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The Best VPN Services for 2021

February 16, 2021 By Sven Taylor — 205 Comments
best vpn
Top 3 VPNs for 2021:
#1NordVPN with [68% Off Coupon]
#2Surfshark with [81% Off Coupon]
#3ExpressVPN

This guide analyzes the best VPN services for 2021 based on the latest test results.

A VPN (virtual private network) is becoming the go-to solution for people all around the world. Whether you want more privacy and security or a safe and effective way to unblock websites and stream media, a good VPN is the solution. But there’s just one problem.

With so many different VPNs on the market, how can you find the best VPN service for your unique needs?

Sorting through the noise is increasingly difficult with all the new VPNs coming online and dozens of overnight experts making dubious recommendations.

In testing and researching 100+ VPN services over the past five years, I’ve found that most VPNs fail when put to the test. Here are three common problems:

  1. VPNs that leak IP addresses and/or DNS requests. IPv6 leaks and DNS leaks affect many popular VPNs and this can expose your identity, location, and/or browsing history to third parties.
  2. VPNs with broken features. While most VPNs offer a kill switch or some form of leak protection, I’ve found that these features often fail under certain conditions. For example, when switching network interfaces or reconnecting with the VPN server, your IP address may be exposed.
  3. VPNs that share data with third parties. This is mostly a problem with free VPN services that collect and sell user data. However, even some high-profile paid VPNs have been busted for logging their users, including IPVanish and also PureVPN.

While this may sound alarming, there are still some excellent VPNs that we have identified in our testing and research.

Best VPN services for 2021

  • NordVPN – Best all-around VPN service
  • Surfshark – Top VPN with a low price
  • ExpressVPN – Secure and reliable VPN service
  • VPN.ac – User-friendly and secure VPN from Romania
  • Perfect Privacy – Best VPN for advanced privacy features
  • OVPN – Secure, fast, privacy-focused VPN in Sweden
  • Trust.Zone – Basic VPN with solid performance
  • VPNArea – Affordable and fast VPN in Bulgaria
  • ProtonVPN – Simple, private VPN in Switzerland

How to choose the best VPN service

The easiest way to choose the best VPN service is to make a list of important factors, and then match up the service that best meets your needs. For some people, streaming Netflix and unblocking websites is the top priority, while others may want advanced privacy features.

Here at Restore Privacy, we take all these different factors into consideration when ranking the best VPN services. Here are the basic factors that we consider to be important when choosing the best VPN for your needs:

  1. Passed all tests with no data leaks found (no IP address leaks or DNS leaks)
  2. Good performance throughout the server network (speed and reliability)
  3. High-quality VPN apps with all features working correctly
  4. Supports secure VPN protocols with strong encryption standards
  5. Offers a money-back guarantee
  6. Trustworthy and well-established VPN provider with a good track record
  7. Located in a safe privacy jurisdiction (outside of Five Eyes countries, such as the US and UK) to keep your data safe

If a VPN does not fulfill all the criteria listed above, it is not featured in this report. And when you apply this standard to all the VPNs on the market, there are very few that make the cut. So let’s cut to the chase. Here are the best VPNs for 2021:

1. NordVPN – Best all-around VPN service

VPNNordVPN
Based inPanama
LogsNo logs (audited)
Price$3.71/mo.
Support24/7 Live chat
Refund30 days
WebsiteNordVPN.com

Get a 68% Off NordVPN Coupon >>

In the past year, NordVPN has raced ahead of the competition to deliver the latest in VPN technology to their users. They were one of the first VPNs to offer a secure and privacy-focused implementation of the WireGuard VPN protocol via NordLynx. This gives NordVPN (and its users) a huge performance advantage over other leading services — and it’s also the fastest VPN we have tested.

NordVPN continues to beat the competition when it comes to performance, as we noted in the ExpressVPN vs NordVPN comparison. Below you can see a recent speed test where we hit 445 Mbps with a NordVPN server in Seattle (USA).

best vpn for speed
NordVPN is the fastest VPN we have tested, with download speeds near 450 Mbps.

In addition to the WireGuard VPN protocol, NordVPN has many other privacy and security features you may want:

  • CyberSec feature to block ads, trackers, malware, and phishing domains on your entire operating system through the VPN
  • Double VPN servers to encrypt traffic over two locations (while still delivering excellent speeds)
  • Tor-over-VPN servers that add an extra layer of encryption via the Tor network
  • A very secure server network with all servers running in RAM-disk mode (no logs)
  • Built-in leak protection for all VPN apps to ensure all traffic remains encrypted

NordVPN has also passed independent audits for both security and compliance with no-logs policies. It introduced a public bug bounty program and also has an ongoing partnership with Versprite for security audits and penetration testing. NordVPN uses very strong encryption with an AES-256-GCM cipher and DHE-4096 key exchange in implementing Perfect Forward Secrecy. The upgraded WireGuard protocol with NordLynx uses a ChaCha20 cipher.

Below is a screenshot of the NordVPN Windows application that we tested. Here we were testing the double VPN servers.

best VPN app

With premium speeds and strong security, NordVPN is our top-rated VPN for torrenting. It also works very well for all major streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, and more. While most VPNs struggle to ensure access to streaming sites, NordVPN continues to deliver. You can also use the NordVPN app if you need a VPN for Firestick, TV boxes, Smart TVs, or even gaming systems.

As of right now, NordVPN has about 5,400 servers in 59 countries. It does not use any virtual server locations and all servers run on dedicated hardware in RAM-disk mode without hard drives. This improves security and also makes storing logs on the VPN server impossible. Another huge development is that NordVPN has announced they are rolling out high-speed colocated servers (self-owned hardware) for their entire network. These servers will have 10 Gbps bandwidth channels and will replace all rental servers from third parties.

In addition to the specialty servers we discussed above, NordVPN also offers obfuscated servers, which conceal VPN traffic as regular HTTPS encryption. This is a useful feature to get around VPN blocks, such as when using a VPN for China. It is also a great feature to break through work or school networks that block VPNs.

NordVPN continues to evolve and improve while remaining one of the top leaders in the VPN industry. Check out the two-year plan with the coupon below for maximum savings.

Main drawbacks:

  • Big discounts are only available with two-year plans.

Refund policy: All NordVPN subscription plans come with a full 30 day money-back guarantee.

NordVPN Cyber Deal is Now LIVE


Get 68% off NordVPN plus a FREE gift added to your subscription (1 month to 2 years free).

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(Coupon is applied automatically.)

See our NordVPN review for more test results and analysis.


2. Surfshark – Top VPN with a low price

VPNSurfshark
Based inBritish Virgin Islands
LogsNo logs
Price$2.49/mo.
Support24/7 Live chat
Refund30 days
WebsiteSurfshark.com

81% off Surfshark Coupon >>

Officially launching in 2018, Surfshark is taking the VPN world by storm. Despite being a relative newcomer, Surfshark comes loaded with features, great leak protection settings, access to numerous streaming services, and excellent performance. And there’s one big benefit with Surfshark that you don’t find with most other VPNs: Surfshark gives you an unlimited number of connections.

Surfshark maintains strong privacy protection policies and is a no-logs VPN based in the British Virgin Islands. The Surfshark apps incorporate good leak protection settings (kill switch) to ensure data remains encrypted and secure without any leaks. There is also a CleanWeb feature to block ads, trackers, and malware domains through the VPN.

Surfshark utilizes strong encryption with an AES-256-GCM cipher. It supports both the OpenVPN and IKEv2 VPN protocols, as well as WireGuard. Similar to our other top recommendations, Surfshark is now running all servers in RAM-disk mode for added security. It offers 14 double-hop VPN server configurations, allowing you to encrypt traffic over two servers at the same time.

