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Privacy & Logging Policy
Who is Avira Phantom Free VPN?
We examined Avira VPN’s logging policy in detail. Here is what it logs:
Data Type | Logged by Avira Phantom Free VPN |
---|---|
Browsing Activity | No |
Device Information | Yes |
DNS Queries | No |
Individual Bandwidth Usage | Yes |
Individual Connection Timestamps | No |
ISP | No |
Number of Simultaneous Connections | No |
Originating IP Address | Yes |
Account Information | No |
VPN Server IP | No |
VPN Server Location | No |
Date of Last Connection | No |
As you can see, Avira VPN logs sensitive data, including your original IP address. This is the one thing a VPN should definitely not log.
It also stores aggregated data on your bandwidth usage and information about your device.
This isn’t good enough and we recommend that you don’t use Avira Free if you want to protect your privacy.
Is Avira Trustworthy?
Avira launched Avira Phantom VPN in 2016, but the company itself has been around since 2006.
Even before then, Avira’s antivirus software was developed back in 1986 by its predecessor, H+BEDV Datentechnik GmbH, so the company has been around for a long time.
Avira currently has its headquarters “by the shores of Lake Constance” in Tettnang, Germany, but it also has offices in China, the Netherlands, Romania, and the US.
We advise steering clear of VPN services based in Germany. It’s part of the 14 Eyes data-sharing alliance, and is also subject to EU data retention laws.
Speed
Disappointing Speeds
We tested Avira’s free VPN on our 100Mbps baseline internet to see how it affected our speeds. Here are the results in full:
As the data shows, Avira Phantom Free is slow, especially compared to most other VPNs.
A speed percentage loss of 47% on local New York connections is considerable, more than we’d expect from a quality VPN.
Connecting into Canada we picked up hugely reduced speeds of 20Mbps. and in Australia 2Mbps. There are much faster free VPNs available, like Windscribe Free.
Server Locations
Lots of server available on mobile but not on desktop
Avira used to offer as many locations on its free version as it did on its paid version, before removing choice of servers for free users altogether.
However, our recent testing has found that Avira has reverted that decision on mobile. Free iOS and Android users once again have access to the full array of Avira servers – that’s a choice of 33 countries and 47 cities.
While there are premium VPNs which offer a far greater number, this is a terrific choice for a free VPN.
For Windows or macOS users, though, you can only connect to the nearest server.
Streaming
Poor choice for streaming
The free version of Avira Phantom isn’t brilliant for streaming, however we were able to access US Netflix and the UK’s All4.
We consider that to be the most important streaming library. That does appear to be the limit of its abilities, though, as it wouldn’t work with the Germany, Japan, or France libraries.
This only works on mobile, though, as on Windows and macOS it isn’t possible to select the US server.
Torrenting
Limited data for fast torrenting
There are no clear rules on torrenting with Avira Free, and there’s actually no mention of it on the website.
When we tried using the VPN to torrent, though, it worked really well. It only narrowly misses out on being one of our best free VPNs for torrenting.

We tested Avira Phantom on qBittorrent
The main drawback is the 500MB / 1GB data cap, which is only enough to download one or two files a month.
There’s also no kill switch though, meaning there’s a risk your IP address could be exposed during use.
Bypassing Web Censorship
Not a good VPN service for China
The free version of Avira Phantom is not a good VPN service for users in China, and it looks like that has unfortunately been the case for quite some time now.
One user took to Avira’s customer forums to let others know that they’d tested Avira Phantom with various ISPs such as China Mobile and China Unicom, and the VPN wouldn’t work while connected to any of them.
This is most likely due to the fact that Avira uses OpenVPN, which is very easily detected and blocked by government censors, and it has no additional obfuscation tools to hide your VPN connection in any way.
Take a look at our Best VPN Services for China for a comprehensive overview if you’re planning on connecting out from that country.
