The internet is no longer as it should be. Hackers seeking to intercept your data make it increasingly dangerous; nosy snoops monitoring your activities make it less private; while government, ISPs and others restricting what you can do online make it less free.
Privacy, Anonymity, Security and Unblocking is what you need to get back the internet as it should be. Ivacy VPN advertises as a one-size-fits-all solution for your privacy, anonymity, security and unblocking needs.
Yes, Ivacy VPN is legit and safe. It is not a scam VPN service because they will never steal your money or credit card info. And you will be provided with the VPN services you subscribed for without a problem.
This Ivacy VPN review is aimed at x-raying Ivacy VPN to provide the information that’ll help you decide if Ivacy VPN is safe, legit or scam, and also if the service is really the one solution for the four diverse online needs.
Ivacy VPN is a VPN service provider founded in 2007. It is operated by PMG Private Ltd., the communication solutions giant based in Singapore.
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Note: Since you have nothing to loss, it will be a very good idea to register from this post so we can be able to assist you by getting in touch with them if you have any problem in the future. We have the power to force them into rectifying their faults. However, we cannot do anything if you try to trick the system. Just make sure you comply with their rules and regulations to make it easier for us.
As a VPN service, Ivacy create a secure link over a public network, encrypt your traffic and route it through the link. The encryption gives you security, as it ensures that your traffic cannot be read by third parties; and the rerouting gives you anonymity and privacy, as your traffic is seen as coming from one of Ivacy’s servers instead of from your device.
In its over a decade of operation, Ivacy VPN has shown that they are not content with simply grabbing existing technology to provide services. In 2010, their ingenuity lead them to develop a unique feature called Split Tunneling.
Ivacy VPN is 100% legit, and it is legal to use it everywhere except in lands where VPNs are outrightly banned, such as Iraq. Ivacy VPN has over two hundred thousand (200,000) customers. As long as you’re 18 years and above, you can be one. Before you finish this review, you might find that Ivacy VPN is a high-quality service at a budget-friendly price. If you do, you can visit their website (https://www.ivacy.com) and grab the service for your online protection needs.
Yes Ivacy VPN is legitimate. It is not a scam VPN service. It has been online for a very long time providing its services to all the customers without a problem. You will get exactly what you paid for and their payment system is very safe and secured.
Ivacy VPN provides over 275 servers in over 100 locations in about 52 countries around the world. The server count falls on the downside if you consider that many of the top guns in the VPN industry operate thousands of servers. However, when it comes to server locations, Ivacy is able to hold their own. Their 100 server locations, especially the 52 countries covered, is among the highest in the industry.
Does it matter? A robust server network consisting of numerous servers in numerous locations does matter. The more the server count and locations, the more opportunity you have to spoof your location; thus, it enhances your anonymity. Also, a robust server covering may countries, is good for unblocking, as more country-specific content can be unblocked.
The server network of Ivacy VPN, with its 275+ servers in over 100 locations, will serve all your location spoofing needs.
It’s important to examine the geographical distribution of the server network of a VPN; as we’ll see, this directly impacts performance. In this regard, Ivacy ticks the box. Their server network is widely distributed world wide.
It reaches five North America countries (the US, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica an Panama), and also five South American countries (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela). Oceania is represented by Australia and New Zealand; and Africa is represented by six countries that include Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Seychelles, and South Africa. Asia is represented by 17 countries (which includes China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, as well as Middles Eastern countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kuwait an Jordan). Europe also has 17 countries represented which include the UK, Austria, Belgium France, Germany, Sweden etc.
The server network is extremely impressive because it reaches every region of the world, even areas that ate often neglected by VPNs. Africa is one area you’ll not see the servers of most VPN services, but Ivacy covers the length and breadth of the continent. Also, in countries with repressive regimes (such as China, Russia, and the Middle East), many VPNs do not go near, while some that went have been forced to pack and leave; but Ivacy still operates servers there.
In fact, the only region of the Earth, you won’t find Ivacy servers is Antartica; but their coverage suggests that even Antartica will be covered the moment penguins have a need for VPNs.
