Private Tunnel VPN Review 2025: Is Legit & Safe?

Private Tunnel VPN is a VPN (virtual private network) service that primarily creates an encrypted link between your device and a web server. All your data is routed through the secure link, keeping it private and protected from all third parties (read: hackers). Your data first goes to Private Tunnel VPN’s servers before going to your online destination, so the data is not recognized as coming from you, rendering you anonymous online.

Private Tunnel VPN was launched by Francis Dinha (CEO) and James Yonan (CTO); the same team behind the OpenVPN protocol. It is 100% legal and legit; however in countries such as Iraq where all VPN use are forbidden, it’s use there will be illegal.

Let’s start this Private Tunnel VPN review by introducing you to a concept called Halo Effect. Halo Effect is a rating bias where an impression created in one area tend to influence opinion in another area. Why this lesson?

Yes, Private Tunnel VPN is safe and legit. You credit card details are safe when you make payment on the platform. And you money will not be stolen because you will get the VPN service you subscribed for. But is Private Tunnel VPN reliable?

Private Tunnel VPN is owned and managed by the same guys that founded OpenVPN. OpenVPN is widely regarded as the best protocol for establishing VPN connections; it is highly secure, it is highly configurable, and highly everything good.

The team that launched the excellent OpenVPN technology has now launched a full VPN service; and they say it is built on the legacy of the “OpenVPN”. You will expect it to be a damn good VPN service. Now, that’s Halo Effect.

This review aims to critically examine the Private Tunnel VPN service to provide the information that will help you decide if the VPN service lives up to the high standards you might have of it because of its association with the OpenVPN. Is it legit, is it safe, will it adequately protect users from cyber threats, will it give users online freedom. This review will answer all of these questions and more.

Server Locations

Private Tunnel VPN operates 22 servers in 12 countries around the world. This is a minute fraction of the hundreds of servers hosted in 50+ locations that some services have.

Users seek a VPN service with a robust server network having numerous servers in many countries around the world. When it comes to VPN operation, a robust server network is better for enhanced anonymity and better performance. Many server locations will afford you more virtual locations with which to spoof your real location; and with more servers locations, you’re less likely to find overcrowded servers.

In terms of geographical distribution the US alone accounts for half of their servers (11), while there is one server each in other eleven countries. Canada has a server, Hong Kong and Japan represent Asia in the server network, while Europe is represented by France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the UK. The whole of South America, Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East are not seen in the network.

This means that if you are in any of these regions (or if you travel there), you will not find a Private Tunnel VPN server nearby to connect to; and you’ll have to connect over long distances to a server. Note that distant connections give poorer performance than close connections.

The small network that covers only a handful of countries also means that the VPN service is not the best for unblocking purposes. You can only unblock restricted contents in the few countries they host servers. So if you’re from South America, and travel from home; you’ll have no luck using the Private Tunnel VPN to unblock your favourite home TV shows and channels.

Features

Device Compatibility

You want a VPN service that is compatible with a wide range of devices so that no matter the device you use you’ll be covered.  The Private Tunnel VPN service checks the box. They have native apps for the popular operating systems – Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. This is very impressive, especially as many VPN services do not invest in native apps. You can also use the service on Linux and routers, but you’ll have to configure it manually; they provide detailed instructions for such manual configurations.

Simultaneous Connections

You’ll want to know how many devices can be protected at the same with one VPN account. Typically, users have more than one devices that may be in use at the same time, and will want to protect them all with one VPN account.

The Fixed plan of Private Tunnel VPN, which is the plan marketed as for personal use, allows you to connect three devices at the same time. This is in the middle of the pack; while some services do not allow multiple connections, some others allow up to five. In fact, the industry average for simultaneous connections is five; and some users might find Private Tunnel’s offer of three as a drawback.

However, Private Tunnel VPN allows you more connection with their Flexible plan but you’ll have to pay an additional fee for every one device. This makes the flexible plan good for businesses and large families. Instead of buying multiple VPN accounts to secure the multiple devices of the unit, you can use the Flexible plan and choose the number of devices you want to secure for only token charges.

Cyber Security

Private Tunnel VPN protects you from DDoS attacks. They says that they prevent more than one million cyber attacks per day.

To seek protection from such cyber attacks is a no-brainer because they can leave your network vulnerable to all sort of malware and other online threats. With Private Tunnel VPN, you can be assured that your network will always be secured.

Usability

Getting started with the VPN is painless – that’s what you get with custom apps. After signing up, you’re sent a verification link that should take you to the download page. Downloading and installing the service is also a breeze.

The interface that greets you will be ‘old-fashioned’ if you’ve seen some of the slick interfaces that some services show. However, it is simple; too simple the client cannot be customized.

