VPN Matrix

Hotspot Shield / IVPN compared

Same criteria, same rules. You see where they diverge.
Hotspot ShieldIVPNOpen in the matrix
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Differences (109)

Criteria where the values diverge.

 Hotspot ShieldIVPN
Legal company name
Anchorfree, LLC / Pango GmbH (product under Point Wild / formerly Pango Group)provider claim
IVPN Limitedconfirmed
Trademark holder, if different
Point Wild (HotSpot Shield brand)provider claim
IVPNprovider claim
Year founded
2008confirmed
2009provider claim
Headquarters (country)
USprovider claim
GIprovider claim
Other relevant jurisdictions
United States (Redwood City, California); Pango/Point Wild operatorconfirmed
Schweiz: Die Google-Play-Fassung der Android-App wird von der Privatus GmbH veröffentlicht.provider claim
Parent group / holding
Point Wildconfirmed
none (independent IVPN)provider claim
Beneficial owners publicly known
partly knownprovider claim
fully knownprovider claim
Ownership structure
private equityprovider claim
founder ownedprovider claim
Verifiable postal address for legal service
yesconfirmed
noprovider claim
Sister VPN brands in the group
Betternet, Ultra VPN / UltraAV, VPN360, Touch VPN (per Point Wild / Pango portfolio disclosures)provider claim
noneprovider claim
Group owns VPN review and comparison sites
Comparitech (listed among Point Wild brands)provider claim
noneprovider claim
Runs an affiliate programme
yesprovider claim
noprovider claim
Typical commission rate?
none (affiliate program closed)confirmed
Documented misleading advertising claims
'Military-grade' encryption wording appears on download/marketing pages; Hydra marketed as '#1 for speed'provider claim
?
Acquisition history / former name
AnchorFree → Pango; Aura/Pango era; Dec 2024 Pango Group merged with Total Security and rebranded Point Wildprovider claim
Früherer Firmenname Privatus Limited, am 10.08.2023 in IVPN Limited umbenannt.confirmed
Core statement of the logging policy
Does not store VPN browsing activity tied to a user; logs session duration, bandwidth, anonymized domains, device hashes; source IP encrypted then deleted at session endconfirmed
Laut Datenschutzerklärung werden keine Daten zur VPN-Aktivität protokolliert: kein Traffic, keine Verbindungszeitstempel oder Verbindungsdauer, keine DNS-Anfragen, kein Datenvolumen und keine Kunden-IP-Adressen.provider claim
Connection logs
per sessionconfirmed
noneprovider claim
Storage of the real IP address
transient onlyconfirmed
not storedconfirmed
Precision of stored timestamps
to the secondprovider claim
noneprovider claim
Recording of transferred data volume
per accountconfirmed
not recordedprovider claim
Enforcement of the device limit
Premium links up to 10 devices per accountprovider claim
Der Authentifizierungsserver hält eine temporäre Tabelle mit einem 16-stelligen Token je angemeldetem Gerät und der zugehörigen Konto-ID; Einträge werden beim Abmelden oder bei Kontolöschung gelöscht. Zeitstempel oder Gerätemerkmale werden nach Anbieterangabe nicht gespeichert.provider claim
Minimum account data required
Device hashes for free products without account; paid/account flows collect additional account data per general policyprovider claim
Keine. Bei der Registrierung wird nach Anbieterangabe keine E-Mail-Adresse und kein Name verlangt; gespeichert werden Konto-ID, Erstellungszeitpunkt, Produkt und Gerätelimit.provider claim
Telemetry in the apps
cannot be disabledprovider claim
on by defaultprovider claim
Trackers and SDKs in the Android app
Free versions: Google advertising ID (AAID) to Google for personalized adsprovider claim
none claimed for analytics; crash logs self-hosted, mobile crash opt-outprovider claim
Trackers in the iOS app
Free versions: IDFA to Google for personalized adsprovider claim
none claimed for analytics; crash logs self-hosted with opt-outprovider claim
Trackers and cookies on the website
Cookies for analytics, personalization, and targeted advertising (site cookie banner)provider claim
Eigene Messung der Startseite am 03.08.2026: keine Drittanbieter-Skripte; einziger externer Host in Skript- und Link-Attributen ist die selbst betriebene Matomo-Instanz stats.ivpn.net.confirmed
Data shared with third parties
