Best Free VPN: Top 7 Free VPNs in April 2024 (2024)

Free VPNs provide secure VPN connections and encrypted data at zero cost. The best free VPNs will ensure that your data, online activities, and browsing history remain private.

However, most free VPN services come with limitations, including data and speed caps. You’ll also have to vet for security vulnerabilities that may put your private data at risk or expose you to malicious software.

Don’t want the hassle? Choose a cheap premium provider like Surfshark. Surfshark’s best plan comes down to only $ 2.49 per month. What’s more, it also offers a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Once you realize what you can have, you won’t want to miss out.

Want a truly free VPN instead? Our editor’s choice is PrivadoVPN, which came out on top in our testing and research of the best free VPNs. Keep reading for a review of every free service we tested.

Why We Avoid Recommending Free VPNs

Free products usually have hidden costs. This is certainly the case for free virtual private networks, which might log your data or leave your IP address exposed.

Here are some of the biggest risks and limitations that we notice when testing free VPNs:

• Data logging and monitoring: A virtual private network should be private. However, the majority of free VPN services will log your data and share it with third parties. This can include monitoring your internet traffic and the websites you visit.
• Infecting your device with malware: Certain free VPN providers have been found to contain adware, malware, and even spyware in their software.
• Leak user data: Free VPNs are more vulnerable to data breaches since they’re usually not up to the security standards of premium VPNs. This can lead to compromised user data.
• P2P server networks: Some free VPNs plug you into peer-to-peer networks, which might expose your data to other users.

Besides these security risks, free VPNs may also hinder your user-experience by capping your data and offering only a limited amount of servers.

We like saving money as much as the next person! However, free VPNs are not at the top of our list of recommendations, considering the above.

If you don’t want to pay for a VPN service, you’re better off taking advantage of a VPN free trial or money-back guarantee. Surfshark currently has a 7-day free trial for new users! Have a look to see how it compares to the best free VPN providers.

You can also use Surfshark for 30 days if you want more time to make a decision. Not satisfied? No harm! You can get a full refund easily.

Our Best Free VPN Services of 2024

If a totally free VPN is what you’re looking for, we rounded up the most reliable options in one list. You don’t even have to provide your payment information or make use of a money-back guarantee.Free really means free with these VPN providers.

Feature	1. PrivadoVPN	2. Proton VPN	3. hide.me	4. TunnelBear	5. Windscribe	6. ZoogVPN	7. Hotspot Shield	8. Opera VPN
Free data per month	10 GB	Unlimited	10 GB	500 MB	10 GB	10-50 GB	15 GB (500 MB per day)	Unlimited
Countries with servers	47	70+	8	42	11	3	3	Unspecified servers in 3 locations: Americas, Asia, Europe
Operating system	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Android TV, and Fire TV	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Android TV, Linux, and Chromebook	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Android TV, and Fire TV	Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Fire TV	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, smart TVs	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux	Windows, Android
P2P traffic allowed	✔	✖	✔	✖	✔	✔	✔	✖
Kill switch	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Split tunneling	✔	✖	✔	✖	✔	✖	✖	✖
Multi-hop	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖
Ad blocker	✖	✖	✖	✖	✔	✖	✖	✔
Obfuscation	✖	✖	✖	✔	✔	✖	✔	✖
Website	Get PrivadoVPN	Get Proton VPN	Get hide.me	Get TunnelBear	Get Windscribe	Get ZoogVPN	Get Hotspot Shield	Get Opera VPN

Our in-depth research has clued us up on the strengths and weaknesses of each of these totally free VPNs. Read on to find out which one fits your needs best.

1. PrivadoVPN: Best free VPN overall

Privado is the best free VPN on the market and our editor’s choice. It keeps your identity safe and is especially suited for PC and Mac users, with an easy-to-navigate interface and solid security features.

PrivadoVPN also has apps for iOS, Android, and Android TV. There’s even a Fire TV Stick app, which is pretty great for a free VPN!

Privacy and security: When testing this VPN, we were impressed by its features. PrivadoVPN offers a high level of privacy, thanks to its strict zero-logs policy and headquarters in Switzerland (favorable privacy laws!). The VPN does not collect or store any data.

On top of that, PrivadoVPN offers highly secure VPN protocols like WireGuard and OpenVPN, as well as AES 256-bit encryption. For a free VPN, it also offers advanced security features, including an automatic kill switch and a split-tunneling feature called SmartRoute.

