Private Internet Access

We measured our connection speeds before and after connecting to a Private Internet Access server in London, close to our physical location.

Here are the results:

We recorded a percentage speed loss of just 2% — an incredibly fast result. This is the type of performance you can expect if you’re connecting to a US server from within the US.

International Speed Test Results

Long-distance connection speeds were less impressive, but still fast enough for most activity

We connected to servers in the US, Australia, Germany, and Singapore from our London office, measuring our speeds before and after.

As expected, the servers located furthest from our office in the UK recorded the largest speed losses.

We recorded an average speed loss of 74% when connected to Japan and 34% when connected to Singapore. This level of speed loss is not unusual for long-distance connections, though, but it’s not up to the standard we expect from PIA.

More positively, we found that PIA’s speeds are consistent and reliable.

We did not experience any unexpected drops in performance and found that connection times were consistently quick.

If you want the speediest option, find the fastest VPNs in 2024 in our dedicated guide. In short, if you are planning on using a VPN primarily for long-distance connections, it might be worth considering ExpressVPN or Hotspot Shield.

All our VPN reviews use the same scientific speed-testing process, and we always use the VPN’s fastest protocol to keep tests fair and consistent.

PIA VPN’s privacy policy states outright that all user activity is “NOT recorded, logged or stored at all.”

This commitment to privacy makes it a rare outlier among competing services that often collect some form of connection data.

Private Internet Access does collect your email address and payment details at sign-up, which is standard practice.

Excerpt from the no-logs PIA Privacy Policy.

Regular Transparency Reports

PIA also releases regular transparency reports that detail the number of requests for data it has received from government agencies.

Server Seizures

As we mentioned above, the VPN’s no-logs policy has been externally verified on several occasions.

The FBI subpoenaed PIA in a 2016 court case, but despite receiving an official data request, PIA simply had no information to hand over.

The Russian government also seized PIA servers in 2016 but did not find any retained connection or activity data.

PIA subsequently removed all of its servers from Russia in protest to this incident. A bold move we want to see more VPN service providers follow.

While there is no independent audit to verify PIA’s privacy and security offering, these court cases are real-world tests supporting the company’s logging claims.

Based in Privacy-Unfriendly USA

PIA is headquartered in the United States, which is widely considered to be one of the worst places to base a VPN company.

The US is a founding member of the Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance, which has automatic systems in place to collect and share surveillance data with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK.

The Patriot Act also gives US authorities sweeping powers to collect and retain data, especially through the use of National Security Letters.

We typically discourage using a VPN based in a Five Eyes country like the US. However, a verified no-logs policy can offset most issues posed by an invasive government.

After multiple real-world verifications, we are confident that PIA’s privacy policy and logging practices can withstand its privacy-unfriendly jurisdiction, and you can trust this VPN with your data.

Who’s Behind Private Internet Access?

In November 2019, Kape Technologies acquired Private Internet Access from London Trust Media Inc. (LTMI), a company with an established history in creating privacy tools, including PIA VPN in 2010.

At the time, the acquisition of PIA garnered a some controversy.

The bulk of the backlash stemmed from Kape’s past activities in the advertising space when it was known as Crossrider. We discuss more about this in our CyberGhost VPN review.

On the whole, PIA VPN has always gone above and beyond to champion digital privacy, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t trust this established VPN.

Equally, Kape is determined to move on from its Crossrider days and is doubling down on its commitments to privacy and internet security. It now operates three trustworthy VPN services, including CyberGhost and Zenmate, with a combined VPN subscriber base of over two million users.

How Private Is Private Internet Access Compared to Other VPNs?

We’ve collected quantitative data on five private VPNs. In the table below, you can see how PIA compares to other VPNs on key metrics, such as logging policy and jurisdiction.

PIA supports OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2, and L2TP/IPSec protocols with the option to choose between UDP and TCP connections.

The default setting protects your connection with AES 128-bit encryption, but we recommend you select the AES-256 cipher in the settings interface.

There is built-in protection against IPv4 and IPv6 leaks, DNS leak protection, and a VPN kill switch on all platforms.

Our tests detected no IP, DNS, or WebRTC leaks in any application.

Private DNS Servers

PIA also owns and operates its own private DNS servers, which means your DNS requests are resolved by Private Internet Access rather than your ISP. The apps are flexible, too – the Windows client can also be set to use any custom DNS of your choice.

For extra security, PIA controls its own network of DNS servers.

Highly Customizable Encryption

Unlike a lot of VPN services, PIA gives you detailed control over the algorithms and protocols used to encrypt your data.

Adjusting your encryption settings is useful for optimizing performance and configuring the VPN to suit your security needs.