Free VPN versions: Google for personalized ads (AAID/IDFA); paid versions do not send to ad partners. Domain names logged anonymized/aggregated.provider claim
Zahlungsdienstleister Braintree (Kartenzahlung) und PayPal. Die Datenschutzerklärung gibt an, dass darüber hinaus keine Dritten Zugriff auf Kundendaten haben und kein Zahlungsdienstleister die IVPN-Konto-ID erhält.provider claim
Retention periods stated in the policy
Source IP collected for VPN session then deleted at session end; domains aggregated ~monthly; device hashes retained for analyticsprovider claim
Nach Kündigung oder Ablauf werden alle Kontodaten laut Policy nach 90 Tagen gelöscht, ausgenommen Buchhaltungsdaten (Datum, Betrag, Zahlungsart, Transaktions- und Abo-ID). Eingelöste Gutscheincodes werden 30 Tage nach Einlösung gelöscht.provider claim
No-logs audit details
Aon technical assessment for Pango Group, report dated 2023-08-25; free and paid tiers; client+server; concluded policy assertions fairly representedconfirmed
Cure53, März 2019, drei Auditoren an sieben Tagen; Umfang waren die VPN-Gateways und Authentifizierungsserver. Ein Befund geringer Schwere (DNS-Caching) wurde nach Anbieterangabe behoben.confirmed
Audit report published
summary onlyconfirmed
full reportconfirmed
App and client audits
none published on fetched pagesprovider claim
Cure53 prüft die Apps seit 2021; die Prüfung von Februar und März 2022 umfasste die Apps aller Plattformen an 13 Tagen und ergab acht Schwachstellen (1 hoch, 6 mittel, 1 Info) sowie zwölf weitere Hinweise.confirmed
Infrastructure and server audits
none published on fetched pagesprovider claim
Cure53 prüfte Ende 2019 mit sechs Personen an 21 Personentagen die öffentliche VPN-Infrastruktur, die internen Backend-Server und die Webserver (9 Befunde: 3 hoch, 2 mittel, 3 gering, 1 Info). Im März 2024 folgte eine achttägige Prüfung von Kunden-Website, API und Web-Infrastruktur mit zwei Befunden geringer Schwere.confirmed
Audit frequency
irregularprovider claim
annualprovider claim
Tested in court or by authorities
none documented on fetched official pagesprovider claim
Transparency report shows legal requests; historically no user data disclosedprovider claim
Transparency report
occasionalprovider claim
regularprovider claim
Warrant canary
noneprovider claim
present and currentprovider claim
Security incidents and data leaks
2017 CDT complaint to FTC alleging undisclosed data sharing/traffic redirection on Hotspot Shield Free (per Wikipedia)confirmed
none disclosed on fetched transparency/privacy pagesprovider claim
Bug bounty programme
none published on fetched Hotspot Shield/Pango pagesprovider claim
Vulnerability reporting program (vulnerability-reporting page linked from site)provider claim
Handling of reported vulnerabilities
none disclosed on fetched pagesprovider claim
Meldungen an security@ivpn.net, PGP-Schlüssel auf der Meldeseite veröffentlicht. Reaktionsfristen oder eine Offenlegungspraxis nennt die Seite nicht.provider claim
Open source clients
noneprovider claim
allconfirmed
Available on F-Droid
noprovider claim
yesconfirmed
Listings by independent bodies
Cited Speedtest/Ookla fastest VPN; TechRadar, CNET, ZDNet, PCWorld quotes on marketing pagesprovider claim
Privacy Guides führt IVPN in seiner VPN-Übersicht und verweist auf Sitz in Gibraltar, mehrere unabhängige Audits seit 2019 und quelloffene Apps seit Februar 2020.confirmed
WireGuard
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Proprietary protocol
Hydra (developed internally by Pango)confirmed
none (WireGuard, OpenVPN, IPSec/IKEv2; V2Ray/obfs4 for obfuscation)provider claim
Legacy protocols still offered
Proprietary Hydra primary; OpenVPN/WireGuard not advertised as primary on fetched product pagesprovider claim
Keine. PPTP und L2TP/IPSec werden nach Anbieterangabe nicht unterstützt.provider claim
Default data cipher
AES-256confirmed
OpenVPN ab Version 2.4: AES-256-GCM. WireGuard: ChaCha20.provider claim
Weakest accepted cipher
AES-256provider claim
AES-256-CBC bei OpenVPN-Clients älter als Version 2.4.provider claim
Key exchange and authentication
Catapult Hydra proprietary protocolprovider claim
OpenVPN: RSA-4096 mit HMAC-basierter TLS-Authentifizierung. WireGuard: Schlüsselpaar aus öffentlichem und privatem Schlüssel. Die Anmeldung erfolgt über eine zufällig erzeugte Konto-ID.provider claim
Perfect forward secrecy?