Similar to NordVPN, Surfshark offers a privacy-focused version of the WireGuard VPN protocol, which you can select right in the app settings. In our tests for the Surfshark review, the WireGuard protocol with Surfshark servers gave us speeds up to 397 Mbps, as you can see below.

top vpn for speed

If you want to stream media and unblock websites, Surfshark does well in this category. It currently supports 14+ global Netflix regions, as well as most other streaming services, including BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and Disney Plus. It is a great VPN for Android and iOS with dedicated mobile apps.

Below is the Surfshark app we tested on Windows 10. You can see it is clean, simple, and user-friendly, very similar to the ExpressVPN app, as we noted in the ExpressVPN vs Surfshark comparison.

best vpn app 2021

Surfshark continues to gain traction in the VPN market. It remains a strong contender while also being one of the best cheap VPNs at only $2.49 per month with the two-year plan.

Main drawbacks of Surfshark VPN:

  • Limited VPN router support
  • Mediocre OpenVPN speeds (use the WireGuard protocol instead)

Refund policy: All Surfshark subscription plans come with a full 30 day money-back guarantee.

Surfshark VPN Coupon 2021


Get 81% off Surfshark VPN (drops the price down to $2.49 per month).

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(Coupon is applied automatically.)

See the Surfshark review for more test results and analysis.


3. ExpressVPN – Secure and reliable VPN service

VPNExpressVPN
Based inBritish Virgin Islands
LogsNo logs (audited)
Price$6.67/mo.
Support24/7 Live chat
Refund30 days
WebsiteExpressVPN.com
express vpn

Coupon for Three Months Free >>

ExpressVPN has long been one of the top recommendations on Restore Privacy. It delivers consistent performance with secure and reliable VPN apps. While many VPNs suffer from bugs, slow speeds, and data leaks, ExpressVPN consistently provides reliability, the highest security, and great customer support.

For security, ExpressVPN utilizes strong encryption with an AES-256 cipher and a 4096-RSA key. It supports the OpenVPN protocol on all VPN apps and incorporates a Network Lock kill switch to ensure all data remains secured and encrypted (no leaks).

While many VPNs are adopting the WireGuard protocol due to performance and security benefits, ExpressVPN is taking a different route with a self-developed protocol called Lightway. Right now Lightway remains closed source and in beta, but we did find it to offer faster speeds than OpenVPN in our tests:

best vpn protocol

ExpressVPN delivers a high-security server network with 160 locations in 94 countries. And like NordVPN and Surfshark, ExpressVPN also runs all servers in RAM-disk mode for data security (see the TrustedServer feature). Additionally, it has passed an independent audit by PWC verifying compliance with its no-logs policy, similar to NordVPN.

Aside from security, ExpressVPN also excels in the area of streaming. It is one of the best VPNs for Netflix, providing 24/7 access to numerous regional libraries. ExpressVPN also does well with Disney Plus and Hulu, but has had recent problems unblocking BBC iPlayer (see these best VPNs for BBC iPlayer instead).

ExpressVPN is also a very user-friendly service. It offers clean and minimal VPN applications that are very reliable, similar to Surfshark. Below is the ExpressVPN app for Windows we tested:

best app for VPN

And if you need any help getting the VPN working on your devices, ExpressVPN provides 24/7 live chat support. And while it may not be quite as fast as NordVPN and Surfshark, ExpressVPN provides a very reliable and consistent service, with plenty of speed for high-bandwidth activities.

Main drawbacks:

  • Above-average prices, but you can get 3 months free with the coupon below
  • Trouble accessing some streaming services (BBC iPlayer)
  • Lightway protocol remains closed source and in beta

Refund policy: All subscription plans come with a full 30 day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.

ExpressVPN Coupon for 2021


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See the ExpressVPN review for more test results and analysis.


Other VPN services we like for 2021

The top three VPNs we listed above (NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN) should be great for most users. These three VPNs really stand out from the crowd with these qualities:

  • User-friendly apps for all major devices and operating systems
  • Very secure with built-in leak protection settings and strong encryption
  • Excellent performance (fast speeds that we regularly test)
  • Great for streaming and torrenting
  • 24/7 live chat customer support
  • A full 30 day money-back guarantee on all subscription plans

With that being said, there are many great VPN services on the market, as well as some lemons that we do not recommend (more on this further below).

So now let’s take a look at a few other good VPN services you may want to consider, although they did not make the cut to be in the top three above.

VPN.ac – User-friendly and secure VPN from Romania

VPNVPN.ac
Based inRomania
LogsConnection logs
Price$3.75/mo.
SupportEmail
Refund7 days
WebsiteVPN.ac
VPNac

VPN.ac is a security-focused VPN that offers good performance and features with a competitive price. It is based in Romania and was started by a team of network security professionals. VPN.ac did well in testing for the review with fast speeds, strong encryption, and good privacy features.

VPN.ac currently supports the WireGuard VPN protocol. However, unlike with NordVPN and Surfshark, it takes some work to set up and use correctly because it is not supported directly in the apps. VPN.ac’s apps incorporate built-in leak protection, port selection, and offer a variety of VPN protocols and ciphers to choose from. They also have specialty servers, including double-VPN servers, P2P servers, and Obfuscated servers.

In addition to the desktop VPN app, you can also use VPN.ac’s secure proxy browser extensions, available for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

Main drawbacks of VPN.ac:

  • The main drawback of VPN.ac is the connection logs. Basic connection logs (no activity or usage data) are kept for 24 hours for network security and optimization. These logs are erased automatically every 24 hours. This is explained more on the VPN.ac website.
  • Limited support for streaming services
  • No live chat support

Refund policy: All plans come with a 7 day refund window.

https://VPN.ac/

Discounted trial: You can get a discounted one-week trial for $2 (see the FAQ section in the menu).

The VPN.ac review has more test results and analysis.


Perfect Privacy – Best VPN for advanced privacy features

VPNPerfect Privacy
Based inSwitzerland
LogsNo logs
Price$8.95/mo.
SupportEmail & forum
Refund7 days
WebsitePerfect-Privacy.com
perfect privacy

If you are looking to attain the highest levels of privacy and security, Perfect Privacy may be a good choice. It is based in Switzerland with a strict no-logs policy and is run by a dedicated team of privacy enthusiasts. Although it might be overkill for some users, Perfect Privacy offers numerous advanced features to choose from:

  • Multi-hop VPN servers: With Perfect Privacy, you can route your traffic across multiple VPN server hops (up to four). This offers a higher level of protection for those who want it. Additionally, the NeuroRouting feature (supported on all devices) dynamically routes traffic across multiple hops in the VPN network.
  • Ad/tracking blocker: The TrackStop feature blocks thousands of ads and trackers, as well as malware and phishing domains at the VPN server level. You can also activate a filter to block social media trackers, like some of our other recommended VPNs with ad blocking.
  • IPv6 support: Perfect Privacy is one of the few VPNs offering full IPv6 support (you get both an IPv4 and IPv6 address).
  • Port forwarding: Perfect Privacy allows you to customize your port forwarding settings, which is ideal if you need a good VPN for torrenting.
  • Strong encryption: This VPN secures data using an AES-256 cipher with a 4096-bit key exchange. Users can choose between OpenVPN and IPSec/IKEv2 protocols.

Similar to Surfshark, Perfect Privacy gives users an unlimited number of connections, but at a much higher price. The server network is also smaller than other VPNs, with only 25 locations around the world. However, all of these servers are running on dedicated hardware with high-bandwidth channels to still offer good speeds.

You can use Perfect Privacy with custom apps for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Android, along with support for other devices (including iOS). While the apps do not feel quite as polished as some other VPNs, it does offer a lot of features if you need a VPN for Windows or other desktop operating systems.

Main drawbacks:

  • Expensive: $8.95 per month with the two-year plan
  • Limited support for Netflix and other streaming services
  • Small server network
  • No live chat support

Refund policy: 7 day refund window with all subscriptions.

https://www.perfect-privacy.com/

See the Perfect Privacy review for more test results and analysis.


