VyprVPN Review

A few years ago, VyprVPN’s logging policy far exceeded what we considered reasonable. It used to collect your real IP address, newly assigned IP address, timestamps, and bandwidth usage for 30 days.

It then implemented a strict no-logs policy under Golden Frog’s leadership. However, this is no longer applicable as the VPN is now owned by Certida, a Texas-based company.

The new owners moved operations to the privacy-unfriendly US, removed its VPN privacy policy, and replaced it with a generic, auto-generated privacy policy for the website — not for the VPN service.

We contacted VyprVPN for clarification, and disappointingly discovered it doesn’t plan to release a new privacy policy, logging audit, or transparency report anytime soon.

You should never trust a VPN that uses an auto-generated privacy policy. You should also never trust a VPN that doesn’t list out exactly what it logs and how long for.

We reached out to VyprVPN to ask why there isn’t a privacy policy for the VPN service. A Certida representative replied:

There’s no specific policy for no-log as it clearly means nothing is logged. I guess we could write a longer statement but we don’t see the value.

In reality, a lot of no-logs VPNs collect some sort of data, whether it’s a username and password or aggregated bandwidth data to reduce server load. A lack of transparency about this is extremely worrying and almost unheard of from a trusted VPN.

VyprVPN does have some privacy initiatives that we like to see, though. Its VPN servers are all self-hosted and operated internally, meaning they aren’t rented by a third party. This makes VyprVPN less vulnerable to third parties interfering with the company’s logging practices.

2018 Logging Policy Audit

VyprVPN was one of the first VPNs to commission an independent logging policy audit in 2018, addressing the issues that were identified promptly.

However, 7 years have passed since that audit. Unlike other VPNs that conduct yearly logging policy audits, VyprVPN’s next audit is long overdue.

Given the significant change in ownership and jurisdiction during this time, there’s a possibility that VyprVPN has completely changed its logging practices.

Without a new audit, there’s no way to tell whether VyprVPN is still a no-logs VPN.

VyprVPN’s streaming capabilities have improved over the years. It can now unblock several major streaming platforms, which it could not do just two years ago.

However, it still doesn’t compare to top tier VPNs like ExpressVPN and NordVPN when it comes to streaming.

Tested: VyprVPN Doesn’t Work with US Netflix

VyprVPN only unblocks two Netflix libraries: Canada and Germany. This is extremely poor compared to some of its rivals, like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, which both unblock at least 15 Netflix libraries — including US and UK content.

Netflix detected VyprVPN and refused us access to the platform.

There are better VPNs that work with Netflix. Some can unblock 32 Netflix regions, like we found in our Windscribe tests.

VyprVPN Unblocks BBC iPlayer

Historically, we’ve struggled to stream BBC iPlayer using VyprVPN. However, the newest apps currently work well.

VyprVPN gets around BBC iPlayer blocks.

All of its UK servers worked, which is no easy feat considering many other mid-tier VPNs struggle to stream BBC’s video player.

We were also able to stream Channel 4 content using VyprVPN’s UK servers, but it failed to access ITVX.

VyprVPN Doesn’t Stream Hulu

Our most recent tests confirmed that VyprVPN still isn’t able to stream Hulu.

Hulu detected VyprVPN and blocked us from logging in.

Nevertheless, we are glad to see its streaming capabilities improve somewhat over time, as we are now also able to stream Max and US Disney+ with VyprVPN.

In our speed tests, we connected to VyprVPN servers in five different continents. We usually test across six continents, but VyprVPN doesn’t have a server in South Africa.

We use a 100Mbps internet connection, designed to be similar to your baseline speed at home.

Here’s a table showing VyprVPN’s speed test results:

VyprVPN has consistently fast speeds, with minimal speed loss of just 4%. As long as you have a stable internet connection, you shouldn’t have any speed issues.

While global speeds have been a past weakness for VyprVPN, this is clearly no longer the case. On all connections across continents, we recorded speeds of above 76Mbps.

We saw the biggest speed loss when connecting to Australia, but this is to be expected as the server is further away.

To put its performance in context, you can see how VyprVPN’s local speeds compare to other top-tier VPNs in the table below:

As you can see in the chart above, VyprVPN holds up extremely well against the fastest VPNs on connections in the US. It’s one of the fastest VPNs on the market and can be relied on for streaming, torrenting, and casual browsing.