yesprovider claim
Post-quantum key exchange
not availableprovider claim
on by defaultprovider claim
DNS leak protection?
yesprovider claim
IPv6 handling
unclearprovider claim
routed through tunnelprovider claim
WebRTC protection or guidance
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Obfuscation methods
Hydra proprietary protocol marketed for speed/security; censorship circumvention history (Arab Spring) per Wikipediaprovider claim
V2Ray (VMess über QUIC oder TCP) auf Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS und Android; zusätzlich obfs3 und obfs4 über Obfsproxy für OpenVPN auf dem Desktop.provider claim
Usability behind the Great Firewall
per user reportsconfirmed
unclearprovider claim
Kill switch
not availableprovider claim
system-wideprovider claim
Permanent lockdown
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Split tunneling
not offered on Hotspot Shield select-plan/feature lists fetchedprovider claim
Anwendungsbasiert unter Windows, Linux und Android; invers (nur ausgewählte Anwendungen im Tunnel) unter Windows und Linux. Keine Auswahl nach Domain oder URL, unter macOS und iOS nicht vorhanden.provider claim
Multihop
not availableprovider claim
freely combinableprovider claim
SOCKS5 proxy
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Ad and tracker filtering in DNS
fixed listprovider claim
configurableprovider claim
Custom DNS servers allowed
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Local network access toggle
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Auto connect rules
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
GPS location override (Android)
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Traffic analysis defence
Proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol; historical circumvention useprovider claim
V2Ray obfuscation + multihop; not a DAITA-like cover-traffic featureprovider claim
IPv6 inside the tunnel
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Number of servers
1,800 Serverprovider claim
88 Serverconfirmed
Number of countries
80 Laenderprovider claim
41 Laenderconfirmed
Number of cities
35 Staedteprovider claim
58 Staedteconfirmed
Virtual locations
not labelledprovider claim
no virtual locationsprovider claim
Hardware ownership
rentedprovider claim
mixedprovider claim
Public status page
noprovider claim
yesconfirmed
Known upstream hosting providers
Third-party infrastructure providers (unnamed); Pango states it would leave any provider requiring activity loggingprovider claim
Laut Server-API am 03.08.2026 unter anderem Datapacket (29 Hosts), M247 (22), Tzulo (10), Leaseweb (7), TheGigabit (4), EstNOC (3), Amanah (2) und Privatelayer (2).confirmed
Linux app with GUI
not availableprovider claim
native appprovider claim
Linux command line
not availableprovider claim
native appprovider claim
Android TV app
native appprovider claim
manual config onlyprovider claim
Fire TV app
native appprovider claim
manual config onlyprovider claim
Browser extension
not availableprovider claim
proxy details onlyprovider claim
Router support
Router mentioned as connectable device under Premium (up to 10 devices)provider claim
Offiziell dokumentiert sind pfSense, OPNsense, Asus-wrt, OpenWrt, DD-WRT und Tomato; für OpenVPN und WireGuard stehen Konfigurationsgeneratoren bereit.provider claim
Command line documented
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Simultaneous devices
10provider claim
5 (Standard und Plus), 10 (Pro Suite)provider claim
Usable without an account
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Data required at signup
any email addressprovider claim
nothing requiredprovider claim
Account model
email as loginprovider claim
account number onlyprovider claim
Cash by mail
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Monero
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Bitcoin
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
PayPal
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Monthly price
€11.99provider claim
€6.00confirmed
Effective price on the longest term
€7.99provider claim
€5.00confirmed
Price change at renewal
moderate increaseprovider claim