OVPN – Secure, fast, privacy-focused VPN in Sweden

VPNOVPN
Based inSweden
LogsNo logs
Price$4.99/mo.
SupportEmail and chat
Refund10 days
WebsiteOVPN.com
OVPN

Next up on our list is OVPN, one of the best VPNs from Sweden. It was started in 2014 with a simple goal to be the “most reliable and trustworthy VPN provider.” They go to great lengths to safeguard the data of their users with a multi-layered approach to security. OVPN’s entire network runs on self-owned dedicated bare-metal servers with ample bandwidth and strong security. All servers operate in RAM-disk without hard drives, multi-hop configurations are supported, and no logs are stored.

OVPN did surprisingly well in our tests, competing among the top VPN providers. It offers secure apps that include built-in leak protection settings, and even has a full GUI Linux client with all features available. While OVPN does offer an Android app, the iOS app remains in development. The WireGuard protocol is also supported, but not directly in the apps, like with NordVPN and Surfshark.

From the very beginning, OVPN has offered a transparent and privacy-focused service. Here are some noteworthy details:

  • Transparent and public-facing leadership (can be verified on the website).
  • Monthly transparency reports are published going all the way back to 2014.
  • OVPN even has insurance that will cover any legal fees necessary to fight against demands for user data by third parties.
  • A 2020 court case proved OVPN is true to its no-logs policy.
  • Completely anonymous payments and signup methods are supported.

Even though OVPN is a privacy and security-focused service, they still offer some support for streaming services. This includes Netflix and Hulu, although they currently do not support as many streaming channels as NordVPN or Surfshark.

While OVPN does have a lot going for it, there are a few drawbacks to consider:

  • Multi-hop servers are not included with monthly plans
  • Fewer streaming services supported
  • No VPN apps for iOS (iPhone and iPad)

Refund policy: 7 day refund window with all subscriptions.

https://www.ovpn.com/

See the OVPN review for more info.


Trust.Zone – Basic VPN with solid performance

VPNTrust.Zone
Based inSeychelles
LogsBandwidth
Price$2.33/mo.
SupportEmail
Refund10 days
WebsiteTrust.Zone
trustzone

Trust.Zone is a smaller, privacy-focused VPN service based in Seychelles, which is another good offshore privacy jurisdiction. It offers basic, user-friendly VPN apps for Windows, iOS, and Android with built-in leak protection. Additionally, Trust.Zone supports other operating systems through third-party apps, such as Tunnelblick and OpenVPN Connect.

Trust.Zone boasts a good selection of servers around the world, despite being a smaller VPN. Prices are quite reasonable at only $2.88/month with the two-year plan. When you pay with cryptocurrencies, you’ll get an automatic 10% discount. They are also offering a coupon code for Restore Privacy readers (see below).

TrustZone now supports the WireGuard protocol, but it requires custom setup and configuration. You will need to download config files from TrustZone and then import these into the WireGuard client. Therefore you cannot simply choose the WireGuard VPN protocol directly in the VPN client, like we see with NordVPN and Surfshark.

Speed tests for the Trust.Zone review were good, with most servers around my full baseline speed. Trust.Zone supports streaming US Netflix and Hulu, and also does not restrict torrenting on their network. It is one of the best VPNs with a free trial, allowing you to test the service without entering any payment info.

There are main drawbacks I found:

  • Limited on features compared to other leading VPNs
  • No custom VPN clients for Mac OS (see these other VPNs for Mac)
  • Limited support for streaming
  • Convoluted WireGuard setup

If you want to give Trust.Zone a test run, you can do so completely free for 3 GB of bandwidth or 3 days, whichever comes first.

Exclusive Coupon Code: For an additional 10% off your order, use this coupon code:
RESTOREPRIVACY10

https://trust.zone/

See also the Trust.Zone review for more details.


VPNArea – Affordable and fast VPN in Bulgaria

VPNVPNArea
Based inBulgaria
LogsNo logs
Price$2.99/mo.
Support24/7 Live chat
Refund30 days
WebsiteVPNArea.com
vpnarea

VPNArea is a low-profile VPN service that doesn’t get too much attention, but it does well in the areas of privacy, security, and streaming. With the new discount pricing, it also offers a good value for your money at only $3.21 per month.

VPNArea offers a nice selection of features that we tested out for the VPNArea review. These features include:

  • Ad-blocking DNS servers are available in the VPNArea apps.
  • Dedicated IP addresses in different regions
  • Netflix support for the US and UK regions
  • Built-in leak protection with all apps
  • 24/7 live chat support

VPNArea offers a nice selection of apps for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, and Android, while also supporting other operating systems and devices. Speeds were also excellent with all of the VPNArea servers we tested. Although they do not currently support WireGuard, VPNArea does support the OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols.

Main drawbacks:

  • Limited number of Netflix servers available
  • Desktop apps feel a bit clunky, but still work well

Refund policy: There is a 30 day refund policy with one year and three year plans, and a 14 day refund window for one month plans.

https://vpnarea.com/

See the VPNArea review for more test results and analysis.


ProtonVPN – Simple, private VPN in Switzerland

VPNProtonVPN
Based inSwitzerland
LogsNo logs
Price$8.00/mo.
SupportEmail
Refund30 days
WebsiteProtonVPN.com
protonvpn

ProtonVPN is a privacy-focused VPN that was created by the team behind ProtonMail in Switzerland. Since its debut in 2017, ProtonVPN has made some good improvements. Similar to a few of our other recommendations, ProtonVPN also offers double-VPN servers through a “Secure Core” configuration.

While ProtonVPN is largely a privacy-focused service, it also supports some streaming services. It currently works with American Netflix, Amazon Prime, and is also a good VPN for Disney Plus. But that’s not all. ProtonVPN works if you need a VPN for Hulu and a few other services. Torrenting is allowed on most servers, although speeds were not as good as our top recommendations.

If you want to combine a VPN service with a secure email, you can pick up the Visionary plan that includes both ProtonVPN and ProtonMail – but it’s not cheap. ProtonVPN also offers cheaper subscriptions, including a “Basic” plan at only $3.29 per month.

Main drawbacks of ProtonVPN:

  • Below-average speeds
  • Expensive prices for access to all servers and features
  • Limited support for streaming
  • No live chat support

https://www.ProtonVPN.com

See the ProtonVPN review for more test results and info.


What is the best VPN for privacy?

Any of the recommended VPNs in this guide would be good choices for privacy and data security. They have all been tested and found to be secure (no leaks), reliable, and operate in safe privacy jurisdictions (outside of Five Eyes countries).

With the exception of VPN.ac, all of the recommended VPNs are no-logs services. Additionally, these two have passed third-party audits verifying their no-logs policies:

  • NordVPN has passed two separate no-logs audits performed by PWC in Zurich, Switzerland. It also has an ongoing partnership with Versprite to conduct infrastructure audits and carry out penetration testing to identify and fix any vulnerabilities. NordVPN has successfully converted its server network to only run in RAM-disk mode.
  • ExpressVPN passed a no-logs audit performed by PWC and a security audit conducted by Cure53. Additionally, ExpressVPN passed a real-world test when the Turkish government demanded logs and then seized an ExpressVPN server, but failed to obtain any data.

These VPNs offer multi-hop servers (the ability to encrypt your traffic across 2+ VPN servers). This offers a higher level of privacy and security beyond single-hop VPN servers:

  • NordVPN: Double-VPN servers and Tor-over-VPN servers
  • Surfshark: Double-VPN servers with 13 different configurations around the world.
  • VPN.ac: Offers 22 double-VPN servers
  • ProtonVPN: The “secure core” feature consists of double-VPN server configurations.
  • Perfect Privacy: You can create multi-hop servers with every server in their network, with up to four servers. The NeuroRouting feature also routes traffic across multiple servers in the network.
most secure and private vpn
Using a double-VPN provides an extra layer of encryption and security.

If you are really concerned about achieving the highest level of online anonymity, you can also chain VPN services (using more than one VPN at the same time). This is discussed further below.