But if fast long-distance speeds your priority, there are faster VPNs available.

Low Ping for Gaming (But Only On Nearby Servers)

Local ping times of 7ms are decent for gaming, but not good enough to be a top-rated VPN for online gaming.

We were able to play Fortnite lag-free with VyprVPN, but we had to use a local server.

We also wouldn’t recommend using VyprVPN to game on a long-distance connection. We recorded an average 128ms ping time on international connections and 76ms connecting to the UK.

VyprVPN automatically uses the WireGuard protocol on every platform, which is fast, secure, and open-source. Previously, the VPN used to automatically enable IKEv2 on mobile and OpenVPN on desktop.

VyprVPN also offers a NAT firewall to block any unrequested traffic coming into your device when connected to VyprVPN.

Not all of VyprVPN’s apps have the same advanced security features, though. For instance, VyprVPN’s iOS app doesn’t feature a kill switch and its PC client has a Public WiFi Protection option that’s not available on Mac.

VyprVPN’s security settings as they appear on its Android app.

The macOS app also has split tunneling and a malware blocker, which isn’t available on the Windows app.

VyprVPN Owns its Entire VPN Server Network

VyprVPN owns and operates all its VPN servers. Having almost no third-parties involved is one of VyprVPN’s biggest selling points as it is extremely rare for a mid-tier VPN to offer a self-hosted VPN server network.

This is better than most providers but still not as good as ExpressVPN and IPVanish, which use first-party DNS servers.

Furthermore, VyprVPN advertises itself as completely eliminating third-parties, when actually it still uses third-party DNS servers as an endpoint, like a majority of other VPNs.

It’s nonetheless a strong step towards privacy by design, as it eliminates the security risks associated with renting VPN servers.

Trustworthy Kill Switch Stops IP Address Leaks

VyprVPN offers a kill switch Windows, macOS, Android, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV — but not on iOS. In our kill switch tests, VyprVPN successfully prevented our real IP address from leaking.

It worked when our connection dropped altogether, and also when we switched servers from France to Greece. During these windows of time when our real IP could be leaked, VyprVPN successfully blocked our internet traffic.

VyprVPN passed our kill switch test on macOS.

Remember to manually turn off the VPN kill switch if you want to reconnect to the internet without VyprVPN connected.

VyprVPN Passed Our IP Address, DNS, & WebRTC Leak Tests

Our IP and DNS leak tests proved that VyprVPN is leak-proof. When connected to a VyprVPN server, our IP address appeared under German addresses, and our true IP location was never exposed.

On macOS, VyprVPN successfully masked our IP address.

VyprDNS uses a DNS relay system to prevent your DNS query from being associated with VyprVPN, and prevent websites from knowing you’re using a VPN.

When we tested for VyprDNS’ servers, it showed us the last DNS server in the relay was an Amazon DNS server.

A partial leak test, showing Amazon DNS servers instead of VyprVPN’s.

As you can see above, the DNS servers aren’t showing as VyprVPN, or its owners Golden Frog and Certida.

VyprVPN clarified in an email that before your DNS traffic reaches any public DNS servers it is routed through a DNS proxy, fully anonymizing your traffic.

This isn’t quite the same as total end-to-end elimination of third parties, as VyprVPN seems to be leasing third-party DNS servers, but it’s still as close to it as possible without alerting websites that a VPN is being used.

Secure AES-256 encryption

We used Wireshark, a packet-sniffing tool, to inspect traffic being encrypted by our VyprVPN connection.

A Wireshark scan while connected to VyprVPN showed all traffic was encrypted.

Our tests showed that VyprVPN successfully encrypted web traffic. The unintelligible text in the screenshot above is exactly what anyone attempting to hack your connection would see while you use VyprVPN.

Technical Features We’d Like to See

Compared to some of its rivals, VyprVPN is lacking some key technical features. Here’s a list of some features we’d like to see introduced:

The choice of 700+ servers in 73 cities and 64 countries is quite average, compared to ExpressVPN’s 3,000 server count and NordVPN’s 7,150 server count.

It’s not remarkable, but it will be enough for most VPN users in Europe, Asia, and America.

The choice of server locations in Africa is limited to just Algeria and Egypt. This is an unfortunate oversight, but it’s also a common issue in the VPN industry.

