Perfect Privacy Review Summary
- Total (4.6 / 5.0)
- Performance
- Features
- Privacy
- User-friendliness
- Support
- Value
Summary:
Perfect Privacy is a truly unique VPN service offering the most advanced online anonymity and security features you will find anywhere (see for example NeuroRouting and TrackStop). Their network consists entirely of dedicated premium servers that are always running in RAM-disk to ensure no data is ever stored or available to third parties (100% no logs). The one downside is the Swiss price tag – but if you want a powerful, high security VPN service to achieve the highest levels of online anonymity, then it’s worth every penny.
Jurisdiction
Switzerland
Connections
Unlimited
Protocols
OpenVPN
IPSec/L2TP
IPSec/IKEv2
PPTP
Logs
Zero logs
(with no restrictions)
Privacy Tests
Passed all tests
Price
€8.95
Refund
7 days
Support
User forum
+ Pros
- Multi-hop VPN chains, up to 4 servers (self-configurable)
- NeuroRouting (dynamic, server-side multi-hop that can be used with all devices)
- Stealth VPN (OpenVPN with Stunnel, SSH, Obfusproxy)
- Dedicated premium servers operating only in RAM DISK mode
- Full IPv6 support (provides both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses)
- Customizable firewall/port-forwarding options
- TrackStop advertisement, tracking, and malware blocker
– Cons
- Higher price
- Full VPN Manager client not available for Mac OS (but BETA client available, along with other installation options)
Perfect Privacy price and refund policy
When you examine the pricing options, it is clear that Perfect Privacy is on the higher end of the scale.
But before you get alarmed by the Swiss price tag, it’s good to consider what you’re actually getting for your money (the true value). Regarding the value, Perfect Privacy offers three unique advantages over most VPNs:
- Unlimited – Your subscription gives you an unlimited number of connections – whereas most VPN services limit the connections (devices) to between three and six. This allows you to protect every single device in your house with only one subscription.
- Trackstop – Included in your VPN subscription is a very powerful and customizable advertisement, tracking, and malware blocker, which is called TrackStop. This filter will block thousands of harmful domains at the VPN server level, and it will protect every single device that connects to the VPN network (no need for extra browser add-ons, extensions or plugins). Using Perfect Privacy on a router will block ads and tracking on your entire home network. (They have also recently added a parental filter, which is useful for families.)
- Multi-hop + NeuroRouting – With the VPN Manager client (Windows, Linux, and Mac OS) you can create a multi-hop cascade of VPN servers (up to 4), to give you more online anonymity and security. Additionally, Perfect Privacy has released their new NeuroRouting feature. This feature is activated server-side and dynamically routes all traffic across numerous hops in the VPN network (discussed further below and also explained in this article). This unique feature acts very similar to the Tor network and is not offered by any other VPN service.
Of course there are other benefits and unique features, but these three stand out.
Payment options – Aside from PayPal and major credit cards, you can also pay with Bitcoin and more than 60 different payment options through Paymentwall. You can even send cash in the mail to their accounting department in Latvia if you want a completely anonymous payment option.
Refund Policy – Perfect Privacy offers a full 7 day money-back guarantee, without any tricks or bandwidth clauses. This allows you to test everything out.
You can find all the details of the refund here in the Terms.
Company information and jurisdiction
Unlike all the shady new VPNs flooding onto the market promising to make you “anonymous”, Perfect Privacy has been offering premium privacy solutions since 2008. Despite being a smaller company, Perfect Privacy is a major player in online privacy and security. It leads the way in developing advanced security features, with the latest example being their NeuroRouting feature.
According to the website, the parent company is Vectura Datamanagement Limited Company, based in Zug, Switzerland. As we have discussed before, Switzerland is an excellent privacy-friendly jurisdiction. Privacy is guaranteed under the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (DPA) and the Swiss Federal Data Protection Ordinance (DPO). This legal framework offers further protection for Perfect Privacy customers and their data.
According to the website, the “Technical Implementation” part of the company is based in Panama under the name “Webinvest International SA.” This is also good because Panama is a solid choice for privacy and is not a close partner with any surveillance alliances.
This legal/corporate setup, plus a strong zero logs policy, is a solid combination for protecting customer privacy and data.
Platforms and applications
The unlimited number of connections, plus support for all different devices and platforms, allows you to use your VPN subscription with everything (no restrictions or limitations).
Perfect Privacy supports all devices and platforms. You can find detailed step-by-step installation guides in the Perfect Privacy members area. With every platform, you will be given different setup options, allowing you the freedom to use the VPN in the best way to suit your needs.
Custom applications – Perfect Privacy offers custom applications for:
- Windows
- Linux
- Android*
- Mac OS (available in BETA, but works excellent based on my testing – download here)
*Note – You will not find the Perfect Privacy Android app in the Google Play Store. This is because Perfect Privacy will not agree to Google’s application requirements, which would infringe on user privacy and give Google information about exactly who is using the app. Consequently, you will need to download the Android APK file directly from the member’s area here.
Full support – In addition to using the custom Perfect Privacy applications, you can also use Perfect Privacy with third-party clients or natively with the operating system:
- Windows – OpenVPN GUI, Viscosity, and native IPSec/IKEv2
- Mac OS – Tunnelblick and native IPSec/IKEv2
- Linux – OpenVPN on Linux Terminal
- Android – OpenVPN Connect app and native IPSec/L2TP
- iOS – OpenVPN Connect app and native IPSec/IKEv2
You can also install the VPN software on your router to protect all of your devices and secure your entire network. See the VPN routers guide for various options.
Perfect Privacy is ideally suited for use on a router because of the server-side features you can activate (no need for extra software). This provides blanket protection for every device that connects to your router. Here are three features that are useful for a router and home network:
- TrackStop – Block ads, tracking and malware domains for your entire home network.
- NeuroRouting – Gives you a dynamic multi-hop VPN for every device that you use on your router (no extra software needed).
- Parental filter – The parental filter blocks domains that are harmful for children (pornographic and violent websites). These domains are blocked at the VPN server level, far away from your network. This is a great feature for anyone with children accessing the internet.
Router setup guide – The guide I created below walks you through setting up Perfect Privacy on an Asus router. (Note, there are many different Asus routers you can use, from low-cost models to very high end).
Ad Blocker on a Router with a VPN (Perfect Privacy)
Perfect Privacy features
Perfect Privacy basically offers two different kinds of features. I will refer to these as server-side features and application features.
Server-side features – These are the features that are activated server-side and will be enabled whenever you access the VPN network with any device and using any encryption protocol. The three main server-side features are TrackStop (which currently includes seven different filters) NeuroRouting, and port forwarding.
You can access all server-side features from the member dashboard here.
We will cover TrackStop and NeuroRouting in detail below.
Application features – Perfect Privacy also offers many different features and settings that are controlled from within the application. We will discuss these in the Windows, Mac OS, and Android sections further below.
TrackStop – Block tracking, ads, and malware domains
Another advantage of Perfect Privacy is the built-in advertisement, tracking, and malware blocker, which is called TrackStop. Using a VPN with an ad blocker is a smart choice due to the growing dangers of malicious ads and tracking.
Ads can now affect many devices, even if you don’t click anything:
- Tracking – Think of every ad as a digital surveillance camera. These ads are quietly recording your browsing history, keystrokes, and page views, and then sending this data off to third parties. Advertisement domains are building up vast amounts of information on your activities to target you with specific ads based on your profile and data.
- Malware – Online ads, which are usually fed in through third-party domains, are an increasingly common attack vector for delivering malware. For example, malware hidden in the pixels of an image can infect your device in seconds when a website loads (this is even happening to major websites, including the New York Times and BBC).
