ProtonVPN Review: How Good Is It? A Free, Safe & Effective VPN

ProtonVPN Review

VPN services have recently become popular for their ability to protect your privacy and identity online. Whether you are looking for a VPN to browse the internet privately and anonymously or want to watch your favorite show on a streaming service, there are so many options available in the market that it can be difficult to pick the best one.

ProtonVPN is a high-rated VPN client that comes loaded with all the features and functions you need for a secure browsing experience. In this review, we take a closer look at ProtonVPN and try to learn more about its safety and effectiveness to help you decide if it is the right VPN for you.

ProtonVPN Review – UPDATED 2022

A service offered by the makers of ProtonMail, ProtonVPN guarantees solid protection, anonymity, and safety features for users.

It is headquartered in a privacy-friendly country of Switzerland and has strict logging policies and transparency reporting in place to ensure optimum privacy of customers. It offers a large number of servers located across about 55 countries in the world, giving you access to all the best content existing on the internet.

ProtonVPN offers several affordable pricing tiers in addition to the free plan. The speeds and features you get with this service depend on the plan you select.

The free version lets you can connect to 23 servers in three countries and enjoy medium speed. This is, however, an excellent way to test the service offerings to decide if you want to commit to the paid plans.

Features

ProtonVPN offers clients for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Chromebooks and can also be configured to use on a Linux machine.

The application is designed to be slick and user-friendly with easy access to all the features and functionality. Let us look at some of the most impressive features it offers.

Kill Switch

ProtonVPN includes a Kill Switch that halts the connection when the link to your VPN server gets disconnected.

This feature ensures that your information doesn’t get exposed even when a server malfunctions. The switch also blocks the traffic when the VPN is switching between servers so that your privacy remains intact.

Split Tunneling

With this feature, you can send a part of your traffic through the VPN and the other through a normal connection.

Split Tunneling would help you watch Netflix in your home country while browsing the web with the VPN.

NetShield

The paid plans give access to Proton’s adblocker, NetShield to protect users from websites hosting malware, trackers, and ads by preventing them from being loaded on the browser. This feature not only improves the loading speed but also keeps the device clean.

Secure Core

This is a double VPN feature where the connection from your device goes to a VPN server which then connects to another server before reaching the destination.

The first VPN server is a Secure Core server located in a privacy-friendly country for better security. This feature adds an extra layer of encryption and security to your data but the extra step can reduce speeds.

Quick Connect

This icon on the application connects you to the fastest available server automatically and allows tweaking the setting.

You can change the server type or country you want the app to connect you to by pressing the Quick Connect button.

Profiles

ProtonVPN also allows using custom connection profiles by specifying the protocol, color, country, and server type. This feature saves you from the hassle of adjusting multiple settings manually every time you want to use the service.

Pros

  • Great transparency
  • Advanced privacy features
  • Free version available
  • Unblocks streaming services
  • Offers open-source applications
  • Support for torrenting
  • Money-back guarantee

Cons

  • No live chat or phone support
  • Somewhat on the expensive side
  • Mediocre server network

ProtonVPN Speed and Performance

Using a VPN service generally improves latency and reduces upload and download speeds. With ProtonVPN, you can expect decent speeds though it slows down at long distances. While it can sometimes exhibit outstanding speeds, it slows down the connection significantly at other times.

With this provider, the connection speed depends a lot on the pricing tier you choose. The Basic plan is faster than the Free version and the Plus is better than the Basic in terms of speed.

ProtonVPN offers impressive performance with its large number of servers located across the world. It can be used to unblock a variety of streaming services including Netflix, ESPN+, Disney+, BBC, YouTube, and Amazon Prime.

You can use the service with Android TV, Roku, Kodi, and Amazon Fire Stick. The VPN client is easy to use on most operating systems and offers apps for desktop and mobile.

The app interface is user-friendly, intuitive, and easy to navigate. All the server options are displayed on the left pane with the status of your connection on the top.

Once you connect, your current IP address, speed, session length, and volume are also displayed. All the features can be easily located and adjusted. You can also see a map on the right marking the locations with ProtonVPN servers.

Is ProtonVPN Safe?

This VPN provider is as safe and secure as other high-end services, thanks to the powerful AES encryption and tunneling protocols. The military-grade encryption ensures that nobody can intercept to see what you are doing on the internet. The service makes use of multiple tunneling protocol options including OpenVPN and WireGuard to establish a connection between your device and the servers.

The company keeps all its applications open-source so developers can easily inspect the code to verify its safety. Moreover, the privacy policy promises no logging and denies any collection of user data. None of the user traffic is logged and whatever you do is private to you. ProtonVPN also invests in third-party security audits and provides all the audit reports on the website for easy access.

ProtonVPN Summary – How Good It Is?

Overall, ProtonVPN is one of the best VPN services available as it packs some of the most powerful features and options. It is a great choice for streaming as it allows unblocking Netflix with even the free version. It also makes a good option for torrenting with P2P file sharing and no logging.

Boasting a proven, reliable privacy policy and an impressive company background, ProtonVPN is an ideal option for those who are serious about online privacy and security and looking for a high-quality VPN and competitive prices.

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