same priceprovider claim
Free tier and its limits
Free VPN products (Hotspot Shield free) supported by third-party in-app ads (Unity, ironSource, Digital Turbine, InMobi)confirmed
noneprovider claim
Money-back window
45 Tageprovider claim
30 Tageprovider claim
Streaming unblocking officially advertised
yesprovider claim
noprovider claim
Netflix regions reported
Marketing claims Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+ worldwide; no audited region list on fetched pagesprovider claim
No guarantee; many customers use for Netflix/Hulu/BBC/Disney+ but streaming actively blocks VPNsprovider claim
Other streaming services
Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+provider claim
Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, BBC, Disney+ mentioned without guaranteeprovider claim
Bandwidth cap
cappedprovider claim
no limitprovider claim
Data cap
Basic free: 500 MB/day; Premium: unlimitedprovider claim
noneprovider claim
Speed measurement references
Claims up to 2.2x faster than competitionprovider claim
?
SMTP and port 25 handling?
Ausgehender Verkehr auf SMTP-Port 25 wird blockiert; die Einlieferungsports 465 und 587 bleiben nach Anbieterangabe nutzbar.provider claim
Official support in restrictive countries
Historically used for censorship circumvention (Arab Spring); Hydra marketed for accessprovider claim
V2Ray-Verschleierung (VMess über QUIC oder TCP) ist seit 28.11.2025 auf allen Plattformen verfügbar und richtet sich laut Anbieter an Nutzer in Ländern mit Netzsperren. Die Website weist zugleich darauf hin, dass eine stabile Nutzung in Russland nicht garantiert wird.provider claim
German-language support
yesprovider claim
noprovider claim
Documentation assessment
workableprovider claim
thorough and currentprovider claim
SSL Labs grade of the website
A+confirmed
A-confirmed
Tracker load of the website
Essential + analytics/personalization/targeted advertising cookies disclosed on siteprovider claim
Eigene Messung der Startseite am 03.08.2026 ohne Zustimmung im Banner: keine Drittanbieter-Tracker; einziger externer Skript-Host ist die selbst betriebene Matomo-Instanz stats.ivpn.net.confirmed
URL of the warrant canary
none foundprovider claim
https://www.ivpn.net/resources/canary.txtprovider claim
Length and readability of the legal documents
Long formal ToS with commercial/cancellation sections; not specially simplifiedprovider claim
Human-readable privacy policy emphasizedprovider claim
Marketing claims contradicting the provider's own terms
Markets 'world's fastest VPN' via Speedtest; 2017 CDT/FTC complaint about free-tier data sharing (Wikipedia)confirmed
Explicitly rejects anonymity/military-grade marketing fluff; publishes what VPN can/cannot doprovider claim

All sourced criteria (154)

 Hotspot ShieldIVPN
Legal company name
Anchorfree, LLC / Pango GmbH (product under Point Wild / formerly Pango Group)provider claim
IVPN Limitedconfirmed
Trademark holder, if different
Point Wild (HotSpot Shield brand)provider claim
IVPNprovider claim
Year founded
2008confirmed
2009provider claim
Headquarters (country)
USprovider claim
GIprovider claim
Other relevant jurisdictions
United States (Redwood City, California); Pango/Point Wild operatorconfirmed
Schweiz: Die Google-Play-Fassung der Android-App wird von der Privatus GmbH veröffentlicht.provider claim
Intelligence alliance of the home country
Five Eyesconfirmed
Five Eyesconfirmed
Parent group / holding
Point Wildconfirmed
none (independent IVPN)provider claim
Beneficial owners publicly known
partly knownprovider claim
fully knownprovider claim
Ownership structure
private equityprovider claim
founder ownedprovider claim
Leadership team publicly named
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Verifiable postal address for legal service
yesconfirmed
noprovider claim
Sister VPN brands in the group
Betternet, Ultra VPN / UltraAV, VPN360, Touch VPN (per Point Wild / Pango portfolio disclosures)provider claim
noneprovider claim
Group owns VPN review and comparison sites
Comparitech (listed among Point Wild brands)provider claim
noneprovider claim
Runs an affiliate programme
yesprovider claim
noprovider claim
Typical commission rate?
