Private Internet Access Review
Private Internet Access review tells you if Private Internet Access VPN is legit safe or scam.
Private Internet Access VPN complaints, good and bad feedback also reviewed. So, if you are looking for the best and unbiased Private Internet Access VPN reviews, you have come to the right place.
Private Internet Access is the leading VPN Service provider specializing in secure, encrypted VPN tunnels which create several layers of privacy and security providing you safety on the internet. Their service is backed by multiple gateways worldwide with access in 31+ countries, 51+ regions
Private Internet Access definitely needs no introduction. Even if I didn’t know what a VPN is, I still would know that Private Internet VPN is ‘something’ that will make my internet activities private.
Yes, what you do online is not private. For one, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can see virtually everything. There are other prying eyes out there. Add hackers and cyber fraudsters to the list, and you will soon realize that seeking online privacy is not a luxury but a necessity.
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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.
VPN means Virtual Private Network and is a service to provide online safety and privacy. VPN gives your online privacy and security by encrypting your traffic and replacing your IP address with one of their own (which changes your location).
Private Internet Access VPN is one of many providers of VPN services and a very popular one at that. How do they fare in delivering the promise of online privacy and security? This review will answer that question.
As of writing this Private Internet Access VPN review, the service is legit. In fact, Private Internet Access VPN is one of the most popular VPN services online. If you have been using a VPN, then there are chances that you must have heard of Private Internet Access VPN. Although Private Internet Access VPN may be legit, that does not mean they do not have their own defects. Below, we have gathered some of the Private Internet Access VPN complaints and feedback for you to go through, and to help you make the right choice.
“Reliable connection. Great protect. Absolute privacy. The ideal VPN. No hidden policies here or hidden there – most private and secured VPN I could find anywhere. 10/10 the only VPN I would recommend.”
“I have been running PIA now for over a year (just resubscribed for 2 years). It has been absolutely rock-solid on my router, laptop and phone. Speed has been great and support has been prompt and reliable. Very happy with the service.”
“Very satisfied with my PIA-VPN. I am a novice so I don’t mess with advanced settings. One thing I can say is, I can always hook up with a basically local connection my state. I did try another VPN but it always hooked up with a service way north and it was slow. This VPN is fast and I only required tech assistance one time and my problem was solved. I would recommend PIA to family and friends.”
“I don’t have any qualms with the service, however, I will make a note in this review that PIA(Private Internet Access) isn’t very clear on all of the features and how to actually use it. For a solid hour, I was trying to wrap my head around why it wasn’t starting or connecting to a server, it wasn’t until I hit the taskbars show hidden icons button did I see private internet access and how to connect to other servers and configure the service. Other than that service is an amazing VPN and deserves all of its support.”
“support is nearly impossible to contact or get a response from
after a recent application update, my log-in information no longer is valid
the support ticket form asks questions that I do not know the answers for.
super frustrated”
“Handsdown the best VPN service I ever used.
Some are cheaper, some are more expensive – but from my experience, none of them come close to the reliability of the servers or even the apps of PIA. I’m using PIA on Mac, Windows and iOS and have never had a better experience with any other VPN. The apps just work and don’t randomly crash and the servers always reconnect after sleep or restart but never did so without me wanting them to disconnect. I’m happy to be aboard. :)”
Setting Up and Use:
After signing up, you will get a mail that contains links to the VPN clients for the various supported platforms. Private Internet Access VPN takes a few minutes to download and install. After installation, you will need to input the login information sent to you via email.
Private Internet Access VPN comes with an interface that is as basic as basic can be, it exits literally at the background. On Windows, you can select the PIA robot icon from the dashboard to connect. The PIA robot icon is red when you are not connected to the VPN and green when you are connected. Server selection is also very simple. The settings page opens many exciting options. It allows you to select VPN protocol, adjust encryption levels, enable the kill switch, enable ad and tracker blocker, turn on DNS and IPv6 leak protection, and much more.
Simultaneous connections:
Because individuals typically have multiple devices that they wish to secure with a VPN service, the number of simultaneous connections that a VPN allow is one feature that users look out for.