Server network: Privado offers free servers in 10 locations, namely:

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States

At start-up, Privado will automatically suggest the best server location for you. This means you can secure a VPN connection in a matter of seconds.

Streaming and torrenting: Privado does wonders for streaming! We connected to the UK server easily and had no trouble unblocking BBC iPlayer. We were also able to watch various Netflix libraries, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and Amazon Prime Video.

The 10 GB data limit does create limitations, but Privado is still one of the best free Netflix VPNs. You can always reduce the playback quality to save some data.

Torrenting enthusiasts, you’ll be happy to know that PrivadoVPN allows for P2P file sharing. We tried downloading some torrents and didn’t encounter any throttling.

Limits on speed and data: PrivadoVPN offers unlimited speeds — as long as you stay within the monthly 10 GB data limit. When testing, we did notice that the speeds on Privado’s free servers are a lot lower than that of premium VPNs like Surfshark.

What’s also good to know is that Privado will only provide you with a 1 Mbps speed once you’ve exceeded your 10 GB monthly data cap. Agonizingly slow internet is very frustrating, especially when streaming.

Good to know: Besides the 10 GB data cap, Privado has no dedicated Linux app. On top of that, you can only use PrivadoVPN’s free version on one device at a time. Of course, you’re free to create multiple accounts to get around this, but it will be a hassle.

Overall, PrivadoVPN performed exceptionally well in our tests and has several impressive features you wouldn’t expect from a free service. Have a look for yourself!

We also tested Privado’s premium version for our PrivadoVPN review, in case you want to learn more.

2. Proton VPN: Best free VPN with unlimited data

Proton VPN is one of the most well-known free VPNs. As one of the only unlimited free plan options, this provider is ideal if you need unlimited data to browse the internet for as long as you like.

The VPN works well on almost all of your devices. We’ve tried it on Mac, Windows, Android, Android TV, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, and even on some routers.

Privacy and security: Proton VPN doesn’t keep any logs of user data. As long as your VPN connection is activated, you’ll be safe and anonymous online.

Besides a kill switch feature, Proton VPN offers secure VPN protocols, including OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2. They even have a Stealth protocol to overcome censorship and bypass geo-restrictions. This protocol masks the fact that you’re using a VPN.

Server network: Unfortunately, free users are not spoiled for choice when it comes to Proton’s server location. There are only three countries with free servers: the United States (22 servers), the Netherlands (38 servers), and Japan (8 servers).

In comparison, a VPN like Surfshark provides you with 3200+ servers across 100 countries. For only a few dollars per month, you won’t have any limitations.

Streaming and torrenting: Unfortunately, Proton VPN free doesn’t support torrenting. Even the best torrent sites are not reliably accessible with this VPN unless you upgrade to the premium version.

In terms of streaming, results were mixed. We tried to access Netflix using Proton but got an error message about using a VPN/proxy. The same happened for Amazon Prime Video. At other times, however, we’ve had no issues streaming with Proton VPN.

Limits on speed and data: Most notably, Proton VPN Free has no data or speed limits. That’s a huge thing for us — Proton is the only reliable fully free VPN that offers uncapped data.

Having said that, we found that the free version of Proton VPN can be quite slow at times. This makes sense, considering the large volume of free users using a limited amount of servers.

Good to know: You can use Proton for free on one device at the same time. Want to protect different devices? You’re free to use different email addresses for multiple accounts.

On that note, a Proton account gives you access to a wide range of other security services:

• Proton Mail, a secure email service
• Proton Calendar, a feature with end-to-end encryption
• Proton Drive, free secure cloud storage of 1 GB

If you choose to upgrade to a premium Proton VPN plan, you get upgrades for all these services, making it a great all-in-one online privacy provider.

This popular provider from Switzerland offers user-friendly software, an excellent free package of security tools, and high-level encryption.

Want to know more? Read our full Proton VPN review to see our testing results!

3. Hide.me: Best free VPN for torrenting safely

Hide.me is a trustworthy VPN that allows P2P file sharing and has excellent free customer support. If you’re a beginning VPN user who likes to torrent safely, we think that this is the best free option for you.

The VPN has an app for most major operating systems, including Windows, iOS, macOS, Android, Linux, and even Fire TV Stick.

Privacy and security: Hide.me is a zero-logs VPN that has been independently certified. The provider doesn’t store any information about your internet activities, which is good news for the privacy-conscious.

Hide.me is also based in Malaysia, which is outside of the Eyes Alliance. You won’t have to deal with invasive privacy legislation.

