What the Critics Are Saying...
- Mike Williams, TechRadarThere's a lot to like about Hotspot Shield, especially its ease of use and raw speed, but logging concerns and the inability to manually set up devices like routers will be an issue for some.
- Ian Paul, Good Gear GuidePango’s privacy policy is probably fine if your only interested in securing your connection for those times you’re on public Wi-Fi connections. If, however, your primary concern is privacy or gaining as much anonymity as you can realistically get online, there are other VPN services that log far les...
- Ian Paul, PCWorldHotspot Shield is a high-quality VPN with a great desktop app, solid speeds, and 82 country choices, with more than 3,000 servers. We still don't like the privacy policy. Even though it's improved, the company is still tracking a lot of information. The company says the information is not tied to yo...
- Jim Martin, Tech AdvisorHotspot Shield is best known for its free VPN service, but the paid-for Premium version is a lot better. It’s US headquarters and logging policy may put you off, but if you want a supremely easy-to-use VPN for securing public Wi-Fi and browsing the web anonymously, it’s a fine choice.
- Jack Turner, Tech.CoHotspot Shield isn’t the most feature-packed VPN, but it covers most normal requirements and is very easy to use. Combine that with the incredible performance, and it’s a high-class VPN. The concerns around privacy and the US location may put off privacy advocates, but Hotspot Shield makes sense as...
Details
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | USA |
| Pricing/Sign Up | |
| Starting Price (per Month) | $3.99 |
| Plans and Pricing | Visit Site |
| Free Trial | 7 days |
| Money Back Guarantee | 45 Days |
| Payment Options | Credit Cards, PayPal |
| ID Required | Valid email address |
| Features | |
| Server Locations (# of Countries) | 25 |
| Number of Servers | 2600 + |
| Devices Per License | 5 |
| Simultaneous Connections | 5 |
| Unlimited Bandwidth | Yes |
| Double-Hop / Double VPN | No |
| Accesses Netflix | Yes |
| P2P / Torrenting Allowed | Yes |
| Accepts Bitcoin | No |
| Non-US Company | No |
| Protected | |
| Protocols | Catapult Hydra |
| Encryption | AES-256 |
| No Logs / No Tracking | Yes |
| Dedicated IP Available | No |
| VPN Over Tor | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Leak Protection | Yes |
| Private DNS Server | No |
| DNS Leak Protection | Yes |
| IP Leak Protection | Yes |
| WebRTC Leak Protection | Yes |
| IPv6 Leak Protection | Yes |
| Kill Switch | Yes |
| Supported Platforms | |
| Operating Systems | Windows, Mac OSX, iOS, Android |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Router | No |
| Browser Extension | Yes |
| Customer Support | |
| 24/7 Support | Yes |
| Live Chat Support | Yes |
| Telephone Support | No |
| Email Support | Yes |
| More | |
| Additional comments |
Other Names (AKA): Hot Spot Shield |
| Terms & Conditions | Official Terms & Conditions |
| Suggest a correction |
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Critic Reviews
A premium VPN for users who value speed
There's a lot to like about Hotspot Shield, especially its ease of use and raw speed, but logging concerns and the inability to manually set up devices like routers will be an issue for some.
There's a lot to like about Hotspot Shield, especially its ease of use and raw speed, but logging concerns and the inability to manually set up devices like routers will be an issue for some.
New owners, fantastic speeds, slightly better privacy
Pango’s privacy policy is probably fine if your only interested in securing your connection for those times you’re on public Wi-Fi connections. If, however, your primary concern is privacy or gaining as much anonymity as you can realistically get online, there are other VPN services that log...More
Pango’s privacy policy is probably fine if your only interested in securing your connection for those times you’re on public Wi-Fi connections. If, however, your primary concern is privacy or gaining as much anonymity as you can realistically get online, there are other VPN services that log far less data. It’s hard to argue with those speed results, however. If your only concern is getting the fastest VPN possible then you should test Hotspot Shield for yourself.
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New owners, fantastic speeds, slightly better privacy
Hotspot Shield is a high-quality VPN with a great desktop app, solid speeds, and 82 country choices, with more than 3,000 servers. We still don't like the privacy policy. Even though it's improved, the company is still tracking a lot of information. The company says the information is not tied to...More
Hotspot Shield is a high-quality VPN with a great desktop app, solid speeds, and 82 country choices, with more than 3,000 servers. We still don't like the privacy policy. Even though it's improved, the company is still tracking a lot of information. The company says the information is not tied to your personal activity, but this is still not the VPN that privacy-conscious users are looking for.