The default settings protect your connection with OpenVPN and AES 128-bit encryption. You can step up the encryption type to AES-256 (CBC or GCM) in the settings menu.

You can also choose the encryption level used for data authentication and the VPN handshake. These processes allow your device and the server it is contacting to verify the authenticity of the connection and the data being transmitted.

The default settings are for RSA-2048 and SHA-256, but you can go all the way up to RSA-4096 and SHA-384.

The PIA app allows you to fine-tune your encryption and security settings.

In short, PIA offers the strongest encryption available along with the option to choose the settings that work best for you.

The most secure settings aren’t selected by default, though, so we recommend changing them to the following configuration:

• VPN Protocol — OpenVPN UDP
• Data Encryption — AES-256 (GCM)
• Handshake — RSA-2048

Advanced Security Features

Private Internet Access also comes with a range of advanced security features designed to improve your web experience.

PIA’s advanced features include a VPN kill switch, split tunneling, an ad-blocker, a private browser, and SOCKS5 encrypted proxy. Here’s what all that means:

VPN Kill Switch

A kill switch prevents your IP address from leaking in the event of a dropped connection. This is an essential feature for any premium VPN service.

PIA’s kill switch works on all of its platforms including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Many top iOS VPN apps don’t feature a kill switch, which makes PIA a rare exception.

There are three separate kill switch modes: Off, Auto, and Always. The “Auto” setting will block outside traffic when the VPN is on, while “Always” prevents you from connecting to the internet prior to the VPN app launching. Sadly, the “Always” option is only available on Windows and macOS.

Split Tunneling

Split tunneling allows you to exclude certain websites and applications from the encrypted VPN tunnel.

You can therefore give let certain services continue using your standard internet connection. This helps retain functionality with devices on your home network, such as your printer or Smart Home.

Split tunneling is available on PIA’s Windows, Mac, and Android apps, and it’s located in the ‘Network’ section of the desktop app’s settings. It’s not available on iOS at all.

PIA’s split tunneling feature worked in all of our tests.

We tested PIA’s split tunneling setting by using apps that break if they don’t have access to the local network. We selected some apps to ‘Bypass VPN’ while all other apps were configured to ‘Use VPN’, and everything worked well.

PIA MACE

PIA MACE is a DNS-based malware and ad blocker found in the ‘Privacy’ section of the app’s settings. This feature blocks access to domains that are commonly known to host ads, trackers, and malware.

But, MACE is not a very good ad blocker. You can’t white list certain domains, or adjust the filter settings: it is simply On or Off.

The Private Internet Access app includes an ad blocker.

The inability to whitelist certain URLs means you have no choice but to keep the feature on, which ends up breaking certain websites.

Our testing also showed that MACE did not block as many ads as other ad blockers we have tested, an issue that has been reported several times by PIA users.

Shadowsocks Protocol

Shadowsocks is an open-source encrypted proxy that can be selected directly from the app’s interface.

Users will require a different username and password to use the SOCKS5 proxy, which can be generated from the Client Control Panel.

Open-sourced Apps

All of PIA’s desktop applications, mobile clients, and browser extensions are open-source.

In simple terms, this means that absolutely anyone can view the applications’ source code, study how the apps are written, and contribute themselves by fixing errors and making code improvements.

There are very few VPN services that have chosen to open-source their apps, with Proton VPN and IVPN being the most notable.

Leak Test Results

PIA comes with built-in protection against IPv4, IPv6, and DNS leaks. DNS leak protection is enabled by default on the macOS app, but has to be manually enabled on the Windows app.

We can confirm that the desktop and mobile apps do not leak. We tested for IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks, and our real IP address in London was consistently protected.

PIA’s VPN apps concealed our true IP address.

Private Internet Access is simple to install and easy to use on all platforms, but you could still require some assistance.

Live chat is initiated from the bottom-right corner of the official website. You are then asked to input your account details, like your email and account ID, before connecting to a support agent.

PIA’s verification check allows you to save time and swiftly resolve your query.

By removing the need for a lengthy authentication procedure with the support agent, you get the answer to your query as soon as possible.

PIA’s knowledgable customer support team was able to answer all of our questions.

There is also a large, searchable online knowledgebase with articles covering troubleshooting, account problems, technical complications, and more.

The website’s guides section has articles covering setup and tutorials for all supported platforms. It should cover most general issues you might have with the app.

There is also a news section covering app updates, service issues, and more.

You can also contact a member of the support staff on the website’s ticket request system. While this system does work and users tend to report positive experiences, you won’t always get a fast reply. It’s also only available from 11 am to 7 pm (EST) on weekdays.