In terms of VPN protocols, you have a wide variety to choose from:

• IKEv2
• OpenVPN
• SoftEtherVPN
• WireGuard
• SSTP

Server network: The free version of Hide.me only gives you access to servers in eight countries: Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States.

In our experience, this is not very impressive, but it’s about average for a free provider.

Streaming and torrenting: In the past, Hide.me didn’t allow free users to download torrents. Luckily, the provider changed this policy, and free users can now download safely via torrent sites.

Unfortunately, streaming gave us quite some issues. Hide.me does not work with Netflix US. We tested this ourselves and weren’t able to unblock any geo-restricted shows or movies on Netflix.

Limits on speed and data: The free version of Hide.me has a data cap of 10 GB per month. If you want to stream or download something, you’ll reach this limit easily. When testing the VPN, we also found that speeds varied quite a bit.

If you don’t want to deal with these restrictions, have a look at our best VPNs for streaming.

Good to know: During the first week of your free membership, you’ll be able to use Hide.me Premium with a seven-day free trial. After that, you’ll be limited to the free features. You can use Hide.me on one device at a time.

We did find that Hide.me’s upsell campaign is quite invasive. There’s always a button urging you to switch to the premium version, which can be annoying.

On a positive note, we found Hide.me’s customer support is very responsive and supportive!

Hide.me has a few advantages over other VPNs, mainly its variety of VPN protocols and torrenting capabilities.

We also tested all of Hide.me’s features for our Hide.me review, in case you want to learn more about what this VPN can offer you.

4. TunnelBear: Free VPN with many server locations

TunnelBear is a practical VPN with many servers. It also offers a cheeky design that’s easy to use! While TunnelBear’s free version has a narrow data limit, it’s great for users looking for plenty of server locations and a well-designed app.

Another great benefit is that you can use TunnelBear Free on unlimited devices.

Privacy and security: TunnelBear’s security and privacy features are very solid. In comparison to other free VPN services, we noted some great extra features, like a kill switch (VigilantBear) and obfuscation technology to hide the fact you’re using a VPN (GhostBear).

Thanks to these, we could unblock more streaming services with TunnelBear VPN Free than with many of its competitors.

In terms of privacy, TunnelBear has a no-logs policy. The provider is located in Canada, however, which is part of the Eyes Alliance. Have a look at our best VPNs outside the 14 Eyes for alternative options.

Server network: Thanks to its huge server list, TunnelBear is one of the best free VPNs out there. Even with the free version, TunnelBear allows you to choose from all of its available servers in 42 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and many more.

Moreover, these servers give you the same experience as the Premium TunnelBear servers, which is unique among free VPNs.

Streaming and torrenting: We tested TunnelBear to see if it could unblock online streaming sites, and the results were a resounding success. TunnelBear was able to circumvent geo-restrictions from sites like Hulu and BBC iPlayer, as well as multiple versions of Netflix.

Unfortunately, there are torrenting restrictions. TunnelBear doesn’t allow P2P traffic on its servers.

Limits on speed and data: With such good testing results, what is TunnelBear’s catch? While we didn’t experience any speed throttling, there’s one major drawback.

The biggest disadvantage we found when using TunnelBear is the data limit — you only get 500 MB per month. You can add another 1 GB of free data if you tweet about TunnelBear, but that’s not ideal for people looking for more online privacy.

Good to know: Who said VPNs are boring? TunnelBear is one of the most fun VPN apps to use! The visual style is unique and engaging, and the software is full of bear-related puns.

It is worth noting that customer support is limited for free users, since premium users get priority.

TunnelBear Free is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS and can be used on unlimited devices simultaneously.

You can find more details and our personal testing experience in our TunnelBear review.

5. Windscribe: Best free VPN for fast connection speeds

Windscribe is a popular free VPN that works on almost all operating systems and devices, including Linux. It also offers fast servers and a reasonable data limit.

You can get unlimited simultaneous connections with Windscribe, which is also a plus!

Privacy and security: Windscribe offers world-class security features, including a kill switch, an ad blocker, and a split-tunneling option. You rarely see this many security features in a free VPN. Previous software hiccups have been overcome, and the provider has a tight no-logging policy.

As privacy-conscious internet surfers, we appreciate that Windscribe offers multiple strong security protocols:

• IKEv2
• OpenVPN
• WireGuard
• WStunnel
• Stealth (obfuscation)

Server network: The free version of Windscribe has fewer options than the paid package. For free users, Windscribe only provides servers in a handful of countries.

