Private Internet Access VPN review

Private Internet Access is a reputable, highly customizable VPN with apps for all popular devices and a large server network. Find out how PIA competes with market-leading VPNs.  

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Bleeping Computer Rating: 8.8

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What impressed us:

• Solid apps for all popular platforms. PIA has open-source apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux. 
• Servers in 90+ countries. PIA has an extensive network of 10,000+ servers, including servers in all 50 US states.
• Diskless servers. The entire PIA network runs on RAM-only servers that store no user data on hard disks.
• WireGuard protocol provides faster speeds for gaming, torrenting, or HD streaming.
• MultiHop connections for added privacy.
• No-logging policy that has been tested in court.
• System level kill switch blocks all traffic outside of the VPN tunnel.
• Auto-connect feature protects you on untrusted networks.
• Port forwarding is perfect for torrenting and hosting servers.
• Audited by Deloitte.

What could improve:

• Being based in the US puts it at risk of warrants and gag orders.
• Speeds were not the best despite providing WireGuard connections.
• Better for watching US streams – it has trouble accessing some international streaming platforms.

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Editor’s opinion:

Private Internet Access is an impressive VPN that packs a lot of features into its apps. It is one of the few VPNs that allows me to switch the encryption strength depending on my needs, and it provides everything I need to surf the web, use public WiFi, or work remotely with added security.

Although PIA is based in the US, its no-logging policy has held up in court on more than one occasion. It remains completely dedicated to privacy and has even open-sourced its apps to let anybody check the code for vulnerabilities. It has also undergone a full third-party audit of its apps and infrastructure.

PIA’s network spans more than 90 countries. It has more US server locations than any other VPN I have tested, making it a fantastic option for US-centric users wanting to bypass blackout games and access gambling services, for example.

The cost of a PIA subscription makes it extremely appealing to most home internet users, and it can be installed and used on an unlimited number of devices. It works with Hulu, Netflix, and BBC iPlayer. It even includes port forwarding at no extra cost, making it a solid option for torrenting.

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Private Internet Access VPN – Overview

Private Internet Access (PIA) is a reliable VPN with excellent apps and a wide range of features. It boasts a robust system-level kill switch and supports port forwarding, making it an attractive option for torrenting. It is also extremely affordable, suitable for large families, and offers an impressive array of features. Plus, it works to watch Netflix US and BBC iPlayer, among other streaming services.

PIA is based in the United States, with its headquarters located in Denver, Colorado. It was initially launched in 2010, making it one of the longest-running consumer-facing VPNs available. Despite its US location, PIA has garnered a positive reputation on Reddit.

Four years ago, PIA was acquired by Kape, the company that also owns CyberGhost VPN and ExpressVPN. Kape has an interesting history that made some long-time PIA users hesitant to continue with the service. However, it's important to note that, despite claims to the contrary, there is no concrete evidence that Kape-owned VPNs engage in any questionable activities. PIA operates independently even after the acquisition.

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Private Internet Access – Highlights

• Zero logs policy has been proven in court
• Fast WireGuard connections for streaming and gaming
• Reliable apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux
• System-level kill switch
• Customizable encryption
• Global server network in 91+ countries 
• Port forwarding
• 30-day money-back guarantee to test the service
• Allows unlimited connections with a single subscription
• Works to access Netflix US on vacation

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Private Internet Access review

I tested Private Internet Access on Windows, iOS, and Android. Our VPN testing methodology lets me assess every aspect of the VPN and directly compare it to other market-leading services. I scrutinized PIA's performance across seven key areas: Features, Pricing, Streaming, Speed, Privacy, Security, and Customer Support.

Private Internet Access features

PIA offers custom apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, FireTV, and Linux. Each app may have varying features. For instance, features like port forwarding are exclusively available in the desktop apps. If you need specific features we recommend checking their availability in the apps you intend to use.

In addition to its main clients, PIA makes browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

PIA’s device policy lets you install the apps and connect on an unlimited number of devices. You can easily share your account with friends and family members.

PIA is compatible with a range of router models and firmware types. They allow you to secure all the devices in your home without installing the VPN app on each one. Be sure to check whether your router is compatible with PIA.

Global server network

Private Internet Access has a sizable network of servers spanning more than 91 countries. This lets users access regional websites and services, or bypass censorship and online restrictions while traveling.

PIA has a strong focus on the United States. It is the only VPN we've encountered that offers IP addresses in all 50 US states. This makes PIA an exceptional choice for anyone seeking access to regional American TV services, regaining access to blackout games, or accessing regionally restricted websites like online bookmakers and fantasy sports competitions.

