How To Setup Vpn On Iphone For Free
The best free VPN 2021
We all like a free lunch, and the same can definitely be said when you download a VPN. Why bother paying for yet another piece of software when there are so many free VPNs out there for desktop and mobile? We certainly understand the temptation, but it's worth exercising some caution, too.
If your reason for having a VPN is just about having a bit more security on your laptop or mobile when using public Wi-Fi every now and then, a freebie can do a decent job. And with more and more people needing to work safely and stay entertained at home, it's no surprise free VPN users are growing in number.
On this page, you'll find our pick of the best options available to download today. We've assessed the ability of the top free VPNs to see which will keep your online activity anonymous without you having to spend a thing. ExpressVPN might take the crown of our favorite premium provider in the world, but the best free VPN at the moment is Hotspot Shield - we explain why we think so below.
If free VPNs are so handy however, why did our recent survey find that less than half of users opt for a freebie over a paid-for service? That's because they do have their limitations, and you should really be aware of them as they could significantly restrict what you were hoping to use your VPN for...
The problems with free VPNs
Free VPN services may cost nothing but there is usually a good reason for that - it means the provider will be turning a profit in some other way, usually with invasive advertising or by selling your browsing data to third-parties (rather defeating the whole drive for privacy in the first place).
Plus, free services tend to limit the amount of data you can use and the speed you can use it at, rendering them practically useless for streaming video, torrenting or as an extra layer of reliable security in your day-to-day online life. And don't expect the kind of easy access support or server range that you get with the paid services, either.
So before we get stuck in to our list of the best free VPN downloads, it's worth knowing that a paid-for version can cost as little as around $2/£2 per month and will give you much better performance and protection.
The best free VPN for 2021:
1. Hotspot Shield Free VPN
Our #1 free VPN - easy-to-use and get started in an instant
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
So easy-to-use
Simple to set up
Fast max speeds
Only one server
Data limit
The premium version of Hotspot Shield takes its place among the top paid-for services on the web and, indeed, near the top of our fastest VPN countdown. So it's little surprise that its free option is so popular.
Those on the free plan are limited to 500MB of data per day (so around 15GB per month). That may sound restrictive, but compared to one or two on this list, it's actually one of the more generous limits (although, of course, not a patch on the unlimited data you get with paid-for services).
If security is your sole aim, then Hotspot is on the same wavelength, boasting the same 'military-grade encryption' that most premium VPNs shout about. In addition to security, Hotspot Shield Free also won plaudits in our testing for being so friendly to use. Whether on its mobile version or on desktop, you won't find it the hair-pulling user experience offered by some competitors.
In the past we've seen the odd issue around the free Hotspot Shield download. For the period of a few weeks at the start of 2021, Hotspot was completely killing the ability to search on Google when switched on. All we got was an error - and we tried this out a lot from a variety of locations and devices. Thankfully this issue appears to have been sorted now.
You can choose to anchor yourself to one of 70-odd countries if you pay $2.50 per month for the Premium version of Hotspot, and this should enable you to access just about anything you want; in the free version you're limited to one US-based location that Hotspot Shield chooses for you, and you'll have to put up with ads if you're using on Android.
- Head through to the Hotspot Shield website to download now
2. ProtonVPN Free
Get unlimited data allowance without paying penny
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 throttling
Limited support
ProtonVPN is among our favorite free VPNs. While the stand-out feature is undeniably that it offers zero limits on the amount of data you can use with your VPN use, there's plenty more to admire outside that alone.
It would be remiss of us not to begin with that headline selling point, though. ProtonVPN doesn't impose any data restrictions. In other words, you're free to use as much data as you want every month - that's really rare for a free VPN provider, as you'll discover below with the others on this guide.
The free version of this service has servers in three locations, spread nicely around the world: in the US, Japan and the Netherlands. There are clients for Windows and Mac, of course, as well as apps for Android and iPhone. On desktop, we like the option to toggle on automatic connections when you start up your computer. And some unusual features for a freebie are included, too, like split-tunnelling and DNS leak protection.
