IPVanish Review — Is It Safe to Use in 2024?

Does IPVanish provide you the speed and secure browsing experience that it claims? This comprehensive IPVanish review delves deep into the performance and reliability of IPVanish, revealing the results of our extensive product testing.

We assessed IPVanish’s performance based on its usability, value for money, and user satisfaction, among other things.

Our team regularly reviews all the major VPN providers and we’ll share with you how exactly IPVanish stands out compared to other top VPN services.

By the end of this review, you’ll gain clarity on whether IPVanish is truly suitable for your browsing needs.

Key IPVanish Pros and Cons

Here is a quick breakdown of all the major benefits and shortcomings of the IPVanish VPN that you may face:

Have some doubts? Take advantage of IPVanish’s risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee to try out the VPN and experience its benefits and versatile use cases firsthand.

Can You Trust IPVanish?

Given that it is a US-based VPN service, it does get affected by the Five-Eyes Alliance. This ultimately led it to be embroiled in the logging scandal in 2016 as it provided FBI detailed logs of a user identified as a suspect in a child pornography case as described in this criminal affidavit.

Although this critical information helped the FBI arrest a dangerous sexual predator, it did badly damage the reputation of IPVanish as this meant their claims of no-log policy were false.

As a result, the company faced dire consequences as they lost customer trust and was ultimately acquired by Ziff Devis (previously named J2 Global).

Since its acquisition, IPVanish has crossed leaps and bounds to regain customer trust through various measures, including:

Most importantly, rather than opting for virtual servers or leasing physical servers, IPVanish actually owns almost 90% of their servers. This is impressive as this allows them to provide better speeds, with military-grade security and better privacy.

Overall, many years have passed since the one-off scandal of 2016 and it seems that IPVanish has truly upheld its promise of ensuring user anonymity with full transparency.

What is IPVanish Best for?

With 90% physical servers owned by IPVanish, this VPN service is renowned most for its ultra-fast speeds and military grade security that allows you to reliably use it in the following key areas:

Restriction-Free Content Streaming

The extensive server network throughout the globe and Wireguard tunneling protocol allows you to have fast speeds with reliable access to geo-restricted content from Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer and most other popular streaming platforms.

Simply connect to a server near your desired streaming location and enjoy uninterrupted playback without buffering.

We’ve come across user reviews sharing that the VPN is not able to reliably unblock Hulu and Amazon Prime Video for them. This might be due to not using a private browsing window/incognito mode or due to the IP having been blacklisted.

If you are having trouble unblocking Hulu or Amazon Prime Video with IPVanish, you can try clearing your browser’s cookies and cache, using a private browsing window, connecting to a different VPN server location, or contacting IPVanish customer support.

If nothing else works, it might be best to give another VPN provider a try for streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime.

Torrenting Anonymously

With a balance of privacy and performance capabilities, IPVanish is ideal for all your torrenting needs. Unlike other VPNs, IPVanish supports both unlimited torrenting and P2P file sharing across its entire network of P2P-friendly servers.

For maximum download speeds, be sure to use the SOCKS5 proxy offered by IPVanish. SOCKS5 proxies are highly useful for torrenting because they can direct your torrent traffic through a different port than the standard HTTP/HTTPS ports, making it more difficult for ISPs or copyright holders to track torrent activity.

The SOCKS5 proxy complements IPVanish’s iron-clad encryption, kill switch, and strict no-logs policy, ensuring your privacy remains intact even during high-volume torrenting sessions.

Bypassing Censorship with VPN Obfuscation

Using OpenVPN Scramble, IPVanish is able to hide from VPN blocking firewalls. It’s an added layer of security over and above your encryption protocols.

It hides you in a way that government firewalls are not able to detect that you are using a VPN – basically protecting you from deep packet inspections.

With this handy feature you can use IPVanish to access any restricted or censored content from around the globe.

However, it is important to note that despite this feature, we found that the VPN is still not working in some regions like China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

Secure Browsing on Public Wi-Fi

With the rise of cybercrimes like identity theft, eavesdropping, and malware infections, public Wi-Fi is more dangerous than ever.

IPVanish VPN allows you to easily escape these dangers by ensuring secure and anonymous browsing on-the-go without worrying about most cybersecurity threats.

It encrypts all your online data and hides your IP address, protecting your data from prying eyes when using public Wi-Fi networks.

Plus, it further protects with additional security features of AES 256-bit encryption, secure encryption protocols, 40,000+ shared IP addresses, Kill Switch, DNS leak protection, and independently audited no-logs policy.