What is the best VPN for streaming?

Our top recommendation for streaming right now is NordVPN. Here’s why:

  1. Full access to all streaming services. NordVPN provides the best access to all major streaming services: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, BBC iPlayer, ESPN, HBO, SkyGo, and many more.
  2. Fastest VPN speeds to stream media without any pauses, interruptions, or buffering.
  3. Apps for all streaming devices, including Smart TVs, TV boxes, tablets, computers, phones, gaming systems, and more.

Below I’m using NordVPN to stream American Netflix. NordVPN currently supports the following Netflix regions: US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Japan, Australia, Italy, India, and more.

best VPN for streaming
In our tests, NordVPN did the best job in unblocking Netflix regional libraries.

Aside from unblocking content around the world, VPNs are also crucial for protecting yourself against ISP snooping and potential copyright issues when streaming from third party sites or when torrenting. (This is discussed more in our VPN for Kodi guide.)

What is the top VPN for Android and iOS mobile devices?

We recently tested out numerous VPNs for Android and found the best one to be NordVPN.

NordVPN tops the list as the best VPN for Android and iOS mobile devices for three main reasons:

  1. WireGuard VPN protocol – This protocol performs the best on mobile devices that may go in and out of connectivity. Connections are quick to establish, very stable, and fast.
  2. Fast speeds – With the WireGuard VPN protocol and an upgraded network of dedicated servers, NordVPN is faster than ever before. It outperforms other VPNs and will give mobile users excellent performance.
  3. Great mobile apps – I really like NordVPN’s mobile apps (both Android and iOS) for two reasons. First, they are very secure with reliable leak protection features and strong encryption. Second, they include all of the main features of the desktop client, including CyberSec, WireGuard support, and all specialty servers.
  4. Better battery life – With NordVPN’s WireGuard implementation, you will find your mobile battery life is better than with the OpenVPN protocol used by most other VPNs.

Surfshark, ExpressVPN, and VPN.ac also offer great Android VPN clients.

How to get the best speeds and VPN performance

How can you achieve the best speed and performance with your VPN?

If you are using a top-rated VPN service, you shouldn’t notice a huge reduction in speed. Of course, the extra work that goes into encrypting your traffic across VPN servers will affect speed, but usually it’s not noticeable for regular browsing, especially if you’re using a nearby server.

Here are some tips for getting the best VPN speeds and reliability:

  1. Use the closest server possible to your physical location. This generally reduces latency and improves performance.
  2. Choose the least crowded server or “recommended” server. Some VPNs help you select the best VPN server by showing server bandwidth loads or having “recommended” servers based on distance and loading.
  3. Experiment with different VPN protocols. OpenVPN UDP offers the best mix of security and speed. WireGuard is the fastest VPN protocol we’ve tested. Trying different VPN protocols and encryption options may help to find the best fit for your network.
  4. Consider antivirus and WiFi interference. Sometimes antivirus software or other WiFi networks may interfere with VPN speeds.
  5. Use a wired (ethernet) connection rather than WiFi. Wired connections (with high-quality ethernet cables) generally provide faster and more consistent speeds than WiFi, and are also more secure than WiFi.
  6. Consider processing power. Processing power on your device may also be limiting speeds, especially if you are using a VPN router.
  7. Consider your operating system. I’ve found VPN speeds on Linux and Mac OS to generally be better than Windows. When using a VPN on Windows, sometimes the TAP adapter will interfere with speeds, as well as background processes/updates that take up bandwidth and processing power.
  8. Upgrade your internet connection. Your VPN will not be able to exceed the baseline connection speed of your internet provider.

As you can see, there are many different factors affecting speed. Experimenting with these different variables will help you achieve the best VPN speeds possible.

Are VPNs safe and legal?

First we will address the issue of safety.

If you are using a good, reputable VPN service that effectively secures your traffic (no leaks), then yes, a VPN is safe to use. But therein lies the catch because there are many unsafe VPNs on the market, especially when it comes to free VPN services, which we will explain further below.

The next question: Are VPNs legal?

In general, the answer is yes, it is perfectly legal (and normal!) to use VPNs, even if you are in places like China where VPNs are restricted. VPNs are used every day by businesses and individuals throughout the world for basic privacy and security purposes. Businesses rely on VPN technology and encryption for security reasons and it would not make sense for this to ever become illegal.

That being said, China currently has a “ban” on non-approved VPN services that do not go along with state censorship requirements, as explained in the China VPN guide. The United Arab Emirates and a few other Gulf State countries have laws against people using VPNs to evade state censorship. Fortunately, this is not an issue in Western countries, where VPNs remain a safe, legal, and popular tool. (But of course, none of this is legal advice!)

VPN jurisdiction and trust

If you are serious about privacy and data security, you need to consider where the VPN is based (jurisdiction). We have seen many examples of privacy-focused services being compromised by governments in the countries where they operate. This is often the case with the United States and United Kingdom, which are both members of the Five Eyes surveillance alliance.

Let’s examine the United States, for example, and how VPNs based in the US could be affected.

  1. The United States has extensive (and powerful) surveillance programs allowing authorities to tap internet infrastructure for bulk data collection. These laws give the different agencies tremendous power to snoop on and record your digital activities.
  2. The US government has a long history of working with (and forcing) private tech companies to facilitate mass surveillance and bulk data collection efforts – see the PRISM program.
  3. US VPN services could be served National Security Letters or other lawful data collection demands, while also being prohibited from disclosing anything to their customers through gag orders.

These laws and capabilities essentially give some governments the authority to compel a legitimate privacy-focused company to become a data collection tool for state agencies. If a VPN were to be compromised, it would likely happen behind closed doors, without a word (or warning) to the users.

Just take a look at the case with Lavabit. Rather than comply with the lawful requests for user data and encryption keys, the founder was basically forced to shut down the business.

The same circumstances unfolded with Riseup, a Seattle-based service that offers a VPN and secure email:

After exhausting our legal options, Riseup recently chose to comply with two sealed warrants from the FBI, rather than facing contempt of court (which would have resulted in jail time for Riseup birds and/or termination of the Riseup organization).

There was a “gag order” that prevented us from disclosing even the existence of these warrants until now. This was also the reason why we could not update our “Canary” [warrant canary that warns users about these events].

Ignoring jurisdiction (where the service is based) when selecting privacy tools could put your privacy and security at risk.

What is the best free VPN service?

We generally do not recommend free VPN services because they are not safe.

“When something is free, you are the product.”

This famous quote certainly holds true for “free” VPNs because you are likely paying for the service with your private data, which is sold to third parties.

Free VPN services will offer a free product that collects your data for profit. Here a few well-documented reasons showing why free VPN services are risky:

  1. Malware – Malware is often hidden in free VPN services to collect your data. One study found malware in 38% of free VPN apps for Android devices.
  2. Tracking – Tracking libraries hidden in free VPNs are also used for data collection. The popular Betternet free VPN app was found to contain 14 different tracking libraries.
  3. Third party access to your data – Everything you do through a free VPN could be provided to third parties – and many VPNs explicitly state this in their privacy policies. Hotspot Shield was publicly called out for doing this by the Center for Democracy and Technology.
  4. Browser hijacking – Some free VPNs have been found to hijack and redirect browsers to e-commerce sites, such as Alibaba and eBay, through partner networks.
  5. Traffic leaks –  This is perhaps the greatest risk for people using a free VPN because it exposes your identity. One study found that 84% of free Android VPN apps leaked user data, thereby rendering the VPN useless.

Safer alternatives include free trial VPN services. ProtonVPN also has a plan for one device and unlimited bandwidth.

Can I just use a third-party DNS provider rather than a VPN?

A lot of people recommend using a third-party DNS provider rather than a good VPN – but this isn’t a good idea, for a few reasons.