There are, naturally enough, limitations for the free plan to incentivize upgrading to a paid-for offering. We think the most notable is the fact that free users get a lower priority when it comes to speed compared to paying subscribers. There's no P2P support either and speeds may drop at peak times when lots of users are around and paying folks get priority. And Proton makes it very clear that you'll need to upgrade to its Plus tier if you want to use your VPN for streaming.
But if you can live with all that, this is an impressive provider with a strict no logging policy, and you can sign up with nothing more than your email address and a username of your choosing. There aren't even any ads on the website, let alone the client.
- Go to the ProtonVPN website to download this free VPN
3. 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
Even works with Netflix
Speeds are sometimes inconsistent
Standard 2GB data in a month isn't much
The folk at Windscribe are vigorously and vocally proud of their free VPN offering... and why shouldn't they be! It's a really strong option thanks to its generous data allowance and commitment to protecting your privacy.
You get 2GB bandwidth per month as standard - so not much. But that is easily upped to a more palatable 10GB if you're happy to give Windscribe your email address. The free version lets you choose from 11 remote server locations including the UK, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, Turkey and eight US VPN cities at last count). It's a 'freemium' model in play here, so there are some gentle nudges to get you to sign up to the unlimited version if you like what you see, but the upselling isn't too annoying or aggressive.
Getting started with its desktop clients or super useful Chrome extension is easy - you'll be jumping around the world on different servers in no time.
We actually don't expect free VPNs to help us get around region blocking from certain apps, sites and streaming services. So we were delighted when Windscribe went above and beyond the call of duty in our Netflix VPN testing. Unlike most others, it got us full access to exclusive content in the US, Germany and UK (as well as to BBC iPlayer in the latter). Of course the data limit is going to stop you from too many massive binges, but good to know for the odd show on your travels or commute.
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. And if that isn't all enough to tempt you, there's even a built-in adblocker, malware protection and firewall.
A word on speeds though. We found Windscribe to be less consistent them some competitors and at times it took a while to even connect to a server. But they're fairly minor complaints in the grand scheme of things... did we mention it was free!
4. TunnelBear
Protecting your identity with ease
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 speeds
Meagre 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. That really is a tiny amount and means you can only really use it at those times when you feel like you need a little extra protection and want to go down the free route. You won't be able to keep it on all the time and you can forget using this VPN for torrenting and streaming. Obviously going for a provider like ExpressVPN or NordVPN alleviates this pain point entirely.
But it least this free version doesn't limit you on available servers, making all 20+ countries of the premium service available. And TunnelBear recently tuned up its privacy policy, so it now collects even less data on users – removing the need to supply a first name to sign up, and ditching its record of the user's number of total lifetime connections.
5. 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
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. To that end, this provider will make use of all available internet connections to get the best possible performance, potentially combining, say, an Ethernet connection (fixed broadband) with a tethered mobile connection. Even if you only have one type of internet connection, the firm claims its turbocharging technology will still help speed things up.
The free plan boasts full access to those servers (just as with the subscription options), the only restriction of the free offering being that you're limited in the amount of data you can download. Free users get 2GB of data each month. That's not a huge allowance, and certainly not as much as some other rivals you'll see elsewhere on this page, but it's more than some, and still enough for covering some basic surfing and email duties.
And this provider is definitely worth a look on the performance front, as during our testing, the aforementioned speed-granting technologies did actually prove themselves to have a positive effect.
6. Hide.me
You're on a hiding to something with this privacy-conscious service
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 throttling
Limited to one device
Hide.me offers both paid and free VPN products, with the latter giving you 10GB 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.
On the plus side, however, this provider won't throttle the connection speed of free users, and Hide.me further promises that it keeps no logs and stores no user data, so won't pass on any data to third-parties in order to try and make a profit (simply because it doesn't have any data to pass on). There are no adverts here, either, and it even offers P2P support on its five available free VPN servers.
You get native software for Windows PC and Mac, Android and iOS, with the clients being smartly designed, plus there's 24/7 technical support (which is in place even for free users). Performance was impressive in our testing, too. Overall, then, this is a more-than-solid free offering which tries to maintain your privacy, without too many restrictions.
Is a free VPN worth getting?
