| VPN | PIA |
| Based in | USA |
| Logs | No logs |
| Price | $3.49/mo. |
| Support | |
| Refund | 7 days |
| Website | PrivateInternetAccess.com |
Best Alternatives:
#1 ExpressVPN
#2 NordVPN
Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the biggest VPN services on the market, with a long track record going back many years.
While it is affordable and has good performance, it also comes with some drawbacks that we’ll cover in detail below.
In this Private Internet Access review, we will go in-depth to examine all aspects of the service and test its performance and security.
Private Internet Access Overview
Here is a brief overview of the test results and research findings for this PIA review:
Pros of Private Internet Access:
- Good speeds throughout server network
- Secure apps (no leaks identified in testing)
- Good privacy and security features, including ad blocking
- Tested and proven no logs VPN provider
- Updated, user-friendly apps
- Great prices
Cons of Private Internet Access:
- Based in the United States (bad privacy jurisdiction; five eyes)
- The CTO of PIA is Mark Karpeles, a convicted criminal involved in the infamous Mt. Gox collapse and Bitcoin heist.
Additional research findings:
- PIA is owned by London Trust Media (Denver, Colorado)
- Smaller server network; no virtual server locations identified
- Does PIA work well for torrenting? (Yes)
- Does PIA work well with streaming Netflix? (No)
- PIA support tests
Private Internet Access Pros
1. Good speed test results
I ran Private Internet Access through dozens of speed tests for this review, and the results were pretty good. For all speed tests, I used the OpenVPN protocol with 256-bit AES encryption. My baseline connection speed was approximate 150 Mbps download (10 Mbps upload) and my physical testing location was Germany.
Nearby PIA servers (Europe)
First, I tested nearby PIA servers in Western Europe. Here I’m pulling about 85 Mbps with a PIA server in Austria.
Next up was Sweden at about 74 Mbps:
And finally I ran some tests with servers in the UK where I was getting about 65 Mbps.
These are pretty decent speeds for nearby servers, although not quite as fast as ExpressVPN, which gave me over 90 Mbps with all nearby servers.
Long distance servers (United States and Canada)
I also ran some speed tests for Private Internet Access servers in the United States and Canada. Once again, speeds were pretty good, although certainly not the fastest I’ve tested. Note that slower speeds are to be expected due to the longer distance and higher latency.
First up was a PIA server in Chicago, where my download speed was about 67 Mbps:
Next up was Denver where I was getting about 55 Mbps.
And finally, I also tested a Private Internet Access server in New York, which gave me about 63 Mbps:
Speed tests were similar for PIA servers in Montreal and Toronto.
Overall the speed tests were pretty good, although PIA does not offer the performance of some of the other VPNs I’ve tested, such as ExpressVPN.
2. PIA has secure VPN apps (no leaks identified)
Private Internet Access also performed well in all security and privacy tests. I ran both the Windows and Mac OS clients through VPN tests and checks to identify leaks or broken features.
Here I’m testing the PIA Windows client for leaks while connected to a server in Sweden. You can see that there were no leaks to be found, with my real IPv6 address being blocked (PIA does not support IPv6).
I also tested the PIA Mac OS client and found it to be secure and without leaks. Although I’m not sure I would consider PIA to be one of the best VPNs for Mac, it may still be a decent choice for Mac users.
PIA also implements a good kill switch with their VPN apps, which will block traffic if the VPN connection drops for any reason. This ensures all traffic remains encrypted and protected by the VPN tunnel.
The PIA kill switch has three levels:
- Off: does not block any traffic
- Auto: blocks outside traffic when the VPN is on
- Always: Also blocks all traffic when the VPN is off
In testing out the kill switch with various interruptions, everything appeared to work well.
If you are using PIA, I’d recommend setting the VPN killswitch to “Always” mode. If you have the killswitch on Auto, and your Windows machine wakes up from sleep, traffic will not be blocked, even if the VPN client is running. With “Always” selected, however, all non-VPN traffic is effectively blocked.
Overall, PIA does very well in terms of security. Both the Windows and Mac OS VPN clients effectively block traffic, keep your data safe, and have leak protection features that work well.
3. Good privacy and security features, including ad blocking
Despite being a basic VPN service, Private Internet Access still offers some good privacy and security features.
In addition to the multi-level kill switch we discussed above, PIA also provides:
- Various data encryption options
- An ad blocking feature called PIA MACE
Being able to adjust your encryption settings is useful for optimizing performance and configuring the VPN to your unique privacy and security needs. As you can see with the PIA app I was testing below, you have the ability to modify:
- Data Encryption (from AES-128 to AES-256)
- Data Authentication (enabled if you are using the AES-CBC cipher)
- Handshake (RSA and ECC)
PIA MAC ad blocker
Another good feature offered by PIA is the ad blocker, which they call PIA MACE.