VyprVPN offers few city-level server locations

We’re also disappointed by the lack of city-level servers. VyprVPN only offers city-specific choices in two countries: the United States and Australia.

VyprVPN’s US servers are located in:

• Austin
• Chicago
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Washington D.C.

Servers in Australia are located in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, which is great for Australian users.

A majority of VyprVPN’s servers are not city-specific.

Unusually, there’s no city-level choice in Canada. If that’s important to you, head over to our list of top Canada VPNs.

Clarity is clearly a priority in all VyprVPN’s apps. The simple and uncluttered desktop apps are incredibly easy to set up and use.

Choosing a server location couldn’t be simpler, either, and VyprVPN keeps all the advanced options you may want to change in one place, clearly explained in plain language.

On all major platforms, you can search for specific servers, sort servers by distance, and see ping (ms) for each server.

In this section, we’ll describe our experience using VyprVPN on every major platform, and how exactly the applications differ from each other.

Desktop & Laptop (Windows & Mac)

VyprVPN’s desktop apps are user-friendly and look almost exactly the same — though split tunneling is only available on macOS. The option to adapt settings and switch servers can be found in the bottom bar.

On both platforms, VyprVPN uses WireGuard by default, which is one of the safest protocols. You can also use OpenVPN, IKEv2, and VyprVPN’s obfuscation protocol called Chameleon.

The customize tab reveals a set of useful features, from toggles like public WiFi protection and a kill switch to more complex controls for DNS, VPN protocol, and TAP Adapter settings.

In Startup Options, you can set the app to launch or connect to a server automatically after turning on your device. On Windows, ​​you can customize the notifications you receive, which is a great feature.

However, some users on Windows 10 and 11 have reported unusually high strain on CPU when running VyprVPN, which can eat into battery life and device performance over time.

Mobile (iPhone & Android)

VyprVPN’s iOS and Android apps are as intuitive and easy to use as the desktop versions. The app homepages have the same layout, with a navigation bar at the bottom. We’re also glad to see that both iOS and Android apps use VyprDNS by default.

The Android app has a lot of the same features as the desktop apps. We’re disappointed to see VyprVPN’s iOS app is more sparse. It doesn’t offer split tunneling or an all-important kill switch.

The only features absent from the Android app are TAP adapter controls and a malicious site blocker. VyprVPN also offers an .APK for you to sideload directly onto your device.

We’re pleased to see WireGuard is the automatic protocol on mobile, as well as the option to use the Chameleon protocol.

Linux CLI

We’re disappointed to see that VyprVPN doesn’t offer a Graphical User Interface for Linux, which makes an app look like an app. Instead, VyprVPN offers an awful Client Line Interface.

This makes using VyprVPN on Linux complicated and time-consuming. In comparison, Private Internet Access and ProtonVPN offer fully-featured Linux VPN apps that are straightforward to use.

VyprVPN’s CLI is much less accessible than a full GUI.

Another drawback is that VyprVPN on Linux doesn’t support WireGuard, though you can use OpenVPN. You can also install VyprVPN on Linux using OpenVPN setup.

Fire TV & Android TV Apps

VyprVPN’s apps for streaming devices differ in user interface from the other apps on offer. This is a good thing considering the difference between using a TV remote and a touchscreen or mouse.

However, we found installing the Fire TV app frustrating and time-consuming. Since the app was removed from the Amazon store, we’ve had to sideload a previous version.

VyprVPN’s customer support assured us through email that their app is being reviewed again by Amazon, but until it’s been approved, this is a poor solution.

It’s not user-friendly and there are much better alternatives if you frequently use a VPN on Fire TV.

We followed VyprVPN’s instructions for sideloading its Fire Stick app.

Its Android TV and Fire TV apps are missing some features. They have WiFi protection for unsafe networks and a kill switch – both great features – but nothing else.

This isn’t a surprise — VPN apps for streaming devices tend to be fairly limited.

Uniquely among the VyprVPN apps, the smart TV app has an option for both AES-128 and AES-256 encryption (the other apps only offer the more secure AES-256).

VyprVPN claims the AES-128 encryption option can be faster, but we wouldn’t recommend using it as it is less secure than AES-256, which has become the industry standard.

VyprVPN’s kill switch and first-party VPN servers are great additions, both of which protect your real IP address during file-sharing on Windows and macOS.

