Based in Canada, Blockless started as a Smart DNS service that grew to offer VPN services as well. In this review, we will go through all the features offered by Blockless VPN based on trying out their free service.
Pricing
Despite its ordinary features and unexceptional performance, Blockless VPN is rather expensive. Users have 3 subscription options to the premium package (monthly, semi-annually and annually). Monthly membership costs $9.95 per month, whereas the semi-annual subscription costs $53.7 at $8.25 a month. The annual subscription is the most expensive; it costs $89.9 at $7.5 a month. Premium users get to enjoy full access to all the features offered by Blockless, such as: access to all servers, unlimited server switching, dedicated IPs, unlimited bandwidth, smart DNS, 5 connections, ad-block and malware-block.
In order to view the details of those price plans, you must register for an account. This could be frustrating for users who just want to have a quick glance at what Blockless offers without giving out any personal information, even if it is only an e-mail address.
Payment Methods
Unfortunately Blockless only accepts payments via either credit cards or PayPal. We would have preferred if they accepted anonymous payment methods, such as: Bitcoin or Gift cards as well for better security and anonymity.
Free Trial & Refunds
Blockless offers a free VPN trial for 7 days to be able to test the general performance of the service before deciding to make a purchase. A 7-day free trial is only fair in comparison to the prices they offer. In order to get the free trial, you will need to create an account using your e-mail address only. The 7-day trial comes with unlimited bandwidth, 1 server location (USA), 1 connection and a basic ad-blocker.
Blockless has a very strict no-refunds policy. If you go to the agreements page and scroll down to the refunds section, you will find a clear statement that says:
“Please note that We do not provide pro-rated refunds for any subscription period which has already commenced. If We do not receive payment from your chosen payment provider, (i) you agree to pay all fees due to Us immediately upon demand, and (ii) you understand that We may suspend or terminate your subscription and/or Account and continue to attempt to charge your chosen payment provider until payment is received at which time, subject to this Agreement, we may re-activate your subscription and/or Account.”
Privacy Policy
It is mentioned on their website that Blockless does not keep logs of their users’ online activities. However, it is also mentioned on their privacy policy page that they collect personal information, such as: first name, last name, personal/work email addresses, phone number, mailing address, original IP address, credit card details, etc. The amount of information collected is definitely worrying. Being based in Canada (member of the FIVEY) subjects Blockless VPN to fall under the Canadian data retention laws which is not encouraged by privacy advocates.
“Blockless reserves the right to disclose personal information to a third party if a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena, or court order legally requires or authorizes us to do so. Blockless also reserves the right to disclose or transfer personal information to a third party in the event of a proposed or actual purchase, sale (including a liquidation, realization, foreclosure or repossession), lease, merger, amalgamation or any other type of acquisition, disposal, transfer, conveyance or financing of all or any portion of Blockless or of any of the business or assets or shares of Blockless or a division thereof in order for you to continue to receive the same products and services from the third party.”
On the other hand, Blockless explains in comprehensive details how such sensitive amount of data is handled to protect the user’s privacy.
Blockless VPN Features
In this section, we will discuss the different features provided by Blockless VPN, including: security, performance, servers, bandwidth, platform compatibility, etc.
Security
Blockless is an OpenVPN-based software that uses SSL protocol. OpenVPN is an open source client that is considered to be the best and most recommended to secure data traffic from cyber threats. It is not mentioned which encryption algorithm is used by Blockless to maintain its users’ security and privacy while being connected to the internet. We assume that they use AES 256-bit encryption bank since they mention that they use bank level encryption.
Servers & Bandwidth
Although Blockless has a small network of servers, all servers are strategically place to cover 14 major locations, including: USA, UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, FRANCE and Switzerland.
As for bandwidth, all users can enjoy unlimited bandwidth without any restrictions whatsoever.
Compatibility
Blockless is compatible with several platforms, such as: Windows, Mac OS, iOS and Android. It has also a VPN extension for Chrome browser.
Smart Guard
Blockless offers an ad-blocker feature, called “Smart Guard”. When enabled, it will block any third party ads which would in turn increase your browsing speed.
Smart DNS
Blockless started as a Smart DNS service that grew to offer VPN services as well. Though Smart DNS does not offer strong encryption as VPN, but it is mostly used for streaming media on the internet.
Customer Support
Even though there is a live chat support available to help, but it is as useful as the “g” in lasagna. We were very disappointed with the customer support as they are extremely slow and haven’t responded to our queries until this very moment. On the contrary, we admire Blockless help centre for providing extensive and comprehensive information about most commonly asked questions and their solutions.
Conclusion
Blockless is an average VPN service which, in our opinion, is too expensive for what it offers. We like the fact that they offer free trial, ad-blocker, malware blocker, stylish clients, cross-platform support, decent speeds, smart DNS services and very apprehensive F.A.Q section. However, we find their services expensive and their customer support very poor. Moreover, we are very confused about their privacy policy. The important question is, should you give it a try? Yes, we just subscribing to their free VPN service first to decide for yourself.