IPVanish Features – The Good and The Bad

Let’s explore these core features with an analysis of their benefits and shortcomings revealed through our hands-on testing of the VPN service:

Automatic Connection

Auto-connect feature is a practical feature from IPVanish that helps you connect on demand with the VPN based on your preset rules.

During our hands-on testing, we were impressed with the fact that this feature offers continuous device protection, even if you forget to manually connect the VPN.

Basically, you can configure it to activate VPN automatically while your device is connected to a public Wi-Fi or any other untrusted networks.

You can even define conditions for IPVanish to automatically disconnect while you use certain websites or trusted networks. And the best part is this feature is available on all IPVanish apps, including Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS.

While testing IPVanish, we were impressed with the effectiveness of Automatic Connection in securing our device from all types of network traffic exposure without requiring constant user intervention.

Kill Switch

IPVanish’s Kill Switch comes in handy as a safety net for instances when your VPN connection drops suddenly. It basically halts all your network traffic until a secure connection is re-established.

During our testing of the VPN, we found that this Kill Switch feature worked as a fail-safe back-up by instantly blocking all internet traffic as soon as the VPN connection falters.

With this activated, you can breathe easy that your sensitive online activity will not be suddenly exposed. Other user reviews also showcase a similar satisfaction with the results of this shield in protecting their anonymity from unexpected interruptions.

However, unfortunately, the Kill Switch functionality is only limited to the users of MacOS, Windows, Android, and Amazon Fire TV.

WireGuard Protocol

As one of the first VPNs to adopt this encryption protocol, IPVanish apps by default utilize WireGuard – a turbo-charged, lightweight VPN protocol offering significantly enhanced speeds, security and stability compared to older protocols like OpenVPN.

With a more streamlined encryption algorithm and minimum code length, we found WireGuard more effective in supporting faster speeds, reduced CPU usage, and improved security, with minimized vulnerabilities compared to OpenVPN.

With WireGuard protocol, our testing consistently demonstrated faster connection times and stable performance for IPVanish, particularly for mobile VPN apps that benefited from the simplified codebase requiring lower processing power.

However, despite all the benefits, this protocol is still a work in progress and currently not compatible with all the operating systems and devices out there (which is fast-changing given its increasing popularity in the VPN world).

SOCKS5 Proxy

For an optimized, high-speed torrenting experience, the SOCKS5 proxy offered by IPVanish is incredibly valuable.

You can use it to mask your IP address and location while accessing certain applications by routing this specific internet traffic through a proxy server.

A major advantage of this SOCKS5 proxy is that it provides an anonymized torrenting experience with P2P-optimized servers that are compatible with the BitTorrent protocols. You can also use it to access geo-blocked content or bypass internet restrictions in certain regions.

Note that SOCKS5 proxy is not a replacement for VPN as it does not provide the same level of privacy and data encryption (hence the faster speed provided for torrenting).

It is better to use the VPN together with the SOCKS5 option when your highest priority is utmost privacy without any chances of activity logging or monitoring. On the other hand, you can opt for SOCKS5 proxy servers alone simply as an IP address changer for online anonymity with the highest possible speed for torrenting or any other bandwidth-intensive activity.

Split Tunneling

Split tunneling is another highly valuable functionality offered by IPVanish that allows us to selectively route network traffic from certain applications or websites through the VPN and connect all the rest directly through our internet connection.

We had the liberty to choose exactly which apps or sites we wanted to route through the IPVanish tunnel. By not routing non-essential bandwidth-intensive traffic, we experience faster and better optimized VPN performance. And this was possible while maintaining our privacy when visiting apps or websites that actually require such measures.

However, you must carefully consider what traffic to route through the VPN to avoid any unexpected leakage of sensitive information through the unprotected network traffic.

IPVanish Pricing in 2024– Is It Good Value?

IPVanish is one of the most budget-friendly VPN options in the market in 2024, mainly because of its highly affordable yearly and 2-year plans displayed below:

Alongside a VPN, all subscriptions of IPVanish offer you the same core features presented in previous sections, including military-grade security, unlimited simultaneous device connections, 40,000+ shared IP addresses, SOCKS5 proxy, multiple encryption protocols, and live customer support.

Mobile app users can opt for a 7-day free trial for quick testing purposes and you can then utilize these free trial credentials on other devices as well for a complete experience.

Monthly Subscription

For beginners, the monthly subscription is a good starting point. However, it is not the most affordable, especially without the 30-day money-back guarantee.

Although very useful for a risk-free trial of the product, this money-back guarantee is only available for the yearly plans.

