Hotspot Shield / Perfect Privacy compared
Same criteria, same rules. You see where they diverge.
No winner on this page. vpn-matrix.com assigns no points and makes no recommendations.
Differences (100)
Criteria where the values diverge.
| Hotspot Shield | Perfect Privacy | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal company name | Anchorfree, LLC / Pango GmbH (product under Point Wild / formerly Pango Group)provider claim | CyberDock IT Solutions GmbHconfirmed |
| Trademark holder, if different | Point Wild (HotSpot Shield brand)provider claim | CyberDock IT Solutions GmbH / Perfect Privacy brandprovider claim |
| Headquarters (country) | USprovider claim | DEconfirmed |
| Other relevant jurisdictions | United States (Redwood City, California); Pango/Point Wild operatorconfirmed | DE (Hamburg HRB 152750)confirmed |
| Intelligence alliance of the home country | Five Eyesconfirmed | 14 Eyesconfirmed |
| Parent group / holding | Point Wildconfirmed | CyberDock IT Solutions GmbH (Hamburg)provider claim |
| Ownership structure | private equityprovider claim | owners undisclosedprovider claim |
| Sister VPN brands in the group | Betternet, Ultra VPN / UltraAV, VPN360, Touch VPN (per Point Wild / Pango portfolio disclosures)provider claim | none documentedprovider claim |
| Group owns VPN review and comparison sites | Comparitech (listed among Point Wild brands)provider claim | none documentedprovider claim |
| YouTube and influencer sponsoring | occasionalprovider claim | unknownprovider 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 | Originally Switzerland-based (from 2008); later operated by CyberDock IT Solutions GmbH in Hamburg, Germany; technical entity claimed as Webinvest International SA (Panama)provider claim |
| Operating status | activeconfirmed | discontinuedconfirmed |
| Discontinuation date | ? | 01/30/2026provider claim |
| 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 | No user traffic logs; no IP addresses, access times/duration, or per-user bandwidth stored; account holds login, expiry, emailconfirmed |
| Connection logs | per sessionconfirmed | noneconfirmed |
| Storage of the real IP address | transient onlyconfirmed | not storedconfirmed |
| Precision of stored timestamps | to the secondprovider claim | noneconfirmed |
| Recording of transferred data volume | per accountconfirmed | aggregate onlyconfirmed |
| Enforcement of the device limit | Premium links up to 10 devices per accountprovider claim | Unlimited simultaneous connections (vendor claim; mirrored in reviews)provider claim |
| Minimum account data required | Device hashes for free products without account; paid/account flows collect additional account data per general policyprovider claim | username/password, account expiry, emailconfirmed |
| Telemetry in the apps | cannot be disabledprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Trackers and SDKs in the Android app | Free versions: Google advertising ID (AAID) to Google for personalized adsprovider claim | None — vendor claimed in-house development without third parties (Wayback home)provider claim |
| Trackers in the iOS app | Free versions: IDFA to Google for personalized adsprovider claim | No iOS app (CyberInsider con); N/A for first-party iOS SDKsprovider claim |
| Trackers and cookies on the website | Cookies for analytics, personalization, and targeted advertising (site cookie banner)provider claim | Google Analytics with anonymizeIp; advertising cookies disclosedprovider claim |
| 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 | Payment processors (Paymentwall, PayPal, Stripe, Bitcoin processors); Google Analytics on website with anonymized IPprovider 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 | VPN: no connection data retained; account credentials/email/expiry retained for billing/supportprovider claim |
| Independent no-logs audit | yesconfirmed | noprovider 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 | No-logs policy described as involuntarily tested via police server seizures (notably 2016 Golem/heise reporting); vendor claimed regular internal/external audits on Wayback homepageprovider claim |
| Audit report published | summary onlyconfirmed | not publishedprovider claim |
| App and client audits | none published on fetched pagesprovider claim | Vendor claimed regular internal/external audits on Wayback homepage; no named app-audit firm/report URL foundprovider claim |
| Infrastructure and server audits | none published on fetched pagesprovider claim | No public infra audit report found; involuntary 2016 seizure treated as practical no-logs test in secondary sourcesprovider claim |
| Tested in court or by authorities | none documented on fetched official pagesprovider claim | 2016 Netherlands server seizure reported; no customer data recovered (vendor/community narrative on archived pages and reviews)provider claim |
| Transparency report | occasionalprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Warrant canary | noneprovider claim | staleprovider claim |
| Security incidents and data leaks | 2017 CDT complaint to FTC alleging undisclosed data sharing/traffic redirection on Hotspot Shield Free (per Wikipedia)confirmed | Police seizures of VPN hardware/servers reported (heise 2010; Golem 2016); operator framed seizures as validating no-logs (no user data found)confirmed |
| Bug bounty programme | none published on fetched Hotspot Shield/Pango pagesprovider claim | ? |
| Handling of reported vulnerabilities | none disclosed on fetched pagesprovider claim | ? |
| Open source clients | noneprovider claim | someprovider claim |
| Listings by independent bodies | Cited Speedtest/Ookla fastest VPN; TechRadar, CNET, ZDNet, PCWorld quotes on marketing pagesprovider claim | Historically recommended in privacy community reviews; CyberInsider and SafetyDetectives reviewed it; recommendations withdrawn after Jan 2026 shutdownprovider claim |