- Ransomware – Another form of malware, ransomware is a growing problem whereby your entire device will be locked up or encrypted, and then held as “ransom” unless you pay some hacker for the decryption key (which may or may not work). This is affecting all devices from computers to tablets, phones, and even smart TVs.
- Data – Ads are also a huge drain on your data and CPU – slowing down your device and burning up your data. This is especially true since many ads now include video and/or sound.
The only solution is to block ads (tracking) on all your devices.
To show you TrackStop an action, I took before and after screen shots from the DailyMail website, which blasts readers with lots of ads.
Without TrackStop activated (NOT safe):
With TrackStop activated (safe):
Aside from the annoyance and tracking dangers, online ads can also use up a huge amount of bandwidth and processing power from your computer. Therefore blocking ads can significantly improve overall performance and also save you money on mobile data.
You can activate the following filters directly in your membership dashboard:
- Tracking and Advertisement filter: block over 30,000 tracking and ad domains
- Fraud filter: block over 45,000 known malware domains and 20,000 phishing domains
- Facebook filter: block Facebook domains and their data tracking software
- Google filter: block Google domains (over 400 different domains)
- Social Media filter: block various social media domains
- Parental filter: block pornographic, gambling, and violent websites and ads that are not suitable for children
- Fake news filter: this filter blocks a list of websites that is published on GitHub. (I’m not really a fan of the “fake news” filter, simply because there is so much disagreement as to what is considered “fake news” – but you can be the judge.)
TrackStop will protect every device that connects to the VPN – without having to install separate ad-blocking software, add-ons or browser extensions. It is simple and powerful.
Note: TrackStop offers many advantages over the free “ad blockers” you see everywhere. First, many of these ad blockers are collecting and selling your data (exactly like free VPNs and other “free” products that monetize the user). Second, browser add-ons make you easier to identify and track due to browser fingerprinting. Third, these different add-ons do not work on all browser and devices. And finally, the ads/tracking may not actually be getting blocked, even though they are not appearing in your browser (in other words, you are still being tracked).
More info about TrackStop here.
Multi-hop VPN Cascades
One unique feature of Perfect Privacy is the “multi-hop cascade” option. With the Windows, Linux, and Mac OS clients you can create custom VPN cascades utilizing up to four servers. This is one of the most powerful tools available to give you more security and online anonymity.
Each consecutive hop re-encrypts your traffic and assigns a new IP address before exiting to the regular internet.
While there are other VPNs that offer multi-hop VPN cascades, these are usually limited to only two servers (double-hop). ZorroVPN also offers up to four hops, but only by creating a custom OpenVPN configuration and then importing the config file into your VPN client.
Perfect Privacy is the only VPN on the market with the technology that allows you to dynamically create custom VPN cascades directly through the VPN client with up to four different servers.
I’ve also found performance can still be quite good when creating a chain of nearby servers (speed tests below).
Why use a multi-hop VPN cascade?
Even if a VPN service doesn’t keep logs and works hard to protect user privacy, VPN servers can still be monitored (logged) for incoming/outgoing traffic by external authorities, third parties, or perhaps even the datacenter itself.
A VPN cascade gives you multiple layers of encrypted protection against an adversary.
To enable the multi-hop feature with Perfect Privacy, simply select the cascading option within Settings and then choose how many “hops” you want to have (up to 4).
From there, you can begin selecting the different VPN cascade servers from the main window, one at a time. The order of the cascade will be shown by the numbers on the far left (1-4). You can also modify the encrypted VPN server chain without dropping your connection – simply add or remove servers.
Frankfurt >> Copenhagen >> Calais >> Malmo
These advanced privacy features are slightly more complex to use, but they offer you a very high level of security and online anonymity.
NeuroRouting
After months of development and testing, Perfect Privacy announced a major breakthrough that takes the multi-hop VPN concept even further. Perfect Privacy engineers created a system to dynamically route all traffic through their VPN network based on machine learning algorithms – a new feature they call NeuroRouting.
NeuroRouting is basically a dynamic, simultaneous, server-side, multi-hop VPN configuration. This feature enables you to utilize the entire VPN server network to route all traffic dynamically. Since the concept may seem a bit convoluted, we’ll break it down a bit more:
- Dynamic – Your internet traffic is dynamically routed across multiple hops in the VPN server network to take the most secure route. The routing path is based on TensorFlow, an open source software for machine learning. Your data remains secured and encrypted in the network as long as possible before exiting onto the regular internet. Being based on TensorFlow, the network continually learns the best and most secure route for a given website/server.
- Simultaneous – Each website/server you access will take a unique path. Accessing multiple different websites will give you numerous, unique multi-hop configurations and different IP addresses at the same time. Each different IP address you broadcast to a website will correspond with the last hop in the server chain for a given URL.
- Server-side – This feature is activated server-side, meaning whenever you access the VPN network, regardless of the device or app you’re using, NeuroRouting will be active (unless you disable it from the member dashboard). This also means it will work on any device – from routers to Mac OS and Android. Finally, NeuroRouting works with OpenVPN (any configuration) as well as IPSec/IKEv2 (the built-in configuration for Mac OS and iOS).
In the image below, the user is connected to the Reykjavik, Iceland VPN server with NeuroRouting enabled. He is accessing four different websites at the same time, located in the US, Panama, Bulgaria, and China. The user will broadcast four different IP addresses at the same time, corresponding to the last server in the chain before each website.
To enable NeuroRouting, simply turn it “on” in the member dashboard. This advanced feature is activated with one click.
After enabling the feature, it will be active after about three minutes throughout the server network.
NeuroRouting Test Page – I also created a NeuroRouting test page, which demonstrates and tests the dynamic routing capabilities. The test page is now live and can be found here.
TrackStop and NeuroRouting are two of the best features in my opinion – and they both work server-side on every device you use with your VPN.
Perfect Privacy Windows
The Perfect Privacy Windows client offers more features than any other VPN I’ve tested or reviewed with Windows.
It appears simple at first glance, but it is a powerful application when you look under the hood.
To optimize speed and connect to the closest server, you can run a real-time ping test, and then rank order the servers by the fastest ping. Real-time bandwidth for every server is also displayed right in the application.
Here is a screenshot of the Windows client where I’m connected to the Basel, Switzerland server:
As you can see in the screen shot above, Perfect Privacy offers excellent bandwidth at all times.
You can check out the real-time bandwidth that is available on Perfect Privacy servers here.
From the Settings tab you can also configure different startup options and features. You can configure the client to start with Windows and connect to a designated server.
Kill switch
The Perfect Privacy Windows client offers the most advanced leak protection features (kill switch) that I have come across in testing various VPNs.
In the image below, you can see that the Windows client gives you three levels for the firewall and DNS leak protection:
Most VPNs offer a level 1 or level 2 kill switch. Perfect Privacy gives you the highest protection with a level 3 kill switch, which will permanently block all non-VPN traffic whether the VPN is active or not. In essence, the software makes a change to the Windows firewall, to only allow traffic through the VPN.
I tested the kill switch extensively with the Windows client. Indeed, it did block all regular (non-VPN) traffic, even when the VPN client was closed.
The kill switch worked perfectly in testing.
Stealth VPN (obfuscation)
Perfect Privacy has added a powerful lineup of obfuscation features, which they refer to as Stealth VPN.
Obfuscation conceals your VPN traffic, which is necessary with restricted networks or any location that does not allow (or discourages) VPN use. This is a must-have feature in countries such as China or with various work or school networks that do not allow VPNs.
As you can see below, the Perfect Privacy Windows client offers four different obfuscation options:
Stealth VPN masks packets to look like normal HTTPS traffic, thereby concealing your use of a VPN while also defeating restrictions and deep packet inspection (DPI).
Works in China – China continues to crack down on VPNs because they don’t want people evading censorship and restrictions (Great Firewall of China). Back when I had codes for test accounts of Perfect Privacy (no longer available), I got one reply confirming that it works well in China.
