Being private or anonymous online is getting harder and harder. What might help, is a good VPN service. Ivacy VPN is a new, but very well-performing VPN service. Today we dive into the program and see how good they really are.
[optinlocker]
Conclusion
Ivacy VPN is an affordable and very well working VPN service. Their pricing is great, they have servers in a lot of different countries, and the support is out of this world. Franklin helped me within minutes several times. The connections with different countries are fast and the speed you get is sometimes really impressive.
The thing I liked the most is the possibility to view Netflix on the USA servers. It does not matter what server you pick, I got a 100% result on watching USA content on the different servers in the USA. I had a lot of problems with PIA doing that, but with Ivacy VPN this is really smooth. Ivacy VPN also offers a whole range of compatible platforms. Impressive.
There was one leaking server I tested in Germany. Hopefully, they will solve this soon, all the other servers are secure.
[/optinlocker]
Introduction
Ivacy started in 2007 and they believed in free internet. With their eyes set on that goal, they were off to start a VPN service. Ivacy VPN is offering some unique features and sometimes even groundbreaking features, like Split Tunneling (we will talk about this more in the Features section). As a VPN service, one of the key things to do is NOT to keep logs. Luckily, Ivacy VPN does not store logs, and all the information captured is never traceable to the user, which means anonymity for you. Will Ivacy VPN replace my current VPN provider (PIA VPN)? Let’s dig in and see if Ivacy VPN is as good as they claim to be.
What Is VPN?
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a tunnel between your device and the internet. This tunnel is secured with encryption. You use a VPN to protect your online activity from snooping, censorship, and interference.
As soon as you start the VPN software, you are protected. It will encrypt your data and send your online requests through the VPN servers. With this method, your IP address and location are safe. The online service sees your request as coming from the VPN server and its location and not from your own device.
You can find more information, and a video, on how a VPN works if you click on THIS LINK.
Software
You can get Ivacy VPN for all your devices. I mean ALL your devices! Ivacy VPN is available on the following platforms:
To be honest, this is the most extensive list of supported platforms I’ve seen so far. It is actually an amazing feature that Ivacy VPN made that many apps. For the customer, it does not matter on what device you want to be private, with Ivacy VPN it is possible.
Ready to watch all the content on Netflix, and have a secure network connection? Now is your time to subscribe!
Usability (Android)
Features
Just making your connection secure is not good enough. Other VPN services are offering a wide range of features, just like Ivacy VPN. We’ve picked out a few which we thought were worth mentioning, like how many connections you can have, or if they store logs.
Encryption
Ivacy offers up to AES 256 bit encryption to users which makes penetrating the security next to impossible. This is actually great encryption. AES 256 is virtually impenetrable using brute-force methods. While a 56-bit DES key can be cracked in less than a day, AES would take billions of years to break using current computing technology. Hackers would be foolish to even attempt this type of attack.
Pricing
You’ve got different options. For example, 6 months or 1 month. By far the cheapest option is the 5-year subscription. This will cost you only $1.16 per month! That is cheap for a VPN with servers all over the world, fast connections, and up to 10 connections at the same time. Want just 1 month of privacy? That will cost you $9.95.
On the Ivacy VPN website, you might also see these prices. Here you can pick between 1 month, 1 year, and 2 years. For some people, who don’t want to set with the same VPN provider for 5 years, these deals are better. I got these by clicking on the “Get VPN” button in the top bar.
Simultaneous Connections
I always share my VPN service with some family members, so it is key that you can have multiple simultaneous connections. With Ivacy VPN, you can have up to 10 simultaneous connections. Basically, that means that the price per month can be divided between 10 people if you are all willing to pay for it. Having the option of 10 users is great and it makes Ivacy VPN even more affordable.
Ready to watch all the content on Netflix, and have a secure network connection? Now is your time to subscribe!
Kill Switch
This is a very useful feature. Basically, what this feature does, is disconnect your from the internet when VPN is not active. This is especially handy when you are going to the dark places of the internet where your real identity must stay private. As soon as your VPN stops working, it will kill your complete internet so you are not exposed. If you are a privacy enthusiast (like me) this feature must be enabled.
No Log Policy
No logs! That is what we want to see when I’m searching for a VPN service. However, this doesn’t mean nothing is collected. In order to run the business, Ivacy VPN collects only a small amount of data. During the signup process, the following information is required:
The collected information assists Ivacy in the following ways:
Note: Information pertaining to inactive customers is removed after every 12 months.
Refund Policy
This is copied directly from the Ivacy VPN website:
All new Ivacy subscriptions are backed up with a 30-day* money-back guarantee. You are only eligible for a full refund on a new subscription if all of the following apply:
If you are in compliance with the criteria mentioned above, then you are entitled to get a full refund. Send an email to support@ivacy.com stating your VPN username and the reason for canceling the subscription.