Honestly, there isn't one easy answer to this question. It depends on what you want to use your free VPN for. If it's just about having a bit more security on your laptop or mobile when using public Wi-Fi, they can be just the ticket. Jump on the service, turn on an encrypted server connection and crack on with your online activities safe in the knowledge that no prying eyes will be able to see your private information.
But if your main purpose is to have a streaming VPN say, or want to use it while downloading terabytes of torrent files, a free VPN just isn't going to do the trick. For starters, most of them limit you to a daily or monthly data allowance that you'll rinse through in no time at all. While most don't have the kind of easy access support or server range required to make those activities easy with a virtual private network.
How to choose a free VPN: 5 must-ask questions
The couple of years have witnessed the rise of global threats to individual privacy with long maintained rights to anonymity and net neutrality being undermined with a cloak of legitimacy.
While virtual private networks are not the panacea to being safe, secure and private on the internet, it is an essential component of the arsenal for individuals inclined to seek these liberties.
If you don't have one yet, you can grab one for free, without having to pay a single penny for one. Just be careful though as not all free VPN providers are created equal and some might even compromise your security.
Here are five questions you need to ask yourself before you download and install one.
1. What is its business model? Providers are in for the money and running such a business does cost a lot especially if it is a popular one. Some will use their free version, just like Dropbox, as a marketing tool to entice potential customers to move to a paid version once they are happy with the free one. Most however will sell user data or provide a something to a third party that will, again, compromise your privacy.
2. How does it protect my PC? Most providers usually use a desktop application that runs in the background encrypting your data while you surf the web. However, that's only solves part of the problem. Your laptop can still be fingerprinted because of the permissiveness of tracking solutions that can be found on almost all websites online. A few, including WIndscribe, have a more holistic approach by integrating the equivalent of a super ad-blocker
3. What do I lose by going free? Usually one can expect a free product to have some corners cut and that is indeed the case for all providers. Some offer more free bandwidth than others, major locations and even ad blocking, P2P and firewall with an easy paid for upgrade path that unlocks unlimited bandwidth with more locations and OpenVPN Configs.
4. Does your provider log anything? Make sure that your provider doesn't store users' internet activity. You can usually check that in the terms and conditions page or the end user license agreement, commonly known as EULA. Sadly, a lot of providers prefer to frustrate end users with long T&Cs or privacy statements that often hide significant details about how they operate. On the other end of the spectrum are providers that will erase everything after your session closes and don't keep logs.
5. Can I sign up completely anonymously? Having a provider that you can subscribe to without an email address and one that accepts Bitcoin payments, for maximum privacy, is pretty much the best you can expect online. Some providers also offer double hopping where you can obfuscate your traffic further by essentially doubling down on privacy.
Are free VPNs dangerous?
While the main criticism of free VPNs is that they just aren't half as useful as the paid-for alternatives, there are genuine dangers lurking with some proponents (thankfully not with the services pinpointed above).
For example, research in 2020 suggested that around 40% of the free Android VPNs available on the Google Play Store do not protect their users' privacy to an adequate level. So the extra online protection you thought you would be getting just isn't there.
How to get a premium VPN for free
Still just can't quite decide on whether to go for a free VPN or a premium paid-for option? There may be a perfect compromise, as pretty all of the world's best providers let you try them risk - and cost - free. Our dedicated guide to the best VPN free trials will help you locate one and get started.
You'll see some familiar names mentioned there. Our #1 one favorite service in the world ExpressVPN tops the list, allowing you to give it a try for 30 days. While the news is even better with the likes of Hotspot Shield, where the money back guarantee extends all the way to 45 days.
It's worth pointing out that you do have to pay upfront for these services. But they pride themselves on making the money back as hassle free as possible, allowing you to claim a full refund online without trouble.
Read more:
- So...what is a VPN anyway?
- Need one for mobile? See the best iPhone VPN and Android VPN
- Which is better? ExpressVPN vs NordVPN
Adam is the Editor-in-Chief of Subscriptions and Services at Future, meaning that he oversees many of the articles TechRadar produces about antivirus software, VPNs, TV streaming, broadband and mobile phone contracts - from buying guides and deals news, to industry interest pieces and reviews.
How To Setup Vpn On Iphone For Free
Source: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/best-free-vpn
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