How we check VPNs

VPNs, or digital non-public networks, are in all places. Should you’ve spent any time in any respect on YouTube, chances are high you’ve seen an advert promoting VPNs — there have been literally hundreds and thousands of them.

We check and assessment VPNs so you do not have to — however what even is a VPN? The pitch is pretty easy: a VPN can masks your IP deal with and the id of your gadget by routing your visitors by way of a distant server. Websites and providers will see a special IP deal with to your individual, and your web service supplier will solely be capable of see that you simply’re linked to a VPN server, fairly than what websites you’re visiting. Which means a VPN will be an essential software to maintain your information non-public and safe, particularly if that you must hook up with an unsecured community. Should you’re on public WiFi, for instance, you possibly can’t ensure what they’re monitoring when you’re browsing the web. With a VPN, there’s a further layer of privateness — so long as you be certain that the VPN supplier will be trusted. However a VPN shouldn’t be the top of your safety journey. Complicated passwords, multifactor authentication and different safety fundamentals must be approach larger on your checklist.

One other generally marketed characteristic of VPNs is evading geoblocking methods that firms use to stop you from accessing sure content material. Since you’re connecting to a distant server, a VPN can successfully change your location, permitting you to look at one other nation’s Netflix content material or, say, watch Physician Who on the UK-only BBC iPlayer. Should you’re within the EU, it will possibly permit you to entry websites which might be in any other case blocked because of the area’s strict information safety rules. Up to now, VPNs have even been used to skirt political firewalls put as much as censor on-line entry.

With many VPN makers making sweeping claims about military-grade encryption, digital invisibility and lightning-fast speeds, it’s robust to know what’s true and what’s advertising hype. That’s why Engadget began evaluating VPNs in 2023, taking a look at quite a lot of components corresponding to safety, velocity, latency, utilization limits and worth. And whereas we do not count on to ramp as much as extra VPN testing till 2025, our best VPNs guide will proceed to be the house base of our protection. Within the meantime, that is our present VPN testing methodology.

Background checks

Earlier than we set up or join a service, our work begins by investigating every product’s lineage. We reference privateness insurance policies, transparency reviews and safety audits which might be publicly obtainable, and word the safety specs of every service. We additionally look into every firm’s historical past of safety incidents like information breaches. We depend on some pre-existing educational work from our bodies like Shopper Studies, VPNalyzer and others when trying into safety specs.

Setup

The following step in our assessment course of includes a detailed take a look at what it’s wish to get arrange on the VPN. This includes trying on the numerous platforms every VPN helps, from sure internet browsers to Sensible TVs, to higher perceive how it may be used. We additionally look to see simply how simple it’s to get began on a brand new VPN. Some will mechanically hook up with a safe server each time you employ your gadget, whereas others make you bounce by way of hoops to remain signed in. We search to know how consumer pleasant and intuitive these VPNs will be.

Utilization limits

Whereas many VPN suppliers promise that their service works throughout each gadget on a regular basis, there may be usually small print to think about. We scan the phrases of service for every of the corporate’s plans to know what they’re providing. Is there a restrict to the variety of units a consumer can have linked without delay? Is there a “honest use” restrict that kicks in after a certain quantity of visitors? Are superior options multi-hop connections locked to solely the priciest plans? We examine all of these items so that you don’t need to. We additionally conduct a lot of our extra particular checks on the identical time, which permits us to confirm firms’ claims about simultaneous gadget use.

Velocity and latency

Step one in testing velocity and latency is to determine the baseline of the connection earlier than connecting to a VPN. We then use the “fast join” characteristic on VPN apps to hook up with the “quickest” supplier obtainable when testing web velocity. As soon as linked, we run web velocity checks by Ookla and ping checks with meter.web. When relaying these outcomes, we are going to word the common velocity and ping throughout these outcomes, in addition to the distinction between that common and our baseline when not linked to a VPN.

Geoblocking

We check all VPNs from throughout the US. To test {that a} service is ready to successfully keep away from geoblocking, we hook up with a Canada-based server and try and entry content material on Netflix that’s solely obtainable to customers in that nation. We then hook up with a Hong Kong-based server to try to look at a information livestream on a YouTube channel that’s solely obtainable to customers in that area. Lastly, we conduct a gaming check by enjoying on servers in the UK. We’re trying to see not provided that we will entry the identical content material from all these servers, but in addition to check for lag or some other complications that you may run into when utilizing one thing.

Checking for leaks

A DNS leak occurs when your gadget sends an unencrypted DNS question outdoors of your VPN service’s encrypted tunnel to an ISP’s DNS servers. This successfully nullifies the usage of a VPN within the first place by permitting third events to see and probably monitor your shopping exercise and IP deal with.

A WebRTC leak is a matter that may happen in trendy internet browsers that may equally expose your private IP deal with to a web site you’re on. Whilst you can keep away from this by configuring your browser to not ship such information, a VPN ought to be capable of forestall this from occurring.

To test for each of those points, we use publicly obtainable instruments corresponding to NordVPN’s IP deal with lookup software and ExpressVPN’s leak checks earlier than and after connecting to a VPN and ensure neither fault is going on.