available around-the-clock.

Make sure to get in touch with the email support team if you have a more complex question because they typically possess greater knowledge than the live chat representatives.

The Bottom Line

Given its inexpensive cost, PrivateVPN offers excellent value. It has robust security and encryption, user-friendly apps for novices, and an excellent dedicated IP feature.

Streamers looking for a quick and simple way to get around geo-blocks should use PrivateVPN in particular. The VPN gives users access to BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Hulu, and US Netflix. Though you can’t use PrivateVPN to stream content on gadgets like Apple TVs or gaming consoles, we do wish it had a Smart DNS function.

Having saying that, our testing of PrivateVPN revealed inconsistent speeds. Because of the VPN’s small server network and lack of information regarding server load, servers are frequently overloaded, which might occasionally cause buffering and lag while connected.

All things considered, if you are unable to pay for one of the greatest VPN services, we heartily advise you to use PrivateVPN. Most users will be satisfied with its straightforward yet effective performance, especially for easy tasks like connecting to public WiFi networks.