The wide distribution of the Ivacy server network means that anywhere in the world you may be, you’ll always find a close server that you can connect to; and as you know, a nearby connection will give you better performance than a distant connection.
That said, the server network of Ivacy VPN is: more than adequate to mask your IP and give you anonymity; is excellent for unblocking, and is excellently distributed to give you close connections for optimal performance no matter where you are on mother earth.
Ivacy VPN has only one service plan that is differentiated using different billing periods. Thus, the features you have access to when you subscribe to Ivacy VPN is the same features every other subscriber gets; the only difference may be the duration of access to the service.
Ivacy has three billing periods, which forms their three packages – one month package, one year package, and two years package.
The one month package cost $9.95; the one year package cost $40.00, which breaks down to $3.33 per month; while the two years package cost $54.00, and breaks down to $2.25 per month.
The pricing model shows that the longer term deals are discounted such that the longer your commitment the more you save. The one year package is discounted by 66% and will save you about $6.62 every month; while the two years deal is discounted by 77% and will save you about $7.70 every month.
If you’ve checked other VPN reviews, you’ll find that Ivacy VPN is one of the cheapest VPN in the market (albeit in the long run). Usually, VPN services with single month subscription costing double figures are considered expensive. The price of the single month package of Ivacy VPN, at $9.95, is at the gates of the double figure. This means that if you need an inexpensive VPN service to get the short monthly package and probably roll it over, Ivacy VPN may not be ideal. However, If you want a VPN service for the long term, you’ll be hard pressed to find a service that’s more pocket-friendly. The two years deal of Ivacy VPN is a steal.
Paying for a VPN should be painless. If XYZ VPN does not support any payment methods that is available to you, you’ll most likely go hunting for another VPN that supports a payment method you can use, rather than go hunting for one of the payment methods supported by XYZ VPN. Therefore, its important that you consider the different payment options that a VPN service supports.
In this regard, Ivacy VPN ticks the box. They support a wide range of payment options. You can pay for your Ivacy subscription using PayPal and the popular credit/ debit cards (Master card, Visa, or American Express). You can also use PerfectMoney, AliPay, BitPay, and a host of crypto currencies. If you’ll rather use paymentwall, they support ClickandBuy, iDeal, DotPay, Neosurf, Mobiano, Visa Qiwi Wallet, and more.
If alternative payment method is a strong concern of yours, you’ll find joy in Ivacy VPN. Their support for crypto currencies such as bitcoin is very welcomed, as these options are psedo-anonymous payment options. The more regular options such as credit cards and PayPal will require you to submit personal information, and this information will be stored by the third-party payment processors. Some privacy conscious users frown at submitting personal data as part of a billing process; and will go for anonymous payment afforded by bitcoin and Co.
That said, Ivacy VPN is ideal whether you want the convenience of regular payment options, or whether you seek to make payment for your VPN service anonymously.
You’ll agree that it will be frustrating to pay for a service, and during use, you find out that it falls short of your expectations. Therefore, it’ll be welcomed if a service provider offers free trials so that you can test run the service, and determine if it’ll meet your needs before committing your resources to it.
Many VPN services offer such free trials. Unfortunately, Ivacy VPN does not offer free trials. However, they have a “money-back guarantee” which they suggest that you should take up to test-run the service.
If you find that a VPN does not meet certain expectations you had of it, you don’t have to be stuck with the service. Many VPNs ensure this by providing a money back guarantee, which allows users to request a refund of their payment if they do not like what they get after paying for a VPN service.
Ivacy also does refunds. Subscribers to the one month plan are given a 7 days money back guarantee, while other subscribers are given a 30 days money back guarantee. If you must request a refund; do so within 30 days (or 7 days for one month subscribers), and you’ll be given back your full payment.
The 7 days refund window is fair enough, as it is a quarter of the one month paid for; while a 30 days window is one of the most generous offers you’ll find in the industry.
However, as we’ve gotten accustomed to, generous offers do come with a bump or two. Some services will add clauses that will make a user ineligible for a refund. In the case of Ivacy VPN, you must not exceed 500MB bandwidth or 30 sessions.
This will come as a con to most users who like their refund policy free and unlimited.