Finally, there are also reports of internet service providers blocking or throttling VPN connections in the US and Europe.
Perfect Privacy’s Stealth VPN would solve that problem.
Perfect Privacy Mac OS
There are basically three different options for using Perfect Privacy with Mac OS:
- IPSec/IKEv2 – This is the native (built-in) Mac OS VPN configuration that offers a simple, stable, leak-proof setup.
- Third-party VPN clients – These include Tunnelblick and Viscosity. The drawbacks with third-party clients is that they do not offer any kill switch.
- Mac OS BETA client – You can download the BETA client from the forums. I’ve found it to work quite well, even though it is still in BETA (no leaks with the latest version).
IPSec/IKEv2 – The first option using the IPSec/IKEv2 encryption cipher is a good, simple setup. The advantage with this option is that it integrates the VPN directly with the Mac OS firewall. When you enable the “connect on demand” setting from your Mac OS Network Preferences, you get a 100% leak-proof, always-on VPN. All apps will be forced through the VPN, and if the VPN connection drops, nothing will get through the Mac OS firewall (very secure).
You can get step-by-step installation instructions here. While IKEv2 is not quite as strong of an encryption cipher as OpenVPN, it is still a great option because it integrates with the native firewall and won’t leak your data.
With “connect on demand” selected, no VPN connection = no internet. Screenshot from my Mac OS desktop:
While, you won’t get all the application features that Windows offers, you can activate both TrackStop and NeuroRouting to use with this IKEv2 configuration. Additionally, the Mac OS firewall kill switch acts as a Level 3 kill switch (on all the time) to keep your data secure.
Third-party clients – Two popular third-party clients for Mac OS users are Tunnelblick (free) and Viscosity (one-time $9 license fee). Both of these clients work with the OpenVPN encryption cipher, rather than the IKEv2 option above.
The main drawbacks with these third-party OpenVPN clients is that they don’t have a kill switch. This creates a risk for data leakage anytime you interrupt the VPN connection, such as with switching servers or your system going to sleep/waking up. However, you can create a kill switch with firewall rules or a third-party firewall/traffic monitor, such as Little Snitch.
Mac OS BETA client – You can also try the Perfect Privacy Mac OS BETA client, which is available for download here. While they state the client is for testing purposes only, I found it to work well without any leaks.
Below I created a multi-hop VPN cascade using four servers in Europe.
I do not know when the full Mac OS client will be released, but the latest BETA version I tested works well.
Perfect Privacy Android
There are many different ways to use Perfect Privacy with Android devices:
- Built-in IPSec VPN configuration (always-on, leak-proof setup that establishes a VPN connection whenever you have internet connectivity)
- Third-party OpenVPN apps
- Perfect Privacy Android client (based on the Strongswan VPN client)
I tested out the Perfect Privacy Android client for this review. It performed well, did not have any leaks, and was very easy to setup and use. As mentioned above, it cannot be found in the Google Play Store since Perfect Privacy will not agree to infringe on user privacy. The APK file can be downloaded directly from the member’s area.
Perfect Privacy Android app:
Leak test results with the Android client (no leaks):
Note: While the Android client works well, those who want an always-on VPN configuration (level three kill switch) could instead use the built-in IPSec Android configuration (no app). Instructions for this setup can be found here.
Perfect Privacy servers
When you examine the Perfect Privacy server page, you can see that the network is somewhat smaller compared to other VPNs. The reason for this is fairly simple.
Perfect Privacy uses only dedicated (bare-metal) servers, instead of cheap virtual servers that are often logged by the datacenter (server host). Many of the larger VPN services maintain huge networks of virtual servers, which is much cheaper than using dedicated, physical servers. These larger VPNs usually emphasize server quantity instead of server quality.
While their network is somewhat smaller, Perfect Privacy’s dedicated premium servers offer some important advantages:
- More security – low-quality virtual (rental) servers are often logged by the datacenter (host), even when the VPN is claiming to be a “no logs” service.
- More speed – you can expect better speeds and better bandwidth on dedicated premium servers.
- More reliability – Better bandwidth also means better reliability across the network (fewer dropped connections).
On a positive note, Perfect Privacy continues to expand their network as their service grows in popularity. In just the past few months they have added servers with full IPv4/IPv6 support and gigabit bandwidth channels to:
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Switzerland
Another important consideration for server speed and reliability is the users-per-server ratio.
Larger VPNs often have overloaded servers, which results in slow speeds, dropped connections, and overall poor performance. In other words, most VPNs do not have bandwidth that looks this good:
To provide additional protections for customer privacy, all of Perfect Privacy’s servers run in a RAM disk mode. This is an additional security measure that protects customer data if anything were to ever happen to the servers. If the power goes, all data is gone (nothing is ever stored – no logs).
Advantages of the Perfect Privacy server network:
- High bandwidth/speed (Gigabit channels)
- Absolutely no leaks (IP, DNS, WebRTC)
- Full IPv6 support (you get both an IPv4 and IPv6 address)
- Excellent users-per-server ratio
- Good server selection in 20+ countries
- All servers operating in RAM disk mode (absolutely no saved data or logs)
- Network consists entirely of dedicated premium server (no virtual servers)
- Highest level of network security
Perfect Privacy Speed
Extensive testing of different Perfect Privacy around the world found the speeds and reliability to be excellent.
I suspect the great performance is mainly due to the server quality and high bandwidth. Of course there are many factors affecting speed (also discussed here).
Nearby server (in Frankfurt): 87.5 Mbps download
Server in London: 70 Mbps download
I was most impressed with speeds offered by transatlantic (long-distance) connections.
Here is a test with the New York server: 68.5 Mbps download
And a Dallas (USA) VPN server: 69 Mbps download
Multi-hop VPN speed tests
I also tested a few different multi-hop VPN configurations and found the speeds to be quite good considering the different hops an increased latency.
Triple Hop: Frankfurt >> Copenhagen >> Calais: 34 Mbps download
Quadruple Hop: Frankfurt >> Copenhagen >> Calais >> Malmo: 25 Mbps download
It should be noted that there’s generally a performance tradeoff when maximizing various privacy features. For example, using a multi-hop VPN cascade (or NeuroRouting) will drop your speed simply due to increased latency.
Overall these are excellent results.
I even had one commenter claim that he hit 600 Mbps download speeds with a 1 gigabyte fiber connection (my ISP connection is limited to around 100 Mbps).
Zero logs, zero restrictions
When it comes to customer privacy and logs, Perfect Privacy is tough to beat.
They keep absolutely no logs and do not enforce any restrictions whatsoever, in terms of bandwidth or number of connections. They clearly state their logging policy on their website:
No logging of any user specific data or activity. No data is kept. We do not monitor, review, log or store your communication/connection data.
On none of our servers are any logs which would enable a de-anonymization.
Many VPNs claim “no logs” but then enforce various restrictions (such as connection or bandwidth restrictions) that would require logging.
These policies have also passed the test when Dutch authorities seized two of their servers in Rotterdam last year. Their no log policies and premium servers (always running in RAM disk mode) ensured no customer data was compromised.
Important note: There are many VPNs right now that are falsely claiming to be “no logs” when they are in fact collecting customer data. (There are many examples of this, including Betternet and PureVPN). There are also VPNs that are flat-out lying about their logging policies – so be careful and read the fine print.
Privacy and security test results
As with all VPNs reviewed on this website, I thoroughly tested the Perfect Privacy on Windows, Mac OS, and Android for:
- IP address leaks (both IPv4 and IPv6)
- DNS leaks
- WebRTC leaks
- Kill switch protection
- Features (do the privacy and security features work as advertised)
Results: Everything passed without any leaks or problems to report.
