Virtual private networks exist to give internet users assurance to their data security and privacy. Apart from that, you may also wish to use a VPN for unblocking purposes such as accessing Netflix US content from abroad.
If you are looking for PureVPN to unblock Netflix, check this guide
However, the road to choosing the right VPN for your need can be quite bumpy as there are several VPN services on the market. Moreover, every VPN provider make claims of providing genuine and reliable service. But do they fulfil what they claim?
It is because of that we are here to do the labor work for you and give you unfiltered feedback on different VPNs so that you can pick the right service.
With that said, we will discuss PureVPN review today. The VPN service is amongst top-rated providers and it has been operating for over a decade.
Introduction
With its base of operations in Hong Kong (they have shut down their office in Hong Kong and didn’t disclose the new location yet), PureVPN has never stopped evolving and improving on its shortcomings. Though there have been some past controversies surrounding the VPN, it has overcome those scandals with some great countertactics.
To begin with, it immediately called in security experts and auditors to audit the services and claims. It also joined a crowdsourcing platform for vulnerability discovery. It has also recently enhanced its multi-login features by increasing the multi-login connections.
PureVPN is one of the only few services in the industry that offers dedicated IPs, albeit for an extra cost. Similarly, it also offers Port Forwarding as an add-on. Amongst its top features, internet kill switch, split tunneling, IP leak protection and unlimited bandwidth hog the limelight.
Like many other VPNs, there are also some pros and cons of using this VPN.
- It packs an extensive VPN network, covering 140 countries with over 2000 servers
- There’s no limit to the users’ bandwidth usage
- It offers multiple protocols selection (manually and automatically)
- It can be logged in to up to 10 devices simultaneously
- Users can share 1-month plan of the VPN service with a dozen of other users or contacts
- It has recently been audited and certified for its no-log policy
- It offers access to five or six Netflix regions including the US region
- It offers 31 days money-back guarantee
- Some of its US servers fail to connect Netflix, especially the browser extension
- The user interface of the app is cluttered
- Like many other premium providers, it doesn’t have any free trial plan
Pricing Plan
Let us begin PureVPN review with the pricing plan. The order page starts with the VPN service promising, “better and secure internet experience.” Then, we have three different plans namely: monthly, half-yearly and yearly, although the service tends to play around with the plans often changing half-yearly with 2-years plan.
The monthly plan is expensive than the rest of the plans as it starts at $10.95 per month. Though it is a good option for users who have a short-term need of the service, it is advisable that you should take the trial account if you wish to test waters with the VPN service.
Another plan you can opt for is the six months plan. The plan starts at $8.33 per month and at the time of writing this review, the plan is being offered at 24% discount. It totals up to $49.95 every six months. If you are not a savvy VPN user but need it for some seasonal work purposes, the 6-month plan would go well with your needs.
Finally, the third plan offered by PureVPN is the yearly plan. However, at the time of writing, the yearly plan is coupled with a 7-day trial. The trial plan is offered at $0.99 and at the end of the trial, the user is automatically subscribed to the yearly plan. The yearly plan is available with a 47% discount. The monthly cost of the yearly plan is $5.82 per month, or $69.84 per year.
Regarding the payment gateways, the VPN provider seems to have cut down the payment options to two: credit card or PayPal. The rest of the payment process is simple and quick. You make the payment; you receive credentials shortly and with a link to the download page.
Privacy Policy
Privacy policy is a serious business, especially when it comes to VPN services. Since we use a VPN to hide our sensitive data and activities, we don’t want anyone to see it even the VPN service itself.
PureVPN was involved in a controversy a few years back because of the vague privacy policy it had then. However, it has acknowledged its shortcoming and lack of transparency, which is now clearly visible in its privacy policy.
PureVPN privacy policy begins with just that. It starts with the promise of users’ data and activity invisibility. It further states that the VPN service doesn’t, “keep any record of your browsing activities, connection logs, records of the VPN IPs assigned to you, your original IPs, your connection time, the history of your browsing, the sites you visited, your outgoing traffic, the content or data you accessed, or the DNS queries generated by you.”
Further in its privacy policy, the service also states that it collects only user’s email address and name for service purposes. Apart from that, it doesn’t keep any logs of user’s actual IP, VPN IP, timestamp, and DNS requests.
No-Log Certification
No-log certification by a reliable auditor is a necessity in the VPN business because the industry is just keep growing with everyone claiming to offer zero-log service and without any proof.
To stand apart from the crowd, top VPN providers have now started to get their services and claims audited by reliable independent auditors. PureVPN did the same thing to get controversies off their back.
The VPN provider called in the auditors of a US-based independent auditor, Altius IT, which analyzed their claims and audited their no-logs claim by going through their servers, configurations and documentation.
The VPN provider has mentioned the conclusion of the audit on its website, where the auditor has testified in favor of the VPN service, claiming that PureVPN indeed provides a zero-log policy.
Features
Servers
The VPN provider claims to have 2,000+ VPN servers that you can check out on their servers’ page. The page also contains the list of countries as well as cities where PureVPN has servers. Europe has the most numbers of servers, i.e., 769 servers, followed by North America that has 656 servers and then Asia, Africa, Oceania, Central America and South America.