Security & Technical Features
Offers a basic level of security with no kill switch
Protocols | Available in Avira Phantom Free VPN |
---|---|
IKEv2/IPSec | No |
OpenVPN (TCP/UDP) | Yes |
WireGuard | No |
Encryption | Available in Avira Phantom Free VPN |
---|---|
AES-128 | No |
AES-192 | No |
AES-256 | Yes |
Blowfish | No |
ChaCha20 | No |
Security | Available in Avira Phantom Free VPN |
---|---|
DNS Leak Blocking | Yes |
First-party DNS | Yes |
IPv6 Leak Blocking | No |
Supports TCP Port 443 | No |
VPN Kill Switch | No |
WebRTC Leak Blocking | No |
Advanced Features | Available in Avira Phantom Free VPN |
---|---|
Ad Blocker | No |
Dedicated IP | No |
Double VPN | No |
Smart DNS | No |
Static IP | No |
SOCKS | No |
Split Tunneling | No |
Tor over VPN Server | No |
Tracker Blocker | No |
As a bare minimum we’d expect to see a VPN kill switch, but Avira Phantom Free doesn’t even provide one of these. This means that if the VPN connection were to drop without you noticing, your true physical location could be exposed.
One very good feature of Avira Phantom Free is that it operates its own VPN servers, and there’s also built-in protection against DNS leaks, which we found to be 100% effective in our latest tests.

The results we saw while connected to Avira Phantom’s free UK server
If you’re looking for loads of configurable settings to fiddle with, Avira Phantom isn’t for you, but it does a decent job at protecting you online – we really would insist on seeing a kill switch in the future, though. iOS users should also note that the iPhone and iPad app uses IKEv2 rather than OpenVPN.
Device & OS Compatibility
Works with most devices but not routers
Apps
Windows
Mac
iOS
Android
There are free Avira Phantom VPN apps for most popular devices, including:
- Microsoft Windows
- macOS
- iOS
- Android
Sadly, it isn’t possible to install Avira Phantom at router level, so you the only way to use it is to individually download and install it onto all of the devices you wish to protect.
The good news is that you can use Avira Phantom on as many devices as you want at the same time. Remember, however, that these all use data from the same stingy allowance of just 1GB per month, so be careful.
Browser Extensions
Chrome
Avira Phantom currently provides a free browser extension for Google Chrome users.
It’s really easy to install and add this to your browser, and it works in exactly the same way as the desktop and mobile apps.
Unlike the proxy extensions most VPN services offer, Avira Phantom provides a VPN extension, which encrypts all your browser traffic.
Ease of Use
Simple apps lack advanced features
How to Install & Set Up Avira Phantom Free VPN
Avira Phantom’s free VPN apps couldn’t really be any easier to use, regardless of whether you’re on mobile or desktop. Avira’s home screen is limited to an on/off button, your VPN server location, and the amount of data you’ve consumed so far.
You can view Avira Phantom’s full list of VPN server locations by clicking on ‘Nearest location’, but they are all labeled as ‘Pro’ and you won’t be able to connect to them. Clicking the ‘On’ button will connect you to Avira’s closest free VPN server.
Avira’s settings are behind the cog icon in the top right-hand corner. These are very minimal, though, and are pretty much limited to whether or not you consent to sending your diagnostic data to Avira.
Avira Phantom is a great free VPN solution if you’re just looking to click-and-forget, but it’s not a good choice for those who want a ton of configurable settings.
Customer Support
No personalized support for free users
Customer Support | Available in Avira Phantom Free VPN |
---|---|
24/7 Live Chat Support | No |
24/7 Email Support | No |
Chatbot | No |
Live Chat Support | No |
No | |
Email Support via Online Form | No |
Tutorial Videos | No |
Online Resources | Yes |
Avira Phantom’s free users are currently unable to access any personalized customer support. This means users with free VPN accounts can’t email or call Avira support agents unless they upgrade to premium subscriptions, which we unfortunately see all too often from free VPN services.
Avira Free users are only able to access the FAQs and ‘Educational Videos’ on the website – thankfully, these are fairly comprehensive and should cover most problems.
You’re also able to view questions and answers on the user forums, although these aren’t updated very frequently.
The Bottom Line
Avira Free is held back by its data cap
Since Avira Phantom Free is a safe and secure VPN, we can recommend it to users who don’t mind the drawbacks and want a free service, but it just doesn’t compare to premium services.
This VPN is especially good for torrenting, but its data cap really restricts how much you can download.
You also can’t do any streaming with this free service.
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User Reviews for Avira Phantom Free VPN
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