Here are the results when connected to a Chicago VPN server. Notice IPv4, IPv6, and DNS addresses are all being supplied by the VPN server (no third parties):
Below is a testing result with a multi-hop VPN chain – notice all tests correspond to the last server in the chain:
Here is a leak test using the built-in IKEv2 setup on Mac OS (no leaks):
For this Perfect Privacy review I tested servers throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia: no problems to report.
Results for Windows, Mac OS, and Android:
- No IP leaks
- No WebRTC leaks
- No DNS leaks
- Kill switch and firewall features worked perfectly
Perfect Privacy also has a warrant canary on their website – see here. This page keeps people updated on any government actions that may affect user privacy, such as warrants, court orders, gag orders, or other law enforcement action.
Most VPNs do not provide this information, as doing so would be illegal in the United States and many other countries. Here is further clarification from their website:
Note that Perfect Privacy is based in Switzerland we are not subject to US based laws. Furthermore all Perfect Privacy employees are located in countries where there are no laws that would prevent us from disclosing any kind of incident with full transparency. This warrant canary is purely in the interest of transparency and accountability.
This is another reason why jurisdiction is important when choosing a VPN service.
Support
Perfect Privacy offers different channels for support.
Being a smaller company with fewer employees, there is no 24/7 live chat support. However, in my experience I have found the email support to be fast and professional.
There is also a user forum, which you can access from the website. The most active part of the forum is in German.
Tip: If you have an issue, I would recommend emailing the support department directly rather than posting a question in the forums (for a faster response).
Is it worth the high price?
Perfect Privacy is geared mostly to those who are seeking a high level of security and online anonymity.
Given the massive advancements in surveillance technology around the world, many people are looking for more advanced privacy solutions. Perfect Privacy absolutely delivers in the areas of advanced security and online anonymity with multi-hop VPN chains, NeuroRouting, TrackStop, and obfuscation features.
That being said, it may not be the best choice for everyone.
Some people want a VPN mainly for streaming Netflix and other services. In this case, VPNArea or ExpressVPN may be better options (most VPNs are blocked by Netflix, including Perfect Privacy).
If cost is your primary concern, you can find cheaper solutions with VPN.ac ($4.80 per month) and VyprVPN ($3.75 per month). Although, these alternatives won’t offer the advanced features that Perfect Privacy gives you.
There’s no getting around the fact that Perfect Privacy is an expensive VPN service (and they don’t offer any discounts). However, considering everything, I believe it is still a great value for five main reasons:
- Unlimited – provides you with an unlimited number of device connections
- High security – highest standards for network security, encryption, features, and server quality
- High performance – excellent speeds and reliability
- NeuroRouting – dynamic multi-hop VPN chains for all devices
- TrackStop – actively block tracking, ads, malware and phishing domains at the VPN server level
Perfect Privacy review conclusion
After testing numerous VPN services over the past few years, Perfect Privacy remains my top VPN recommendation. Since I first tried their service in 2016, I have been personally using it every day with both computers and mobile devices. The server-side features of TrackStop and NeuroRouting provide maximum protection for all devices – whether you’re using an Android mobile with the IPSec/L2TP configuration, Mac OS with IKEv2, or Windows with the VPN Manager app.
Their latest addition with the NeuroRouting feature once again illustrates that Perfect Privacy remains on the cutting edge of privacy and security technology, far ahead of other VPNs. With mass surveillance and tracking technologies continuing to advance throughout the world, it’s important to use a VPN that continues to evolve and stay at the forefront of these developments.
Here’s the final breakdown for this Perfect Privacy review:
+ Pros
- Multi-hop VPN chains, up to 4 servers (self-configurable)
- NeuroRouting (dynamic, server-side multi-hop that can be used with all devices)
- Stealth VPN (OpenVPN with Stunnel, SSH, Obfusproxy)
- Dedicated premium servers operating only in RAM DISK mode
- Full IPv6 support (provides both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses)
- Customizable firewall/port-forwarding options
- TrackStop advertisement, tracking, and malware blocker
– Cons
- Higher price
- Full VPN Manager client not available for Mac OS (but BETA client available, along with other installation options)
Connections
Unlimited
Price
€8.95
Jurisdiction
Switzerland
Privacy Tests
Passed all tests.
Protocols
OpenVPN
IPSec/L2TP
IPSec/IKEv2
PPTP
Multi-hop
Up to 4 servers
Self-configurable
+ NeuroRouting
Obfuscation
Stunnel
SSH
Obfsproxy3
Logs
No logs
(with no restrictions)
Review Appendix: Setup and General Tips
OK. You’ve purchased your subscription – now what?
Here are some general tips I have from my own experience in using and testing Perfect Privacy over the past year:
Google ReCaptcha – One annoying issue with Google is that it will force you through the ReCaptcha validation process if it notices multiple users on the same IP address (which is good for your privacy, and bad for Google’s tracking efforts). The best solution to this problem is to use Startpage (stop using Google), which gives you all Google search results, but without the ReCaptcha and tracking. I have also found that enabling NeuroRouting seems to make this issue go away.
Conflicting VPN software – If you have other VPN software on your computer, it is usually best to uninstall it before installing Perfect Privacy. Using different VPNs may cause issues with your operating system and firewall.
Conflicting antivirus software – Antivirus software often conflicts with VPNs. First, the best software for Windows is simply the native Windows Defender. Additional software, such as Norton or Kaspersky, usually doesn’t add any benefit and will likely interfere your VPN. You can usually add a rule or exception to the antivirus software in this case for the VPN.
TrackStop – You can enable TrackStop from your member dashboard to block tracking and advertisement domains. I would also recommend turning on the “Fraud” filter, which blocks malware and phishing domains. TrackStop will improve page load speed and overall performance, while also saving you money on mobile data (because ads use up lots of bandwidth). When you use Perfect Privacy on a router (instructions here), activating TrackStop will block ads and tracking on your entire home network (no need for separate VPN or ad blocking software with any connected devices!).
NeuroRouting – While NeuroRouting is a great feature for privacy and security, it should not be used if you want to maintain an IP address in a specific location or want to maximize speeds with a certain VPN server. You can activate or disable NeuroRouting directly in the member dashboard. I’d recommend using NeuroRouting by default, as it provides a very high level of security and anonymity. Note, you can also use NeuroRouting in conjunction with multi-hop VPN chains (via the Windows, Linux, or Mac OS clients).
Windows users – Windows users should use the Perfect Privacy VPN Manager app. It may be a good idea to quickly review the features here before using it for the first time. This is a very advanced and powerful VPN client.
Mac OS users – One of the best options for Mac OS users is the built-in IKEV2 configuration because it integrates perfectly with the native Mac OS firewall (no leaks) – see setup instructions here. This is what it looks like (screen shot). The IKEv2 setup gives you a level three kill switch (no VPN connection = no internet) and is very fast and stable. As an alternative, you could also use Tunnelblick in combination with Little Snitch for a kill switch. Little Snitch is a third-party firewall software, which allows you to create a kill switch to block non-VPN traffic. The Mac OS BETA client can also be used and downloaded here (although they state it is only for testing, I’ve found it to work quite well).
Linux users – The full VPN Manager app works with Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04 and Linux Mint 17. You can also use Perfect Privacy with Terminal. There are many how-to Linux guides available here.
Android users – The Android app works very well and is simple and easy to use. You can download the APK file here for direct installation. For an always on setup, you can also use the built-in IPSec configuration, which integrates with the Android OS and forces everything through the VPN. See instructions here. (Activate TrackStop to block ads and save your mobile data.)
iOS users – You can use an OpenVPN app or the built-in IKEv2 configuration and select “connect on demand”. As discussed above, this forces all traffic through the VPN connection. (Activate TrackStop to block ads and save your mobile data.)