Some of the server locations provided by PIA are virtual, which means the location of the physical server and IP address don’t match. PIA provides detailed information about where each server is physically hosted on its website, allowing users to verify the location where their data is being processed. It also puts a symbol next to virtual server locations in its app, so that you can stick to physically hosted server locations if you prefer:

For most users, virtual servers pose no significant concern, as they still provide an IP address for the desired location. However, it's crucial to understand the potential privacy and performance implications associated with connecting to a server in one location (such as the Bahamas) that is actually hosted in another (New York). This consideration is especially relevant given that PIA is a US-based company subject to US laws and warrants.

As you can see in the image above. PIA clearly labels its streaming-optimized servers to make it easier to find them. If you enjoy using a particular server location, clicking the heart icon adds it to your favorites list.

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Kill switch

A VPN kill switch is an essential privacy feature designed to automatically disconnect your internet in the event of a VPN connection failure. There are two main types of VPN kill switches: reactive (app-based) and system-level.

Reactive kill switches promptly terminate your internet connection as soon as the VPN connection encounters any issues. However, because they are controlled by the VPN app itself, they cannot prevent leaks in cases when the VPN application crashes. Under these circumstances, your online activities and traffic could be exposed to local networks and your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

To ensure that your online activities remain private at all times, PIA includes an advanced kill switch that operates at the system level. When it’s engaged, no traffic can pass from your device to the internet outside of the VPN tunnel. Even if the app fails, your activities remain protected. The kill switch is available in PIA's apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

To check that the kill switch behaves and protects users as advertised, I tested the feature by purposefully crashing the VPN using my Task Manager. I used a website called page refresher to check my IP address once a second. This allowed me to monitor my connection in real-time.

I'm pleased to report that during my tests, my real IP address was never exposed. This demonstrates that the kill switch effectively safeguards my traffic from being exposed, making the VPN suitable for privacy-sensitive tasks such as torrenting.

However, it's important to note that the default PIA kill switch setting only functions when the VPN application is running. To enable the advanced kill switch, which blocks all traffic outside the VPN tunnel, you'll need to activate it in the settings menu under the Privacy tab. The advanced kill switch ensures that PIA's background processes are configured to block your traffic in the event of a VPN connection failure, even if the app is accidentally closed or crashes.

Whenever possible, the VPN's background process will attempt to maintain the connection. You can relaunch the VPN app while preserving your connection to the server and your privacy, without disconnecting your internet.

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Bandwidth allowance and data use

PIA subscribers are permitted to use their VPN account on an unlimited basis. The VPN does not limit how many devices you can install the VPN on, how many connections you use consecutively, or the amount of data that passes through its servers. 

You can connect and disconnect from as many servers as you want, as frequently as you wish.

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Split tunneling

Split tunneling lets you choose which apps or websites use the VPN, and which use your normal, unprotected internet connection. For example, the VPN can safeguard data from apps such as torrent clients while you browse the web on your normal internet connection.

For Private Internet Access (PIA), split tunneling is available in the Windows and Linux apps. If you require split tunneling on Android or Mac, you will need to shop elsewhere. VPNs, in general, do not offer split tunneling on iOS.

When you use the split tunneling feature in PIA, you have the option to select specific apps or domains that either bypass the VPN or use the VPN.

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Port forwarding

Port forwarding is a rare feature among VPNs, but it's super-useful for anybody who wants to host servers or seed torrents behind the VPN. 

By forwarding specific ports through the VPN, you can provide access to resources on your home network without revealing your home IP address. This enhances security, allowing you to host websites or game servers without publicly advertising your home IP address (which could lead to hacking or other malicious attacks).

Port forwarding enables more peers to connect to your torrent clients (uTorrent, BitTorrent, qBittorrent, etc.), improving file transfer speeds.

Keep in mind that when enabling port forwarding on the PIA server you choose, the VPN app will assign a random port, which you might need to forward in your router settings. Some torrent clients may also require you to configure this port within the client. Unfortunately, PIA assigns a random port, so you cannot pick a specific port to forward. 

Although port forwarding is available in all of PIA’s apps, not all of PIA’s servers support port forwarding. Servers that do not allow port forwarding are listed in the app with the symbol in the image below. If your current server location has this symbol, then you need to pick a different option. None of the US server locations allow port forwarding, so bear that in mind.