PIA MACE blocks domains for advertisements, trackers, and malware. Unlike some other ad blocker options, PIA MACE does not have the ability to white list certain domains, or adjust the filter settings. It is simply On or Off.
While some ad blocker is better than no ad blocker, I would not recommend using PIA MAC as your primary ad blocker. When I tested different VPN ad blockers, I found that PIA’s ad blocker did not block as many domains as other options. Using a large list of advertising and malware domains (from various public sources), PIA MACE only blocked:
- 28% of advertising domains
- 37% of malware domains
In terms of VPN ad blockers, NordVPN and Perfect Privacy performed better than PIA, while PureVPN and CyberGhost performed the worst.
Overall, PIA does well in terms of security and privacy features, even if the ad blocker is not very robust.
4. PIA is a tested and proven “no logs” VPN provider
Many VPN services claim to be “no logs” – but few have actually been tested and/or verified.
Private Internet Access is one of the few verified no logs VPN services that has survived real-world tests. There were two separate court cases where Private Internet Access was subpoenaed for data logs, but they could not provide any information.
The first court case occurred in 2016 when the FBI demanded logs concerning a PIA user who had allegedly been making bomb threats. As discussed in official court records, the only information PIA was able to provide was a cluster of VPN IP addresses that were allegedly used for the crime:
A subpoena was sent to London Trust Media [Private Internet Access] and the only information they could provide is that the cluster of IP addresses being used was from the east coast of the United States.
The second court case occurred in June 2018, when US authorities again demanded data logs for a criminal investigation. Once again, however, PIA was not able to provide any data on the accused VPN user:
John Allan Arsenault, general counsel for London Trust Media, a VPN company, testified about how many VPN companies, including his, intentionally don’t retain logs of internet activity of their clients so that they cannot be produced in response to subpoenas from law enforcement or others. London Trust Media operates the brand Private Internet Access (PIA), which owns several IP addresses used to hack Embarcadero Media.
Private Internet Access does not log user activity, such as what files they accessed or changes they made to a website.
While PIA has not undergone an audit to verify their “no logs” policies, such as with NordVPN and VyprVPN, these two court cases certainly validate their claims.
Court cases are indeed a good test to verify logging claims. After all, a court case involving an alleged cyberstalker revealed that PureVPN had been logging customer data and handing it over to US authorities, despite claiming to be a “no logs” VPN service.
You can read their privacy policy for more info.
5. Updated and user-friendly VPN apps
The new PIA VPN apps that I tested for this review are a huge improvement over the old versions. In addition to looking good, the updated VPN apps I tested are user-friendly, customizable, and well designed.
Below you can see the PIA Windows client which expands or collapses to reveal more settings and options. Here is the collapsed version displaying basic connection info:
In addition to all the features we covered above, the new PIA VPN client also has:
- Light and dark modes (dark mode pictured above)
- Settings to launch VPN client on system startup
- Connect on launch settings
- Different language settings
- Customizable DNS options
- Port forwarding
I tested version 1.1.1 for this PIA review and consider this a large improvement over the previous design.
6. PIA has great prices (and an average refund policy)
Private Internet Access has always been among the the best cheap VPN services on the market, with very affordable prices.
PIA offers three basic pricing tiers on their website:
In March 2019, PIA updated their pricing and subscription plans, with the two-year rate going from $2.91 per month up to $3.49. They explained the reasoning for the price increase on their website as follows:
This price increase will allow us the ability to provide you with new features without sacrificing security or privacy. Visible changes include the new look of our Desktop application as well as the increase of our device limit from 5 to 10.
The price increases are probably a good thing for the long-term sustainability of the VPN service. When a VPN’s prices get too cheap, the service usually suffers in terms of features, updates, support, and network (speed) issues.
Increasing the connections from 5 to 10 is also a good justification for increasing prices. Another VPN that offers 10 connections is IPVanish, but it’s still quite a bit more expensive than PIA.
Anonymous payment options
Another benefit of PIA is that they support many different anonymous payment options. These include various cryptocurrencies as well as gift cards, which can be purchased anonymously with cash.
PIA is one of the best options if you want to pay for your VPN anonymously. PIA is not a VPN with a free trial, but they do offer a refund window.
PIA refund policy
Private Internet Access describes their refund policy on their website as follows:
If you are less than 100% satisfied with the PrivateInternetAccess VPN service, we will gladly refund your payment if the refund is requested within seven (7) days from the date of the initial purchase (not including upgrades, manual or automatic renewals). Requests made later than the 7 day purchase date window will be denied.
A seven day refund policy is about average for the VPN industry. I have also seen complaints on the PIA reddit forum about users who were denied refunds on auto-renewal subscriptions they forgot about.