Yearly Subscription

The yearly subscription offers a 77% saving on the monthly price, making it seem quite a bargain – especially with the first three months free and the 30-day money-back guarantee available for testing purposes.

2-Year Subscription

The 2-year subscription is the most budget-friendly with a massive 81% cost-saving on the monthly pricing. Similar to the yearly subscription, this also offers the first three months free and a 30-day money-back guarantee for risk-free trial.

IPVanish Ease of Use – How’s the Interface?

Our team found the IPVanish user interface to be user friendly and easy to navigate due to clear design. Its compatibility with a range of devices made the experience even better.

Here is a detailed analysis of the user interface and functionalities offered on the various devices IPVanish is compatible with:

Windows App

IPVanish’s Windows app is feature-packed for Windows 10 and 11 with a sleek and simple UI.

The Quick connect option that allows automatic connection to the best server based on your location and needs.

You can tweak the user interface based on your design preference like whether to view the app in light or dark mode, view all available servers as map view or table view.

The best part is that you can mark your preferred servers as favorites, visible separately in a Favorite List tab.

In terms of features, the IPVanish Windows app offers all the features described prior to this section. In fact, its Kill Switch is better than on MacOS as it also supports local area network (LAN) blocking for additional protection against network vulnerabilities.

Mac App

While the IPVanish Mac app is less customizable compared to Windows applications, it is still highly intuitive and user friendly with much the same core interface available with Favorite List and interactive Map/List view of the servers. The application is supported by ​​macOS 10.13+.

The Quick Connect feature has transformed into an improved version called Optimal location.

This new version of Quick Connect is better suited to automatically select an ideal server based on your location, server load, and other critical factors using an intelligent load-balancing algorithm. This prevents server congestion and ensures optimal performance.

Android App

On the Android front, IPVanish’s VPN app is compatible with Android 5.1 or higher. The Android mobile app also provides you the choice of light and dark mode.

As with the desktop version, you can mark your favorite servers as well as find all the server options in a list view. Although the home page shows a visually pleasing map, it is not interactive so you must go to the Location tab to choose a server location.

Or you can simply click the Quick Connect button on the Home Screen if you don’t need to choose a server from a specific location. The Home Screen then displays your connection source and status for easy monitoring.

The app supports multiple encryption protocols, with WireGuard as the default connection protocol, and provides all the key features required for VPN to work effectively including a Kill Switch, OpenVPN Scramble, and Split Tunneling.

You can even activate automatic connection for connection on demand when required without you having to manually start the VPN.

iOS App

Although not as feature-packed as the Android app, IPVanish’s iOS app has a simple and easy to use interface with all the major features required for an optimized and secure VPN experience.

The iOS app shares a similar interface to the Android app, offering options to toggle between light and dark modes, create a Favorites List for frequently used servers, and utilize Quick Connect to establish a one-click connection with an ideal server suitable for your needs.

Unfortunately, the iOS app lacks some important features, like split tunneling and Kill Switch, which is quite troublesome. It’s nothing to do with IPVanish itself – all VPN apps have the same issues on iOS.

Other Supported Devices and OS

IPVanish also offers easy to use applications for other popular operating systems, including Linux, Chrome OS, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.

Given that IPVanish supports unmetered connections, all these IPVanish applications definitely come in handy!

How Good Is IPVanish’ Security?

VPNs are designed to protect your privacy and online activity, but without robust security measures in place, they can become a liability, exposing your data to potential breaches and leaks.

IPVanish has consistently prioritized security, providing top-notch security features to safeguard user information.

At the heart of IPVanish’s security lies AES 256-bit encryption, the same encryption standard used by the U.S. military and widely regarded as unbreakable. This encryption method ensures that your data remains scrambled and indecipherable to even the most sophisticated cybercriminals.

IPVanish also provides multiple encryption protocols to provide optimal performance in different circumstances. In addition to its encryption protocols, IPVanish adheres to a strict no-logs policy, meaning that it does not retain any user data, including browsing history, or IP addresses.

There is still a possibility that you may share connection logs with the IPVanish team for troubleshooting and development purposes. While you can try to proactively protect your personal data, there’s no guarantee the logs are foolproof in terms of device fingerprinting.

Despite IPVanish’s privacy claims and policy changes, there is still the black cloud of its 2016 logging scandal, at least until another investigation proves the opposite. Now, it comes down to you as a user to decide if you can still trust IPVanish’s renewed commitment to user privacy or not.