The ideal VPN should work with different devices, so that no matter the device you use, you can grab the VPN service for your online protection needs. Therefore, it’s important to consider the range of devices that a VPN service supports.
Ivacy VPN came out in flying colours; the VPN service works on virtually all devices. You can use the VPN on popular operating systems such as Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. It also works with Linux, Routers, Roku, Kodi, BlackBerry, and Raspberry Pi. You can also use Ivacy to secure your SmartTV and Gaming consoles including Xbox, PS4 etc.
Typically, users have more than one device that may be in use at the same time, and having to buy multiple VPN accounts to secure their multiple devices may be cost prohibitive.
Therefore, it’s not enough that a VPN works on a lot of devices; it’s also important to consider how many devices can be connected at the same time and be protected with one VPN account.
Ivacy VPN allows up to five simultaneous connections on one VPN account. This makes the VPN even more price friendly, as you can share your one VPN account with friends or family, protecting up to five devices at the same time without extra charges. It is also one of the best offers you’ll find in the market; many VPNs don’t even allow simultaneous connections, while others allow about three connections.
Torrenting is connecting with different peers to download files from them in bits. It’s one of the fastest ways of downloading files on the internet. Users seek VPN for torrenting for many reasons; one is that connecting with peers can expose you to different risks, and another is that the files downloaded can put one at odds with copyright trolls.
However, not many VPN services allow torrenting. Also, amongst some that allow torrenting, the activity is heavily restricted to only a few servers. Therefore, a VPN that fully allows torrenting is highly regarded.
Ivacy VPN also comes out strongly in this regard. Torrenting is permitted. Granted, it is not allowed on all servers, but unlike most VPNs that’ll allow it on only a handful of servers, Ivacy VPN has more than enough P2P optimized servers.
Their P2P servers are located in the following countries: Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sweden, Turkey, UAE, Venezuela, UK, USA and Canada.
Ivacy VPN offers unlimited bandwidth; so you don’t have to worry about exhausting your data when downloading. With this, and P2P optimized servers in regions like the US, the UK and Canada, Ivacy VPN comes across as an ideal VPN for downloading torrents safely and anonymously.
Streaming services do not make their contents available everywhere. Most often than not, media contents are made geo-specific, where certain contents are available in some region and restricted in others. To stream any geo-restricted content, you’ll have to be present in the location where the content is made available. If you cannot be in certain locations physically to stream the location-specific contents, VPNs will place you there virtually.
With Ivacy VPN having a presence virtually everywhere in the world, the service will effectively unblock channels for you to stream anything from anywhere. You can stream and watch your favourite movies, TV shows, live sports, and much more.
When it comes to streaming, one of the biggest services is Netflix, so we test every VPN for Netflix compatibility. The streaming giant is also known for aggressively blocking VPN services so that the IP masking of VPN operation cannot beat geo-restrictions to give users access to restricted contents. Few VPN can still unblock Netflix, and these few are highly regarded by streaming enthusiasts. Unfortunately, Ivacy VPN did not give Netflix in our tests.
That said, with the excellent unblocking capability and unlimited bandwidth, Ivacy VPN will give you access to a lot of channels for your streaming pleasure; but if you want the vast library of Netflix, you might have to look beyond Ivacy.
Basically, VPN routes all your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to protect your data from hackers. However, while connected to a VPN and routing your traffic through a server in a foreign country, you’ll be unable to access LAN devices and local web services. Also, your bandwidth would be used when transmitting all data through the VPN.
With Split tunnelling technology, you can use a VPN and avoid some of these issues. For example, you’ll get foreign and local web services at the same time, you’ll download safely without affecting the speed of other web services, and more.
Split tunnelling accomplishes this by allowing you to route some of your traffic through the VPN, and others through your default connection (your ISP).
Ivacy VPN supports split tunnelling. It would interest you to know that they were the ones that developed the technology in 2010.
When you connect to a VPN, the IP address you are assigned is a shred IP, which means that it is also assigned to other users. This is great for anonymity as many users have the same IP, and it would be nigh on impossible to trace the activity to any one user. However, on certain applications, shared IP addresses can pose some problems. They can be identified and blocked. Also for security reasons, banking applications and similar platforms will block you when you try to access them with different IP addresses.