First, a third-party DNS provider is only handling DNS requests, not providing you with any privacy or encrypting traffic. Your real IP address remains exposed with everything you do online, even if your DNS requests are encrypted.

Second, your internet provider (ISP) can still see every website you visit (the IP addresses), while these websites are also able to see your real IP address.

In contrast, a good VPN will not only conceal your IP address and location, it will also encrypt and translate all of your DNS requests, which remain encrypted within the VPN tunnel. This secures your activities (browsing) from third parties, including your ISP, while also protecting your identity.

Lastly, a centralized DNS provider, such as Cloudflare, could be snooping all your traffic and handing this over to third parties. Generally speaking, this is not a good idea for privacy.

Can you use two or more VPNs at the same time?

Some people seek to achieve very high levels of security and online anonymity. In addition to using a secure browser, blocking trackers, and taking proper precautions with your activities, using two or more VPNs is also a good idea. Why would you want to do this?

Here’s why you may want to use two or more VPNs at the same time:

  1. You are effectively distributing trust between two or more entities, which can be beneficial depending on your threat model.
  2. Neither VPN will have both your browsing activity and your identity (IP address). One VPN can see your source IP address and the other VPN can see the websites you visit, but neither VPN could have both your IP address and browsing data.
  3. This will add more encryption to your traffic and also allow you to utilize more data centers at the same time (further distributing trust). Additionally, you can distribute trust by choosing data centers in different jurisdictions around the world.
  4. To de-anonymize you, your adversary would have to be working together with the two (or more) VPNs — and this is highly unlikely, especially with VPNs located around the world.
  5. Traffic correlation attacks become extremely difficult for adversaries when you are chaining VPNs.

Here’s an example of a savvy VPN user in Brazil utilizing a VPN server in California, then routing traffic through a second VPN server in Canada, both from different VPN services, to access a website in Europe.

top rated vpn service
Want to use more than one VPN at the same time? We can show you how.

Now let’s examine two easy ways to do this.

One way is to run one VPN service on your computer and a different VPN service on your router. This way, your internet connection passes through two separate VPN services. The connection looks like this:

VPN1 on your computer > VPN2 on your router

The method above is simple and easy to do. A fast and fully-featured VPN router we have reviewed is the Vilfo router.

Another way to do this is with virtual machines, which you can run for free using Virtualbox. To do this, just set up a virtual desktop computer running on your host computer. Then, you run one VPN service on your host computer and a different VPN service on the virtual machine.

When working on the virtual machine, your internet connection passes through both VPN services, like this:

VPN1 on your host computer > VPN2 within your virtual machine

Note: Running Linux virtual machines offers other benefits in terms of security, compartmentalization, and also browser fingerprinting. But it can be tricky and time-consuming.

For the truly paranoid and those seeking the highest levels of anonymity, chaining two or more VPNs is the way to go. You can chain as many VPNs as you like, but be aware that you’ll take a performance hit. Nonetheless, I can routinely get around 70 Mbps chaining two different VPNs on a 100 Mbps connection with different locations around the country.

What devices can you use with a VPN?

A VPN can work with nearly any device that connects to the internet:

  • Computers – Whether you’re running Windows, Mac OS, Linux, or even a Chromebook, you will be able to use a VPN on your computer. Installation and setup options will depend on the VPN service you go with.
  • Phones and tablets – VPNs are also very popular on phones and tablets. Whether you are running Android or iOS, you will be able to use your VPN on any smart phone or tablet. Ubuntu Touch should also work with a VPN.
  • Routers – When you install the VPN on your router, all the devices that connect to your router will be using the encrypted VPN tunnel – without the need to install VPN software on each device. The router will only count as one VPN connection under your subscription, even if there are numerous devices using the router’s encrypted VPN connection. There are some important considerations before you do this – see my VPN router guide for setup tips.
  • TV boxes – Most TV boxes are built on the Android operating system. This means that you can install a VPN on your TV box using your VPN service’s Android app. Check with your VPN provider for instructions.
  • Smart TVs – Whether or not you can use a VPN on your smart TV will depend on the type of smart TV you have and whether your VPN supports it. Android-based smart TVs can use an Android VPN app. Samsung smart TVs can be used with the ExpressVPN MediaStreamer feature.
  • Fire Stick and Fire TV – VPNs can also be used on Fire Stick and Fire TV. For more information, see the best VPN for Firestick and Fire TV guide.

Comparison Table: Best VPNs for 2021

This concludes the best VPN report with the latest test results.

The table below highlights the top-rated VPNs that met all of our criteria. These services passed all tests with no data leaks, offer good speeds, reliable VPN apps, and strong encryption standards. Additionally, they are located in safe privacy jurisdictions and have an established track record and good reputation.

Stay safe, secure, and private in 2021 and beyond!

nordvpn

NordVPN Review

Visit NordVPN >

surfshark vpn

Surfshark Review

Visit Surfshark >

expressVPN

ExpressVPN Review

Visit ExpressVPN >

vpnac

VPN.ac Review

Visit VPN.ac >

perfect privacy vpn

Perfect Privacy Review

Visit Perfect Privacy >

ovpn

OVPN Review

Visit OVPN >

trustzone-vpn

TrustZone Review

Visit TrustZone >

vpnarea

VPNArea Review

Visit VPNArea >

protonvpn

ProtonVPN Review

Visit ProtonVPN >

Sven Taylor

About Sven Taylor

Sven Taylor is the founder of Restore Privacy. With a passion for digital privacy and online freedom, he created this website to provide you with honest, useful, and up-to-date information about online privacy, security, and related topics. His focus is on privacy research, writing guides, testing privacy tools, and website admin.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarCaptain

    February 11, 2021

    I happen to really like VPN.ac.

    Customer service is absolutely fantastic. While it’s nice that Nord and Surfshark have a 24 hour chat their representatives aren’t always knowledgeable with the technical details.

    Their DNS implementation is the main selling point for me, along with their focus on a smaller, but more secure server park.

    I highly recommend them!

    Reply
  2. AvatarJen

    February 6, 2021

    I’m really looking forward to the new protocol called Wireguard being mainstream. I find it to be really fast. Even unprofessional companies like Windscribe have partially incorporated it into their iOS app.

    I like NordVPN given they have a plentiful amount of servers to choose from. Many sites block commonly used IP addresses. Nord always have a “deal” with Sven or a few other sites at 68% off. I know they have gone down further in the past, but I haven’t seen it in a while. I feel (for now) they’re a great example of what you pay for. However, I wish you didn’t have to go through so many steps to try connect to Nord via your Windows native VPN client. However, they provided good instructions, but it’s a long process. I haven’t deal with their customer service team

    I would like to see more information on SOCKS5 protocol for torrrenting. I’m hearing mixed info about this protocol. Some swear by it, while others say, no, don’t use it because you’re not anonymous. Perhaps we can have more info on SOCKS5?

    Reply
  3. Avatardon_dunder

    January 16, 2021

    I’m surprised IVPN isn’t mentioned here. They’ve been around for a long time. What’s their current status as far as reviews go? I don’t see any listed here.

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      January 16, 2021

      Yep, looks a good option, haven’t had time to review it.

      Reply
      • Avatardon_dunder

        January 16, 2021

        I’d look forward to that, thanks.

        Reply
  4. AvatarJ.M.

    January 14, 2021

    If anyone uses ProtonVPN as a paid user, great news!

    https://protonvpn.com/blog/netshield-ad-blocker/

    I thought I would share this if anyone is interested.