When the feature works, you will see which port has been opened on the main screen of the application:

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MultiHop connections

PIA offers the option to route your internet connection through multiple VPN server locations, which enhances your security and privacy. You can configure MultiHop connections within the PIA app. This feature also obfuscates your connection, which makes it more challenging for ISPs and local networks to detect VPN usage.

By default, the MultiHop feature is set up to use the Shadowsocks protocol. It bounces your data through a server in the US East region by default. If you prefer to MultiHop through a different location, you can pick from servers elsewhere in the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, Switzerland, or the Netherlands. 

Alternatively, you can switch to SOCKS5. However, you will need to get the proxy server's IP address and port number to enter it into the form in the app. PIA provides a helpful article that explains how to ping the server to get those details using the Command Prompt in Windows.

The benefit of using MultiHop is that your ISP cannot detect what VPN IPs you use to access websites and online services. This reduces the potential of your online activities being traced back to you using a correlation attack, for example.

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Obfuscation

If you want to hide your VPN usage from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or bypass VPN restrictions enforced on local networks, you can enable PIA's obfuscation feature. This feature adds an additional layer of SSL obfuscation and routes your data through proxies to conceal the VPN IP address from your ISP, enhancing your online privacy.

Obfuscation can be particularly useful for connecting to PIA in countries with strict internet censorship, though users report a mixed bag of results when attempting to connect from China. Obfuscation prevents ISPs from detecting that you are using a VPN by making your traffic appear as normal HTTPS data destined for a website.

One minor drawback of PIA's obfuscation feature is that it is part of the MultiHop feature. As a result, using obfuscation may increase your latency, potentially affecting your internet speed and stability, especially during data-intensive tasks like torrenting or video conferencing.

PIA also lets you pick which port you use to connect when using the OpenVPN protocol. This can help get you connected on LANs that have blocked ports commonly associated with VPNs. Options available are 8443, 853, 443, 80. Port selection is not available when you use the WireGuard protocol.

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Additional features

Below, we have listed the rest of Private Internet Access’ features:

• DNS-based ad and tracker blocking to help increase your privacy, save on data, and improve page load times.
• MTU packet size can be altered to allow for a better connection on different networks.
• Custom DNS. PIA lets you use either its own DNS resolver or any third-party DNS service you prefer.
• Customizable encryption. Strengthen or weaken the encryption depending on your activities and needs.
• Dedicated IP. This is a static IP that is reserved for your use only. It is available as an extra that you bolt on for an added cost. 
• Auto connect. Set up rules in the app that force the VPN to connect when you join unknown networks.

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Subscriptions & pricing 

PIA’s prices are competitive, particularly when you commit for a longer period. You can pay just $79 to get three years of VPN use, with an extra three months for free. That works out at $26 per year, which is very cheap considering the level of service that PIA provides.

If committing for three years seems a bit too long, you can opt for a year plan and pay $3.33 per month, which is still extremely reasonable. Alternatively, those looking for a VPN they can use for a short time, such as on vacation, can opt for a one-month subscription for $11.95. 

These prices make PIA one of the most affordable VPNs on the market.

Additional costs

For an additional fee, PIA users can purchase a dedicated IP. This is an optional extra that you bolt onto a regular subscription for $2.50 per month if you rent it for three years, or $4.25 per month if you rent it for a year. If you only need a dedicated IP for one month, you will pay $5. 

Normally, each VPN server’s IP address is shared by multiple users connected to it, and it can change every session, or even mid-session. A dedicated IP is exclusive to you and never changes.

30-day money-back guarantee

If you are still on the fence or are interested in comparing PIA to another market-leading VPN, you can take advantage of PIA’s generous 30-day money-back guarantee. This refund promise allows you to fully test the VPN on your devices, meaning that you can check that it works with your personal streaming accounts or other services and get a full refund if you aren't entirely satisfied.

Payment options

PIA accepts various payment methods. You can pay using a credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, or Discovery), PayPal, Amazon Pay, or cryptocurrencies via BitPay (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum).

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Speed tests

PIA is a relatively quick VPN that is suitable for data-intensive tasks such as torrenting, streaming, gaming, and video conferencing. Admittedly, the speeds were very up and down, which means consistency may suffer while using the VPN. 

As part of my review process, I tested PIA’s servers in London, New York, and Hong Kong at minimum three-hour intervals. I tested using the WireGuard protocol and used the results to get a global download average. PIA’s global average download speed was 145 Mbps. 

These tests were carried out on a minimum 1 Gbps connection using PIA’s Windows app.