Industry-Standard VPN Security

The Kill Switch feature works as intended, and it really well in our IP leak testing. It prevented any unprotected data from being transmitted, ensuring that our privacy remained intact, even when we tried to actively disrupt it.

IPVanish app also offers built-in DNS leak protection, which prevents your DNS requests from being exposed to your ISP or other third parties. It was actually able to pass our DNS leak test with flying colors.

Plus, IPVanish’s unmetered device connections ensure that all your devices are simultaneously kept secure with data encryption to leave you worry-free.

IPVanish Compared to Other VPNs

So, how does IPVanish stack up against its top alternatives? Let’s see how it compares to the top VPN service providers. The following table highlights their unique offerings, top features, and monthly pricing:

While there are other noteworthy VPN providers in the market, IPVanish stands out for its affordability and the added benefit of the SOCKS5 proxy. The VPN’s SOCKS5 proxy is specifically designed to deliver improved privacy when used together with the VPN.

The unlimited device policy is an added bonus that truly adds to its value and ease of use while ensuring complete protection on all your devices.

Most importantly, unlike many VPN providers that rely on virtual servers, IPVanish owns and operates about 90% of its network infrastructure, consisting of physical servers. This ownership translates into enhanced VPN performance, service reliability, and control over server quality.

If you are still unsure, you can opt for an yearly subscription to try it risk-free by benefiting from its 30-day money-back guarantee.

What Do Other IPVanish Reviews Say?

For our IPVanish review, we also performed an in-depth analysis of user feedback provided on trusted review sites like TrustPilot and Reddit as well as the reviews posted on Play Store and App Store for the mobile apps.

We found user feedback to be mostly positives. On TrustPilot, IPVanish has an average rating of 4.2 stars with about 8,000 reviews.

Many users have given positive feedback as they found IPVanish a good value for money because of their device compatibility, robust security offerings, and affordable pricing. Despite some hiccups along the way, the VPN was able to redeem itself with its proactive customer support that quickly resolved these issues.

Similar positive reviews were published by IPVanish Android app users on the Play Store. Many have shared that they renewed their subscription as they were highly satisfied with the VPN’s performance and speed on all the various devices.

Similar positive reviews were observed for their iOS app on the App Store with users praising it for its ease of use and optimized performance.

One happy customer was left a bit disappointed when their account was disabled without any apparent reason due to some bugs. However, customer support actively worked with the customer after the review was posted and their account was up and running within 4 days, leaving them satisfied.

Our Reviews of IPVanish Alternatives

Curious about other VPN providers? The TechReport team provides comprehensive coverage of all things VPN, offering multiple guides that showcase in-depth industry analysis.

Below are a few key guides that reveal our test results, demonstrating how these top VPN solutions perform against each other:

Why You Can Trust TechReport’s Review of IPVanish?

We use a data-driven approach, combining thorough analysis of user reviews with hands-on product testing. By digging into user feedback and conducting our own firsthand testing, we ensure that our evaluations are reliable and authentic.

How to Use IPVanish in 2024 – An Easy Step-By-Step Guide

Setting up and activating IPVanish is a straightforward process. Following is a step-by-step guide to help you quickly get started:

Step 1 – Install IPVanish App

Once you have subscribed to an IPVanish subscription plan, install the VPN app on the device of your choice from the IPVanish website. In our case, we are installing a Windows app.

Step 2 – Create An Account

After installing, run the VPN application to get started. Once set up, it will ask you to login to your IPVanish account.

Step 3 – Connect to an IPVanish VPN Server

Now, you can connect to the server of your choice or simply click on Connect to auto-connect to an ideal server automatically chosen by the IPVanish VPN app.

Step 4 – Check VPN Connection Status

To verify if you are connected to the VPN and monitor its status, you can simply view the details shown on the VPN app homepage.

Step 5 – Disconnect When Needed

Finally, when you no longer need to use the VPN connection, you can simply disconnect by clicking on the Disconnect button in the homepage.

Is IPVanish Worth It?

Overall, IPVanish is a strong contender in the VPN world, particularly for users seeking a balance between price, performance and privacy. It is well-suited for users juggling multiple devices and looking to have the VPN concurrently work on all of them.

Its impressive speed, global server network, and robust security features make it a suitable choice for a wide range of use cases, from casual internet browsing to privacy-conscious scenarios, and even bandwidth-intensive torrenting.

So, what’s our verdict? We believe IPVanish offers good value for money and is definitely worth trying. With its 30-day money-back guarantee, you can sign up and test IPVanish to experience all these benefits yourself first-hand without any risk.

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