none (affiliate program closed)confirmed
YouTube and influencer sponsoring
occasionalprovider claim
occasionalprovider claim
Documented misleading advertising claims
'Military-grade' encryption wording appears on download/marketing pages; Hydra marketed as '#1 for speed'provider claim
?
Acquisition history / former name
AnchorFree → Pango; Aura/Pango era; Dec 2024 Pango Group merged with Total Security and rebranded Point Wildprovider claim
Früherer Firmenname Privatus Limited, am 10.08.2023 in IVPN Limited umbenannt.confirmed
Operating status
activeconfirmed
activeconfirmed
Core statement of the logging policy
Does not store VPN browsing activity tied to a user; logs session duration, bandwidth, anonymized domains, device hashes; source IP encrypted then deleted at session endconfirmed
Laut Datenschutzerklärung werden keine Daten zur VPN-Aktivität protokolliert: kein Traffic, keine Verbindungszeitstempel oder Verbindungsdauer, keine DNS-Anfragen, kein Datenvolumen und keine Kunden-IP-Adressen.provider claim
Activity and traffic logs
noneprovider claim
noneconfirmed
Connection logs
per sessionconfirmed
noneprovider claim
Storage of the real IP address
transient onlyconfirmed
not storedconfirmed
Storage of the assigned VPN IP
not storedprovider claim
not storedprovider claim
Precision of stored timestamps
to the secondprovider claim
noneprovider claim
Recording of transferred data volume
per accountconfirmed
not recordedprovider claim
Enforcement of the device limit
Premium links up to 10 devices per accountprovider claim
Der Authentifizierungsserver hält eine temporäre Tabelle mit einem 16-stelligen Token je angemeldetem Gerät und der zugehörigen Konto-ID; Einträge werden beim Abmelden oder bei Kontolöschung gelöscht. Zeitstempel oder Gerätemerkmale werden nach Anbieterangabe nicht gespeichert.provider claim
Minimum account data required
Device hashes for free products without account; paid/account flows collect additional account data per general policyprovider claim
Keine. Bei der Registrierung wird nach Anbieterangabe keine E-Mail-Adresse und kein Name verlangt; gespeichert werden Konto-ID, Erstellungszeitpunkt, Produkt und Gerätelimit.provider claim
Telemetry in the apps
cannot be disabledprovider claim
on by defaultprovider claim
Trackers and SDKs in the Android app
Free versions: Google advertising ID (AAID) to Google for personalized adsprovider claim
none claimed for analytics; crash logs self-hosted, mobile crash opt-outprovider claim
Trackers in the iOS app
Free versions: IDFA to Google for personalized adsprovider claim
none claimed for analytics; crash logs self-hosted with opt-outprovider claim
Trackers and cookies on the website
Cookies for analytics, personalization, and targeted advertising (site cookie banner)provider claim
Eigene Messung der Startseite am 03.08.2026: keine Drittanbieter-Skripte; einziger externer Host in Skript- und Link-Attributen ist die selbst betriebene Matomo-Instanz stats.ivpn.net.confirmed
Data shared with third parties
Free VPN versions: Google for personalized ads (AAID/IDFA); paid versions do not send to ad partners. Domain names logged anonymized/aggregated.provider claim
Zahlungsdienstleister Braintree (Kartenzahlung) und PayPal. Die Datenschutzerklärung gibt an, dass darüber hinaus keine Dritten Zugriff auf Kundendaten haben und kein Zahlungsdienstleister die IVPN-Konto-ID erhält.provider claim
Retention periods stated in the policy
Source IP collected for VPN session then deleted at session end; domains aggregated ~monthly; device hashes retained for analyticsprovider claim
Nach Kündigung oder Ablauf werden alle Kontodaten laut Policy nach 90 Tagen gelöscht, ausgenommen Buchhaltungsdaten (Datum, Betrag, Zahlungsart, Transaktions- und Abo-ID). Eingelöste Gutscheincodes werden 30 Tage nach Einlösung gelöscht.provider claim
EU representative named under GDPR
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Independent no-logs audit