Having said that, VyprVPN’s torrenting speeds aren’t the fastest and there is no support for port forwarding, either. This is a real surprise given how fast the VPN is when handling typical web traffic.

If you’re a devoted torrenter then you may prefer to use a VPN that’s more suited to P2P activity, like Private Internet Access.

We tested VyprVPN on qBittorrent.

We also found an isolated incident of someone being flagged for DMCA violations while using VyprVPN in 2022. In this case, however, it seems the user didn’t configure VyprVPN and qBittorrent properly.

What this revealed is that it’s possible to receive a DMCA when connected to VyprVPN if you don’t configure the app properly. We’re also reluctant to recommend the VPN for any P2P activity when it does not have a clear and transparent privacy policy.

If you’re a frequent torrenter, it’s worth checking out better VPNs for torrenting.

You can use VyprVPN on the most common mobile and desktop devices. The service has dedicated VPN apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.

But there are some features that aren’t available on specific platforms. Here’s a table showing the main differences between VyprVPN’s apps:

You can have up to 30 simultaneous connections with VyprVPN, which is better than most top-rated VPNs, including ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Private Internet Access.

VyprVPN has a Fire TV Stick app, but it was recently removed from the Amazon store. In order to install the app, you now have to sideload a previous version of the app, which is unnecessarily complicated.

It also has an Android TV app — great for the Xiaomi Mi Box, Sony Smart TVs, Nvidia Shield, or Razer Forge TV box. But this isn’t a unique offering. Other high-quality VPNs like ExpressVPN and Surfshark also offer Android TV apps.

You can also sideload VyprVPN’s apk file into Android devices not compatible with VPN applications.

If you want to use VyprVPN with devices that don’t take native VPN apps, like PlayStation and Xbox, we recommend using a VPN that has a Smart DNS tool.

VyprVPN used to offer a native Tomato router app. However, this was disappointingly discontinued in 2023. Considering that VyprVPN was one of only two VPNs to offer a native app, this is a disheartening move.

We suspect it might be the result of a recent change in ownership of VyprVPN from Golden Frog to Certida.

VyprVPN’s used to offer a browser extension. However, this was removed from the Google Chrome Store in February 2023 and there are no plans for it to be re-added. When we contacted customer support, they recommended we use the desktop apps instead.

Chameleon Obfuscation Protocol

VyprVPN uses its proprietary Chameleon Protocol to beat censorship in highly-censored countries, such as Russia and Turkey. It doesn’t unblock websites reliably in China, but it might work in other regions. The protocol is available on Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS.

VyprVPN used to work in China, but lately it’s been very inconsistent. In our China VPN tests, we found it only had a 3% success rate in the past year.

You can find VyprVPN’s obfuscation protocol in Customize > Protocol.

This VPN protocol is specifically designed to bypass aggressive censorship and VPN blocks in countries like Turkey, China, and UAE. It’s currently available with every VPN server, too.

VyprVPN’s Chameleon protocol works by scrambling the metadata of each OpenVPN packet, preventing it from being identified through Deep Packet Inspection (DPI).

This should allow it to avoid detection from governments, ISPs, and other network administrators like your employer, school or university.

Underneath the obfuscation technology lies the unmodified OpenVPN protocol, with tried and tested AES-256 encryption. This means you can overcome censorship without sacrificing security.

The latest version of the protocol, Chameleon 2.0, has additional compatibility with Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS devices.

Great Customer Support

VyprVPN has great online resources with detailed guides and a 24/7 live chat support. It also provides more help to international audiences than many other VPN services do. We would like to see VyprVPN’s support agents be more well-informed and stop sending scripted responses.

Getting in touch via the 24/7 live chat is by far the best way to get help from VyprVPN. You can request a human immediately, and we’ve never encountered a queue of more than two people.

We found the quality of responses are hit-or-miss, though. We’ve seen some frustratingly scripted and confusing responses to our queries.

VyprVPN’s live chat is sometimes helpful, other times confusing.

Compared to other top VPN services, VyprVPN’s online resources are great. It has an organized, easy-to-navigate help center, full of guides on how to set up VyprVPN on your device, FAQs, and how to manage your account details.

We are also glad to see VyprVPN has online support resources in multiple languages:

• Chinese
• Dutch
• English
• French
• German
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• Turkish