Based in the US, Private Tunnel VPN is the product of OpenVPN Technologies to provide a secure, reliable and affordable VPN solutions to internet users. The VPN provider has been gaining popularity recently, that is why we have decided to write a review about it and see what makes it special. Scroll down for more details.
Pricing
Unlike most VPN service providers, Private Tunnel VPN follows an unorthodox approach when it comes to charging its subscribers. Instead of offering fixed price plans with certain features for a certain price, Private Tunnel charges its users according to the amount of data they use. This method is excellent for internet users who want to pay only for the data they use and top-up for extra data whenever they feel like it. They price plans are as follows:
- - First 100 MB for free.
- - 50 GB for $12.00.
- - 100 GB for $20.00.
- - 500 GB for $50.00.
Free Trial
Though it is not a free VPN service provider, it does provide a 7-day free trial upon registration. Users will be charged for the selected day after the first 7 days of purchase. Here is what they say on their website:
“If you would like to give our service a try, sign up for an account on our website, select a plan and click on subscribe. You will be given a 7 day free trial and your card or PayPal account will not be charged until the end of 7 days. You are free to cancel the subscription at any time if you feel the service is not useful.”
Privacy Policy
If you check Private Tunnel VPN’s privacy policy page, you will find that they do not mention that they store a user’s activity logs. On the other hand, they do mention that they use cookies and store some information and connection logs, such as: registration data, payment details, forms filled. Although Private Tunnel say “We respect your privacy. We are not interested in what you do on the internet,” it is always better to go for a completely log-free VPN service.
Private Tunnel VPN Features
In this section, we will explore the different features provided by Private Tunnel VPN for you to help you decide whether this is a good VPN for you or not.
Security & Encryption
Private Tunnel VPN relies on 128-bit AES-GCM encryption standard to support OpenVPN tunneling protocol. 128-bit AES-GCM encryption is known for being fast without putting a user’s security at risk. Further, the company advises its users to use “ a modern PrivateTunnel or OpenVPN client in order to use the stronger GCM based cipher. If you are using a legacy (compatible) client, then the only supported cipher will be limited to the BF-CBC cipher.” The service supports OpenVPN only as it is the most secure and reliable tunneling protocol.
Servers & Bandwidth
Compared to other VPN service providers, Private Tunnel has a small network of servers, 12 server locations in 9 countries, including: UK, US, Hong Kong and Germany.
As for bandwidth, subscribers can enjoy unlimited bandwidth on all plans.
Compatibility
All major platforms are supported. This includes: Windows, Android, Mac OS and iOS. This means that software clients can be used on desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets.
Support
Unfortunately, Private Tunnel does not provide live chat support. However, you can reach the customer support team via an e-mail ticketing system. There is also a good F.A.Q section that contains useful information about the service.
Conclusion
What we like about Private Tunnel is its unique pricing policy which is flexible with any user. We also like their support for OpenVPN protocol which is the best encryption protocol to date. Although, users who are used to using PPTP or L2TP/IPsec may not be very happy with this. Bitcoin is accepted which is great for privacy and anonymity fanatics. We were not so thrilled with the number of servers offers and the support provided since it lacks live chat neither were we very happy with their privacy policy. In spite of not keeping activity logs, some information is stored which is not a very favourable feature especially when the service is based in the US. All in all, we would recommend this VPN service for users who are looking for a basic VPN that would do the job to secure and anonymise an internet connection. Sophisticated internet users who are looking for a multi-feature, security buffed VPN that includes a kill switch, DNS leak protection and an IPv6 leak protection can look away from this one.