yesconfirmed
yesconfirmed
No-logs audit details
Aon technical assessment for Pango Group, report dated 2023-08-25; free and paid tiers; client+server; concluded policy assertions fairly representedconfirmed
Cure53, März 2019, drei Auditoren an sieben Tagen; Umfang waren die VPN-Gateways und Authentifizierungsserver. Ein Befund geringer Schwere (DNS-Caching) wurde nach Anbieterangabe behoben.confirmed
Audit report published
summary onlyconfirmed
full reportconfirmed
App and client audits
none published on fetched pagesprovider claim
Cure53 prüft die Apps seit 2021; die Prüfung von Februar und März 2022 umfasste die Apps aller Plattformen an 13 Tagen und ergab acht Schwachstellen (1 hoch, 6 mittel, 1 Info) sowie zwölf weitere Hinweise.confirmed
Infrastructure and server audits
none published on fetched pagesprovider claim
Cure53 prüfte Ende 2019 mit sechs Personen an 21 Personentagen die öffentliche VPN-Infrastruktur, die internen Backend-Server und die Webserver (9 Befunde: 3 hoch, 2 mittel, 3 gering, 1 Info). Im März 2024 folgte eine achttägige Prüfung von Kunden-Website, API und Web-Infrastruktur mit zwei Befunden geringer Schwere.confirmed
Audit frequency
irregularprovider claim
annualprovider claim
Tested in court or by authorities
none documented on fetched official pagesprovider claim
Transparency report shows legal requests; historically no user data disclosedprovider claim
Transparency report
occasionalprovider claim
regularprovider claim
Warrant canary
noneprovider claim
present and currentprovider claim
Security incidents and data leaks
2017 CDT complaint to FTC alleging undisclosed data sharing/traffic redirection on Hotspot Shield Free (per Wikipedia)confirmed
none disclosed on fetched transparency/privacy pagesprovider claim
Bug bounty programme
none published on fetched Hotspot Shield/Pango pagesprovider claim
Vulnerability reporting program (vulnerability-reporting page linked from site)provider claim
Handling of reported vulnerabilities
none disclosed on fetched pagesprovider claim
Meldungen an security@ivpn.net, PGP-Schlüssel auf der Meldeseite veröffentlicht. Reaktionsfristen oder eine Offenlegungspraxis nennt die Seite nicht.provider claim
Open source clients
noneprovider claim
allconfirmed
Open source server side
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Reproducible builds
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Available on F-Droid
noprovider claim
yesconfirmed
Listings by independent bodies
Cited Speedtest/Ookla fastest VPN; TechRadar, CNET, ZDNet, PCWorld quotes on marketing pagesprovider claim
Privacy Guides führt IVPN in seiner VPN-Übersicht und verweist auf Sitz in Gibraltar, mehrere unabhängige Audits seit 2019 und quelloffene Apps seit Februar 2020.confirmed
WireGuard
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
OpenVPN over UDP
yesconfirmed
yesprovider claim
OpenVPN over TCP
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
IKEv2/IPsec
yesconfirmed
yesprovider claim
Proprietary protocol
Hydra (developed internally by Pango)confirmed
none (WireGuard, OpenVPN, IPSec/IKEv2; V2Ray/obfs4 for obfuscation)provider claim
Legacy protocols still offered
Proprietary Hydra primary; OpenVPN/WireGuard not advertised as primary on fetched product pagesprovider claim
Keine. PPTP und L2TP/IPSec werden nach Anbieterangabe nicht unterstützt.provider claim
Default data cipher
AES-256confirmed
OpenVPN ab Version 2.4: AES-256-GCM. WireGuard: ChaCha20.provider claim
Weakest accepted cipher
AES-256provider claim
AES-256-CBC bei OpenVPN-Clients älter als Version 2.4.provider claim
Key exchange and authentication
Catapult Hydra proprietary protocolprovider claim
OpenVPN: RSA-4096 mit HMAC-basierter TLS-Authentifizierung. WireGuard: Schlüsselpaar aus öffentlichem und privatem Schlüssel. Die Anmeldung erfolgt über eine zufällig erzeugte Konto-ID.provider claim
Perfect forward secrecy?