    Reply
  5. Avataralockh

    January 11, 2021

    After reading your reviews here tonight, I tried to sign up for NordVPN with no luck. I purchased one month for $11.95 and immediately received the welcome and payment confirmation emails, but I was never able to activate my account from my Windows 10 PC or from my iPhone 10. The account activation process became an endless loop. I could not activate the account without a 6 digit verification code, but the website never sent the code, even though I requested the code many times. I chatted with online support for about an hour, but that also became and endless loop as I was passed from one support agent to another. To their credit, the Nord support bots and people tried to help, but nobody was able to solve the problem. I eventually asked for a refund, and then I was passed around to a couple of additional chats. I finally ended the chat with a remark that I just didn’t have any more time for the conversation, but I expect Nord to process the refund. At this point I don’t know if they refunded the $11.95 or not, but I deleted all Nord software from my devices, and I won’t hassle with it again. If I don’t see the refund in a few days, I’ll cancel the payment through my credit card company. What a hassle. Based on this experience, I do not recommend Nord.

    Reply
    • AvatarJen

      February 6, 2021

      Nord doesn’t play nice with third-party ad blockers. Perhaps that might have contributed to your issues?

      I don’t ever activate a membership via my iPhone unless I purchased it on my app. I always do so via desktop. I have a special clean vanilla version of my browser in the form of a portable version that I used in such situations if I have issue like you have. I then ensure everything is cleaned and deleted from the portable browser. There are portable versions of Chrome and Firefox.

      Reply
      • AvatarAlcoframbas

        February 23, 2021

        I have a special clean vanilla version of my browser in the form of a portable version that I use in such situations…. I then ensure everything is cleaned [how ?] and deleted [how ?] from the portable browser. There are portable versions of Chrome and Firefox.

        Please could you specify how one does (sets up) this? I use Firefox on Android and Win10. Thanks in advance.

        Reply
  6. AvatarProto

    December 27, 2020

    Tried OVPN for a few weeks and wasn’t very impressed. Servers near me were frequently slow and uneven, I had to change my password on their site three times for the client to begin connecting (OK after that), on connection a silly “You’re connected, AWESOME!” banner is displayed and the first time I tried Wireguard another banner asking me if I liked my connection speed popped up. I didn’t, it wasn’t much better, slower than another VPN I use with Wireguard and all the kid stuff made me lose trust. Good prices, though.

    Poor connections were verified by immediately going to the same site with one of my other VPN’s, which worked fine. I uninstalled OVPN.

    Reply
  7. Avatarvitruvio

    December 14, 2020

    Hey, what about njal.la?
    People from ThePirateBay are to be trusted when dealing with rogue authorities and big pigs → [https://njal.la/blog/]

    Reply
    • AvatarJen

      February 6, 2021

      Lol. Wrong category. njal.la is NOT a VPN.

      Reply
  8. Avatarabaabdella

    December 9, 2020

    How about hide me vpn is it safe ?

    Reply
  9. AvatarYeti

    December 4, 2020

    You should include No-Logging into criteria for best VPN mentioned here.

    Reply
  10. AvatarAly

    November 30, 2020

    I don’t want to sound like a brown-noser but I agree with your list here.

    Express VPN has dropped quite a bit these days. There speeds aren’t that high anymore. Like NordVPN though, they do use RAM servers.

    What I don’t like about NordVPN how within the last several months they removed the ability to select a server within a given city from their mobile app. They do kick butt though in the number of servers. I don’t think anyone has as many as them.

    Reply
  11. AvatarLibre

    November 28, 2020

    My main concern is not VPN apps for mobile, its all the other apps we use that contain trackers

    I check Exodus reports on all apps before installing, its rare to find an app that has only crash reporting, most apps are interested in advertising with at least 6 or 7 trackers built in

    Every one of us has a mobile phone in our pocket pretty much all the time and apps are free to to report back to tracking servers even with a VPN installed
    To me this doesn’t make sense if I care enough to use a VPN and ad/tracker blocking etc on my laptops & PCs. I want the same level of privacy even more so on my mobile

    A lot of people need apps for work, or family. I fight with my partner regularly about installing apps for our kids, the number of trackers in most is absolutely scary, never mind permissions they want
    I run custom privacy ROMs on all of our phones and tablets and use a VPN but still concerned about how much data these trackers are sending and where. I am looking for a way to block them that doesn’t break something else

    What do you think is the best strategy for this? I agree that private DNS is not ideal.

    Thanks so much again!

    Reply
  12. AvatarLibre

    November 27, 2020

    Thanks for the incredible amount of work and great review Sven!

    I am concerned about the amount of trackers that are built in to mobile apps (different to cookies and website trackers which can be blocked in browsers)
    I use a private DNS service to block trackers specifically because of this as well as a VPN

    Today I had an interesting dilemma. My VPN (ExpressVPN) stopped playing nicely with my private DNS service (simply could not connect to the DNS server)
    While I sort out what’s changed between ExpressVPN and the DNS service I had to choose between disabling the VPN or the DNS tracker blocking. It was harder than I thought…

    My thinking is that trackers in apps are a not blocked by a VPN, they are a direct connection between your app and what you do, and the service they connect to. Even WickrMe app has 3 trackers built in

    What are your views and recommendations on this please?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      November 27, 2020

      Generally speaking, these “trackers” in VPN mobile apps are typically to collect crash reports and/or bugs. They can often be disabled. And if you are using the VPN, then there is no need to use a “private DNS” since the VPN is already fully encrypting and translating all DNS requests in the tunnel, using the VPN’s servers. So this is redundant and could also result in DNS leaks.

      Reply
  13. AvatarJ.M.

    November 24, 2020

    @Bob,

    Concerning you statement about observing traffic flow, every VPN can do this. All traffic passing through their servers can be monitored.

    That does not mean it envades privacy. There is a difference in live traffic monitoring and logging users.

    This is not the first time this has been brought up. Under the ProtoVPN review, a discussion about the no logs was the main subject.

    There were some good links there. One thing I will say is that I am not a fan of Reddit but the discussion was lively:

    https://restoreprivacy.com/vpn/reviews/protonvpn/#comments

    The date is December 14th and the poster’s name is “you”.

    Here is the link that he put up: https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonVPN/comments/93pp40/protonvpn_does_keeping_logs/

    I would suggest reading the entire discussion both on the Reddit and this site.

    Hope that helps.

    Reply
  14. AvatarJ.M.

    November 24, 2020

    @Brad,

    Your question about the Big Sur is worthy of looking at.

    It seems that only iOS is the only OS that is affected right now.

    One concern was the VPN effectiveness and I wish I could say that all VPN services were on top of this but they aren’t.

    Here is one report though that addresses it: https://protonvpn.com/blog/big-sur-exclusion-list/

    Hope this helps.

    Reply
  15. AvatarBrad

    November 17, 2020

    Hi there,
    here a some concerning news regarding the new mac os big sur:

    https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2020/11/16/apple-apps-on-big-sur-bypass-firewalls-vpns-analysis-macos/

    Here is the straight answer from mullvad (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2020/11/16/big-no-big-sur-mullvad-disallows-apple-apps-bypass-firewall/)

    So what about other VPN´s? Does anyone know how they handle the issue?

    Best regards

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      November 17, 2020

      Hi Brad, yes I’ve been following these issues with Big Sur(veillance). Apple responded to criticism recently in this article. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and I’ll be following to see how exactly Big Sur performs when it is officially released, and how VPNs address these issues.

      Reply
    • Avatarruy

      November 19, 2020

      IVPN also use Packet Filter mode.

      Reply
  16. AvatarBob

    November 14, 2020

    Hey Sven, is it true that ProtonVPN can inspect traffic, as stated by Harley Quinn in a comment below?

    Reply
    • Avatarvikky

      November 15, 2020

      Hello , yes they are backdoor mail and vpn !
      They can see the traffic and others , they not a proven service ! And if they was they most did that for every year , very becareful to use it in all versions .

      Reply
  17. AvatarHarley Quinn

    November 13, 2020

    ProtonVPN claimed on twitter that they can inspect traffic to see it terms of service are not being violated. I can’t find a good reason to include TrustZone too. So I think you should remove these two from this list.
    You should consider reviewing some other VPN too like IVPN, AirVPN, Mullvad, WeVPN, AzireVPN. IVPN and Mullvad don’t need any info for account creation and they offer moneyback too. Yeah, they don’t give any affiliate commission, if that is an interest to you. But obviously bringing real truth forward is best thing to do.