The interface features a big connect button; it also shows your location and your virtual IP. You’ll also see a settings menu which you can click to: set the app to auto-start, set the protocol used to connect to the servers, and do connection timeout settings.

If you’ll simply be connecting to servers, the app will serve you well; but if you’ll want something more, you’ll be disappointed. You won’t even see settings for enabling a kill switch.

Torrenting

The number of VPN services that support torrenting are dwindling by the day; this is because they do not want to get into battles with copyright trolls. However, the number of users that seek VPN for torrenting is increasing by the day; this is because torrenting is one of the fastest ways to download large files online, and users need VPN cover to be protected from both the peers they connect to for the activity and any copyright troll. It follows that any VPN that supports torrenting is highly regarded.

Private Tunnel VPN’s stand on torrenting can best be described as an “unspoken no”. They do not come out to explicitly forbid it, but if your strip the dressing from their statements, you’ll find a big fat NO. They say that torrenting is not allowed on most of their servers (remember that they have few servers); and they say they comply with DMCA notices.

When the answer to “Do you support torrenting?” is “we do not allow the download of copyrighted content over peer to peer networks”; then it is clear enough. Private Tunnel VPN is not your torrent friendly VPN. If one of your main reasons for wanting a VPN is to download torrents safely and anonymously, you’ll have to look beyond the Private Tunnel VPN service.

Streaming

Streaming services make their contents geo specific – certain contents are restricted to certain locations. To stream and watch such content, you’ll have to be in the location  physically or virtually. VPNs put you there virtually by giving you an IP that would be seen as originating from the location. That way you beat geo restrictions and get to stream and watch contents from everywhere.

However, the big streaming services have gotten wiser; and when you use a VPN to spoof your location and try to access their restricted content, they see through the mask and block you. Netflix is the godfather when it comes to blocking VPNs, and any VPN that can unblock Netflix and give access to its content is considered a good VPN for streaming.

I tested Private Tunnel VPN for Netflix access. Negative; I was soundly blocked. I tried again for BBC iPlayer; same disappointing result. Then I checked Hulu; again, no success. Then I gave up. If you want a VPN for streaming, it shouldn’t be Private Tunnel VPN.

Security and Privacy Features

VPN Protocol and Encryption

They founded the OpenVPN protocol, so it’s not surprising that they support the OpenVPN protocol. It’s not also surprising that it is the only VPN protocol they offer.

As I mentioned in the introduction, the OpenVPN is the gold standard of VPN protocols. It is recommended by virtually every security expert; and used by virtually every VPN service. Being open source, it has been picked for vulnerabilities, but none has been found to date. So it is highly secure; it is also highly configurable and gives good speed for the level of security it affords. So it is a good thing to see OpenVPN as the supported VPN protocol.

However, many users will want to see alternative VPN protocols. There are times when the OpenVPN will not work, and you should have an alternate protocol such as L2TP/ IPsec to call on. Also, there are times when users would prioritize speedy connections over security; at such times, the PPTP protocol would be a choice. The Private Tunnel VPN service takes away the choice of VPN protocols.

In terms of encryption, Private Tunnel VPN uses the leading encryption algorithm – AES. Specifically, they use 128-bit AES-GCM encryption.

This encryption standard is very secure, and it will take current super computers, at least, the next one million years to punch through. However, it is not the strongest encryption available. It surprised me that Private Tunnel VPN did not go for the 256 bit AES encryption which is the current gold-standard; and the standard used by security focused organizations like banks and the military. Maybe they don’t want the overkill; why use 256 bit AES when 128 bit AES is equally unhackable? Some would say it’s like killing a mouse with a bomb when you can use a mouse trap.

More so, the AES 128 bit encryption offers better speed because it uses less resources than its 256 bit counterpart. That said, the encryption level of Private Tunnel VPN guarantees that you will be secure, protected, and private, wherever and whenever you surf the net.

Security Leaks Protection

It doesn’t matter how much encryption and IP masking a VPN service does if it suffers security leaks. A DNS leak, for example, will cause DNS queries to leave the tunnel and go to the DNS servers of your ISP. The result is that your ISP and any third party watching captures your browsing history and real IP; and the reason for using the VPN is defeated. WebRTC function that allows real time communication can also leak your IP to anybody watching. Therefore, a VPN service that gives optimal privacy should prevent security leaks including DNS leaks, IPv6 leaks, and WebRTC leaks.

I ran the Private Tunnel VPN through these checks, and it came out with flying colours. There was no DNS, IP, and WebRTC leaks.