There are certainly better refund policies out there, such as with ExpressVPN, which offers a full 30 day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. NordVPN also offers a 30 day money-back guarantee, as well as a free trial (described on the NordVPN coupon page).
Private Internet Access Cons
Now that we’ve covered some of the pros of PIA, we’ll look at the cons.
1. Based in the United States (bad privacy jurisdiction)
While Private Internet Access does well in many areas, one major drawback is the jurisdiction.
PIA is based in the United States, which is a member of the five eyes surveillance alliance. Here are a few reasons why the US is not a very good jurisdiction:
- The US government can legally force businesses to secretly log customer data and provide this to authorities. Additionally, authorities can also issue gag orders, thereby prohibiting the business from alerting its customers to privacy violations (see National Security Letters).
- Various branches of the US government have broad authority to carry out mass surveillance on all internet communications.
- Many tech companies are working with the US government for the collection and sharing of private data (see the PRISM program). (See the case of Lavabit, which was forced to shut down for not cooperating with the US government.)
These topics are also important when choosing a good VPN for USA to avoid risks.
How important is jurisdiction?
Ultimately, the answer is that it depends on your unique needs and threat model, which you should consider when selecting the best VPN service for your needs. Many people disagree about the importance of jurisdiction, and the answer is not entirely clear, simply because we cannot see what’s going on behind the scenes.
On a positive note, however, PIA is a verified no logs VPN provider, as we discussed above. Therefore they should not have any data which would be available to authorities anyway. Nonetheless, as a business operating in the United States, PIA is still obligated to comply with all US laws, regulations, and court orders – or shut down like Lavabit in 2013.
2. Mark Karpeles (of Mt. Gox fame) is the CTO of PIA
For reasons that are not entirely clear, some of the higher-ups at Private Internet Access decided to hire Mark Karpeles as the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in April 2018.
To understand why this was upsetting to many PIA users, we’ll just take a quick look at Mark Karpeles.
Mark Karpeles was running Mt. Gox in 2014 when it suddenly collapsed, with millions of dollars in Bitcoins disappearing. Karpeles was subsequently arrested in Japan and charged with fraud and embezzlement. As to where all the Bitcoins that were stored at Mt. Gox ended up, nobody seems to know:
650,000 bitcoins remain unaccounted for as a result of the Mt. Gox hack. A number of online theories have been developed as to where the missing coins are. Some have suggested that Mt. Gox never had the amount of coins that it claimed, and that Karpelés had manipulated the numbers to make it appear that Mt. Gox held more bitcoin than it in fact held.
In March 2019, Karpeles was found guilty of tampering with financial records in a Japanese court:
Mark Karpeles, a central figure in the early days of Bitcoin who presided over the dramatic 2014 collapse of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, was found guilty of tampering with financial records but will likely avoid jail time after receiving a suspended sentence.
The former Mt. Gox chief executive officer sometimes mixed his personal finances with those of the exchange and fiddled with its accounts, apparently to hide the fact that the platform had lost money to hackers, the Tokyo District Court said on Friday. The court cleared Karpeles of embezzlement charges, concluding that the 33-year-old Frenchman had acted without ill intent.
Karpeles, who wore a dark suit in court and bowed to the judge before his sentence was handed down, wasn’t on trial for the mysterious disappearance of Bitcoins that led to Mt. Gox’s implosion. He was given a 2 1/2 year suspended sentence, which he won’t have to serve unless he commits another violation within four years.
“The charge of electronic record tampering is true and deserves punishment, but there’s no criminal evidence of embezzlement,” the court said in its verdict. It blamed Karpeles for “massive harm to the trust of his users,” saying “there is no excuse for the defendant, who is an engineer with expert knowledge, to abuse his status and authority to perform clever criminal acts.”
Due to the controversy that erupted in various forums after Karpeles joined PIA, Andrew Lee (co-founder of PIA) wrote a blog post where he explained his reasoning. The post discusses “Mistakes, Forgiveness and Human Progress” – but that may not be enough for PIA users who trust the company with securing their private data.
Choosing a VPN is all about trust. With this in mind, hiring Karpeles was probably not the best idea, especially now that he is a convicted criminal.
Additional research findings:
Below are additional findings from my research of PIA for this review.
PIA and London Trust Media (background info)
PIA is owned by a company called London Trust Media, Inc. Despite the name, it’s an American company that appears to be located in Denver, Colorado, based on public records:
The receipt for my subscription of PIA also confirmed the location of London Trust Media being in Denver.
In addition to Private Internet Access, London Trust Media also owns Linux Journal, IRC.com, freenode, and a variety of other brands.
Private Internet Access server network
Private Internet Access currently has about 3,300 servers in 32 countries.
This isn’t quite as large as some other VPN providers, but the speed test results were still pretty good.