A dedicated IP address solves this problem, by assigning you an IP that will be used by you alone, to afford you seamless browsing. Ivacy VPN now offers dedicated IP addresses. However, it is an add-on that will cost you a token. Each dedicated IP cost $1.99.
Ivacy VPN supports a lot of VPN protocols. Some protocols give excellent security with functional speed, while others give better speed with weak security. So you can tweak your internet settings to suit your needs. The supported protocols are PPTP, SSTP, L2TP, OpenVPN and IKEv2.
The OpenVPN is regarded by all security experts as the most secure VPN protocol. It is open source; so has been picked for vulnerabilities, but none has been found. It’s also very configurable and provides good speed for the level of security it offers. If security is your concern, you should be using the OpenVPN.
The IKEv2 and SSTP are also very secure protocols. The IKEv2 is pretty much the best option for certain devices (like BlackBerry), while the SSTP is one protocol that can even help users punch through firewalls. The L2TP, when used over IPSec, is widely regarded as a secure alternative to the OpenVPN protocol. The PPTP is the only protocol amongst the bunch that is widely regarded as insecure; but because it offers fast speed, it can be desirable at times.
In terms of encryption, Ivacy VPN employs up to the unhackable AES 256 bit encryption. This is bank grade stuff, as it is the encryption standard used by the bath to secure their online data.
With the use of secure VPN protocols, and top notch encryption, Ivacy VPN will have your traffic wrapped up and secure, and it cannot be captured and read by third parties.
No piece of technology has a 100% uptime; so too are VPNs. Because of this, a VPN will suffer from occasional connection drop when you are using it.
This drop in VPN connection can compromise the security provisions of the service. This is because, with a connection drop, your data lose encryption and is exposed, together with your real IP address, and anybody watching can capture your location as well as online activity.
A kill switch prevents that by cutting off internet connection the moment your VPN connection drops, ensuring that you do not continue online without VPN protection.
That said, you’ll agree that a kill switch is a security tool that every VPN should feature. The bad news is that not every VPN has a kill switch, but the good news is that Ivacy VPN has a kill switch. Thus, when using this service for your online security, you need not worry about your security being compromised by a sudden VPN connection drop.
Even with excellent encryption and IP masking, a user can still have security and privacy compromised if the VPN service is leaking IP and/ or data. Therefore, a serious VPN should prevent security leaks.
We tested Ivacy VPN, and the service plugged all leaks including DNS leaks, IPv6 leaks, and WebRTC leaks. Thus, while using Ivacy VPN, you can be confident that your IP will not leak out to compromise your privacy.
The reasons for keeping logs are in sharp contrast to the reasons you’ll want a VPN. The former is so that things can be properly tracked; the latter is so that it’ll be impossible to track you. Therefore, it’s a no-brainer that a service that gives optimal privacy is that which keeps no log.
Almost all VPN services claim not to keep logs, and Ivacy VPN is no exception. Ivacy VPN says that in order to keep you secure and anonymous, they keep no logs whatsoever. They add that keeping logs is like breaching their own privacy policy.
The problem is that we’ve seen a lot of VPN services that have no qualms about breaching their privacy policy when it comes to log keeping. So where does Ivacy VPN stand?
First, know that Ivacy VPN collects some information. During sign-up, they collect your name, email address, and payment method. Also, they keep a record of all correspondence when you contact customer support. Collecting email address, payment methods and correspondence is almost standard practice in the industry; and you’ll be fine if you register with an anonymous email, pay anonymously, and do not contact support. However, it can be argued that collecting users’ names as part of the registration process is too much, and something that Ivacy VPN should put a stop to.
When it comes to the use of the VPN service. Ivacy VPN is truly a no log service. They strictly do not monitor or store users’ activity logs or connection logs. All your browsing history, outgoing traffic, data you access, DNS queries, messages sent or received and all other browsing activity remain your business. Also, your connections log such as the times you connect and disconnect from the VPN, your original IP address, the VPN IP assigned, bandwidth used and all such information are never monitored or logged.