Kill Switch

Another security tool that is increasingly being featured in VPNs is the kill switch. All VPN suffers abrupt disconnection. Sometimes it happens when the internet connection is disrupted, or simply when changing VPN servers. When the VPN momentarily disconnects and you continue online, you risk exposing your real location and data to any watching eyes. The kill switch prevents this. It cuts off internet connection the moment the VPN disconnects ensuring that you do not continue untill the VPN reconnect.

Unfortunately, Private Tunnel VPN does not have a kill switch. This is very sad really, because it means that when using the VPN service your privacy is secured only until the next VPN connection drop.

Logging Policy

You must have heard in different spheres that it is good to keep proper records. You definitely should not want that applying to your use of a VPN service. Proper records kept of your use will pointedly identify you, and it makes using a VPN meaningless; because your using a VPN is so that you are anonymous online and cannot be identified. Therefore users go for VPN services that do not keep logs.

It is telling that in the landing page of Private Tunnel VPN, there is no ‘no-logging’ claim. Usually services that do not keep logs will plaster it everywhere because it’s a big selling point. Anyways, I went into their privacy policy to know the real deal.

The privacy policy starts with “your privacy is our priority”; then it goes to say “We are a Zero-Log service provider and Do Not keep records of your traffic, browsing, or activity while using our services“. That’s good news. They do not keep track or keep records of the sites you visit, the contents you download/ upload, the content of your communications etc.

However, the good news did not continue; down the policy, they state: “Each time a user connects to our Private Tunnel service, we retain the following data for 14-30 days: the user’s source IP address, the Private Tunnel IP address used by the user, connection start and stop time and total number of bytes used“.  Granted, there are other services that keep some connection logs, but very few keep source IPs. I cannot recommend any VPN service that keeps originating IPs because it can be used to trace you to your very door.

Also, if compelled by a competent court to disclose users’ information they will comply; this should be frightening because they keep what will effectively identify any particular user. On a happy ending, Private Tunnel VPN pledge not to distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent.

Jurisdiction

Private Tunnel VPN is owned by OpenVPN Inc. which is located in California, USA. They say they comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act; that’s one of the many laws they are subject to by virtue of their jurisdiction. The only good thing out of it is that it makes them 100% legit; and any concern about whether the service is a scam can be peacefully buried.

That said, the US is not where you’ll want your VPN service to domicile. One, the US is home to many anti-privacy laws including those that permit the selling of users data to third parties. Secondly, the US is home to invasive intelligence agencies like the NSA and the FBI. These agencies are not shy when it comes to hunting down persons, and they have no qualms about stepping on your white privacy gown as they go about their business.

Lastly, the US is the ringleader of a surveillance (read: spy) network called the Five Eyes alliance (which has now expanded from five member countries to fourteen). This alliance is an arrangement for the member countries to work together in collecting and sharing intelligence. It means that any data captured in the US will be shared with the intelligence agencies of other 13 countries (and that’s not including nations sympathetic to the alliance who could also grace the table). That’s your data flying around the world in a spy network. That’s definitely not what you had in mind when you decided to use a VPN.

Speed

Using a VPN will almost always reduce your network speed. A VPN’s operation (encrypting your data to make it unreadable to hackers, and rerouting your data to hide your location) take its toll on speed. However, we won’t want speed brought down to limits where browsing becomes sufferable.

With the fast VPN services, you won’t even notice the drop in speed. That is what you should go for – a service that gives you adequate security, but still manage only slight reduction in speed.

Thankfully, Private Tunnel VPN is that kind of service. We tested their speed by averaging speed (download and upload) result from a couple of servers, and comparing this to speed result when the VPN is disconnected. On the average, Private Tunnel VPN dropped download and upload speed by 12% and 20% respectively. These are excellent results, and it will put Private Tunnel VPN on the podium for the fastest VPN service.

To put this in perspective, VPN services that reduce speed by up to 50% are still considered fast. Private Tunnel VPN is definitely one of the fastest VPN services. However, you should note that they use a lower bit encryption (128 bit) which should give better speed performance.

Customer Support

Customer support service make or break a VPN service. You might have need to contact the service, and you’ll not want to be neglected. Therefore its important to consider the channels available for contacting a VPN service, as well as the effectiveness of the channels (with effectiveness measured in the timeliness and quality of the responses).

Private Tunnel VPN provides the standard contact channels – an email service, an online ticket system, and a live chat. You can send them a mail by opening and submitting a support ticket; alternatively, you can send them a mail directly from your email account. In either case, you’ll get their response in your email inbox. Interestingly, both support channels are 24/ 7; however, you’ll have to wait a couple of hours to get your response (my waiting was about two hours).

This will rank the service as one of the best for timeliness. Typically, VPN services take up to 24 hours to respond to queries/ inquiries; and there are even some slow ones that’ll keep you waiting for up to 48 hours.