A good policy. You can test it if this service is something for you and if you are not happy, you can get your money back, if you are within the boundaries set by Ivacy VPN. reading over the rules, they seem fair and totally understandable. Good job Ivacy!
Ready to watch all the content on Netflix, and have a secure network connection? Now is your time to subscribe!
Split Tunneling
This feature is such an amazing feature. What split tunneling does, is splitting your traffic. For example, you can tell Ivacy VPN that all your WhatsApp, Google Chrome, and Instagram traffic MUST go through the Ivacy VPN server, all other traffic can go through your normal service provider. With this, it is so much easier to have the connection on all the time without losing speed. Want to browse the internet securely? Only select your browser application. Want to watch the USA content on Netflix? Only select Netflix in Split Tunneling. I love this feature!
Ivacy VPN Servers
Having a lot of servers worldwide is a great thing as a VPN provider. This means that you have a server nearby, anywhere in the world. Ivacy VPN does have a big server park that you can use and connect with so you are always close to a server.
Here are the servers by location:
America, for example, has 79 servers. Colombia have 27 servers, The Netherlands have 22 servers, and Indonesia 29 servers. These are just some countries and all these servers offer at least Streaming, Encryption, P2P Friendly. For this price, Ivacy VPN is showing off. But, having all these servers available is a good thing, are they also fast? Let’s do some speed tests and connect to random servers in the world from Amsterdam.
Ivacy VPN Speed Test
Having servers all over the world is great, but speed is important too. You don’t want to connect to a super slow server, right? Ivacy VPN offers a great variety of locations, all over the world. Let’s see how fast our connection is (LTE) without a VPN connection, and with several servers from all over the world.
Ready to watch all the content on Netflix, and have a secure network connection? Now is your time to subscribe!
No VPN
First, we need to know what our standard speed is. This is limited/handled by my phone provider. I run this test twice, once before the speed tests and one after.
United States of America – New York
We can not exclude America, of course! While being connected, you should be able to watch the Netflix content that is offered in the USA. However, this does not work for every VPN. Like PIA, only a few servers in the USA offer this and even then it does not always work. With Ivacy VPN, I tried several different cities, and ALL of them are showing the Netflix content in the USA! Looking for a VPN to watch American Netflix? Get Ivacy VPN. Here are the speed results for the New York server:
Belgium – Brussels
This is the speed test from Belgium, which is close to my home town, Amsterdam.
Australia
Far, far away from Amsterdam, we tested the speed while being connected to Australia. The highest score is with the country that is the furthest away.
Brazil – Sao Paulo
Another place which is far away, but again with a great score.
Russia – Moscow
Using Moscow as the test city in Russia. St Petersburg is also available. With Moscow, I got a good result as well.
Philippines – Manila
While visiting The Philippines last year, this was a city I had to include. The Philippines did well too.
Ivacy Privacy Test
While I was connected to several servers around the world, I run a DNS leak test, and all came back secure. Just the server in Germany gave me a different result. The IP showed I was in the UK while the test showed I was in Houston, USA. This might be secure as your own location is not known, it is still strange that it is showing this differently. This was only happening on the German server, all the others are totally fine and secure.
Ready to watch all the content on Netflix, and have a secure network connection? Now is your time to subscribe!
Support
I’m still waiting on an answer from PIA VPN. Luckily Ivacy VPN offers 24×7 live chat support, and it works great! I chatted with Franklin twice to sort things out for this review and within a minute I was connected, had a chat message from Franklin and he provided me with the right answer and information straight away.
If you ever need support with your Ivacy VPN, you will probably be helped/answered within an hour. Amazing service Ivacy VPN, keep it up! & Thank you, Franklin, appreciate your support.
Conclusion
Ivacy VPN is an affordable and very well working VPN service. Their pricing is great, they have servers in a lot of different countries, and the support is out of this world. Franklin helped me within minutes several times. The connections with different countries are fast and the speed you get is sometimes really impressive.
The thing I liked the most is the possibility to view Netflix on the USA servers. It does not matter what server you pick, I got a 100% result on watching USA content on the different servers in the USA. I had a lot of problems with PIA doing that, but with Ivacy VPN this is really smooth. Ivacy VPN also offers a whole range of compatible platforms. Impressive.
There was one leaking server I tested in Germany. Hopefully, they will solve this soon, all the other servers are secure.
Ivacy VPN
$1.16 per month
Pros
- Available platforms
- Amount of servers around the world
- Looks and usability of Android application
- Pricing is cheap
- Support is amazing
Cons
- One leaking server