Support – If you have an issue, I’d recommend contacting support directly via email. There is also lots of good information in the forums, although most threads are in German (Google translate may be handy).
That’s it.
Stay safe!
Alternatives to Perfect Privacy:
Hi there. Last week, the US FBI reported that Russian government actors Fancybear had hacked over 500k routers in the USA and a few other countries, sent out ugent public notices recommending to restart the routers, upgrade router firmware, and a few other recommendations like use a VPN. Hence, I am going to subscribe to a VPN service now, probably Perfect Privacy or Express VPN. The FBI warned the Russians and Chinese have been working on this for a while.
FBI urgent public alerts are here:
Initial warning April 16
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA18-106A
Home/office router attack May 25
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA18-145A
My questions:
Since many of your recommended VPN service providers are physically located outside of the USA and have servers in many countries, are the VPN services surveilling for reports of hacks in other countries to respond and harden their equipment against attacks?
How do the VPN subscribers know their service providers are aware of the attack and have mitigated it?
Does this cenario pose a risk for using a VPN service provider that is physically located outside of the USA? Or should I use a US service provider. Caveat that I do not enguage in any criminal activity, so am not concerned if NSA or FBI see my internet activity.
Hi Katness, thanks for the information on those public alerts regarding router attacks. These security risks are a big reason that VPNs are growing in popularity. My general recommendation to avoid US VPNs is simply due to the fact that US surveillance agencies have a long history of compromising US networks and data centers – and they also have the legal authority to force a company to log user data. So this is just a privacy precaution.
Regarding your questions, yes, the VPNs that are recommended here have an excellent track record of responding to any security vulnerabilities. For example, there were a few issues found with the OpenVPN protocol a while back, but these were quickly fixed and updated. VPN services are also constantly testing and updating their VPN apps to protect users against leaks, bugs, or any other problems. So this is another reason to go with a high-quality VPN service with regular updates (whether they are located in the US or not).
Hi Sven, could you tell me if Perfect Privacy with one of the routers could be used hard-wired? I am concerned about wireless exposures, which you can see more about at EMFscientists dot org online. The Eblocker is totally wireless, so it won’t work for me based on those concerns. Also, I see that you recommend choosing something besides windows as an operating system. In a home with multiple computers, is it possible to have some use windows and others a linux system with the Perfect Privacy VPN? I have thought about trying a Linux system, but don’t think everyone would agree. Great site, by the way–thank you for your work.
Hi Kirstin, absolutely. I use different routers with the wireless disabled in my home as well. Perfect Privacy will work fine whether you go wired or wireless – makes no difference for the VPN.
Yes, Perfect Privacy works on both Windows and Linux operating systems. With Linux Ubuntu and Mint, they have a dedicated app.
Hi Sven, i´m using PP for macOS (IKEv2 configurations) in “always-on-mode”. Do you know if i need to update (download and install on mac os) the IKEv2 configs regularly, because i´ve seen in the members area that there are configs from April 30th. What do they change when there are new configs?
Best regards
Hi Brad, I’m not sure exactly, but my guess would be that they updated the list to add new server configs, since a few more servers came online recently.
Hi Sven,
I have read your article a couple of times now and Perfect Privacy sounds good, if a little expensive.
I am not very technical so did not understand all of it but like the sound of advanced anonymity and security features particularly Multi-hop + NeuroRouting, although I am sure there are more than just these.
Is it easy for a complete novice to set-up, particularly some of the advanced features and are the guides idiot(me) proof – I have not yet read them?
In fact after initial download is there any set-up needed or could I initially use it ‘out of the box’? and what level of anonymity and security would this give me?
I will be using it on windows, are there any settings you would recommend to start with?
Also what browser would you recommend using, Firefox or Tor browser(without the Tor network)?
Is the current version of Tor browser(7.5.3 – I think) secure?
You say use StartPage instead of google as the search engine, which is the default one for Firefox but can this be used in Tor browser?
The VPN comes with Trackstop, does this mean that if enabled you would not need to use any add-ons etc. with the browser? In fact can you use add-ons with Tor anyway?
My method of payment will probably be by credit card, does this compromise me in any way? particularly from an anonymity and security point of view?
In fact does Perfect Privacy know how you paid or is it handled through a third party?
I am open to other payment suggestions, but not bitcoin.
Thanks
D
Hi D,
Yes, a basic setup with Perfect Privacy is definitely achievable regardless of your technical background, especially if you are using Windows. Perfect Privacy’s Windows client is the best on the market in my opinion. It may take a bit of time to get comfortable with all the different features and settings, but you can get started right away and learn as you go.
To answer your questions:
After downloading the Windows client, simply open up the program, enter your login credentials from when you signed up, and connect to a VPN server. For your Firewall and DNS Leak protection settings, I’d recommend going with Level 2 to start out with (Activate while program is active). Then from your member dashboard, you can enable NeuroRouting if you want dynamic, multi-hop routing, and also TrackStop. For TrackStop, the basic filters I’d recommend are “Tracking and Advertisement filter” to block ads/tracking and also the “Fraud filter” to block malicious domains. With TrackStop on, you can still use browser add-ons, such as uBlock Origin, because they fulfill different functions, although there will be some redundancy.
Regarding the browser, I think a modified version of Firefox provides a better level of protection than the current version of the Tor browser. See the Firefox privacy setup for more information. You may want to skip on the Tor browser at this point because it breaks most websites and is not user-friendly.
Regarding payment with credit card, I do not think that is an issue. Perfect Privacy is based in Switzerland, it has a zero logs policy, and of course, using a VPN for privacy and security is not illegal. I do not agree with the misplaced paranoia surrounding “anonymous payment” for a VPN service, but those options are still available if you want.
Hi Sven,
Thanks for your response, nice site lots of interesting articles that I am only just picking up on.
I have read the one on Privacy Tools and the two things that particularly apply to me are a VPN and a Private internet browser.
VPN
When using a VPN your data is secure and encrypted – which means that:
1. your ISP can only see that you are connected to a VPN server.
2. that all your data – your IP address, search terms, sites you visit and any other data you enter such as passwords, credit card numbers, comments you may post on forums etc. is secure from your ISP, hackers/snoopers etc.
are the above two statements correct?
In my previous post I said I was looking at Perfect Privacy VPN and have a couple of questions on them if that’s ok
1. do they have there own DNS servers? – my understanding is that third party DNS servers can be used to identify you – is this correct?
2 the machine I want to use the VPN from is a VISTA machine(I know still living in the past) – will Perfect Privacy run on VISTA?
Browser
In your response to my previous post when I asked about using Firefox or Tor(without the Tor network) you suggested I stick with a modified Firefox.
I have gone with your suggestions for add-ons and now have HTTPS Everywhere, Privacy Bagder and uBlock Origin and also made all the changes to admin:config you suggest, except privacy.resistFingerprinting which is not in my version of Firefox.
I have used Panopticlick to test my fingerprint and find I am unique.
As I am on the version of Firefox, 52 esr, that I believe the Tor browser is based on could I use that instead?
You recommend using the Tor browser(without the Tor network) in your Privacy Tools article and also I think I have seen you recommend this in some of your responses to posts.
You say in your Privacy Tools article that the Browser is the week link in online security.
Does this mean that even when using a VPN because of the browser I can be identified/tracked and my searches, sites visited and data entered be seen? and by whom?
Thanks again.
D
Hi D,
Yes your first two questions are basically correct, but keep in mind there are other ways to be de-anonymized (i.e. from your browser).
Regarding Perfect Privacy, yes they run their own DNS servers, so that is no concern. Yes, Perfect Privacy’s VPN Manager will work with Vista.