However, if you’ll rather not wait to get responses, you can use the live chat. This gives instant feedback, but you might find that responses are not as detailed with the email service. Also, the live chat is active only during Private Tunnel VPN business hours (9an to 5pm). If you’ll rather talk to a live person on the phone, you’re out of luck with Private Tunnel VPN because there is no telephone support service.

If you’re one to solve problems (or find answers) on your own; Private Tunnel VPN provides an FAQ section, a knowledge base and manual set up guides. The FAQ section is limited and does not answer a lot of questions, but but does justice to the questions it answers. The guides are detailed enough, and will walk you through setting up the VPN on your device.

Packages and Pricing

Service Plans

Private Tunnel VPN offers plans both for personal use and for business use – these are the Fixed plan and the Flexible plan. The only difference in the plans is the number of devices that can be connected at the same time. The fixed plan allows only three devices, but the flexible plan allow you to choose the number of devices you’ll want to connect simultaneously.

Pricing

The Fixed plan has two packages derived from the two billing options (monthly and yearly). No matter the package you buy, you get the same features; the only difference in the two is how long you can access the service.

The monthly package cost $6.00; and the yearly package cost $35.00, which breaks down to $2.92 per month to represent a 51.33% cost savings. This huge discount on an already pocket friendly monthly subscription brings their best value deal to an incredibly low price, and it makes them one of the cheapest services in the market.

The flexible plan also has two packages – monthly and yearly. The flexibility afforded is choosing the number of devices you want to connect at the same time. The price of the plan start at $6/ month and $35/ year for three devices; and you attract additional small charges for each additional device.

Payment Methods

The ideal VPN in this regard is that which supports a lot of payments methods so that you can easily find one that you can use, which should also be convenient.

Private Tunnel VPN supports PayPal and all the popular credit cards; they also accept Apple gift cards through the iOS app. Though they do not burst the ceiling with the number of payment methods they offer, the options they support ensures that you can conveniently pay for the VPN service anywhere you may be.

However, there is no support for bitcoin and other crypto currencies. These options are becoming very popular because they allow users pay anonymously. It will count against Private Tunnel VPN that there’s no support for crypto currencies.

Free Trial

VPN services offer free trials to allow users to test run their service before committing to a subscription, and Private Tunnel VPN is no exception.

Private Tunnel VPN offers a 7 days free trial on all their plans. This gives them an edge over services that do not offer free trial periods. Also, some services will limit their free trial accounts by capping data transfer, and speed, or limiting server locations that can be accessed; but Private Tunnel’s free account is 100% free and unlimited.

It is also pleasing that no payment method is needed to get the free trial account. Many services will require submission of payment information before giving you their free trial accounts; and they use this to automatically move you to a paid plan and charge you at the end of you free trial.

I maintain that the practise defeats the purpose of a free trial. If a free trial is to help the user decide whether he/ she should continue with the VPN; then only the user should make the decision of continuing. Automatically moving someone from a free trial to a paid plan takes away that choice. Though, the user can stop the automatic transition by cancelling his/ her account; that calls for extra steps that does not make for easy user experience.

With Private Tunnel VPN, there is no obligation to purchase at the end of the free trial, hence no request for payment info. What they do is to send you notifications that your trial is expiring in order to give you time to set up a subscription.

Summary

Private Tunnel VPN started well. The reputation of the team powering the service is solid. This is the same team that developed the OpenVPN protocol. They don’t need to say that they are some of the best brains in VPN technology; the OpenVPN says it all.

On the security front; everybody will guess that the secure OpenVPN protocol is used, but the absence of alternative protocols will not be welcomed by many users. In terms of encryption, they use the unhackable AES 128 bit encryption; again, some users would prefer the technically stronger AES 256 bit encryption. The service plugs all security leaks. What lets the service down on this front is the absence of a kill switch; the fact that they keep session logs (including source IP), and that they are located in the US.

They give excellent speed; but again, users can point to the lower bit encryption as the reason. The service is easy to use because of its custom apps; but you cannot download torrents with it, neither is it a good choice for streaming. Lastly, their server network is really small, and can see some improvement.

I liked:

• No payment information is required for the free trial account
• Very fast customer support service
• The Flexible plan is ideal for businesses and large families
• Dedicated VPN apps for the major operating systems
• Excellent speed
• Inexpensive fixed plan ($2.92/ month)

I didn’t like:

• No support for crypto currencies and no refund of payment
• No kill switch
• They log data which include source IPs for 14 – 30 days
• No support for torrenting; not good for streaming

Do you have an experience with Private Tunnel VPN? Good or bad, kindly use the comment section below to give us your brief Private Tunnel VPN review.