You can see the results of each of our server tests below:

Home broadband tests

To offer practical insights into how PIA performs on a standard home broadband connection, I also ran tests using an Asus Zenbook 14 laptop connected to Cogeco broadband in Canada. These tests give you an idea of how the VPN may affect your speeds under normal home circumstances, presented as a percentage drop.

On the testing day, my download speed without the VPN registered at 27 Mbps. With a base level established, I conducted tests using PIA's UK, US, and Hong Kong servers. Below, you can see the results of these tests:

• UK server (London). Download speed of 5 Mbps. This is an 81.48% drop.
• US server (New York). Download speed of 14 Mbps. This is a 48.15% drop.
• Hong Kong (Hong Kong). Download speed of 2.8 Mbps. This is an 89.63% drop.

As you can see, the results of my home tests were utterly dismal. The New York server (which is relatively close to me geographically) caused the lowest dip in speed. However, it still reduced my connection by almost half. The UK and Hong Kong servers reduced my speed by more than 80%, which is one of the worst results I have ever experienced.

On average, across all three home broadband tests, I experienced a whopping 73% reduction in speed. By way of comparison, when conducting the same tests (using the same Cogeco broadband connection and laptop), Surfshark resulted in only a 3.5% reduction in speed. 

Such a massive loss in performance is understandably going to be a deal breaker for many users, especially considering that my tests used PIA’s WireGuard connection (a protocol usually known for providing excellent speeds).

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Streaming

Accessing popular streams with a VPN has become increasingly challenging because streaming providers do their best to block VPNs. Most VPNs do not work with Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer. So, how does PIA perform?

I am a UK citizen currently residing in Canada temporarily, so it seemed fitting to begin my tests by connecting to the “UK Streaming Optimized” server. I launched my BBC iPlayer account and was happy to see that I could log in and stream BBC One without issues.

Next, I logged into my ITVX account and was happy to find that the player launched and played live TV as if I were back home in England. To conclude my tests of British terrestrial TV networks, I also tested Channel 4 and was able to stream the popular British TV show Countdown! 

Finally, I decided to check whether the UK PIA server would also work to access British-exclusive shows on Netflix. The good news is that my catalog instantly updated and allowed me to stream Friday Night Dinner and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. These shows are not currently available in Canada, meaning PIA worked perfectly to give me access to my home catalog.

Next, I decided to check whether PIA would also work to access the popular US Netflix catalog, which is known for having a much larger library of TV shows and movies. As I hoped, the Netflix library updated to the US version and allowed me to watch the US-exclusive show NCIS. 

I tested the East and West Streaming Optimized servers to watch Hulu, and it worked perfectly.

Next, I navigated to the ABC website but encountered an error message on both the East and West streaming servers:

I also found some complaints circulating online regarding PIA’s ability to access services like Prime Video, Peacock, and HBO Max. Although the VPN works with these services from time to time, it suffers from consistency issues. For this reason, you may prefer a competitor like NordVPN or Surfshark, which are both reliable for watching US platforms.

Finally, I decided to test the Australian server to see if I could access Ten Play. I connected to the “Australia Streaming Optimized” server and navigated to the Ten Play website. I was able to log in and stream Ten Bold and Ten Peach.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with PIA’s ability to access streaming services. Despite the speed drops I encountered when testing, I did not suffer from any buffering issues when accessing TV streams in Britain or Australia. In practice, the VPN worked for streaming without causing any problems.

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Security

Unusually, PIA also lets you customize the strength of the VPN’s encryption. You can pick between AES-128 GCM and AES-256 GCM, which means you can weaken or strengthen the encryption depending on your threat model. Lowering the encryption should help to speed up the VPN on low-powered devices.

For anybody interested in technical specs, we have included the OpenVPN implementation details below:

• Cipher: AES-256 GCM
• Authentication: SHA256
• Handshake: 4096-bit RSA key.
• Perfect Forward Secrecy: Diffie Hellman (DHE)

This is a robust implementation of the popular OpenVPN protocol, which means you can trust it to protect your data against hackers, government snoops, and other eavesdroppers.

To give its users additional options, PIA also provides the modern WireGuard protocol. This is implemented using the Chacha20 cipher for encryption, Poly 1305 for authentication, and  Curve25519 for ECDH, which provides perfect forward secrecy. This is a standard implementation of the WireGuard protocol and is secure.

Leak tests

To ensure the VPN is safe to use for online privacy purposes, I conducted tests to check for IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.