I ran a few tests to look for virtual server locations, where the advertised location does not match up with the true physical location of the server. Everything checked out and it does not appear that PIA uses any virtual server locations.
The majority of PIA’s servers are in the United States, which likely reflects their user base. If you want a VPN with more server locations around the world, ExpressVPN or perhaps NordVPN may be worth considering.
Does PIA work well for torrenting? (Yes)
PIA may also be a good choice if you need a safe VPN for torrenting. Here are three reasons why:
- No logs
- Good speeds
- Port forwarding option
As PIA describes on their website, the port forwarding feature may be beneficial if you are looking to optimize torrenting performance.
Port forwarding is available in the Windows, Mac OS, and Android VPN clients. To use port forwarding, you need to enable the option in the advanced settings area, and then connect to one of the PIA servers that support port forwarding.
One drawback for torrenting is (once again) the US jurisdiction. The US has very strict copyright violation laws (DMCA) and many large media companies that go after people for copyright infringement. Using a VPN in an offshore jurisdiction may be safer, as they would not need to comply with copyright infringement laws or deal with DMCA issues.
Does PIA work with Netflix? (Not for me)
Many people want to use a VPN with Netflix, especially those living abroad who want to stream American Netflix.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that Private Internet Access is a good VPN for Netflix. I tested a few different servers in the US and was blocked out:
Private Internet Access may get through with some servers, but certainly not the ones I tried to use. It is not the best VPN for Netflix by a long shot. Consider using alternatives.
It’s also important to note that the Netflix VPN issue is always a cat and mouse game that continues to evolve. Even though I could not access Netflix with Private Internet Access, there may be a few servers in the network that are getting through (but I gave up). Two of the best VPNs for Netflix are NordVPN and ExpressVPN.
PIA support tests
Private Internet Access offers email (ticket) support. Unfortunately, there is no option for live chat at this time.
I tested out PIA’s support department with a few random questions. My email inquiries were all handled on the same day. One was even sent on a Saturday, which I was expecting to be delayed due to the weekend, but I heard back within a few hours.
In past reviews, PIA did very poorly in the support category. My questions and refund request went many days without reply. Since that time, PIA has overhauled their support department and it shows with the improved response times.
UPDATE: One drawback was with the refund, which took about two weeks!
Private Internet Access review conclusion
Private Internet Access has made huge improvements since the last time I reviewed their service. In the last review, support was abysmal, speeds were very mediocre, and their reddit forum was flooded with angry customers demanding refunds. Since then, a lot has changed:
- PIA speeds are now better
- PIA’s updated apps are a big improvement over the old design
- The kill switch and leak protection features work very well
- Support is responsive and helpful (much better than last year)
If you are looking for a basic cheap VPN service that offers good performance and security, Private Internet Access may be a good fit. Although the jurisdiction in the United States is a drawback, PIA is a verified no logs VPN provider with a good track record.
To get the best deal on PIA, check out the 65% discount on two-year plans.
If you’re open to alternatives, I’ve reviewed many of the best VPN services available and there are many different options to consider.
If you have used Private Internet Access (PIA), feel free to share your review below.
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Review
A SCREAMING NIGHTMARE
GOOD LUCK WITH DUMPING THIS SERVICE AFTER IT PERFORMS BADLY. I AM UNABLE TO LOG INTO MY ACCOUNT BECAUSE OF A FAULTY PASSWORD. COMPANY OFFERS NO LIVE SUPPORT, JUST A COG WHO KEEPS GIVING ME INSTRUCTIONS THAT DO NOT WORK. SPARE YOURSELF.
Works Fast & Reliable for 1 Yr.
I had it for a year and it is always fast and reliable. Has a server in my city and always clocks less than 20ms. Some of the assigned IPs are blacklisted for Amazon Video and Netflix. The new Windows 10 interface is great but sometimes after boot up or after resuming from sleep, the app fails to activate the VPN and the tray icon doesn’t respond. I’ll wait for an update but in the meantime, it has been the fastest service that I have tried over the years. The apple app is just flawless and always works even after a restart of the device.
Drops connection all the time
It constantly drops connection
Unreliable
Does Not stay on for longer then 20-30 m
Choice of servers is ok
AVOID THIS VPN
My Private Internet Access services stopped functioning 4 months ago. I attempted several logins at different sites and could not connect. It appeared that my membership had been cancelled. I did not think about it anymore.
Then today, 4 months later, they charged my credit card for another year of service. There was no advanced warning. I contacted their customer service and was given pre-filled auto answers. I told them that I had no use for this service. They would not cancel the charge to my credit card.
The passwords for their system are auto-generated. Making it a bit difficult to access the system.
So basically, their service stopped working, and they auto charged me for a year without advance notification. Their customer service was like communicating with a stone wall and they refused to cancel the charge.
I feel like I have been robbed by a company I trusted with personal security!
