PrivateVPN Review

Here’s a list showing some popular streaming services that PrivateVPN works with:

PrivateVPN recently removed its dedicated streaming servers from its app. When we contacted it, a representative from PrivateVPN told us that this is because “all servers now work for streaming.”

We found this to be false, though, as PrivateVPN sometimes failed to unblock certain services using a server from the main server list.

When this happened, we had to connect to one of its dedicated IP servers. The IP address you get from these will be exclusive to you, making it harder for streaming services to identify and block you. While these servers worked every time, they aren’t available in every location.

One major downside to using PrivateVPN for streaming is its poor device compatibility with TV-connected devices. Though it has an app for Fire TV and Android TV, it doesn’t have a Smart DNS feature for Apple TV and games consoles. Plus, there’s no router app to use it on Roku and Chromecast devices.

Streams US Netflix & Many Other Regions

Testing all of PrivateVPN’s servers with Netflix, we found that 22% of servers work with the streaming service.

In all, this means the VPN unblocks 14 Netflix libraries. Of all the 55 VPNs we tested, only Windscribe could stream more Netflix regions than PrivateVPN.

The streaming performance between regions varied significantly. Connecting to Japan and Ireland, our video constantly buffered and would only display in SD. Video quality in other regions, including the US and Canada, was much more impressive.

To access US Netflix, you’ll have to connect to the New York location from the dedicated IP server list. All the US servers we tested from the main server list didn’t work.

At least one PrivateVPN server could stream US Netflix in our tests.

Unblocks US Streaming Platforms

PrivateVPN also accesses every popular US-based streaming site. Using it, we bypassed geo-blocks on HBO Max, Hulu, YouTube TV, and Prime Video.

Unlike with Netflix, all of PrivateVPN’s US servers worked with these content platforms. Videos loaded almost instantly and displayed in HD.

PrivateVPN streamed HBO Max on all of its US servers.

Works Well with BBC iPlayer

Despite having just two UK server locations, PrivateVPN has always worked with BBC iPlayer over years of testing. Both live and on-demand content loaded instantly and streamed in the maximum resolution.

Even many other top VPNs for BBC iPlayer, including ExpressVPN and HMA, sometimes fail to unblock the service. PrivateVPN’s performance here is excellent, especially given its low price.

Both of PrivateVPN’s UK servers work with BBC iPlayer.

In addition, we connected to PrivateVPN’s UK servers to stream Sky Go, ITVX, and Now.

Hides Kodi Activity from Your ISP

PrivateVPN’s superb streaming performance makes it an excellent choice for using Kodi, Stremio, and all other free streaming platforms.

Using its app on Fire TV, we streamed content from services like Crackle and Pluto TV. Each time, our connection didn’t drop and all our activity was concealed from our ISP.

PrivateVPN works well with all Kodi add-ons.

Here’s a summary of all the data that PrivateVPN logs:

PrivateVPN is based in Sweden, which is ordinarily not a great location for user privacy. However, PrivateVPN’s no-logs policy means that it is unable to provide any information about its users, even if it was forced to comply with the Swedish government.

The only information that PrivateVPN retains is your email address, which is only used for logging in to the service. PrivateVPN confirmed to us that this is not linked to your activity in any way. This level of privacy is typically reserved for more expensive services.

One drawback, though, is that PrivateVPN doesn’t use diskless VPN servers. As these servers don’t contain storage devices, connecting to one removes the possibility of logging data altogether. We’d like PrivateVPN to add these soon.

Logging Policy Is Verified Through Real-World Tests

PrivateVPN is one of the few VPN services that has had its no-logs privacy policy verified by a real-world case. The VPN has been unable to give away user data, despite being asked by law enforcement on several occasions.

Although not known publicly, we have seen documents showing that, due to its no-logs privacy policy, PrivateVPN has always been unable to comply with law enforcement requests for user data.

We do not condone any illegal activities performed while using a VPN, but these real-world cases act as a trustworthy and practical test for a VPN’s logging practices.

Failed to Disclose Data Gathering on Free Trial Users

Our research found that PrivateVPN previously logged the IP addresses of users signing up for its free trial. PrivateVPN told us these IP addresses were securely stored in a “dummy database” and linked to “no other data.”

Although this type of logging was done privately and only to prevent abuse of its free trial, the problem is that PrivateVPN did not disclose its logging anywhere.

To its credit, after we raised this issue with PrivateVPN, it swiftly changed its behavior. The VPN no longer tracks the IP address of new free trial sign-ups.

To maintain fair and unbiased speed testing, we measured our internet speeds before and after connecting to PrivateVPN servers around the world. We performed a series of tests over several days and then took the average numbers from each.

PrivateVPN is fast on nearby servers.

Here are the results we recorded when connecting to PrivateVPN servers in various locations:

As you can see, PrivateVPN’s short-distance speeds are impressive. We recorded a speed of 95Mbps, which matches the performance of other top VPNs that cost a lot more.

However, the reductions in speed much larger than expected when connecting to some far-away servers. Our download speed dropped by 39% connecting to South Africa and 24% connecting to Australia.

To prevent server congestion, the other VPNs listed above have 10Gbps servers in more locations and have server networks much larger than PrivateVPN. We’d like PrivateVPN to address both of these issues in a future update.

Here’s a quick summary showing how PrivateVPN performed in our torrenting tests:

We tested PrivateVPN with various torrent clients, and each time we were able to download a torrent file without any interruptions. You won’t have any trouble downloading large files like movies, music, and software.

PrivateVPN performed well in our torrenting tests.

Although torrenting is allowed on all of its servers, we recommend you only connect to a location from the ‘Dedicated IP’ server list.

These servers are owned and controlled by PrivateVPN, unlike all other servers which are rented from third parties. This allows for an additional layer of control and security, which is essential when it comes to keeping torrenting activity private.