The VPN provider has also clearly mentioned which VPN locations have virtual servers with a little “v” icon against the location.
Browser Extensions
PureVPN offers extensions for two browsers for now: Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. The user interface as well as the features of the extensions remain the same across the browsers. Moreover, the extension’s credentials can be used for the standalone applications as well such as for desktop PC, Mac, Android and other devices.
The browser extension although offers less features than the applications. It features only 25+ countries, WebRTC leak protection and Popular Websites that contain over 30 different streaming channels, whereas the apps support more than 100 channels.
Applications
We have also checked the compatibility of the PureVPN apps on different devices. The Windows and Mac apps are by far the most compatible applications and we rarely come across any hurdles while installing and using the apps.
The other devices on which PureVPN works Android, iOS, Linux, Xbox, PlayStation, Kodi, Ruko, Android TV, Apple TV, Smart TV and routers.
IKS
PureVPN has long been offering the Internet Kill Switch feature. We tested the feature and it seems to work perfectly fine. As soon as we lost the VPN connection, the client killed all the services that we were using with the VPN. It sure is a handy feature, especially for privacy-loving users.
Split Tunneling
Split Tunneling comes handy when you need to work with local services and VPN-enabled services simultaneously. We tested the feature by running BBC iPlayer with Split Tunneling and the Netflix US without the VPN, and both the services were accessible and running perfectly fine.
Multi-logins
A while back, PureVPN used to work on five devices at a time. However, it has recently upgraded its multi-login feature which now supports up to 10 devices.
IP Leak Protection
PureVPN offers three types of leak protection features: IPv6 leak protection, DNS leak protection and WebRTC leak protection. In case of even one leak protection feature missing, users may end up with an exposed IP which means ISPs can monitor the connection and so as other prying eyes.
Dedicated IP (Add-on)
As we have mentioned before, there are hardly any VPN services in the industry except PureVPN and NordVPN that offer Dedicated IP addresses. Currently, PureVPN provides dedicated IPs of eight countries namely Hong Kong, United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Malta, Germany, Australia and Canada.
We have also contacted the customer support to learn more about the dedicated IPs and they have assured us that they can also arrange specific cities’ IPs from the provided country list. The Dedicated IP isn’t offered separately. It comes with the VPN plan and costs $0.99 per month.
Port Forwarding (Add-on)
Another add-on offered by PureVPN is Port Forwarding. It costs the same as the dedicated IP add-on: $0.99 per month. The add-on offers three types of permissions: open all ports, block all ports and open specific ports.
Unblocks Netflix’s Multiple Regions
We have found PureVPN as a good option for unblocking Netflix from other regions. Since most users want access to only Netflix US, they would be joyed with the news that they can do it with PureVPN.
The Netflix US and UK option can be found on the Popular Website or Channel tabs on extension and standalone applications, respectively.
Apart from the US and UK regions, the customer support has assured us that PureVPN offers access to German, Canadian, Japanese, French and Australian regions as well.
PureVPN Review – Reddit Recommendation
We hardly found any popular reddit thread that recommends PureVPN. The best we found are a couple of threads where users have recommended PureVPN in comments for the speed and performance the VPN service delivers.
For odd reasons, reddit seems to have banned any posts that directly promotes PureVPN. It may be because of certain competitors or any other monopoly… we can’t comment on anything, nonetheless.
PureVPN in China
Everyone knows about the Great Firewall of China. The country has taken its internet restrictions to a highest level by erecting a firewall that is hard to overcome. Yet, there are certain VPNs that still work in China and PureVPN is one.
PureVPN mentions that it has servers in China as well. Ironically, you would need a VPN or a proxy service to open the PureVPN website in China to download PureVPN app.
Although the Chinese VPN servers are all functional, certain servers may require multiple attempts for successful connection.
PureVPN Torrenting Support
PureVPN supports torrents but it doesn’t blatantly promote it on its website. The VPN provider makes it easy for its users to find p2p enabled VPN servers by tagging those servers with a p2p tag.
Although there are not many servers that offer support for torrenting, those servers that do, offer good speeds on torrents, providing that there are a good number of seeds available.
Final Verdict
If you don’t mind the past and believe in the present and future, then PureVPN is a good option. It packs a good VPN network, Netflix unblocking capability, and productive add-ons.
If you are already a PureVPN user, share your experience with us in the comments section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PureVPN Any Good?
We have found PureVPN a good option for almost every VPN need you may think of. It boasts of good security measures as well as privacy features. Plus, it works well with Netflix US and most other streaming options.
As far as its reliability is concerned, PureVPN can be trusted as it offers a valid third-party No-Log certification.
Is PureVPN Good for Netflix?
There are not many VPNs that can unblock Netflix. Those VPNs that do, they won’t necessarily unblock any other library that the US Netflix. PureVPN is one of the few VPNs that can unblock not only the US Netflix but also up to six additional regions such as UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany and Japan.
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.