AVG Secure VPN Review

AVG logs sensitive data. Here is a full breakdown of what is and what is not logged:

Although this data is only stored for 35 days, we cannot recommend a VPN that logs individual bandwidth use or connection timestamps for any amount of time.

To improve its privacy rating, AVG would need to stop storing this data and invest in a diskless server network. It should also commission an independent audit that assesses its privacy protection claims.

Subject to EU Data Retention Laws

AVG is based in Czechia, a country subject to EU data retention laws and intelligence-sharing agreements.

In other words, Czech authorities can demand user data that AVG would be legally obligated to hand over. We’ve already established that AVG logs identifiable data, so this is a serious problem.

AVG openly admits to sharing user data via the transparency reports released by its parent company, Avast.

In 2023, Avast received 51 requests from the government for information. It handed over the data of five users. In 2017, it shared information for over 30% of requests.

Can AVG VPN Be Trusted?

We examined AVG’s corporate structure and history to assess its trustworthiness. Simply put: we advise caution when using AVG Secure VPN.

In July 2016, Avast — an even bigger cybersecurity company — bought AVG. We have also reviewed Avast SecureLine, its flagship VPN, which we only rated 6.1/10 due to its intrusive logging practices.

In December 2020, NortonLifeLock Inc. bought Avast, taking control of AVG in the process. In our review of Norton Secure VPN, we gave it an even worse rating of 5.0/10, partly because it logs your IP address.

NortonLifeLock (and therefore Avast and AVG) is part of the US multinational conglomerate Gen Digital, which also bought the VPN HMA (HideMyAss). This VPN also logs your data.

We’re concerned that all of Gen Digital’s VPN products, including AVG Secure VPN, have a history of logging user data.

Here is a list showing which popular streaming sites AVG Secure VPN unblocks:

We found that the US server ‘Gotham City’ unblocks US Netflix and the UK server ‘Wonderland’ unblocks BBC iPlayer.

AVG Secure VPN unblocks US Netflix.

However, AVG Secure VPN did not work with other major US services like Hulu, Max, or US Prime Video. Similarly, it’s not a good choice for accessing local streaming services in these countries:

• Australia (SBS On Demand)
• Canada (CBC Gem)
• France (France.tv)
• Italy (RaiPlay)
• Korea (Kakao TV)
• Singapore (MeWatch)

We know this because we’ve tested 62 VPNs with up to 120 international streaming services, and AVG performed worse than the majority of VPNs.

Below, you can see a snippet of the streaming data we maintain:

An insight into the streaming data that we maintain on every major VPN.

Here are the full results of our AVG Secure VPN speed tests:

AVG Secure VPN delivers fast speeds wherever you connect to. We calculated its global average speed to be 91Mbps, which is more than fast enough for any online activity.

Ping times are also consistently low across the board. Connecting to Los Angeles from the East Coast, we recorded a latency of only 86ms.

Despite its impressive speed performance, AVG cannot compete with the fastest VPNs. Hotspot Shield is the number one, reaching 98Mbps on local connections.

Here’s an overview of the connection protocols, encryption strength, and security features on offer in AVG’s apps:

Does AVG’s Mimic Protocol Encrypt Your Data?

AVG Secure VPN’s default encryption protocol is called Mimic, a proprietary technology developed by AVG’s parent company, Avast.

We’ve certified Mimic’s fast speeds, but we are uncertain about its security credentials. Avast is not transparent about how Mimic works and there has been no independent audit. In contrast, ExpressVPN also uses a proprietary protocol but it is open-source, so anyone can examine it.

We ran AVG Secure VPN through a packet-inspection tool to see if it actually encrypts your data. We are pleased to report that it concealed our internet activity successfully.

Mimic is on all of AVG Secure VPN’s apps, but there are a number of alternative protocols depending on the device and operating system you’re using. These are:

We recommend that you stick to WireGuard or OpenVPN, and avoid LT2P if possible, which is an older and less secure protocol.

Unfortunately, the WireGuard protocol is only available on Windows and Android. This means the AVG apps for macOS and iOS are significantly less secure and we advise against using them.

We’d like to see AVG follow the rest of the industry and add WireGuard across the board. Furthermore, protocol options should be made consistent across all apps.

No Advanced Technical Features

While AVG Secure VPN achieves the basics of VPN security, its security offering is nowhere near the level of industry-leading VPNs and it offers no customization options.

VPNs like ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark are offering packages that include working VPN ad blockers, multi-hop servers, open-source apps, and even GPS spoofers.

In contrast, AVG doesn’t have split tunneling and there are hardly any options to manually configure your VPN experience.

AVG VPN’s sparse security settings as they appear on the Windows app.

AVG is a bad choice for torrenters due to its invasive privacy policy, which doesn’t guarantee your anonymity. It’s also got a history of handing over user data following legal requests.

Due to these privacy issues, we simply cannot recommend using AVG VPN for torrenting, even despite its fast average bitrate of 8.8MiB/s and its P2P-optimized servers, which are available in these five countries:

• France
• Germany
• Netherlands
• UK
• US

While AVG VPN does have a kill switch to protect against the accidental exposure of your real IP address, other data that can actively identify you is already logged regardless.

If you live inside a restrictive country, AVG Secure VPN is not a good solution for getting around web blocks.

We tested it on our Shanghai server in China to see if it worked to bypass tough internet restrictions. Unfortunately, it was repeatedly detected and blocked.

AVG is open about this limitation. We advise you to choose Astrill VPN instead, which, according to our VPN testing in China, has a 100% success rate getting around the Great Firewall of China.

AVG Secure VPN offers basic customer support, including an FAQ page and an online form to send technical support requests.

When we used the form, we were presented with a selection of pages to read, none of which were applicable to our enquiry.

It then encouraged us to visit the AVG Support Community if we couldn’t find an answer. Responses to user questions occur the same day, but often read as impersonal and vague.

We often find that when VPNs get absorbed into larger corporate structures they risk losing the human touch when it comes to customer support. It’s harder to reach a human being, especially as VPN support can be hard to find amid all of AVG’s other products.

Unfortunately, that’s the case with AVG Secure VPN, which hides its live chat option on a hard-to-find URL and it can take a while before an agent comes to respond to your query.

When we asked AVG’s live chat about its flagship Mimic protocol, we were given the response: “What do you mean by Mimic?” It became clear that customer support agents were not familiar with their products. They also only wanted to help if we were active subscribers.

AVG customer support wasn’t very helpful explaining its Mimic protocol.