When using Ivacy VPN there us no information that could associate specific activities to specific users. The only information they have are those provided during registration. Ivacy VPN pledge that this information will never be shared, sold or rented to third parties under any circumstances.
That’s some good news; but when it comes to law enforcement agencies, they’ll have little choice but to comply.
Every registered VPN service provider is a legal entity subject to a particular set of laws. Where those laws are privacy friendly, VPN users can be assured that their privacy will not be compromised. However, where there are unfriendly data retention laws, and overreaching government agencies knocking doors to obtain users’ data, the users need to worry about their privacy being compromised.
In the case of Ivacy VPN, the service is owned by PMG Private Ltd which is headquartered in Singapore. Singapore is neither regarded as a private haven, nor as an anti-privacy region. They do not have some of the alarming data retention laws that are prevalent in the US and some European lands.
However, Singapore raises some eyebrows among industry watchers and privacy-conscious VPN users. This is because Singapore is a partner of the Five Eyes surveillance (cum spy) alliance, which is dreaded in VPN circles. This alliance consist of five nations (which has now expanded to fourteen) that work together in intelligence (read as spying). Top secret documents have been leaked that reveals that Singapore played key roles in helping members of the alliance to wiretap undersea telecommunications links. Who says favours don’t get paid. If Singapore needs to obtain users data, even if local laws prevent them from doing so, they can call in their Five Eyes partners to do the dirty work.
Generally, using a VPN will knock down your network speed. However, you don’t want the knockdown effect to be too much, else your browsing speed will be unbearably slow. Therefore, when considering VPN services, you should look at the effect that the service has on network speed; and if speed is a concern, you should go for services that have little effect on speed.
We tested Ivacy VPN by hooking up to some server locations and recording download and upload speed, then we compared the average result to the speed recorded when the VPN is disconnected.
On average, Ivacy VPN reduced download speed and upload speed by 45% and 39% respectively. To put this in perspective; VPN services that reduce speed by 50% are considered fast. This makes the upload speed of Ivacy VPN very good, while they’re a foot back on the all important download front.
When using any service, there would need to reach out to the customer service. Therefore, it is important to examine the channels that a VPN service provides for contacting them, as well as the effectiveness of these channels.
For getting help, Ivacy provides some self-help articles in FAQs and guides. The FAQs are detailed and answer some of the questions that you will have about the service; while the guides are tutorials that Wi help you get started with the VPN on any of the supported devices.
If you’ll rather talk directly with a support rep from the company, Ivacy VPN provides three channels for that – live chat, email, or support ticket.
Using the email service via support@ivacy.com, or opening up a support ticket, is basically the same thing, as they will respond through your email address. It’s also impressive that Ivacy responds in only a few hours, and their response, at all times, seems well-thought, and most importantly helpful.
If you’ll rather not wait the few hours for the email/ ticket responses; you can use the live chat to get instant responses. It’s worth noting that the live chat is actually “live”; unlike some services that’ll put you in a queue and keep you waiting for an agent to come online, Ivacy agents are always ready and answer submission almost immediately.
Customer support is one area that breaks many good VPN services; but with Ivacy VPN, all support channels churn out timely and helpful assistance, making their support service one of their shining points.
Ivacy advertises as being the one solution for four diverse online needs – Security, Privacy, Anonymity and Unblocking.
With secure VPN protocols and rock-solid AES 256 encryption, they really keep your data secure. With a large server network, you can mask your IP and be anonymous. With an internet kill switch, leaks protection, and zero-logging, you’ll have optimal privacy. With 100+ server locations in 52 countries, they really do unblock a host of geo-restricted content for your streaming pleasure.
There are other features to like about Ivacy VPN. The service works with virtually every device, they support five simultaneous connections, there are many servers optimized for P2P activity, split tunnelling is supported, they offer dedicated IP address, speed is good, customer service is prompt and helpful, and the price is great.
On the whole, Ivacy VPN is a high-quality service at a budget-friendly price. However, there are a few things not to like. Their refund policy has a few bumps, they don’t give Netflix, they collect name for account registration, and they are located in a jurisdiction that’s in bed with the Five Eyes spy network.
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