![]() ![]() PIA promises that it doesn’t keep any logs of your online activity, and the app is designed with an eye on security. ![]() READ NEXT: Round out your internet security with the best antivirus software Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN review: Is it secure? The one consolation was that BBC iPlayer did work on the tablet – although BritBox and Now TV stubbornly refused to play along. Even with our virtual location set to the US, the native Netflix and Disney+ apps still only offered UK content, while Hulu wouldn’t let us in at all. We didn’t have much success trying to stream on Android either. That means PIA might not be the ideal choice for holidaymakers wanting to keep up with their favourite shows. Unfortunately, after switching to a UK-based server, we found we weren’t able to access any UK-based streaming services – not BBC iPlayer, not BritBox and not Now TV. You should even be able to watch multiple 4K videos at once on different devices. Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN review: Is it good for video streaming?įor top-quality 4K video a download speed of 25Mbits/sec is recommended, and PIA easily exceeds that. Another clever feature is that you can tap or click a handy button to temporarily snooze the VPN for a preset period, after which it will automatically re-engage. Still, the desktop and mobile apps both support split tunnelling, so you can send only specified apps through the VPN while the rest go through your ISP’s servers at full speed. That’s still all right for online video, but most other VPNs managed 100Mbits/sec or more in this test. Again, though, things went more slowly when we connected to New York, with the download speed plummeting to 64Mbits/sec. We then tried the same tests on a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 tablet. Performance via the London server was very similar, with an excellent download speed of 198Mbits/sec. You can type to search for a location, or sort the list by name or latency – the latter providing a handy clue as to how speedy that particular server is likely to be. Here, a big round button lets you connect and disconnect the VPN, and you’ll also see details of the server you’re connected to.Ĭlicking a fly-out arrow brings up a scrolling list of available servers. Once installed it lurks in your system tray most of the time, popping up a small rectangular window when clicked. We had no problem downloading the PIA client app from the provider's website and setting it up on Windows 11. Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN review: What’s it like to use? It's possible to try PIA for seven days before you buy, which is very unusual for a VPN service – although the trial only covers Android and iOS devices. If you’re still not satisfied for any reason you can exercise a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you have any trouble setting up and using the service the company claims its online support service is available 24/7 when we tried it though the live chat feature was offline and we had to fill in a web form and wait several hours for a response. You can also install the VPN on a compatible router to protect all traffic from any number of connected devices, while a smart DNS service can be used to conceal your location when using a games console, smart TV or set-top box. All the popular desktop and mobile platforms are supported, and PIA gets bonus marks for offering a proper graphical client for Linux systems – most VPNs only provide command-line tools. If you’re serious about protecting your anonymity, you can choose to pay with a gift card or cryptocurrency, so you never have to share your bank details with PIA.Ī subscription lets you use the VPN on up to ten devices simultaneously. There are regular special deals, too: at the time of writing, you can sign up for a full three years plus three months free for £65, which works out at £1.67 per month. ![]() As usual, it’s far more cost-effective to sign up for a full year, which in this case costs £32.49, equivalent to £2.71 per month. ![]() Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN review: What do you get for the money?Ī single month of service costs £8.09, which is around the same as most rival VPNs. You can also use your virtual presence to share and download files over BitTorrent, even if it’s not legal in your home country – although note that PIA doesn’t explicitly support file sharing. By picking a server in, for example, the USA, you can access video streaming sites and other services that are normally blocked in the UK. These servers are spread out across 74 different countries, which means you can also use the VPN to hide your location. Like all VPNs, it works by encrypting your internet traffic and routing it through one of the company’s secure servers. IA is a VPN service that can keep all your online activity private – so that not even your own ISP can monitor which sites you’re visiting and which files you’re downloading. ![]()
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