Paying customers have access to global servers in as many as 63 countries. However, for a free plan, the number of server locations is still surprisingly high.

Streaming and torrenting: We were able to unblock and stream content from many different streaming platforms with Windscribe. Unfortunately, we were unable to access Netflix with Windscribe.

While this is a downside, it is rare to see a free VPN that can unblock Netflix without any issues these days. Of course you can easily watch Netflix with a VPN offered by premium providers.

Torrenting is entirely possible with Windscribe, a benefit for P2P fans!

Limits on speed and data: Windscribe is the fastest free VPN we tested. The secure servers maintained good speeds when we used them for browsing, even while we downloaded a file in the background.

There is a data limit of 2 GB per month. However, if you choose to share your email address with Windscribe and verify your account, you get 10 GB a month. Unfortunately, Windscribe may use this data for marketing, so we recommend using a throwaway email address.

Good to know: Windscribe is not as easy to use as some of the other free VPN providers listed above. Most of the buttons in the software take you to your account page.

We would prefer it if you could change your account settings in the VPN application itself.

You do get unlimited connections with Windscribe, so the entire family can be protected with just one account. It works on all major operating systems, including Linux!

We conducted a thorough Windscribe review and found that the free version holds up well!

6. ZoogVPN: Free VPN with a referral program

ZoogVPN is a free zero-logs VPN provider with a useful referral program. Unfortunately, its security isn’t as good as that of other free VPNs (it doesn’t use 256-bit encryption), and the free version can only be used on one device at a time.

You can expand your data limit up to 50 GB per month.

Privacy and security: ZoogVPN offers multiple encryption protocols, though the majority of these are only available to premium users. Even so, free users can choose between IKEv2 and OpenVPN.

OpenVPN, in particular, is a very secure VPN protocol. Unfortunately, the type of encryption that’s available for free servers is 128-bit. 128-bit encryption is still good and won’t be easily breached by anyone, but it’s a miss when compared to the other entries on this list.

While testing the free application of ZoogVPN, we noticed it also offers a kill switch. Should your VPN connection unexpectedly drop, the kill switch will keep your data from leaking.

Server network: With ZoogVPN’s free package, you can only access five servers in the UK, the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and Singapore.

This is a limited number that didn’t offer us much choice for unblocking websites, even if the server locations are nicely spread out over the globe.

Streaming and torrenting: You can torrent with ZoogVPN. The upload speeds are very low, so contributing is more of a challenge, but generally, P2P file sharing is possible and allowed with this free VPN.

We did not have the same success with streaming. When we tested ZoogVPN’s free servers, Netflix did not work, and we experienced considerable lagging at times. We also struggled to unblock any other streaming platforms with ZoogVPN.

Limits on speed and data: While ZoogVPN’s servers are quite fast, they can’t handle heavier loads. Moreover, free users will be the first the suffer from slow speeds.

Since ZoogVPN has a 10 GB monthly data limit, you might not want to use this VPN for extensive use. However, there’s a nice workaround: if you refer a friend, you can earn an additional 5 GB per friend, up to a total of 50 GB per month.

Good to know: ZoogVPN has apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, and smart TVs. This makes it very versatile. We found it a real plus that we could test this VPN on whatever device we wanted, and you can do the same!

Despite limitations, ZoogVPN is still secure and free, making it a great free VPN for people who need an internet security boost without any costs.

You can find out more about this provider in our ZoogVPN review.

7. Hotspot Shield: Free VPN with a generous data limit

Hotspot Shield is a popular free VPN with some of the most advantageous data limits. However, it uses 128-bit encryption, and the free version of the app is not very user-friendly.

The VPN also caught some flak over the years for its lack of data protection on free plans. Even so, for a free service, we found it to be a solid contender and have decided to include it as one of our best free VPNs

Privacy and security: Hotspot Shield uses a proprietary VPN protocol, Hydra, which is based on the industry standard of OpenVPN. This is a powerful, secure protocol — something we don’t usually see with free services.

On top of that, the VPN features other security features not available on most free VPNs, including IP and DNS leak protection, obfuscation, and DNS filtering. This makes Hotspot Shield one of the most feature-rich free VPN services we’ve come across.

A downside is that Hotspot Shield’s parent company, Aura (which also offers Aura identity theft protection) is located in the United States. The US does not have the most favorable data retention records and is not known for treating citizens’ privacy.