yesprovider claim
Post-quantum key exchange
not availableprovider claim
on by defaultprovider claim
Own DNS resolvers
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
DNS leak protection?
yesprovider claim
IPv6 handling
unclearprovider claim
routed through tunnelprovider claim
WebRTC protection or guidance
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Obfuscation methods
Hydra proprietary protocol marketed for speed/security; censorship circumvention history (Arab Spring) per Wikipediaprovider claim
V2Ray (VMess über QUIC oder TCP) auf Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS und Android; zusätzlich obfs3 und obfs4 über Obfsproxy für OpenVPN auf dem Desktop.provider claim
Usability behind the Great Firewall
per user reportsconfirmed
unclearprovider claim
Kill switch
not availableprovider claim
system-wideprovider claim
Permanent lockdown
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Split tunneling
not offered on Hotspot Shield select-plan/feature lists fetchedprovider claim
Anwendungsbasiert unter Windows, Linux und Android; invers (nur ausgewählte Anwendungen im Tunnel) unter Windows und Linux. Keine Auswahl nach Domain oder URL, unter macOS und iOS nicht vorhanden.provider claim
Multihop
not availableprovider claim
freely combinableprovider claim
Tor integration (Onion over VPN)
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Port forwarding
not availableprovider claim
not availableprovider claim
SOCKS5 proxy
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
HTTP proxy
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Smart DNS
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Ad and tracker filtering in DNS
fixed listprovider claim
configurableprovider claim
Malware and phishing filter
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Custom DNS servers allowed
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Local network access toggle
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Auto connect rules
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Private device network (mesh)
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
GPS location override (Android)
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Traffic analysis defence
Proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol; historical circumvention useprovider claim
V2Ray obfuscation + multihop; not a DAITA-like cover-traffic featureprovider claim
IPv6 inside the tunnel
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Obfuscation without configuration
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Number of servers
1,800 Serverprovider claim
88 Serverconfirmed
Number of countries
80 Laenderprovider claim
41 Laenderconfirmed
Number of cities
35 Staedteprovider claim
58 Staedteconfirmed
Virtual locations
not labelledprovider claim
no virtual locationsprovider claim
RAM-only servers (diskless)
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Hardware ownership
rentedprovider claim
mixedprovider claim
Own AS (autonomous system)
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
10 Gbps ports
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
P2P and file sharing
entire networkprovider claim
entire networkprovider claim
Public server list
yesprovider claim
yesconfirmed
Public status page
noprovider claim
yesconfirmed
Known upstream hosting providers
Third-party infrastructure providers (unnamed); Pango states it would leave any provider requiring activity loggingprovider claim
Laut Server-API am 03.08.2026 unter anderem Datapacket (29 Hosts), M247 (22), Tzulo (10), Leaseweb (7), TheGigabit (4), EstNOC (3), Amanah (2) und Privatelayer (2).confirmed
Windows app
native appconfirmed
native appprovider claim
macOS app
native appconfirmed
native appprovider claim
Linux app with GUI
not availableprovider claim
native appprovider claim
Linux command line
not availableprovider claim
native appprovider claim
Android app
native appconfirmed
native appprovider claim
iOS app
native appconfirmed
native appprovider claim
Android TV app
native appprovider claim
manual config onlyprovider claim
Apple TV app
not availableprovider claim
not availableprovider claim
Fire TV app
native appprovider claim
manual config onlyprovider claim
Browser extension
not availableprovider claim
proxy details onlyprovider claim
Type of browser extension
no extensionprovider claim
no extensionprovider claim
Router support
Router mentioned as connectable device under Premium (up to 10 devices)provider claim
Offiziell dokumentiert sind pfSense, OPNsense, Asus-wrt, OpenWrt, DD-WRT und Tomato; für OpenVPN und WireGuard stehen Konfigurationsgeneratoren bereit.provider claim