Regarding your browser, yes you could definitely go try both the Tor browser (Tor network disabled) or a standard Firefox install with some modifications. With browsers, there is just a lot of information that third parties can get, such as cookies, browsing history, and there is the issue of browser fingerprinting. This could be collected via third-party tracking on websites, advertisements (tracking), and Google Analytics, for instance. Hence the suggestions to use the Tor browser (with a VPN) or a standard version of Firefox with some modifications and add-ons. Some people just focus on the VPN and forget the importance of using a hardened browser.
Hello, Sven.
Please do include Netflix Speed tests from fast.com.
Thank you.
Hi John, last I checked, Perfect Privacy does not work with Netflix. ExpressVPN still works quite well with Netflix, while many other VPNs are getting blocked.
Didn’t you say Mullvad was the best last year? What happened to that?
No, I have not tested/reviewed Mullvad.
Hi Sven, just a heads up. At the time that I first bumped into your site, I noticed that Ublock Origin doesn’t like your links to Perfect Privacy. I can see the new tab being opened, then closed immediately. It might be different now, but I have UO off for your domain.
Hi Robert, thanks for the heads up! I’m going to check this out.
Hi Sven,
I thought I had narrowed it down to just 2. VPN.ac, and Perfect Privacy.
But now I was pointed to another VPN review site by someone, where there is this huge table with properties and good & bad points per VPN provider.
In the column titled “JURISDICTION Fourteen Eyes?” the table lists “Cooperative” for Perfect Privacy with a yellow background for its table cell (instead of green). How does this square with zero-logging policy?
Or is the other site full of it? 🙂
BTW, I contacted VPN.ac yesterday by email about what they had on offer for Linux users. And received this response :
“an up to date beta client for Linux (debian based distros is coming in a week or two).
Regards,
vpn.ac team”.
I asked further if it would be GUI or command line and what they had on offer for non-Debian based distros. And received these 2 responses:
“GUI, similar to what we have on all other platforms.
Arch linux won’t be compatible though and we have no plans to support it with the VPN client app. It will be only for debian based distros first and fedore a bit later.
So the only thing that we can do about your Arch linux is to provide you with a bash script to manipulate iptables rules that can be used as a kill switch. We’ll make one available in the coming days”
Pretty cool huh?
And their are ways to convert *.deb packages to Arch. So I’m not worried, because VPN.ac and Perfect Previacy both have *.deb packaged clients. \o/
Hi Robert, Perfect Privacy has the best logging policy in the VPN industry, in my opinion, because it is the only “no logs” provider that is backed up with no restrictions. As to how much Switzerland, or any other country for that matter, “cooperates” with other countries is anyone’s guess. The fact remains that Switzerland is not an official member of any surveillance alliances and has a long history of privacy protection. But I think more important than jurisdiction is the logging policy. PureVPN shows us that you can have a VPN operating in a great jurisdiction (Hong Kong), but it will gladly cooperate with US authorities.
The other thing is that we don’t really know – and you can’t really prove anything when it comes to logs. So it also comes down to trust and whether you believe the VPN is being honest. Long story short – there are many factors to consider 🙂
Regarding VPN.ac, it is also a great service that is run by a very competent team. I’m glad to hear they will be broadening their support for Linux.
Sven, You’re right about the trust thing.
As soon as I see the Linux client and Bash kill-switch script appear in their downloads, I’ll start off with VPN.ac first. If I don’t like them, I’ll ask for a refund and move on to testing Perfect Privacy. It’s better to experience than wonder.
Thanks.
I would love to test out PP. My friend told me about one promotion running on Stacksocial but that was sold out. Is there any other promotion you know of?
Hello, I asked them about this and was told they are no longer offering any other promotions or free trials. But you do get a 7 day refund window on all subscriptions. If anything changes regarding sales/promotions, I’ll update this review accordingly.
Hi Swen!
I am using PerfectPrivacy VPN for some months .I am very satisfied with that.
My OS: Windows 10 64 bits.
My question refers to the use of the windows10 firewall in Perfect Privacy VPN.
Well then: I have used the “Zonealarm extremes Security suite” (firewall & antivirus contained) for some years.
I am extremely satisfied with that and had no problems with this package.
After the installation of the ZoneAlarm firewall my windows 10 firewall was deactivated automatically.
I think this is also well because only one firewall should be active.
During the installation of the PerfectPrivacy-App I got the indication to (re-)activate Windows firewall.
I have done this, and both firewalls are running now simultaneously (Zonealarm & winFirewall).
Till now I cannot see any problems. I have carried out the Leak tests on the PP home page.
Everything very well. (Without using the Windows firewall it would come to a DNA Leak.)
My concrete question: Can I leave this configuration (ZonealarmFirewall & Windows firewall simultaneous) so without getting a problem with the safety of PerfectPrivacy? One difference I could see, after (temporarly) deinstallation
or Zonealarm: the speed (download and upload) of PerfectPrivacy has increased about 20%.
But this fact is not so important to me.
Furthermore I would like to use the ZoneAlarm extreme Security package because I have bought it for 2 years and thus also get the contained virus-protection of Kaspersky (in the background).
In addition, the Zonealarm firewall also offers me the possibility compared with the windows10 firewall of stopping “home-making a telephone call” from used software to the servers manually.
Further question concerns the protocol IKEv2.
My sister is using SaferVPN (: also Windows 10!!!). She uses IKEv2 with the Windows App. Works excellently. I think considerably more effectively than OpenVPN.
Which protocol do you recommend me for the App of Perfect Privacy (Windows 10)?
Probably OpenVPN. I cannot use IKEv2 in this (yet)?
Kind greetings from Austria
Hello – glad PP is working well for you. Firewalls often conflict with VPN software, but if everything is working well for you with the current setup (running two firewalls) then I would just keep using it as you described (and also periodically checking for leaks).
Yes, I would recommend using OpenVPN with the Windows app. IKEv2 is a good cipher as well, because it is light weight and secure with good performance, but it is not open source, like OpenVPN. So that is one drawback.
I’m getting great speeds on a Windows 10 desktop but terrible speeds on my s8 android with a fast LTE connection. Like, speed with open vpn drop down to 15mbps when without VPN I get 160. Any ideas what is wrong?
You might try the Android client that uses IPSec, rather than OpenVPN. You can download the APK file directly from the member’s area. Also I’d email support and see what they say.
Isn’t there any way of using a VPN without the ISP aware?
Yes, that is obfuscation, which will conceal (hide) your VPN traffic as regular HTTPS traffic. To your ISP, all your traffic will look like normal encrypted traffic, as if you are connected to a bank website or something similar. Perfect Privacy offers this directly in the Windows and Mac OS clients, but it’s also possible to use with Linux, although more complicated.
Hi,
This year I’m going to travel for about one year in Asia, will perfectprivacy work in China on iPhone/android with IPSec/IKEv2? and will the laptop client work?
If prefrect privacy will not work could you recommend another vpn?
Regrads,
Joris
Hi Joris, I have gotten confirmation from people in China that the Perfect Privacy desktop clients work (Windows and Mac OS with obfuscation). However, I don’t think you’ll be able to get through with iOS or Android because obfuscation is not available on these platforms with Perfect Privacy.
Another option for China that consistently works when others are getting blocked is VyprVPN (review). They offer a self-developed Chameleon protocol which obfuscates VPN traffic and works well in China. The Chameleon protocol is available for Windows, Mac OS, and Android (but not iOS). Also, this discount link will get you 25% off your subscription.
ExpressVPN and VPN.ac also offer good obfuscation features and are known to work in China. With VPN.ac, obfuscation is available for Windows, Mac OS, and Android, but the iOS app uses the IKEv2 cipher, so it can’t support obfuscation. I believe the same is true for ExpressVPN, but I’m not 100% sure.
Trackstop and neurorouting don’t seem to work in Tor browser bundle, while Perfect-Privacy support claimed these to work in a reply. This shows how false their claims are. You can reconfirm if you like.