AVOID THIS COMPANY
Used to like. Now avoid.
Their IP’s are consistently banned by a good number of people. Makes it utterly useless if 70% of the time you have to kill the VPN just to access some mundate resource. Refund policy is utter garbage, they intentionally do not let you know it’s about to renew, and won’t refund once they charge, about to contest the charge.
I agree
Speeds and server saturation is still an ongoing issue (much of the time). Their limited countries where they have servers is another downfall.
I like how many other VPN providers have easy access to IKEv2 Profile Generators which is what I prefer rather than using the the VPN provider’s Windows client.
If your needs are solely torrenting, then this is a VPN to consider. Since they offer SOCKS5 support, that can be dangerous though as your’re data isn’t encrypted and your ISP can see what you’re downloading. I guess it’s a trade-off some people who torrent are willing to risk.
Excellent VPN
I’ve used PIA since Dec 2016 – so 2 1/2 years now. I have not had to reach out to customer support as I have never had any problems with their service or setup. If you are too lazy to read their help pages and community forum if you have a problem setting up, then try not being lazy. Anyway, speeds have been great, and I use (unfortunately but have no choice) Xfinity as my ISP. PIA is far more reliable than Xfinity is. I torrent all the time and never received a letter. This is a great VPN as far as I’m concerned and certainly will continue to use them, especially since I am grandfathered into the old price before they raised prices in March. The upgrade they made to their user interface is very welcomed….the old one was pretty simple, to put it mildly. I also use their app for my phone and android box – all work great, no problems whatsoever,
Dito. :)
Hi Brian. 🙂
I’ve been usung PIA for just over 3 years now and can honestly say that my experience using the service has been much the same as yours.
I encountered a small number of minor issues early on but they were due to my lack of basic networking knowledge and nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a little help from my frenemy Google (which these days I try to avoid whenever possible).
Unfortunately however, the number of websites that are inaccessible whilst PIA is connected is fast on the increase. This is fast becoming a big problem! :/
Peace. 🙂
P.S. Not that long ago my rating would have been 4/5.
Steer Clear
Try getting your money back from this company – impossible.
Correct
Yes, I can confirm this to be true. After publishing this review, I attempted to get a refund for my Bitcoin payment. It took multiple follow-up emails, and the “support” department escalating my refund request up to two different levels, before I finally received the refund over a week later. Perhaps they are just not on top of Bitcoin refunds, but either way, not very good.
works good
I gave PIA a try since a week and have nothing bad to say. I get excellent speeds, the killswitch (mas os app) works perfect and I like the opportunity to change the encryption settings within the app.
I have Nord and ExpressVPN too and can´t see much differences to PIA. For me it works great, maybe you can review it again Sven.
Cheers Brad
Your Odds Are Better Off Buying a Lotto Ticket
PIA claims to have a 7 day money back guarantee. Just try getting your money back and see what happens. When I couldn’t get the Windows app working reliably I submitted a trouble ticket. Had to submit multiple trouble tickets because all I ever got were useless script replies from bots. Something about “Sorry, temporary backlog, try uninstalling and reinstalling the software, blah blah.” The script was of no help in fixing the problems, and all they ever did was continue sending me the same useless script every time I submitted a trouble ticket. So I submitted a new trouble ticket and asked for my money back. Did that multiple times as well. Couldn’t even get bot replies to that. They just ignored me. After waiting almost a month for a refund that they were obviously never going to give I filed a fraud claim with my credit card company. I’ve heard others say “PIA is the Walmart of VPNs.” Okay, I get that. But it’s unfair to Walmart. At least Walmart gives your money back if you’re unhappy, and they make it easy. Walmart also has real managers you can complain to who’ll take care of any problem. PIA has bots with useless scripts. What few real people PIA has are also useless. “PIA is the Walmart of VPNs”? I don’t think so. PIA is more like a flashy Las Vegas used car dealership that makes big promises but sells you a lemon and then refuses to give your money back. Might as well take your money and buy a lotto ticket. Your odds are better with lotto than with PIA.
PIA used 3rd party servers (like most vpns)
Most VPN’s (marketing) claim no log policy, but not ONE (Legally) states that neither they nor their third parties don’t log. In PIA’s case, they use an American server Company called – Total Server Solutions.
In effect, Total Server Solutions is basically our ISP. Except they are American, bound by USA laws and so store everything going thru their servers. In this case, PIA’s customers.
So why is there not one genuine articles/critique of this issue anywhere on the internet. To be fair, other vpns operate exactly the same. Thoughts?