Native build for Apple Silicon
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Command line documented
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Simultaneous devices
10provider claim
5 (Standard und Plus), 10 (Pro Suite)provider claim
Usable without an account
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Data required at signup
any email addressprovider claim
nothing requiredprovider claim
Account model
email as loginprovider claim
account number onlyprovider claim
Cash by mail
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Monero
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Bitcoin
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Lightning
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Retail gift cards
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
PayPal
noprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Credit and debit card
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
SEPA payment
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Monthly price
€11.99provider claim
€6.00confirmed
Effective price on the longest term
€7.99provider claim
€5.00confirmed
Price change at renewal
moderate increaseprovider claim
same priceprovider claim
Flat pricing without permanent discounts
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Free tier and its limits
Free VPN products (Hotspot Shield free) supported by third-party in-app ads (Unity, ironSource, Digital Turbine, InMobi)confirmed
noneprovider claim
Money-back window
45 Tageprovider claim
30 Tageprovider claim
Cancellation path
cancel in accountconfirmed
cancel in accountprovider claim
P2P policy in the terms of service
entire networkprovider claim
entire networkprovider claim
Streaming unblocking officially advertised
yesprovider claim
noprovider claim
Netflix regions reported
Marketing claims Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+ worldwide; no audited region list on fetched pagesprovider claim
No guarantee; many customers use for Netflix/Hulu/BBC/Disney+ but streaming actively blocks VPNsprovider claim
Other streaming services
Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+provider claim
Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, BBC, Disney+ mentioned without guaranteeprovider claim
Bandwidth cap
cappedprovider claim
no limitprovider claim
Data cap
Basic free: 500 MB/day; Premium: unlimitedprovider claim
noneprovider claim
Speed measurement references
Claims up to 2.2x faster than competitionprovider claim
?
SMTP and port 25 handling?
Ausgehender Verkehr auf SMTP-Port 25 wird blockiert; die Einlieferungsports 465 und 587 bleiben nach Anbieterangabe nutzbar.provider claim
Official support in restrictive countries
Historically used for censorship circumvention (Arab Spring); Hydra marketed for accessprovider claim
V2Ray-Verschleierung (VMess über QUIC oder TCP) ist seit 28.11.2025 auf allen Plattformen verfügbar und richtet sich laut Anbieter an Nutzer in Ländern mit Netzsperren. Die Website weist zugleich darauf hin, dass eine stabile Nutzung in Russland nicht garantiert wird.provider claim
24/7 live chat
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Email or ticket support
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
Telephone support
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
German-language support
yesprovider claim
noprovider claim
Documentation assessment
workableprovider claim
thorough and currentprovider claim
Self-hosted chat widget
noprovider claim
noprovider claim
Self-service account deletion
yesprovider claim
yesprovider claim
SSL Labs grade of the website
A+confirmed
A-confirmed
Tracker load of the website
Essential + analytics/personalization/targeted advertising cookies disclosed on siteprovider claim
Eigene Messung der Startseite am 03.08.2026 ohne Zustimmung im Banner: keine Drittanbieter-Tracker; einziger externer Skript-Host ist die selbst betriebene Matomo-Instanz stats.ivpn.net.confirmed
URL of the warrant canary
none foundprovider claim
https://www.ivpn.net/resources/canary.txtprovider claim
Length and readability of the legal documents
Long formal ToS with commercial/cancellation sections; not specially simplifiedprovider claim
Human-readable privacy policy emphasizedprovider claim
Marketing claims contradicting the provider's own terms
Markets 'world's fastest VPN' via Speedtest; 2017 CDT/FTC complaint about free-tier data sharing (Wikipedia)confirmed
Explicitly rejects anonymity/military-grade marketing fluff; publishes what VPN can/cannot doprovider claim