When testing and reviewing the VPN, we found the privacy policy to be less than ideal, leaving us uncertain about how some of Hotspot Shield’s user data may be used.

Server network: Hotspot Shield offers a limited server network to its free subscribers: only three server locations, namely the United States, United Kingdom, and Singapore.

This means that your options for unblocking international content are somewhat limited.

Streaming and torrenting: Torrenting is allowed with Hotspot Shield, but the speeds are not the fastest we’ve seen. It’s not very noticeable when we were just browsing the web.

However, as soon as we tried to access streaming services, we ran into issues. We struggled to unblock even a single streaming service.

Limits on speed and data: Hotspot’s free VPN has the best data limits (after Proton VPN). With Hotspot Shield, you get 500 MB per day, which means you have around 15 GB per month if you use it well. Aside from Proton VPN’s unlimited access, this is the most generous free VPN data limit.

We noticed that you can’t “save up” your data. Every day, the data cap resets, which makes it more difficult if you want to do anything that requires more than 500 MB.

Paired with Hotspot Shield’s slower speeds, the main use of the VPN would be to encrypt your traffic rather than streaming or gaming.

Good to know: The free version of Hotspot Shield isn’t too user-friendly. It pushes ads on you and a lot of users reported random disconnections, although we experienced no disconnects when testing the app ourselves.

If you don’t mind the fact that Hotspot Shield is located in the United States, you can easy use this free VPN to browse the web.

Find out more about the provider in our comprehensive Hotspot Shield review.

8. Opera VPN: Free proxy built into Opera browser

Opera VPN is our final recommendation. While this VPN does not fully function as a VPN, it comes built-in with the Opera browser, which means you don’t need to do anything to use it.

It will automatically encrypt your internet traffic, but is unsuited for torrenting, gaming, or streaming due to the lack of control you can exercise over the VPN.

Privacy and security: Opera doesn’t log your internet traffic or your online activity in any way. Within the Opera browser, your traffic is automatically encrypted with 256-bit encryption. Protocols include OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec, and your real location remains hidden.

Additional security benefits include an ad blocker. However, we do need to be clear about one thing: Opera Free VPN is not really a VPN, it’s a proxy extension. This means that it’s less safe than a regular VPN.

Server network: The free version of Opera VPN will select a random server for you in one of three regions: Americas, Asia, and Europe. You can’t choose the server manually.

While your real IP address will be hidden, unblocking censorship or bypassing geo-blocks is a challenge with free Opera VPN since you can’t choose a specific server location.

Streaming and torrenting: We found that the free Opera VPN app doesn’t do much in terms of unblocking streaming services. This is mainly due to the fact that you can’t choose a specific location. Say you want to access Netflix USA; there’s no way to connect to the United States manually.

On top of that, it’s not possible (or safe!) to torrent with Opera Free VPN since it’s really a proxy.

Limits on speed and data: One of the benefits that Opera VPN holds over other free VPN services is that it doesn’t have any limitations on data or on speed. You’re free to browse as much as you like without risking being caught off.

Good to know: The free Opera VPN plan is only available for Android and Windows users. You can try out the Pro plan features in a 7-day free trial if you wish to use additional features and access the full VPN server network.

Opera VPN Free is best suited to a specific type of VPN user: if you don’t want the hassle of signing up, don’t have many requests for streaming or gaming, and just want your browser encrypted, it’s a very easy-to-use option!

We also tested Opera VPN’s premium VPN. You can see how the service fared in our full Opera VPN review!

Comparison: Free VPNs vs. Affordable VPNs

Free VPNs are generally limited in some way, whether it’s a traffic cap or speed limit. Premium VPNs, on the other hand, are more secure and offer more options.

Let’s look at how our completely free VPN services stack up against Surfshark, a very affordable premium VPN.

Of course, the most obvious downside of a premium VPN is its price. Luckily, you can try most premium VPN services for free.

You can get a Surfshark free trial by taking advantage of the 30-day money-back guarantee. Just ask for a refund before those 30 days are up, and the subscription won’t cost you a dime.

Plus, Surfshark offers a pretty good deal if you decide to invest in a trustworthy VPN: for only $ 2.49 per month, you get all the advantages of a premium VPN.

How Did We Determine Our Top Eight Best Free VPNs List?

Our top criteria for these eight best free VPNs was that they had no direct or hidden subscription costs. VPNs with free trials that automatically turn into a paid subscription were not included in our list.