Good in the past, but absolutely horrible now
I was a long-term PIA customer. They were pretty good years ago but in the past couple years they’ve been absolutely horrible. I see you’ve significantly downgraded your review of PIA as you’ve gotten more negative comments from PIA customers about their PIA experiences. I’m very impressed by that. It shows this is a legitimate review site and that you value the real life experiences of actual customers. All reviews should be done this way. The problem I see with the vast majority of VPN review sites is, at best, they’re just a snapshot. A reviewer tries out a service for a few hours and, based on that alone, the VPN gets a “review” of that snapshot. That’s anything but real world. What about things like customer service and technical support? I’ve only rarely ever seen a VPN review that properly evaluated that, even though it’s an extremely important part of any company’s overall service. The other thing that troubles me is how disingenuous most “review” sites are. They seldom ever disclose if they were compensated for their “review,” and the fact is most of them are paid. That’s not a review. It’s an advertisement. I’ve noticed that quite a few, maybe even most, PIA “reviews” look very similar to one another. Quite obviously they were actually written by PIA’s marketing department and then furnished to the “reviewer.” What a sham! PIA’s horrible support was reason enough for me to leave. But their dishonesty was also an important reason why I left. A big element of any VPN is trust. You have to be able to trust your VPN, especially when they claim they don’t log. It took awhile for me to come to see it but PIA isn’t trustworthy.
Not happy
Private Internet Access (PIA) (for me) provided very poor or non-existent internet connection. I never could connect to my banking sites and other personal important sites, even after I tried several PIA connection sites. Internet sites with graphics would always load extremely slow similar to old dial-up modem days. I cancelled service and removed PIA from my computer but received no refund!
I definitely would not recommend Private Internet Access to anyone!
Not trustworthy
Your review as well as comments by PIA customers here pretty much reflect my own sentiments. I was already far from impressed. Then this week it was announced that the chairman of PIA, Andrew Lee, hired Mark Karpeles, as the CTO of PIA. For those who don’t already know it Karpeles was the head of Mt. Gox, the largest Bitcoin exchange. Due to either gross incompetence or outright fraud Mt. Gox was responsible for the biggest Bitcoin swindle of all time — $480 million. Karpeles was arrested in Japan in 2015 and is awaiting trial on embezzlement charges there. Even if he’s ultimately acquitted there’s no getting around the fact that, at the very least, he presided over the biggest Bitcoin security breach ever. And this is the man who PIA chooses to head up their security? Stupid and reckless! This more than proves to me that PIA is not a business that I can trust with my security. I’ve left PIA for a more prudent VPN.
A Good VPN Provider
So, love the site – have been watching for a while. However, there are a few key things that need fleshing out.
In regards to PIA being located in the US:
This is a non-issue. Despite literally being the home of ‘eyes’ and of course the ‘CIA’. They were one of the first to challenge requests, both in the states and abroad, and do so succesfully. This is old hat and can easily be reasearched. To continually beat that drum is a little disengenuous. Additionally, saying that ‘we can not know their log storage policy’ betrays a little bit of lack of understanding of how these technologies work (you do this for several service reviews to be honest). There are always logs. It would be literally impossible to have a server/client model in any environment without them. It is what happens to the clogs after the fact that should be focused on. Further, if one is concerned about any of these things they should be using the DecentalEyes and httpSAnywhere addons for Waterfox to mitigate in conjunction with PIA’s client.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/10/how-one-small-american-vpn-company-is-trying-to-stand-up-for-privacy/ – one of the older pieces discussing this issue. They literally responded to each request that it would not be possible to turn over information, quite actually, because such information does not exist.
Regarding PIA’s software and, by proxy, possible log practices: they are now OpenSource. This is huge, and something that should be pointed out.
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2018/03/private-internet-access-goes-open-source/
They have removed access to the service in countries where the physical safety of the infrastructure could not be gaurunteed (Russia, for example).
There is additional information available further supporting that they do not store PPI on any logging system. They were Subpeonad in a criminal case and could not assist:
https://www.deepdotweb.com/2016/03/18/criminal-complaint-reveals-private-internet-access-doesnt-log/
They have legitimate issues with west coast serves – i’ll give you that, but it isn’t a speed issue – it is a growth issue – which you did fairly cover. Hopefully they can improve; I currently grab speeds in excess of 150-250 mb on their LA servers. Well done on them – could be more consistent.
Their support does suck re: time and response, no argument there.
PIA is lauded all over the web because well, it’s good stuff.
Horrible customer service
The author was gracious in remarking that PIA may have since improved their customer services practices since this article. I have been back and forth with this company regarding a promised refund for almost a month now, with today as the most recent communication. Services have not improved. Frankly, I’m amazed that a US company would be so horrible with customer service.
Unlike PC magazine, I’m glad to see an honest review with sample feedback from real customers in this article.
