VPN 360 Review

VPN 360 is an extremely basic free VPN with custom apps for iOS and Android. It doesn’t offer the necessary security features to be considered a reliable privacy tool, and its logging policy is vague and contradictory. You can only connect to the US server, and performance varies dramatically from iOS to Android – a mind-boggling difference of over 70Mbps.

It’s not a good option for streaming fans, gamers, torrenters, or those in high-censorship countries. While customer support claims that it’s incorporated in the US, our independent investigation found the company to be registered in Hong Kong, with links to mainland China. You can read more about this in our Free VPN App Investigation.

While the iOS app reached very impressive speeds of 75Mbps down and 82Mbps up, the Android app struggled to hit 3Mbps down and 1Mbps up. While iOS users – even those located far from the US – should be delighted with these speeds, Android users won’t be able to do much more than general web browsing.

When we reached out to VPN 360 about this, a member of the support team told us: “We are going to take a look at this particular issue since both versions use similar servers.”

No matter where you are physically located, free users of VPN 360 are restricted to just one server location, which is in the US. This is bad news for those connecting out from Europe, Africa, and Asia, as performance will take a hit. It also limits the geo-specific content you can access.

While this isn’t mentioned on the app stores, the 10 other server locations listed within the apps are clearly marked as ‘Premium’. For a top-choice free VPN that offers 10 locations we would recommend Windscribe.

VPN 360 offers custom apps for iOS and Android but the apps appear to be owned by different companies. The Apple Store lists the company as Infinity Software Co. but the Google Play store shows that it is owned by Touch VPN.

When we contacted the company, we received a confusing reply: “We are not currently partnered nor we own Touch VPN, but we would be pleased to have a partnership with Northghost in the future if we have the opportunity.” You can read our separate review of Touch VPN here.

There are no manual workarounds for other devices, so if you want to protect a desktop computer, games console, or streaming device it’s best to find one VPN that offers solutions for all your needs.

Streaming fans and torrenters shouldn’t use VPN 360. We couldn’t access Netflix while connected, and watching BBC iPlayer is made impossible since there are no available UK servers for free users.

While torrenting is permitted we wouldn’t recommend anyone uses it for that purpose due to a lack of security features.

VPN 360 doesn’t mention the security tools it uses in its app store entries, nor in its privacy policy. You can toggle between IKEv2 and IPSec (L2TP) within the iOS app but the Android app chooses between the two automatically, according to customer support.

While OpenVPN is our preferred protocol for its balance of performance and privacy, both protocols used by VPN 360 are secure enough. Our only gripe is that they are closed-source, meaning that there is no way to disprove any speculated backdoors and vulnerabilities.

Encryption is via AES-256, for L2TP at least – a cipher considered near-unbreakable. VPN 360 is yet to give us information about the encryption used for IKEv2 connections.

VPN 360 doesn’t offer any privacy extras. There’s no kill switch, an important feature that prevents IP address leaks by blocking internet traffic if the VPN connection drops. It also relies on third-party DNS servers, which could suffer from security flaws, or even belong to your ISP, as we found to be the case during our tests.

A good example of a free service that doesn’t compromise on security is ProtonVPN.

VPN 360 isn’t a reliable option for getting past China’s Great Firewall as it offers no obfuscation tools to hide that it’s a VPN. Firewall censors do a good job of blocking VPN traffic but there are still solid options for those connecting out from the country – you can take a look at our recommendations for China here.

The poor level of security on offer also makes it a bad choice for those in other high-censorship countries.

We were surprised to find that VPN 360’s privacy policy is hosted on two different platforms, one for each app. The Apple Store directs you to a Zendesk-supported website under the name of Infinity Software, and the Google Play Store to a free WordPress domain using the VPN 360 name. Both policies are identical.

Like many VPNs, VPN 360 claims it doesn’t collect any information about the websites you visit or DNS requests while connected to the VPN. However, it performs real-time analysis of data traffic including destination websites and your IP address (both originating and VPN). This is far from ideal but it’s not stored beyond your VPN session, so isn’t too concerning.

The policy also states that it doesn’t ‘collect any data stored on or transmitted from your device’, but goes onto say that it collects ‘information about the device you use to access our services, including the hardware model, and operating system and version’.

VPN 360 also collects connection metadata, including:

• Aggregate bandwidth usage
• Connection timestamp (date and time)
• VPN IP address

According to the policy, the above information is used for troubleshooting purposes and for maintaining the service. It states that the data is ‘not retained once the troubleshooting is resolved’, but this is far too vague for our liking.

VPN 360’s country of incorporation is not clear within the privacy policy or terms of service. A member of the customer support team told us that it falls under the US jurisdiction, which is a huge red flag for privacy considering its intrusive data laws and international intelligence-sharing agreements.

However, our independent research found the company to be registered in Hong Kong, with links to mainland China. This is even more concerning for user privacy. We are awaiting clarification from VPN 360 on the matter.

It’s also not reassuring that VPN 360 is willing to “collect and disclose personal information, including your usage data, to governmental authorities or agencies . . . at their request or pursuant to a court order, subpoena or other legal process.”

VPN 360 is very easy to use for the most part but we did receive a few ‘Connection Failed’ errors on the Android app. While this was frustrating, it’s reassuring that the app clearly warns you if there is a connection issue, and we successfully connected shortly after. Usability is also hindered by intrusive pop-up ads.

The main screen is stripped back to a connect button, with your chosen server location displayed in the top left. You can access the full server location list from by tapping the downward arrow next to the current location. Aside from the free US location, the other 10 locations are clearly marked with ‘Premium’, tempting you to spend your money on an app you definitely shouldn’t pay for.

The iOS app gives you the option to toggle between protocols, but the Android app lacks any kind of settings, leaving you in the dark about which protocol is being used.

Aside from the free WordPress blog that hosts its privacy policy, VPN 360 doesn’t have a website. The app stores also lack any important information about the product, excluding details about protocols and encryption used. If you have any questions about the apps or run into any issues, you won’t find answers online.

Thankfully, VPN 360 offers email support, using the popular customer support platform Zendesk, which automatically responds to requests and issues a ticket. After several hours of waiting, we received a comprehensive reply to our questions. While this is better than nothing, it doesn’t compare to some of the other free VPNs we’ve reviewed – you’re treated to 24/7 live chat with Hide.me.

We don’t recommend using VPN 360, even if it is free. It’s extremely easy to use, but that comes at the detriment of security and privacy. The logging policy contradicts itself, and the deeper you dig the more concerning it gets.

Performance was baffling, with surprisingly quick speeds on iOS that drop to a standstill for Android users. Watching Netflix and BBC iPlayer isn’t possible, and being restricted to the US server puts limitations on accessing geo-specific content. Email support is good for answering general questions, but that’s only a minor positive.

If you are looking for a reliable free privacy solution, VPN 360 isn’t it.