Additionally, we wanted VPNs on our list that did not collect your information extensively. This is a common problem with free VPNs, so we disqualified any app we found that didn’t take data protection seriously. Here are the other criteria we considered during our research:

• Encryption: A VPN provider needs to have secure encryption protocols and be able to safeguard your data effectively.
• Data limits: If you use the internet frequently and for data-heavy activities like gaming, you must ensure that a free VPN provider will offer an acceptable data limit to cover your daily needs.
• Speed caps: Decent speeds are important for most online activities as they give you an uninterrupted experience. A free VPN service that offers that is a winner in our books.
• The number of available servers and server locations: The more servers and locations provided by a free VPN, the better. This will allow you to access websites that may be unavailable in your location, like a specific streaming platform.
• The maximum number of simultaneous connections: If you want a free VPN for all your family members, one that offers you the choice to connect many devices at the same time is a sure winner.

Free VPNs vs. Paid VPNs

You need to be careful when using free VPN services. Many free VPNs don’t protect your data properly. These apps may keep logs of your activity or even collect data to sell for marketing purposes.

Free VPNs may also request access to all kinds of sensitive information, like your contacts, photos, and social media. Some free providers even infect your device with spyware and other malware.

Apart from these unsettling facts, many free VPNs have other disadvantages that paid VPN services don’t. Here’s our brief overview of the main differences and similarities between paid and unpaid VPNs.

As you can see, premium VPNs often offer features and options you’re not likely to get even with one of the best free VPNs.

Plus, some paid VPN subscriptions are quite affordable. Best of all, most of them offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try them without committing to a plan.

At VPNOverview, we only recommend the very best VPN services. If you’d like to know more, you can take a look at our full VPN review ranking.

Which premium VPNs are affordable?

Several VPNs offer very good VPN connections at low prices. Many good cheap VPNs are just as good, if not better, than a VPN with a higher monthly fee.

Here are just some of the most affordable premium VPNs on the market:

1. Surfshark ($ 2.49/mo): Fast, affordable, and secure, Surfshark’s biggest selling point is its unlimited simultaneous connections.
2. CyberGhost ($ 2.03/mo): CyberGhost is extremely beginner-friendly and offers special gaming and streaming servers, making it perfect for VPN newbies or younger users.
3. Private Internet Access ($ 1.98/mo): PIA offers thousands servers worldwide, one of the biggest server networks we’ve seen.

Want more recommendations? Check out our full list of the best cheap VPNs.

Free VPNs You Should Avoid

There are also numerous free VPNs out there that you should avoid. Many aim to track or sell user data to others. This harms your privacy instead of protecting it.

Some free VPNs even sell your connection to other users. Your bandwidth is given to premium users of the service who, in turn, use your connection and IP address as their very own “VPN server.”

Below, you’ll find an overview of some unsafe free VPNs that are relatively popular and why you should avoid them.

These aren’t the only unsafe free VPN providers out there. Many VPNs in the App Store and on Google Play don’t have clear policies regarding data processing and privacy. We recommend sticking to tried-and-tested VPN providers that our cybersecurity experts have vetted.

If you come across such a VPN yourself, be careful. Don’t assume you’ll be able to browse the internet anonymously with these VPNs.

Feel free to leave us a comment about (potentially) unsafe VPNs, and we’ll make sure to review them.

Conclusion: What is the Best Free VPN?

At the moment, our best all-around free VPN is PrivadoVPN. We found this provider to be the absolute best choice when it comes to security, as it has a strict no-logs policy and features such as those that enable torrenting.

Proton VPN is our best VPN if you’re looking for unlimited data and a free smartphone VPN.

If you’re looking for a free fast VPN, Windscribe performed best when we tested free VPNs for speed. TunnelBear is the most user-friendly free option that we found while also offering the best server network.

The table below includes our best free VPN providers at this moment for specific purposes and criteria:

While this is all well and good, keep in mind that you’ll likely run into data limits and speed caps, not to mention potential security vulnerabilities.

For that reason, we do recommend choosing a cheap paid VPN. You can experiment a little bit with different free VPN trials. Surfshark’s the best choice in this regard.

If you want to know more about the best free VPNs for different purposes, take a look at these articles:

• Best VPN Free Trials in 2024
• The Best Free VPNs for PC

Chris BluvshteinAuthor

Senior Journalist

Chris is a tech journalist with many years’ experience covering online privacy and cybersecurity. He’s also a published author and works as a Product Manager for some of the most innovative software development companies.

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