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      November 13, 2020

      Most any of these VPNs don’t need any info, other than a payment method, and usually an email. But you can use any secure email or even a burner email for this process. I’ve tested out AzireVPN and AirVPN, both are good services.

      Reply
    • AvatarProto

      December 27, 2020

      VPN’s with a limit to the number of connections made typically check to see if you’ve reached your max. Otherwise, all VPN’s have to log something to make a connection, receive your requests and return the results. No VPN worth using will monitor any of your traffic; observing their EULA should be on the user, the service shouldn’t know if you are honoring it or not. Connection logs should be obliterated at disconnect or very soon after.

      I had Proton for a year a few months after they appeared; started out fast, became slower and slower. They appear glitzy and put on a good front but overall, they seemed rather dumb the more I dug into the huge amount of info they provide. They started uploading crash data with no opt out, tied my free email to the VPN service and held the email hostage when I didn’t renew instead of returning to its original free status. All my important email held hostage…I was using it as a garbage can so I deleted my account. Silly them to allow this to be possible.

      Don’t know what they’re like now. Still tripping over their own feet? IDK but what you’re saying is certainly possible.

      Reply
  18. AvatarMoe

    November 8, 2020

    Hey Sven, there’s a new VPN I’ve been hearing about called WeVPN. No idea if it’s good or bad but your review will be of great help. Waiting for your review of the same!

    Reply
  19. AvatarRestorer

    October 31, 2020

    Free private VPN, good for light use or trial:
    # Proton VPN (requires sign up)
    # Windscribe VPN
    # Hide.me VPN

    Reply
  20. AvatarArnon

    October 25, 2020

    Hi,
    Thanks again for all the reviews.

    I haven’t decided yet if Nord or Express, assuming they both cost the same…, It ravel a lot, with phone+laptop, so use a lot public wi-fi, in stations/cafe’s/hotels…..I see many compliments from you on both, so don’t know…

    I saw your special prices for both.

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      October 25, 2020

      One recent update with ExpressVPN is the launch of the Lightway protocol, which in many ways is like WireGuard with faster speeds and better mobile performance, but I’m still getting faster speeds with NordVPN and WireGuard (NordLynx). This is in the ExpressVPN review update.

      Reply
      • AvatarArnon

        October 27, 2020

        TY,

        I registered yesterdy to NordVPN for two-year plan.

        Now considering if their other sevices for Cloud service and Password; do you think it’s good use same supplier to VPN+Password manager+Cloud, or not to ‘put all the eggs in the same basket’?

        Reply
        • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

          October 27, 2020

          Yes, I think it’s a good value to bundle services if it makes sense for your situation. Both NordPass and NordLocker did well in the reviews, and they both have free options for you to test out before committing to a paid plan.

  21. AvatarRosemary's baby

    October 11, 2020

    What’s your thoughts on this approach to privacy??

    While virtual private networks once boosted security, their current design doesn’t fulfill the evolving requirements of today’s modern enterprise.
    [https://www.sikur.com/2020/09/10/vpns-the-cyber-elephant-in-the-room/]

    No Time for Complacency
    Twenty-five years ago, VPNs were the cutting-edge technology of the day, providing users with a relatively straightforward way to securely access protected network resources. Despite the explosive innovation these past two decades, VPNs remain synonymous with secure remote access for an outsized portion of today’s populace.

    The situation today has been exacerbated by a number of converging factors. The current pandemic has forced millions of workers to log in from home, making it incumbent on CISOs to provide remote access without compromising security. Meanwhile, cloud computing and massive mobility have shattered the perimeter paradigm. Their arrival created new demands to protect data regardless of where it resides.

    For too long, organizations looking to implement secure remote access solutions defaulted to installing and expanding their legacy VPN technology investment rather than pivoting toward a new generation of secure remote access solutions. Now’s the time to retire VPNs, and if you don’t believe me, consider these three reasons why VPNs are indeed more theater than security.

    Coverning Sikur products Messanger, Id, Connect, One, and Phone.

    Reply
  22. AvatarRosemary's baby

    October 7, 2020

    To JM in reply
    I noticed reading from late 2019 there about’s, there are many not active on here anymore. When 2020 you’d think of every body being shut off or shut down from life as it was seen of 2018 into late 2019. Privacy talks online and about same should be buzzing as the web is our realm to live a fuller life with less personal contacts by this worlds virus. Online privacy topics and sites need to ramp it up as more of us are using the internet now (more so than ever before) for everything the virus has affected to make life different.

    Reply
    • AvatarJ.M.

      October 12, 2020

      @Rosemary’s baby,

      In a way, yeah. I agree. I stumbled on the site and I don’t remember how I found it. Think I was just reading.

      As far as more people, I, in my area, am seeing more and more places opening and people being outside. That may have a lot to do with it. I don’t know.

      But, I guess if they are outside and not on the net, they are safe at least from Identity issues online :).

      For me, things have been very hectic here this last week. So I am on and off as I can.

      Reply
      • AvatarRosemary's baby

        October 18, 2020

        JM, so that’s yes for now in legal small groups gathering and only by their local or state municipalities having granted it. In our year 2020 the old worlds 50’s – 70’s entertainment venues of the drive-in theaters has returned to promote social distancing while a place for people ‘s gathering outdoors. And not just for movies, I’ve herd of concerts to school graduations held in our old drive-in’s.

        Then there are the illegal mass gatherings that people attend ! !
        This or any new pandemic will always display an end over end rolling egg like shape with a society of those that care and those that don’t care with those that haven’t decided till it’s too late…
        Thanks

        Reply
  23. AvatarRosemary's baby

    October 2, 2020

    Thought I may of lost people in the lower two comments I have made.
    I was talking about (DPN) generally, Decentralized Private Network.
    DCN was meant towards Decentralized Cybersecurity Network that some DPN devices offer. I used DCN in place of DPN which is only the same shared meaning of DPN devices with a Layer 7 firewall.
    DCM where used is the initials of one such DPN network device, I won’t tell the name to keep it all informational and not seem like an ad. I think this DPN sharing arena has promise.

    Reply
  24. AvatarRosemary's baby

    October 2, 2020

    Got chaya.
    But if you don’t write and cover some on the DCN arena how are people to know. Too many things link up a privacy label to their product/service and fall way short of the mark in privacy. (Thought this site was a foundation to understanding privacy on the web)
    A VPN gives you privacy from all except itself as they still are the beginning and end source of the encrypted tunnel. The DCN model takes that power away and no I’m not saying VPN are bad. Just it can see you across the web as you move.

    Everything has got to start from somewhere. Yes it’s true that a DCN typically involves giving up resources on your machine to be used by others. Decentralized, which does mean all involved are one of the nodes. This type of Network already can and will have thousands to hundred thousands of nodes running across the world as well as some cloud nodes. The network incentives are to share and those that share their idle bandwidth draw from a bank when they go online. There’s no free ride here, participants will have to pay if they are using up more bandwidth than they share. Advances in DCN network devices towards IP security gives you control of what internet protocols you allow on your bandwidth. DCM uses a transparent mode, it only accepts connections from other DCMs, so there should not be any DDOS concerns as well.

    That resource I could only see as the bandwidth you buy from your ISP that another DCN machine gets. Not your internal computer resources. My bought bandwidth lays idle when I sleep, if someone near or the other side of the world hooks up to a DCN and I allow one or two protocols on it I bank whatever bandwidth that’s used and for my own use later through the DCN network.

    Today’s DCN:
    There is the option to disable bandwidth sharing. DCM can recognize most internet protocols, users can choose to deny the dangerous ones. DCM is also a Layer 7 firewall. DCM can distinguish between the user’s own connections and shared connections. If you didn’t do something illegal, DCM can prove it. A DCN with the option to reject dangerous connections such as BT to the others there are is looking good I would say. This right above is from one DCN device that has a few years and models under it’s belt.