These results reveal that the VPN successfully proxied all DNS requests and traffic inside of the encrypted tunnel, without any leaks.

The option exists to use a third-party DNS resolver, such as OpenNIC or OpenDNS if you prefer. However, generally speaking, we recommended using PIA’s nameservers, which safely proxy your DNS requests and resolve them privately.

Additional security features

To help keep you safer online, PIA offers a few additional features:

• Ad and tracker blocking.
• Auto connect to help protect you on untrusted networks.

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Privacy

Jurisdiction 

Being based in the US isn't the most ideal choice for a privacy-focused service. Warrants and gag orders could compel US companies to secretly record and disclose users’ VPN logs.

The good news is that PIA has proven in court on numerous occasions that it was unable to provide any usage logs or other invasive personal information of its users. This demonstrates that PIA’s no-logging privacy policy is working as intended to protect its users.

While previous court cases demonstrate the efficacy of PIA’s policies, it does not concretely prove that the VPN has never, or will never be served a government warrant that forces it to begin logging in secret. Being based in the USA may put those with an elevated threat model off using this VPN.

Privacy policy

The best VPNs promise never to store the user’s source IP address, or usage logs related to the VPN servers they use, or the traffic that passes through those servers, including details of the websites visited. 

The PIA policy states that the VPN does not store any usage logs. The VPN admits to keeping some anonymized connection logs to keep its service running smoothly. This includes things like total number of users, bandwidth capacity, and server uptime. These logs do not affect the privacy of individual users.

Users can opt into some additional data collection. This includes debugging information to help customer support fix any connection problems that users may be having, and “anonymized connection events, protocol used, device identifiers (platform, app type/version), and connection source.”

The good news is that you have to intentionally turn the additional data collection on in the app. So as long as you don't mess with this setting, you will not provide any connection data to PIA:

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Customer support

We favor VPN providers that take customer care seriously by providing customer resources like FAQs, email support, and live chat support. 

PIA’s 24/7 live chat support makes it easy to ask any questions you may have. I tested the live chat agents at different times of day by asking a variety of questions about the service and its features. I was happy to find that the agents understood everything and were able to provide useful responses. 

On several occasions, the support agent was able to forward me to a detailed guide that explained how to set up or use the feature I was interested in. Overall, I was impressed by the attention to detail, the variety of guides, and the quality of the support I received.

The support page allows you to browse a large knowledge base, with information not only about the VPN itself but also important news and topics regarding privacy and VPNs. I enjoyed the guides and blog posts and found the contents to be useful and informative.

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Is Private Internet Access easy to use?

Throughout my testing of PIA, I had a seamless experience. The installation and operation of the apps on all three devices I tested were trouble-free. PIA's apps are thoughtfully designed and feature a user-friendly layout that's easy to grasp. Most users should be able to dive right in and start using the service without the need for support or guidance.

The settings menu is easy to navigate and makes it easy to access each of PIA’s features. I was impressed by the explanation provided for each feature, which should allow anybody to get a decent idea of what each setting and feature is used for. 

Despite being thoughtfully laid out, the ability to customize the encryption may be confusing to newcomers. It is worth noting that PIA comes set to AES-128 out of the box, which means you will need to head to Settings > Protocols > Data Encryption to bump up the cipher to AES-256 if you want the strongest protection available.

One notable inconvenience I encountered while using PIA was its tendency to trigger CAPTCHAs when conducting Google searches. Using PIA can trigger CAPTCHAs if you’re using an IP address that apps and websites don’t trust.

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Our verdict

If you are looking for a reasonably priced VPN that works to access Netflix US and has decent apps for all popular platforms, PIA is well worth considering. The cost of just $2.03 per month is exceptional, especially considering that you are free to share your account with an unlimited number of family members and friends. 

PIA fared reasonably well in our speed tests but was less reliable when testing under normal home broadband conditions. 

I could stream YouTube, Netflix, and BBC iPlayer while connected to PIA. Other streaming services, particularly non-US ones, might not be as reliable.

My analysis of the privacy policy found that the VPN promises never to track source IPs, servers used, or traffic logs. 

The ability to customize the encryption is a nice touch, but there are plenty of VPNs that provide the strongest setting (AES-256) while still providing faster speeds.

Even with obfuscation enabled, PIA does not reliably connect in countries like China.

The ability to connect to servers in all 50 US will appeal to US-centric users. Private Internet Access is well worth trying if you want a torrent-friendly VPN with port forwarding on a tight budget.