Very bad experience
I am from Russia, we have new anti internet freedom laws so I decided to buy a good VPN subscription. I chose PIA after reading several reviews. I bought a yearly subscription. I installed it and it worked fine, but after restarting my PC I cannot launch the application again. I have tried everything to launch it again and obviously contacted technical support, but they are giving me standard advice that does not apply to my problem and seem to be going around in circles. I have asked for a refund but since it’s after some “7 day period” I can’t get my money back even though the product that I bought is faulty and simply does not work! I could not have asked for a refund within the 7 days as I did not realize that the problem existed at that point. The company has been horrible to me and I advise everyone to avoid it. There are a ton of other options available and I will be trying one as well.
I can post screens of my emails with the support if you need them, but trust me, the guy is just copying notes from some manual instead of actually trying to help 🙁
Dismal speeds
PIA servers in the west coast of USA generally suffer from not only inconsistent but dismal speeds. In the PIA forums, people are complaining….if they don’t get their post removed.
Generally speaking, “out of the box” performance is pitiful with PIA if you are located in the west coast of the USA and are trying to connect to any server.
PIA runs many promotions and has a very loyal-fan base due to it’s low cost. The typical PIA user is not too concerned about speed or they use other apps or protocols not available in the native PIA client. Their users often download or upload P2P before they go to bed at night. Usually by morning, the download is completed. Their clientele is mainly focus is not receiving an ISP Copyright infringement letter. And for the time being, PIA is not compromising the identity of their users.
Given this latest log issue, it’ll be interesting to see what happens and if they too will be implicated like PureVPN which it too has a heavy fan-base.
Issues with "no logs"
It seems that PIA was caught again for the second time lying about their “no logging” claims. In this post > https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/comment/52106/#Comment_52106> the PIA employee sn0wmonster makes the claim “We have public *evidence* that logging is not happening” in response to questions from a person (bopnbob) looking for a VPN service, this person asked to see the “proof” that PIA had supposedly presented in U.S. court that it does not log. sn0wmonster made that claim in reply to him. Another user (bgxsec) challenged that claim but was threatened with warnings at which he basically laughed at and then he was banned. The person ‘bopnbob’ just happens to have come back to the forum and posted this > https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/28694/company-please-respond > to which the PIA employee sn0wmonster replied. bopnbob replied and showed exactly why the claim of “evidence” by sn0wmonster was a lie. The PIA word and semantics games along with their presentation of false and disingenuous information and lies, along with their attempts at odd twisted logic, For example, sn0wmonster makes various contradictory statements in what he posted trying to give some sort of odd twisted logic, which essentially screams “PIA DOES LOG” and he doesn’t even realize it. One such example is his statement that PIA “has never been caught logging” which directly implies that PIA does log and could be caught logging.”, these things under critical examination break down. The majority of VPN users don;t look at things critically like this, they just accept the “you just have to trust” thing and move on. There is always an element of truth exposed when things are looked at with a critical eye as the person ‘bopnbob’ and ‘bgxsec’ have done, PIA does not like that happening. They forum banned ‘bgxsec’ for it (basically, although his passionate exposure was defined as being rude by PIA which they seem to do when someone challenges them on their statements, they define it ‘non constructive and rude’ as they did to bgxsec and jbis who basically only argued their points), they forum banned the user ‘jbis’ for it, and now they close the newer thread from ‘bopnbp’ which effectively prevents any other discussion on the matter. It seems that PIA does not like getting caught lying and has a fear of it, if they were as truly trustworthy as they claim they would have no fear of getting caught because a truly trustworthy has no reason to fear exposure. Only a liar would try to shut down or control challenges to their statements if they had the means to do so, that’s what PIA has done and in doing so they have exposed themselves as liars about not logging.
update
After posting my comment here about the user jbis who was banned at PIA and later a user by the name of larky write about some information jbis had disclosed to him about PIA logging, I started following it more closely. See the comment from me “jack” a little down below this one.
Yesterday at the AirVPN forums where the user larky had posted about the jbis disclosure, there was some information posted on the forums indicating the user jbis had the information prepared on a web page to show the world. But it was removed by AirVPN and a post was made by staff basically accusing larky of defamation and demanding the information be posted, and says they would not tolerate defamation even for their competitors. The user larky was placed on ‘moderator’ monitoring so as to keep him from posting the information without moderator approval, but he got a little sneaky and was still able to edit a previous post so he included the information in that previous post but that has now been removed as well by AirVPN. I saw that information larky posted before it got removed by AirVPN, and having tracked him down previously planning to ask him about how to contact jbis (which I failed to follow up on so i had never contacted larky previously) I had some alternate contact info for him at another forum so I contacted him there and asked for the link to the information which he provided. Just as i got to the link, I saw some information with emails and a log capture from the PIA ‘propriety’ system’, the emails were from PIA personnel discussing the log that was shown and they mentioned specifics which appeared in the log posted that i was able to look at before the page vanished. As the page was loading it stalled so I tried refreshing the page. After the refresh the page was no longer there. so I was not able to see the whole thing but just a few pieces of it as the page started to load before it stalled. It seems as if it has been removed and is no longer there. I contacted larky again and he provided me the reason in the form of a PM screen shot he sent an AirVPN staff member named ‘pj’ on 3 Dec 2017 a few days before the AirVPN forum removed information, this PM outlines that jbis had been contacted by someone acting on behalf of PIA asking that he not disclose the information as it is propriety, but that jbis was still planning to put it up somewhere which happened yesterday but the link was removed by AirVPN. This is the link to that PM screen shot = http://i65.tinypic.com/2m7dk5v.jpg
So after all this, I think: After what I saw It’s beginning to look like PIA got to AirVPN and AirVPN rolled over and took it up the butt, saluted smartly, and said “yes sir!” and kept the user larky from posting the link and removed the information. I was able to get the link though and did see some of the information before the page vanished. It seems that PIA, from what I can gather so far also saw that page also and had it removed.