Additionally, these servers allow all ports to be forwarded automatically, so you don’t have to configure it manually. This allows PrivateVPN to be faster than many other VPNs for torrenting.

To show this, here’s a comparison table showing PrivateVPN’s performance compared to other leading torrenting VPNs when downloading a 20GB torrent file:

PrivateVPN is one of the most reliable VPNs to use in China. We found it works around 82% of the time. Other top VPNs, like NordVPN and Surfshark, have a China uptime of just 5% and 18% respectively.

PrivateVPN works reliably in China.

Obfuscates Traffic Using the Shadowsocks Proxy

To bypass web censorship using PrivateVPN, you’ll have to enable Stealth VPN in the VPN app’s settings.

Despite being branded as a bespoke PrivateVPN protocol, Stealth VPN routes traffic through the open-source Shadowsocks proxy. Shadowsocks is not unique to PrivateVPN and is available from many other VPN services. It’s simply not as safe as custom VPN obfuscation tools.

In contrast to PrivateVPN, VPN services like Astrill have developed proprietary technology for bypassing censorship. These don’t rely on proxies and are a safer option if you regularly connect out from China.

Use the table below to see if PrivateVPN includes the VPN protocols, encryption ciphers, and technical features you want to use:

No Option to Connect Using WireGuard

PrivateVPN is the only product in our top 10 rated VPN services that doesn’t use WireGuard or a proprietary VPN protocol. WireGuard is a safe open-source protocol that’s capable of much faster speeds than alternatives.

Instead, PrivateVPN uses OpenVPN, which is a slower and older VPN protocol. Most other premium VPN services no longer use OpenVPN as their default, so we’d at least like PrivateVPN to add WireGuard as an option.

OpenVPN is the only secure protocol that PrivateVPN offers.

Strong Encryption Secures Web Traffic

You can rely on PrivateVPN to encrypt your data and keep your online activities private and anonymous.

The VPN’s website claims that the very strongest encryption methods are in use — including the AES-256 cipher and 2048-bit RSA handshake. To verify this claim, we analyzed the VPN connection logs. We discovered that PrivateVPN’s encryption and security are tough.

In short, these protocols work together to ensure your data is kept safe, secure, and private.

PrivateVPN securely encrypts all network traffic.

Dedicated IP Servers Prevent Unauthorized Access

All of PrivateVPN’s apps come with a separate tab allowing you to connect to ‘Dedicated IP’ servers. Unlike most other VPNs, this feature doesn’t cost extra and is included with every subscription.

When you connect to one of the servers, your IP address will not be shared with any other user. As the IP address is exclusive to you, these servers are excellent for bypassing streaming geo-blocks. These IP addresses are still dynamic, too, so you will get a different IP when you reconnect.

PrivateVPN owns all of these servers, with none rented from third parties. This makes these servers excellent for privacy and security, as it removes any additional intermediaries that are responsible for your data.

PrivateVPN’s dedicated IP servers are more secure than its other servers.

PrivateVPN’s dedicated IP servers are one of the VPN’s main strong points — allowing tighter security and more reliable streaming. However, the VPN does not promote these servers anywhere, nor does it provide guides to educate users about their use. We’d like to see it focus on these more in the future.

Kill Switch Prevents IP Leaks

PrivateVPN has a kill switch for Windows and macOS. It’s not enabled by default, though, so make sure to have it turned on within the ‘Connection Guard’ tab of the settings menu.

To test the effectiveness of PrivateVPN’s kill switch, we performed several tests using our kill switch testing tool. This checks for IP address leaks while we manually disconnect the VPN.

When our connection dropped, PrivateVPN’s kill switch worked flawlessly and our true IP address did not leak.

However, we did discover that PrivateVPN’s app leaked our IP address when changing servers. Worryingly, the VPN app does not show an error message to warn you this will happen.

After we recently disclosed this vulnerability to PrivateVPN, a representative stated that a “dedicated developer has been assigned to address this leak as soon as possible”. Although it’s still faulty at the time of writing, we’re pleased PrivateVPN has shown an urgent willingness to fix it.

PrivateVPN’s kill switch doesn’t work correctly when you connect to a new server location.

Leaks IPv6 Addresses on Linux

Our research found that PrivateVPN leaks IPv6 addresses on Linux. Although its standard VPN apps come with IPv6 leak protection, this is absent from the Linux software.

This is a serious privacy issue that should be fixed as soon as possible. In the meantime, you’ll have to disable IPv6 from the Linux system settings.

Running on Ubuntu, PrivateVPN leaked our IPv6 address.

Technical Features We’d Like to See

PrivateVPN lacks many technical features we expect from a paid-for VPN service. Here are some features that PrivateVPN should add in a future update:

Other leading VPNs, like NordVPN and Surfshark, include all the features we’ve listed above. To match them, PrivateVPN needs to add these features to its apps as soon as possible.

You can get help from PrivateVPN in the following ways:

Despite being operational 24/7, its live chat is not always available. After reaching out to the company for an explanation, we were told that there are very few customer support agents, so the live chat system is shut down temporarily if there is a large queue.

This is extremely poor for a top VPN service. 24/7 customer support is now an expectation for paid-for VPNs and, if not, then live chat is always available during set times of the day.

In addition, some PrivateVPN support agents are more helpful than others. Some agents are very knowledgeable, prompt to respond, and courteous. But others are very ill-informed, misunderstand queries, and are slow to reply.

PrivateVPN’s live chat is not available 24/7.

If live chat is unavailable, your question will be forwarded to PrivateVPN’s email support. This email support runs 24/7 and, in our testing, we frequently received a reply within an hour.

The email support team is generally more knowledgeable than the live chat staff, so make sure to contact them if you have a more advanced query.