    Reply
  25. AvatarRosemary's baby

    October 1, 2020

    We need a new topic here to get the outlaying community a buzz on this site.
    Been like Sunday morning around here for too long now. Where have all the old regulars gone? You know who you are!

    How about something I keep hearing about DPN, (Decentralized Private Network). Seems I hear it in browsers, search engines and VPN’s scattered adapting of it. They even are working on where users are both client and server.

    Trying to offering an improved alternative to main stream VPNs where they are the only network. So if their interstructure fails or big brother lays heavy on them it fails system wide on all users. That’s one point a DCN is to address applicable to VPN’s. On the search engine going across DCN would be ad’s and filter bubbles issues addressed. Least That what I seemed to believe.
    What chaya thinks?

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      October 1, 2020

      The main problem with a decentralized network is that it typically involves giving up resources on your machine to be used by others. This has been tried before, but it leads to problems. For example, when people do bad stuff with your bandwidth, which can lead to the police pounding down your door.

      Our focus on this site is more on long-term topics and updating guides to keep them relevant, rather than chasing the latest tech buzz. So it probably doesn’t attract the traffic and attention span of other blogs with daily news articles.

      Reply
      • AvatarPanda

        October 8, 2020

        Hey please can you suggest me the best free trial VPNs if the free VPNs aren’t great. I’m currently using Proton VPN’s free trial with only 3 server regions namely US, Netherlands and Japan

        Reply
        • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

          October 8, 2020

          Trust.Zone offers a 3 day free trial, but the other option is to just use the VPN for 30 days in the risk-free trial, which is not free, but you can cancel for a full refund.

    • AvatarJ.M.

      October 5, 2020

      @Rosemary’s Baby,

      Still here. Just haven’t had anything really new to add or discuss.

      I am still keeping up with ProtonMail and their Proton Drive (Beta for Lifetime accounts is out now).

      I do know a few others have left. I was sorry to see them go, though.

      Reply
  26. AvatarDanielle

    September 30, 2020

    Hmm. I can’t help but feeling somewhat confused with the heavy endorsement of both Surfshark and NordVPN on this site.
    I used Surfshark and I wasn’t impressed or satisfied with them. I had some support questions and they were not able to answer them. I actually found the answer here (after the fact). I found this quite frustrating in dealing with their support team. I find they tend to have just a few servers, if that in a major city.

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      September 30, 2020

      Yes, it is #3 on this list. Check out some of the other options if it didn’t work well for you.

      Reply
  27. AvatarGordon

    September 22, 2020

    Nord is way too slow in the game. They’re still not fully RAM disk upgraded and they still don’t have two-factor authentication, both of which have been completed by a noob like Surfshark. It’s absurd that the only thing Nord has been doing the past few months is raising prices (It’s now $6.50/mo for regular customers without any coupons). As a Nord customer, I’m tired of their lack of interest in developing their product to at-least keep up with the competition.

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      September 22, 2020

      UPDATE: NordVPN has confirmed that 100% of their server network is running in RAM-disk volatile memory (no more hard drives) as of September 2020.

      I’m not sure I understand your comment. NordVPN is leading the industry in updates and is one of the few VPN providers that has fully integrated WireGuard into all desktop and mobile applications. This brings NordVPN users the latest in encryption upgrades and extremely fast speeds. They have also completed another no-logs verification audit a few months ago. Many of NordVPN’s servers are already converted to RAM-disk, but I can ask them the status on full completion.
      Yes it is true, they are raising the standard price, but all Restore Privacy readers can still take advantage of the discount below, which gives you NordVPN for only $3.71 per month with the two-year plan:
      68% Discount Coupon on NordVPN >>

      Reply
  28. AvatarMike

    September 15, 2020

    Hi Sven!

    I have used SurfShark (it’s very good) and have looked over Nord and Express too. One reviewer on another site raised an interesting issue that I don’t think you cover in your guide: transparency. For example, I can read up on the people behind IVPN but for some of the VPN’s on the market, three top-tier VPN’s who just happen to be the top three on your list, have no information about their leadership except for Express VPN’s V.P. Harold Li.

    I find it very odd that they don’t disclose information about their management since doing so, in my view, can help establish trust in their product. Even some small outlets, like AirVPN & VPN.ac, do this as well. Don’t you think it’s odd that many VPN companies do this? Do you happen to have any insight as to why they do? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      September 15, 2020

      I should really write an article addressing this issue because it comes up a lot. There are many advantages to leadership remaining as anonymous as possible. This is important so that they cannot be pressured individually by governments to give up data on their users. Governments can, will, and have gone after public-facing individuals behind privacy-focused companies, forcing them to compromise the service and give up user data behind closed doors. Just look at Ladar Levison with Lavabit.

      Reply
  29. AvatarRick

    September 14, 2020

    Which VPN are running RAM disk servers-
    1. Perfect-Privacy
    2. ExpressVPN
    3. OVPN
    4. SurfShark
    5. AzireVPN
    6. WeVPN
    And NordVPN is wannabe here.

    Reply
    • Avatarharley

      September 15, 2020

      On the basis of this Don’t you think Best VPN order should be-
      1. ExpressVPN
      2. Perfect-Privacy
      3. OVPN
      4. Surfshark
      5. Private Internet Access
      6. NordVPN
      7. IVPN
      8. AirVPN
      9. AzireVPN

      Reply
      • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

        September 15, 2020

        RAM-disk servers are just one factor for consideration. See the ranking criteria at the top of the page.

        Reply
  30. Avatarred

    September 9, 2020

    Which VPN are running RAM disk servers-
    1. Perfect-Privacy
    2. ExpressVPN
    3. OVPN
    4. SurfShark
    5……
    Please extend this list…

    Reply
    • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

      September 10, 2020

      And NordVPN will soon be added to the list, they are partially done with the network update to RAM disk servers.

      Reply
    • AvatarProcrastinator

      October 7, 2020

      Hello Sven Taylor,
      Thank you for your article. I used AirVPN, but think to switch on something else, and found this website, and tried ExpressVPN – number 1 in your rating. I want to share one important thing for me.
      ExpressVPN forces users to log in with e-mail and password on Android. Many people (like me) trust some linux distributions, but don’t trust Google Android and Microsoft windows (lets call them usntrusted platforms). I don’t want google to know my e-mail and especially password. I’m not sure how encryption works, but I guess, knowing my e-mail and password, google could easily decrypt the local session (but they already know everything what I do on my Android device), but most important, I guess they could also decrypt my other sessions from other, trusted platforms. Maybe I’m mistaken. Anyway, I use my gmail account on Android device, but I don’t want google to know my other e-mail that I use for ExpressVpn account. I also tried to manually configure .ovpn file to use it in free “OpenVPN for Android” app. But even with this config file, application asks e-mail and password. For example, AirVPN config file just contains some assigned to me certificate or code (I guess even not assigned to me, just AirVPN server trusted certificate), and doesn’t disclose my account details to google.
      Microsoft windows is another untrusted platform. I am forced to use it for my work, so I admit that Microsoft knows everything what I do on my PC, but I don’t want to disclose my e-mail and password from my VPN account to them. It’s very basic thing that ExpressVPN didn’t think about.
      I wrote them about this, and maybe they would take example from AirVPN or make their own way to cover this case. Why not just provide option to log in with nickname on android app and in microsoft windows, and manage different nicknames for different untrusted devices on ExpressVPN website from trusted device. I guess I will try NordVPN now (number2 in your rating) and withdraw from ExpressVPN.
      Maybe think about this case in your rating. Sorry for my English, I’m not English-speaking person. Thank you for your article, it’s very useful for me.
      Kind Regards

      Reply
      • Sven TaylorSven Taylor

        October 7, 2020

        You could also just use a new secure email for creating the account that is not used for anything else, and therefore it wouldn’t matter if Google saw it.

        Reply
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