I should have saved the page contents, or made screen shots or something. I wish I had now. In this instance, unfortunately, I regret having the browser cache cleared when I close the browser.
From what I can understand so far after this, jbis is going to put it back up somewhere else. Its got a lot of proprietary information, and the proprietary thing is what PIA is using to get it removed.
Based upon the little I saw before the page vanished, I now firmly believe PIA is lying and does actually log in the ‘proprietary method’ as the user jbis previously disclosed contrary to their public statements they do not log.
PIA as bad as ever
Things are quite a bit worse with PIA than you may be able to imagine, and they have been for well over two years. Nothing has improved with time. In fact it’s as bad as ever. One thing that especially troubles me is the way PIA scares potential customers with hypothetical and overblown network security vulnerabilities. Is PIA a VPN Service or a Scaremongering Marketing-Hype Company?
In every single case other VPNs (the technically competent ones) have known about and addressed those vulnerabilities on their servers long before PIA ever “discovered” them. Perfect Privacy may be the best example of a proactive VPN that the negligent PIA could learn a thing or two from. When PIA ultimately hears about their vulnerabilities they announce their “discovery” with great fanfare to the press, as if they were the ones to discover it, and rush out a “fix.” But inevitably they make a hash out of their fix because, rather than focusing on the problem where competent VPNs direct their attentions (on their servers), PIA patches their customer app. Each and every time they’ve created a problem for their entire customer base when 95% of their customers didn’t even have a vulnerability to begin with. For example PIA’s solution to the “Port Fail” issue was to disable all LAN connections while you’re connected to the PIA VPN! Utterly ingenious! And PIA calls this “networking”? Later PIA decided the best way to address their network vulnerabilities for Mac users is to disable the OSX firewall. Hacking the Mac OS and taking down my firewall, without my knowledge or permission, is not my idea of security. PIA has never explained why they do so. I have an explanation though — incompetence. They are not a technically astute networking company nor do they understand how to write good code or follow best practices.
None of it had to happen though. They could have just quietly patched their servers to address their vulnerabilities, like competent VPNs have, instead of cobbling together crappy customer app updates. If properly patching their servers is technically beyond their abilities (and it clearly is) they should have contracted it out to a competent networking firm. But that wouldn’t have had the desired effect of scaring the hell out of everyone. Fear sells! They’ve been able to sign up a lot of new customers by playing that FUD game, so that’s really all that matters.
PIA has gone down hill (avoid!)
Good review that accurately reflects several years of my PIA experience. Let’s just say I was happier in my first year than I have been since. The bigger they’ve gotten the more they’ve gone down hill. They were barely able to support a smaller customer base when I first signed up. They didn’t gear up to handle the much bigger customer base they have now. What few good support guys that used to have left long ago. So I’d knock another star or two off of “Value.” Yes, they’re one of the cheaper ones, but even still I don’t think we’re getting what we pay for. Their support is one of the worst I’ve ever encountered from any tech company. Bad, as in virtually non-existent. Their Windows and Mac apps are buggy, unreliable, poorly written and poorly supported, and it’s been like that for (I kid you not) 19 updates in the past year. Each new update claims to fix prior bugs but inevitably introduces new ones. Their programmers are morons. It’s difficult for me to come up with a single positive thing I could say about PIA, other than they may not be as terrible as PureVPN. But who knows? PIA may be lying to us about their no-logging policy just like PureVPN did. I’m a PureVPN customer too and feel very betrayed by what they did. Because of that I now find it impossible to now trust any US based VPN provider. I’m even more distrustful about PIA than ever about their no-logging claims. Every time they get asked about it on their forums they get incredibly defensive, make unsupportable legal claims and even technologically impossible claims, and then if challenged they just shut the threads down so no one can ask anything more. I think their actions prove they’re lying.
Thanks for your reviews.