I’m guessing you are using the Tor network by default, so that means the VPN is behind the Tor network. If so, I’m not sure it would work with the Tor network. I use Perfect Privacy every day with the Tor Browser and Tor network disabled – NeuroRouting and TrackStop work perfectly fine with this setup. I don’t use the Tor network anymore.
How do you disable the TOR network so PP works with Neuro and Trackstop?
Thanks you!
See the instructions in this article.
Hey dude, great in-depth review. I am pretty much ready to sign up but I’m not that savvy when it comes to this sort of thing so I was just wondering about something. If I install PP on my laptop will it work no matter which network I’m on such as when I take it to work or a cafe?
Hi Brando, yes that is correct.
Ok cool. One last thing, from what I understand everyone using the same server displays the same IP address, do these IP addresses ever change or get “refreshed” for new one occasionally? Thanks for being such a big help btw, it really shows how much you care about cyber security.
Well with Perfect Privacy you are getting shared IP address that are used by others connected to the server, but each server has a range of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses that you could be using whenever you connect. For example, I just checked the Amsterdam 1 server and there are 16 IPv4 addresses and 17 IPv6 addresses available. So when you connect to a given server, you will randomly be assigned one of the 16 IPv4 addresses and also one of the 17 IPv6 addresses, which are also being used by others at the same time. You can see this information from the member area under the server tab.
I am new to all this and I believe I am leaning towards Perfect Privacy. My question is should I do Tor web browser then Perfect Privacy or Perfect Privacy then tor browser?
Also, is it necessary to get a Asus Router and the VPN setup or can I just get Perfect Privacy with my regular router and connect to the internet that way?
Hi Dave, I don’t think adding the Tor network offers much benefit since you can already use NeuroRouting with Perfect Privacy, which acts similar to the Tor network, with the added advantage of better performance and more security. There are many drawbacks with the Tor network, but a big one is that any random person can operate Tor nodes. There have been various cases of malicious or dangerous nodes with people intercepting traffic, documents, passwords etc., and also injecting malicious payloads into downloads, among other issues. There are also people who suspect that some of the larger Tor nodes are being snooped by US authorities. And don’t forget, Tor was created by the US government (DARPA and the Office of Naval Research) and continues to be bankrolled by the US government today (see official Tor sponsors). I’ve been researching Tor and will have an article on this coming out soon. But if you want to use Tor with Perfect Privacy, you should first connect to a VPN server in the desktop client as normal, and then start the Tor browser with the Tor network enabled. This will router your traffic through the VPN then onto the Tor network.
Regarding routers, there are many factors at play. Some models can support VPNs with the native firmware (Asus) but others will need a different firmware to support OpenVPN (DD-WRT, Tomato, etc.) – see the VPN router guide here.
I wanted to use vpn1> tor> vpn2. Can I do that with PP as vpn1 and Airvpn as vpn2?
Yes, there are probably different ways to do this, and I generally don’t use the Tor network, but I’m thinking you could just use AirVPN on your host machine (desktop) and then create a virtual machine with Windows 7, for example, with Perfect Privacy’s Windows client and the Tor browser bundle. So it would be:
Virtual machine with Perfect Privacy Windows app > Tor browser (also on VM) > AirVPN on host machine
AirVPN’s Eddie client allows you to use Tor before or after the VPN server, without VMs.
I currently use Perfect Privacy VPN with cascading 4 times and neuro-routing On.I wanted to use tor browser with tor network enabled. Can I do this with my mentioned configuration. Will it be having added advantage for privacy. I don’t care for speed much as I am having very fast internet connection. All I care of, is Privacy.
Hello, Yes, this should work with the current configuration – although speeds will probably slow to a crawl when you add in the Tor network. Simply use the Tor browser bundle after connecting to the VPN servers and you should be good to go. All PP servers support connection to Tor over the VPN. That being said, I’m not sure adding the Tor network to the setup you described is worth it, especially since you already have a static 4-hop chain in addition to NeuroRouting. I would, however, recommend using the Tor browser (Tor disabled) in combination with Perfect Privacy, since your standard FireFox or Chrome browser are vulnerable to browser fingerprinting.
Hi Sven !
Is still unclear for me “Unlimited – Your subscription gives you an unlimited number of connections – whereas most VPN services limit the connections (devices) to between three and six. This allows you to protect every single device in your house with only one subscription.”
So what to understand is that : one subscription will work only for one device for example one router in my house that will cover family members ?
Or I can install the app on my PC, Laptop, Android phone,etc to work in the same time ?
Thx !
Hello – You can install the application on all your devices individually, as many as you want. So that means your computer, phones, tablets, routers, and anything else you want to use with the VPN – no limits.
Their service is great, however I left them after 2 months and a few annoying issues…
Some websites did not work at all (their service support fixed it pretty quickly though), but the biggest issue was all the captchas I got from many websites including amazon…
So I went to VPN.AC and so far I could not be happier (it’s faster and more reliable).
Yes, I have noticed the ReCaptcha with Google and some websites. I think this is mostly triggered when numerous people are using the same IP address. One good alternative to Google is Startpage, which gives you the same results, but without ReCaptchas.
Regarding VPN.ac – agreed. It is a solid alternative that offers great speeds. The main drawback being the connection logs – but at least these are erased daily.
Agreed on the captchas being used when multiple people share the same IP, but this did not happen once with VPN.AC.
Captchas are not only with google (I use duckduckgo) but mostly with Amazon.
Yes VPN.AC keeps connection logs but I don’t see why this is a problem…
Hi Sven, once again what a fantastic amount of effort you have put in here, you deserve a pat on the back for this page alone. I am not too knowledgeable with networks, the words “flash your router” scare the hell out of me! Computers I am ok with, but routers and networks just make me itch all over, nothing ever works for me and the phrases and values etc make my head spin!
I am (after reading your site for hours) going for PP. I was on PIA before and it was ok, but i want a better standard of protection now. I only need to go under the radar occasionally. I would quite like to put my whole machine through a VPN but not sure I am up to the challenge of routers. I am in the UK too so flash routers is no good for me, and I don’t like the idea of paying someone to give me a VPN ready router, just seems to go against the grain of privacy!
I am on OSX 10.9.5. What recommendations would you have for me please? Definitely going with PP, but not sure what app to use, how to set it up, or whether to consider router option. Thanks very much, great work here.
Hi Mark, thanks for the comments. I personally like the IKEv2 setup on the Mac, because it is simple, leak-proof and it will always be on (with “connect on demand” selected). If your connection drops for any reason, it will automatically re-establish the connection. It is the simplest and most reliable VPN setup for Mac in my opinion. You need to just import the IKEv2 server configurations (server locations) you want to use, and then you can connect to any server directly from your OS X dashboard. See the setup instructions here for IKEv2 on Mac OS. If you want a high level of security and anonymity, you can enable NeuroRouting from the member dashboard and it will work on your Mac OS and any other device you use with the VPN. Same goes for TrackStop with blocking ads and tracking.
Thank you for taking the time to put together such an in-depth review. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. I have tried several other low cost VPN services – none come even close to the speed/performance of Perfect Privacy. Installation and setup was very straightfoward and follow-up questions to Perfect Privacy about settings/configuration were answered promptly. So far, a very satisfied customer.
Thanks for the feedback, Steve.
Hello Sven,
Recently I moved to Germany and as you know the Internet laws here, I’m in need of a secured and fast VPN service. I don’t use BitTorrent but do download contents which might violate DMCA in few countries. Also, I need to refer few geo-locked websites for my University research and sometimes visit questionable sites (darker folds of the internet like the deep web) which might attract Government agencies. After going through your reviews for Perfect-Privacy, VPNArea and VPN.ac, I’m deeply confused about which one to subscribe. Price isn’t an issue here, so please recommend one.