Private Internet Access VPN allows five simultaneous connections with one license. This is a good number to serve your multiple devices, and even to include the devices of spouses or children. Also, the industry average for simultaneous connections is five; and Private Internet Access VPN outperforms a lot of VPNs that allow only 3 simultaneous connections.
However, with some VPNs, if you need to connect more devices, you can pay a token to get extra connections. But with Private Internet Access VPN, you have to purchase another license and get five more connections.
Supported Devices:
One way to get PVN coverage for more devices is to use a VPN on routers. By so doing, you will get VPN protection for all devices connected to the router.
Private Internet Access VPN is compatible with Tomato or DD-WRT routers, and they provide detailed instructions to help you with the installation. They also offer preconfigured routers. Also, PIA VPN has a client for the major operating systems – Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, and also online browsers.
Ad blocking:
Adblocking came on board as a ‘beyond VPN’ feature added to the VPN as a perk simply to enhance browsing experience. Well, that was then. Now, the ad-blocking feature is fast becoming an important privacy feature.
Granted, pop-ups can ruin the online experience by preventing you from enjoying contents and slowing internet speeds, but they can do much more such as redirecting you to a malicious website and compromising your online privacy and security. It is no wonder that VPN users want to see ad-blocking features. Private Internet Access VPN has a feature called MACE. It blocks ads, trackers and malicious websites.
Torrenting:
Not all VPNs allow torrenting; and some of those that allow torrenting restrict the activity. PIA is one VPN that allow torrenting. However, they do not have specialized P2P servers (as you will see with some of the top VPNs); BitTorrent is allowed on all the servers of the Private Internet Access VPN
While some users would argue that not limiting P2P to specific servers makes for more convenience; others will argue that having optimized servers for the activity makes for the better torrenting experience.
Streaming:
Sadly, Private Internet Access VPN is among Netflix casualties. Netflix is aggressively blocking VPNs from accessing its content, and only the very tough VPNS still allow access to Netflix. You cannot use Private Internet Access VPN to watch Netflix contents; it also was unable to access BBC iPlayer. Thus, Private Internet Access is not the ideal VPN for unblocking streaming sites.
Private Internet Access VPN has over 3533 servers in 31 countries. This is one of the best server counts in the VPN world; only two or three other VPNs can lay claim to having more servers.
Considering that many self-acclaimed “best VPNs” operate only ±200 servers; 3533+ servers will make PIA the best of the bests.
However, Private Internet Access VPN can do better with their servers’ geographical coverage. PIA currently covers only 31 countries; which is about as many countries as covered by the VPNs with ±200 servers. For example; Private Internet Access VPN has no servers in Africa and has also shied away from restrictive locales like China. I will like to see Private Internet Access to go to Africa.
Private Internet Access VPN offers an array of VPN protocol which includes the OpenVPN protocol, the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), and the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP/IPSec). The OpenVPN being open source has been tested for vulnerabilities and remains the most secure; it also optimally balances security with speed.
The encryption of Private Internet Access VPN is very solid; they use 256-AES cypher, with SHA 256 for authentication, and an RSA 2048 encryption for handshakes. Private Internet Access VPN allows a lot of customizing of the encryption levels that advanced users will love. For example, the encryption level of the handshakes can be increased to RSA 4096.
Private Internet Access VPN has a zero log policy. They say that they keep no log of users’ activity or connections.
It is all too common to see VPNs claiming not to keep logs, and this is matched by an equally growing concern that some VPNs might be keeping log against their no-log policy.
Log keeping by VPNs can compromise privacy; because when pressured, the logs can change hands and can be used to identify particular users. It is therefore important to determine if a particular VPN claiming not to keep logs actually do not keep logs.
Private Internet Access VPN’s no log policy has been tested in court twice; and both times, the policy came out with flying colours. In one of such test; a Florida district court issued a subpoena to Private Internet Access VPN owners (London Trust Media), but no useful information was revealed about the particular user because none was stored. The only information that was provided is that the cluster of IP addresses used was from the east coast of the United States. Needless to say, that was useless to the FBI.