A supremely easy-to-use VPN
Hotspot Shield is best known for its free VPN service, but the paid-for Premium version is a lot better. It’s US headquarters and logging policy may put you off, but if you want a supremely easy-to-use VPN for securing public Wi-Fi and browsing the web anonymously, it’s a fine choice.
Hotspot Shield is best known for its free VPN service, but the paid-for Premium version is a lot better. It’s US headquarters and logging policy may put you off, but if you want a supremely easy-to-use VPN for securing public Wi-Fi and browsing the web anonymously, it’s a fine choice.
Easy to use with incredible speed performance
Hotspot Shield isn’t the most feature-packed VPN, but it covers most normal requirements and is very easy to use. Combine that with the incredible performance, and it’s a high-class VPN. The concerns around privacy and the US location may put off privacy advocates, but Hotspot Shield makes sense as a powerful VPN for mainstream users.
Hotspot Shield isn’t the most feature-packed VPN, but it covers most normal requirements and is very easy to use. Combine that with the incredible performance, and it’s a high-class VPN. The concerns around privacy and the US location may put off privacy advocates, but Hotspot Shield makes sense as a powerful VPN for mainstream users.
The fastest and most used VPN in the world
Hotspot shield is, with some distance, the fastest VPN we have ever tested. It's the most used VPN in the world: trusted by over 650 million users. Hotspot Shield has a very clear zero-log policy and does not track anything you do online. It also uses its own Hydra Catapult protocol, which is muc...More
Hotspot shield is, with some distance, the fastest VPN we have ever tested. It's the most used VPN in the world: trusted by over 650 million users. Hotspot Shield has a very clear zero-log policy and does not track anything you do online. It also uses its own Hydra Catapult protocol, which is much faster than OpenVPN. Moreover, it applies the highly secure AES-256 encryption, and features a kill switch.
Read full review
No-frills VPN offering decent privacy & very fast server speeds
Hotspot Shield is a super-fast, reliable VPN that has worked hard to regain its users’ trust following recent controversies. It’s very reasonably priced if you opt for one of the longer plans, and a generous 45-day money-back guarantee means that you have some time to think before you comple...More
Hotspot Shield is a super-fast, reliable VPN that has worked hard to regain its users’ trust following recent controversies. It’s very reasonably priced if you opt for one of the longer plans, and a generous 45-day money-back guarantee means that you have some time to think before you completely make up your mind. Performance is outstanding on both local and international connections, and access to Netflix or BBC iPlayer is an added bonus.
A convenient option for many users
The VPN users who demand efficient customer service might not dub Hotspot Shield as reliable. Moreover, the logs policy of this service might not be able to satisfy users who demand utmost privacy. Still, in a way Hotspot Shield is reliable. It is a reliable service for those who want to unblock...More
The VPN users who demand efficient customer service might not dub Hotspot Shield as reliable. Moreover, the logs policy of this service might not be able to satisfy users who demand utmost privacy. Still, in a way Hotspot Shield is reliable. It is a reliable service for those who want to unblock geo-restricted content without constraining their financial limitations. Hotspot Shield also has lot to offer to users who desire a convenient way of securing their connection.
Generous data cap, easy to use
If you're fine with Hotspot Shield's free service tier inserting ads into your web pages, and the privacy allegations don't concern you, then go right ahead and use this VPN service. Better yet, use both Hotspot Shield's free offering and Windscribe's similarly generous counterpart, and you'll ha...More
If you're fine with Hotspot Shield's free service tier inserting ads into your web pages, and the privacy allegations don't concern you, then go right ahead and use this VPN service. Better yet, use both Hotspot Shield's free offering and Windscribe's similarly generous counterpart, and you'll have 25GB per month of free VPN data to play with.
Provides a comprehensive VPN
With its seconds to none showing in the performance test, Hotspot Shield Elite make it hard for a user to see past this VPN solution. Also taking the top of the security and usability placing as well as providing for all essential needs of the VPN users.
With its seconds to none showing in the performance test, Hotspot Shield Elite make it hard for a user to see past this VPN solution. Also taking the top of the security and usability placing as well as providing for all essential needs of the VPN users.