HotSpot Shield VPN one of the leading Canadian VPN services. We examine how well the service does against the competition in this comprehensive review.
Hotspot Shield VPN is based in Canada and is one of the largest VPN service providers in the country. With over 650 million users and growing, the company has become a runaway success story.
Many people have asked us how good HotSpot Shield is in terms of security features, network encryption, and speed compared to the competition.
As a company that has been around since 2005, they have grown tremendously in size and the features they offer, which we go over in-depth in this review.
While many subscribers indicate that the VPN provider is on the right track, it isn't the only one. As a result, in this HotSpot Shield Review, we'll try to cover everything going well for the company and how it benefits users.
This appears to be the most pressing concern among people, and for a good reason. Hotspot Shield has a strict no-logging policy, which they proudly proclaim on their website. Logging pulls data such as search history, IPs, and more.
Regardless of which plan you choose, the company does not keep activity logs. We read the lengthy Privacy Policy of Hotspot Shield and discovered that the company did not store or log IP addresses, session durations, or anything else that could be linked to the user.
Furthermore, when the user disconnects from the VPN, the IP address information is immediately deleted. That should put your worries about session logging associated with VPN connections to rest.
The AnchorFree 2018 Transparency Report is recommended reading for anyone interested in learning more about HotSpot Shield's privacy policies.
The report details the requests for data production that the company has received from governments and law enforcement agencies throughout 2018. As a result, the report should, for the most part, put most users' minds at ease.
We got 190-200Mbps when connecting to the UK, the closest country to Canada. For context, we have a 250Mbps broadband connection. We are confident that faster connections will result in faster speeds. This is excellent considering the distance.
We were also able to connect to nearby European locations like Germany, the Netherlands, France. However, connecting to a US server reduced download speeds to an average of 220Mbps.
In places like India, Brazil, Singapore, and Japan, Servers often average higher than those closer to home. However, we saw speeds drop below 150 Mbps when connecting to Australian servers.
AnchorFree beautifully designed the user interface. It is by far the best VPN service we've seen in recent years. Not only that, but it is incredibly user-friendly for newcomers.
It takes 2 minutes to install on most devices, and the software looks high-tech and geeky, which we like. In addition, it's not difficult to change your settings and location.
Our only complaint is that there aren't many advanced options, which we assume is to keep things simple for the average Joe. As a result, we have a simple, easy VPN software to understand and use that we can recommend to anyone without a computer science degree.
The company's browser extensions are also simple to use. Even for someone who has never used a VPN before, the Chrome and Firefox browser extensions are simple to use.
Not to mention the fact that they provide several advanced features not found in any other VPN add-on; we'll go over these features in greater depth later in the article.
Another great feature of Hotspot Shield is that, unlike the competition, it allows you to torrent anonymously. Furthermore, to protect data during transmission from your devices, the network employs the super-secure AES-256-bit Encryption algorithm.
Because of all of this security, not even your ISP can see the data transmitted through Hotspot Shield. However, we strongly advise against downloading and sharing copyrighted content, as it is illegal and unethical.
It's safe to say that you can use AnchorFree's VPN software to ensure safe torrenting because the company endorses and openly provides instructions on how to go about anonymous torrenting. So don't worry about the government issuing a cease and desist order against you.
Most of the VPNs we tested have essential browser add-ons. Unfortunately, that means the app's functionality is limited. But HotSpot Shield doesn't. For example, the Hotspot Shield Chrome extension has more features and power than the mobile and desktop apps.
The opening interface does not indicate the available functionality. Instead, a blank panel greets the user with a single Connect button. Protecting browser traffic with a proxy system speeds up the connection. However, the extension can unblock most websites and stream Netflix.
By clicking on the top right button, you can access all the extension's features. Select a default server or let it connect to the closest one. There are only servers in Germany, Canada, France, Russia, Singapore, the Netherlands, India, the US, and the UK.
Cookies, trackers, ads, WebRTC, malware, and other privacy features can be disabled. One of our favorites is the Bypass list. With Auto-Protect enabled, Hotspot Shield will automatically protect the websites you visit. Unfortunately, websites on the Bypass list bypass the VPN in both cases.
A Firefox extension is available to use, which HotSpot Shield does not promote. The extension is identical to the Chrome extension except for Sword Mode. In this mode, web trackers are fed fake data. Otherwise, it's the same as Chromes.
We've tried a lot of VPNs that work with Netflix over the years, but since the company is actively cracking down on VPNs, things are changing faster than we'd like to admit.
We were able to stream Netflix for the time being, but that could change at any time, and even HotSpot Shield reps can't tell you when that happens. According to our experience, you'll have to connect to several servers before finding one that works with Netflix.
However, the effort is worthwhile, and their website provides a wealth of information to assist with the process. Using Hotspot Shield to watch Netflix is a little more difficult than using ExpressVPN. Customer service should walk you through the process if you have any issues.
HotSpot Shield, like all VPN services, has its drawbacks, which are fortunately outweighed by the benefits. However, before using the service, make sure you're comfortable with the disadvantages.
If you're having problems with Hotspot Shield, you can use various apps to get instant advice and instructions on fixing common issues. In addition, you can go to the support website for more information if your problem is more complicated than what is addressed in these documents.
The articles in the web-based support center are organized using platforms, categories, and issues. To find a solution, you can search the database for documents using keywords like the problem or errors.
On the website, you'll almost certainly find a wealth of useful information that you won't find anywhere else, such as release notes for the most recent apps. If you can't find an answer to your question on the website, the company now has a 24/7 chat hotline.
When we tested the chat system, it worked as expected; the response time was reasonable, and they appeared to be available at different times throughout the day.
Another way to contact support is to fill out an online form using the Contact button on your app. The form generates a ticket, which is usually responded to within a few hours in our experience.
Some users may feel they can get secure browsing through other means like proxies, Tor browser, etc., but it is not recommended and the only real solution to secure browsing is a VPN. This is because proxies and Tor browsers can easily be blocked by ISPs and usually do little to hide your IP address (because you're on your ISP's server and routing through their connection rather than that of another company). On the other hand, VPNs encrypt the traffic between you and the website you are visiting.
Someone is not likely to be compromised on public WiFi without a VPN; it depends on the type of public WiFi. Many public WiFi networks are encrypted, but many others are not. When possible, only use secured connections (e.g., HTTPS), so your internet traffic stays private from eavesdroppers. In addition to this, ensure you have the latest updates installed for any programs or operating system and antivirus software.
A proxy server acts as an intermediate between the Internet and devices connected to it, protecting them from online threats such as man-in-the-middle attacks or surveillance. Proxies only provide privacy at the network level; what this means is that if you're concerned about privacy/security on your computer (while browsing, downloading files), but not on other devices in your home (smart TVs, WiFi phones)
So, do we think HotSpot Shield is a good choice? Yes! We can confidently recommend HotSpot Shield to anyone looking for a VPN with excellent customer service and a long list of features.
The service provides lightning-fast speeds and many servers from which to choose. However, some minor flaws can be overlooked, such as the lack of OpenVPN support and basic customer service.
However, the application and service more than make up for these shortcomings. In addition, Hotspot Shield VPN offers a 45-day money-back guarantee to protect your investment if HotSpot Shield does not meet your expectations.