VPNs are beginning to give users more anonymity by trimming down the amount of personal information required for the signing up process.
Private Internet Access VPN is one of the front liners in this respect. All that is needed to sign up is a valid email account. PIA generates an eight-character username which you will use for logging in, and send it to you via the email address you supplied. The username cannot in any way be used to identify any particular user.
All the effort to use a VPN to encrypt traffic and spoof location can come to nothing if sensitive information is leaking through security holes. The leaked information can effectively define your actual location and even track your activity over the internet.
Private Internet Access VPN supports both DNS leaks and IPv6 leaks protection. The DNS leak protection and IPv6 leak protection can be found and enabled in the advanced settings page of the PIA VPN client. The VPN also passed all privacy leak tests.
The Kill switch is becoming an essential ingredient of the privacy provisions of any VPN. This is because it is one solution to preventing your traffic from being in the open when the VPN disconnects.
The kill switch senses when the VPN is about to lose connection and immediately cut off internet connection; this prevents you from being online without the protection of the VPN.
Private Internet Access VPN has a kill switch feature. This is what users want to hear. However, kill switch features are increasingly having customizable options. For example, you can customize it to cut off all internet connection, or you can set it to kill only certain apps. Unfortunately, the kill switch of Private Internet Access VPN does not allow such customizing; enabling it cuts off all internet connection.
Private Internet Access is owned by a company called London Trust Media Inc. Do not be deceived by the name, it’s a full-fledged American company. Private Internet Access VPN is American, located in the state of Indiana in the U. S. of A.
For many reasons, the U.S. is not one location that users will want a VPN to be located. The U.S. is a member of the five eyes countries (an agreement between five countries to work together in the gathering and sharing of intelligence).
The U.S. is home to the CIA and the FBI, and these organizations have a questionable past when it comes to surveillance and intelligence gathering. The U.S. has a host of data retention laws; and has just passed a law that effectively permits ISPs to collect and sell individuals browsers history to third parties.
The government can issue warrants to VPNs under its jurisdiction (and subject to its laws) and force them to reveal sensitive user data, while at the same time issuing them gag orders that prevent them from saying anything.
Private Internet Access VPN did excellently well on the speed front. When connecting to nearby servers; download and upload speed drops recorded was insignificant 5 – 6%. But taking the average performance of nearby and far servers tested, PIA recorded a drop of 32.3% for download; and a drop of 41.7% for uploads. These are excellent performances that cause PIA to stand on the speed medal podium. Also, on average, PIA increased latency by 146.1%. While this is not a bad result, it would affect the gaming experience. If you want to use VPN for gaming, there are VPNs with better latency performance.
Private Internet Access VPN is one VPN that does not dilute its service. You will not see a Private Internet Access VPN premium or a Private Internet Access VPN basic. There are no plans with more advanced features for higher-paying users. Private Internet Access VPN has just one plan with three billing options – monthly, annually or biennially (every 2 years).
The monthly subscription cost $6.95; the annual subscription costs $39.95 which comes to $3.33 per month which gives a 52% cost saving; while the two-year subscription cost $69.95 which comes to $2.91 per month which gives a 58% cost saving.
Private Internet Access VPN follows the VPN industry trend by offering generous discounts for long commitments. The 2-year subscription is their best value deal, and at $2.91 per month is one of the cheapest VPN services in the market. Private Internet Access VPN monthly plan at $6.95 is also very cheap considering that competitors have high monthly plans of over $10.00. You cannot see a cheaper VPN that offers as much as Private Internet Access VPN. If you are on a budget, Private Internet Access VPN is a good quality VPN service for you.
Private Internet Access VPN supports many payment methods such as credit cards, PayPal. Using these methods will make the billing operation very convenient for the user; however, these methods entail the submission of personal information.
Private Internet Access allows you to pay anonymously using bitcoins, cash and gift cards (such as Starbucks, Walmart and Best Buy). This will greatly enhance your anonymity.
Private Internet Access VPN does auto-renewal of accounts, especially accounts purchased with the regular payment methods. This means that when your subscription expires, you will be automatically subscribed to the same package and charged accordingly.
