Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a software that was created to protect your online privacy. A VPN creates a secure connection between you and the internet. It provides you with an extra layer of privacy.
VPN allows you to: hide your internet activity and location to avoid being tracked (especially on public WiFi networks), overcome online censorship and freely browse the internet and torrent safely and anonymously with no speed throttling.
7 free VPNs
ProtonVPN Free
Proton VPN is supported on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
Servers countries: 3
Data limit: Unlimited
24/7 Live chat support: No
No monthly data limits!Surprisingly full feature set
Great on the privacy front
Speed throttlingLimited support
Hotspot Shield Free VPN
Supported on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Servers available: 1
Data limit: 500MB per day
24/7 live chat support: No
Most of the premium version features
Easy-to-use
Simple to set up
Only one server
Possible stability issues
Hotspot Shield has the same ‘military-grade encryption’ that most premium VPNs talk about.
Windscribe free
Super secure with a generous data cap
Supported on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
Server countries: 11
Data limit: 2-10GB per month
24/7 live chat support: No
Sterling privacy policy
Easy to start and use
Speeds are sometimes inconsistent
Windscribe doesn’t store connection logs, IP stamps, or visited sites; when you’re actively connected to a server it stores your username, the server you’re connected to and the amount of data transferred, but this is erased within three minutes of the session ending.
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TunnelBear
Supported on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Servers countries: 20+
Data limit: 500MB per month
24/7 live chat support: Yes
Really user-friendly
Both mobile and desktop clients
Decent speedsMeagre data limit
Not many options or settings
TunnelBear might have something of a cutesy design, but it’s a serious free option, especially after its acquisition by security giant, McAfee. There are free and paid-for subscriptions to choose from. The major restriction with the free plan is that you are limited to 500MB of traffic each month.
Speedify
Secure, speedy and with lots of servers
Supported on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
Servers available: 50+
Data limit: 2GB per month
24/7 live chat support: No
Nifty performance boosting tech
Solid on the privacy front
The software has few low-level controls
Speedify, as the name suggests, has one main aim as a free VPN provider: to ensure that while you benefit from encryption, your internet connection remains as speedy as possible.
Hide.me
Supported on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Servers available: 5
Data limit: 10GB per month
24/7 live chat support: Yes
Strong on privacy
No adverts or speed throttlingLimited to one device
Hide.me offers both paid and free VPN providers, with the latter giving you 2GB of data per month to play with. There are other limits too: you can only connect a maximum of one device and are limited to five server locations (including the US and a Canada VPN) rather than the 50+ locations paying subscribers get.
Express VPN
Private VPN
Demerits of VPN
Your connection speed will take a small hit
It takes time for your data to travel, and when you’re connected to a VPN, it has to travel a little further to reach the VPN servers.
Privacy
Untrustworthy VPNs could have access to your browsing activity, sell your browsing data to third-parties or have access to your online activities.
Some websites block VPN users
Some websites check your IP address against a list of known VPN server IPs when you log in. If there’s a match, they will block your connection. You can overcome this by connecting to a different server in the same region.