Hi Partha, I personally use and recommend Perfect Privacy. Their Windows client is the best I have tested. If you are a Mac OS users and want a full client (because the Perfect Privacy Mac OS client is still in BETA), another alternative would be VPN.ac. VPNArea does not provide as much in the way of privacy and security features when compared to VPN.ac and Perfect Privacy, but it does work with Netflix and other streaming services. Torrenting is fine with all three services.
Thanks a lot, Sven.
Subscribed to Perfect-Privacy.
Hello Sven,
i have been using PP for a month now. it works great but one thing that is bugging me is constant DNS Leak. Only way i can find to stop it is by disabling IPV6 manually after that it works perfectly.. i am using windows 10pro. anybody else having same issue?
Hi Jack, strange – I just tested everything on Windows 10 a few weeks ago for the review update – no leaks that I could find. I’m wondering what you have your DNS leak protection settings configured to. As indicated in the review, there are three levels (see screenshot here):
1) Activate while tunnel is active
2) Activate while program is active
3) Activate permanently
You may want try resetting your network preferences and then activating the DNS leak protection and firewall settings thereafter. I’d also contact their support with the issue and the settings you have configured.
You get what you pay for.
I have learned this the hard way. Started with free vpns and that was a very bad idea after getting malware on my PC. Then tried Purevpn and that was 100% disaster. Then on to Private internet Access, but canceled because they are US and who knows, maybe NSA.
Been using PerfectPrivacy for two weeks now on Windows 7 laptop. Works perfect. I’m done searching for a good vpn. I should have started at this point in the beginning, would have saved lots of frustration.
Hi Henrik, I generally agree, you do get what you pay for. Although some VPNs offer more value than others, in my opinion.
Hi Sven,
Thanks so much for your reviews that have helped me to make the decision to get Perfect Privacy. It’s working perfectly for me and the write up you have done on many topics related to VPNs is just wonderful. Have used Tor and JonDo in the past but Perfect Privacy is much more superior and in terms of speed. Have followed your advice on using the Tor browser and it’s wonderful. Thanks again for the wonderful work you have done.
Hi Mundu, thanks for your comment – happy to help! Speaking of Tor, that reminds me I need to urgently update this review to reflect Perfect Privacy’s latest feature – NeuroRouting. This is a game-changer in my opinion because it routes all traffic dynamically across multiple hops in the VPN network and is activated server-side, which means it works on all devices and VPN protocols. I suspect other VPNs may copy this feature in the coming years because of the benefits it offers in terms of privacy and security.
First of all, great selection man. Im sure it took sometime to put all of this together and thankful to get some good reviews. Cheers…..I saw a question in regards to this before but do you have any insight into vpn sharing? Im usually not stationed in one location so would be all over the place on different networks and devices but dont think that would matter too much. On the other hand, not so sure on two people using the same vpn service on two different networks at the same time? Im not sure as I have never needed to use a vpn before.
Thanks for any feed back
Hey Jackpot, most VPNs don’t allow account sharing. One exception to that is VPNArea, which gives you six connections and allows you to share your account with others. With Perfect Privacy, their Terms state no account sharing. Given that they don’t keep logs and also don’t enforce any limitations on connections or bandwidth, they probably don’t want people to abuse the service.
Perfect Privacy has now a Beta Version for mac os available in the forum section for testing. I use it now for two weeks and it works perfect!
Hi Dannte, thank you for that update! I will be revising this review soon to include that information. I have also been testing it and found it to work quite well.
Hey Sven,
Just because a VPN provider is based outside of the 14 eyes juristiction wouldnt their servers that are located in a 14 eyes country be orderd to keep logs?
Hi Jess, good question. Some countries do have data retention laws, but this applies to internet service providers, not VPNs. The US and UK could force datacenters to log a server in their jurisdiction, but with good encryption and high security standards, this is not easy. Surveillance agencies could also target a server anywhere in the world, given their vast surveillance powers. And finally, authorities can also seize servers anywhere. In general, a VPN company that uses dedicated bare-metal servers will offer more protection and much higher data security (in comparison to virtual shared servers). This is because the server is not being shared by others and logged by the datacenter (host).
Surveillance authorities could target a server and record incoming/outgoing IP addresses / traffic. This is where the multi-hop feature comes into play. Adding an extra hop into the configuration obscures incoming and/or outgoing traffic.
UPDATE: Perfect Privacy just released a dynamic multi-hop feature called NeuroRouting that can be used on all devices. You can activate NeuroRouting server-side in the members area and all your traffic will go through the multi-hop network and give you an IP address corresponding to the location of the website. If you are browsing multiple websites, you will be assigned multiple different IPs at the same time. (Detailed article explaining this new feature is coming soon – read more here.)
Three hops and you effectively have TOR.
Signed up to test it out. I’ve been using mostly US servers. Speeds are good, but not quite the fastest VPN I’ve used. But it is by far the most SECURE. The VPN Manager for Windows is impressive. For my iPAD the ikev2 also works good. Have not had to deal with support at all – everything works, no problems. I’ll be staying with them for a while.
Hi JR – there are many variable that affect speed. In testing different servers in my area (Western Europe) I’ve found VPN.ac to be slightly faster, but Perfect Privacy is not far behind. They both provide server status pages and the bandwidth is always excellent.
Anybody knows if US Netflix and other streaming services work with PP? Also, I find difficult to understand which features are missing for Mac users, since I suppose things like multi-hop are not possible with IPSec IKEv2
Hi Andrea, unfortunately the multi-hop is limited to the VPN Manager app (Windows, Linux). However, they did recently announce the Mac OS app is progressing in development, and they are currently testing a new version of BETA. See the forum announcement here. For Mac OS users, VPN.ac gives you 18 double-hop VPN server configurations that work great with the Mac OS client.
Netflix blocks many VPNs, so it is kind of a cat and mouse game. However, VPNArea has a unique solution to this problem with dedicated Netflix server hubs in different worldwide regions. For streaming Netflix, ExpressVPN is a good choice.
Yesterday, I signup for the service and I do receive billing from Paypal. But they do not reply me anymore, after the first email. I don’t think their service is really good. Can you help me to contact them?
Hi bill, you should be able to reach them via email or through their contact page. Granted, it is the weekend, but I would think they’d get back to you within 24 hours.
Is Perfect Privacy compatible with Bitdefender 2018 Total Security?
Occasionally antivirus software slows down VPNs. But you can usually just add an exception for the VPN so they should work fine together, which your Antivirus can help you with. Perfect Privacy should work in this case without any issues.
I would like to know if I can share the same account with family members on different network?
Hi, last I checked, account sharing is not allowed with Perfect Privacy. The only VPN I’ve seen that allows you to share accounts is VPNArea.
Can Perfect Privacy have the VPN Chain ending in TOR like Zorro does?
Hi Razz, the setup is slightly different from ZorroVPN. With Perfect Privacy, they have configured their server network so that you can use any server location in conjunction with the Tor network. So you would simply connect to a VPN server as normal, and then use the standard Tor browser/network. All Perfect Privacy servers are configured to work with the Tor network and can resolve .onion addresses.
Great review Sven. Do Perfect Privacy have their own DNS servers or are they rented?
Hi Steve. Yes. Perfect Privacy uses their own DNS servers – no third parties (also explained on their FAQ Page here). I have never found a DNS leak in testing their VPN on many different platform.
what about torrents? can I download securely with this VPN provider?
Hi Sancho, yes. Perfect Privacy is my top recommendation for torrenting because 1) they aren’t subject to any of these copyright (DMCA) laws being based in Switzerland and Panama 2) they are a strictly no logs provider offering an unlimited number of connections and great speeds and 3) their software and network is extremely secure (i.e. no looks at all). Check out the Perfect Privacy torrents page for more info.