Users who do not want their subscription to be automatically renewed have to cancel the account before it expires; and upon such cancellation of an account, the account will remain active for d duration of d period that was paid for.
Some will argue that auto-renewals make for convenience, as it saves you the time and effort to have to sign up for a new account.
However, unsuspecting users who didn’t want to renew will be hooked and charged. Such users will tell you it is an unpleasant user experience to have to take active steps to opt-out of a service. Personally, I like the idea of allowing a contract to run out, and simply walking away.
Also, I did not like that despite stating almost every other thing clearly on their website, this auto-renewal matter is conveniently confined to the fine prints of their ‘terms of service’ and does not receive any mention anywhere else.
Private Internet Access VPN does not offer free trials. Not even the short free trial sessions (3 hours, 24 hours) given by some other VPNs. The purpose of a free trial is to help users eliminate the risk that the service will come short. PIA VPN position seems to be: “there are no such risks, so why to give a free trial”
With no free account or free trials on offer; if Private Internet Access VPN did not give a money-back guarantee, they would have come out as “money-grabbing” and without concern for customer satisfaction.
Fortunately, Private Internet Access VPN gives 7-days money-back guarantee; which allows users who are not satisfied with the VPN service to request a refund of their payment. The request must be made within d first 7 days of payment and should be submitted using the online ticket support service or the e-mail support service.
However, payments made using gift cards are non-refundable. This is to be expected as gift cards are anonymous payment methods which leave no traceable trail to you; thus, there is no way the money can get to you.
Private Internet Access VPN provides regular support systems consisting of self-help resources and contact. If you are the type that loves solving the problem by yourself, the knowledge base will prove helpful. The knowledge base has a FAQs section which treats basic questions relating to signing up for and managing an account.
The knowledge base is exhaustive; there is a technical section that, as its name suggest, contains a lot of technical articles to get you through the common problems encountered in using the PIA VPN client. There is a ‘guides’ section which holds detailed tutorials and videos on a host of topics that include setting up the VPN on the various platforms. And there is the unique “best security practices” section which I love so much; it dishes articles that would help you secure your privacy.
For contact, Private Internet Access VPN offers an online ticket support service and an email support service. If you could not get the needed help through the self-help articles and videos, you can submit a ticket or send a mail and deal directly with a PIA VPN representative.
Private Internet Access VPN promises a 6-hour response time, and they delivered on this. This is a big improvement on many VPNs that can keep you waiting for as long as 48 hours.
However, Private Internet Access VPN has not introduced a live chat service into their customer support arsenal. A live chat support service is the closest to 24/7 support that a VPN can offer. Since many VPNs are beginning to offer this to meet customers’ needs of real-time assistance; Private Internet Access VPN should launch a live chat support service in order to keep pace with the competition and to give their customer the 24/7 support that they advertise on their website.
With VPNs, the major concerns of most users are ‘privacy and security’ and speed. Private Internet Access VPN ticks both boxes. PIA VPN recorded excellent download and upload speeds. On the ‘privacy and security’ front; PIA VPN supports the open-source and very secure OpenVPN protocol, and offers solid encryption levels that you can further customize to make even more solid. They provide solid protection against DNS and IPv6 leaks. They have a no-log policy that you can trust because it has been tested and proven true. They allow you to sign up and pay anonymously. In short, PIA VPN provides excellent security and privacy.
PIA VPN also has a robust server network that gives you many locations to hide behind, and they give all this at very low prices.
The major drawbacks of Private Internet Access VPN will be that it is not ideal for unblocking streaming services, there is no live chat support feature, and they are located in the US (their tested and trusted no-log policy should remove any fear about their U.S. jurisdiction, but I guess there are some deep-rooted fears that just would not be removed)
Do you have experience with Private Internet Access VPN? Good or bad, kindly use the comment section below to give us your brief Private Internet Access VPN review.
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Private Internet Access is a SCAM . I DID NOT sign up for this service , yet they withdrew 120.00 from my bank account , which I WAS NOT refunded for . I will continue to speak out against this fadulent company on every platform that I can . Also , they just tried taking more money out of my account , but thankfully they weren't successful .