| Proprietary protocol | Hydra (developed internally by Pango)confirmed | Stealth VPN (DPI obfuscation wrapping VPN to look like HTTPS)provider claim |
| Legacy protocols still offered | Proprietary Hydra primary; OpenVPN/WireGuard not advertised as primary on fetched product pagesprovider claim | SSH2 tunnelprovider claim |
| Default data cipher | AES-256confirmed | AES-256 (OpenVPN)provider claim |
| Key exchange and authentication | Catapult Hydra proprietary protocolprovider claim | OpenVPN / IPsec industry standards (details not fully specified on feature pages)provider claim |
| Perfect forward secrecy | ? | 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 | Stealth VPN (HTTPS-like masking against DPI)provider claim |
| Usability behind the Great Firewall | per user reportsconfirmed | unclearprovider claim |
| Kill switch | not availableprovider claim | system-wideprovider claim |
| Split tunneling | not offered on Hotspot Shield select-plan/feature lists fetchedprovider claim | yes (app split-tunneling per SafetyDetectives review of the service)provider claim |
| Multihop | not availableprovider claim | freely combinableprovider claim |
| Port forwarding | not availableprovider claim | availableprovider claim |
| SOCKS5 proxy | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| HTTP 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 |
| Traffic analysis defence | Proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol; historical circumvention useprovider claim | Stealth VPN Technology / NeuroRouting historically offeredprovider claim |
| IPv6 inside the tunnel | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Number of servers | 1,800 Serverprovider claim | 55 Serverprovider claim |
| Number of countries | 80 Laenderprovider claim | 23 Laenderprovider claim |
| Virtual locations | not labelledprovider claim | no virtual locationsprovider claim |
| RAM-only servers (diskless) | noprovider claim | entire networkprovider claim |
| Hardware ownership | rentedprovider claim | colocationprovider claim |
| 10 Gbps ports | noprovider claim | some serversprovider claim |
| Public status page | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Known upstream hosting providers | Third-party infrastructure providers (unnamed); Pango states it would leave any provider requiring activity loggingprovider claim | 100% dedicated bare-metal / root servers (no cloud VPS); operators not individually named on fetched pagesprovider claim |
| Linux app with GUI | not availableprovider claim | native appprovider claim |
| Linux command line | not availableprovider claim | manual config onlyprovider claim |
| Android TV app | native appprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Fire TV app | native appprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Router support | Router mentioned as connectable device under Premium (up to 10 devices)provider claim | VPN Routers documentation linked in footerprovider claim |
| Command line documented | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Simultaneous devices | 10provider claim | unlimited / personal multi-device use allowed; no sharing credentialsprovider claim |
| Cash by mail | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Bitcoin | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Retail gift cards | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| PayPal | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| SEPA payment | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Monthly price | €11.99provider claim | €12.99provider claim |
| Effective price on the longest term | €7.99provider claim | €8.95provider claim |
| 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 | 7 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 | Poor / largely incompatible with Netflix and Disney+ per CyberInsider testing notesprovider claim |
| Other streaming services | Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+provider claim | CyberInsider: does not work well with streaming sites such as Netflix and Disney Plusprovider 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 | ? | Not documented on fetched Wayback/review pagesprovider claim |
| Official support in restrictive countries | Historically used for censorship circumvention (Arab Spring); Hydra marketed for accessprovider claim | ? |
| SSL Labs grade of the website | A+confirmed | ? |
| Tracker load of the website | Essential + analytics/personalization/targeted advertising cookies disclosed on siteprovider claim | Privacy policy covered website cookies historicallyprovider claim |
| URL of the warrant canary | none foundprovider claim | Historical warrant canary page (service discontinued)provider claim |
| Length and readability of the legal documents | Long formal ToS with commercial/cancellation sections; not specially simplifiedprovider claim | Technical privacy-focused documentation historicallyprovider 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 | Discontinued service — historical claims onlyprovider claim |
All sourced criteria (154)
| Hotspot Shield | Perfect Privacy | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal company name | Anchorfree, LLC / Pango GmbH (product under Point Wild / formerly Pango Group)provider claim | CyberDock IT Solutions GmbHconfirmed |
| Trademark holder, if different | Point Wild (HotSpot Shield brand)provider claim | CyberDock IT Solutions GmbH / Perfect Privacy brandprovider claim |
| Year founded | 2008confirmed | 2008provider claim |
| Headquarters (country) | USprovider claim | DEconfirmed |
| Other relevant jurisdictions | United States (Redwood City, California); Pango/Point Wild operatorconfirmed | DE (Hamburg HRB 152750)confirmed |
| Intelligence alliance of the home country | Five Eyesconfirmed | 14 Eyesconfirmed |
| Parent group / holding | Point Wildconfirmed | CyberDock IT Solutions GmbH (Hamburg)provider claim |
| Beneficial owners publicly known | partly knownprovider claim | partly knownprovider claim |
| Ownership structure | private equityprovider claim | owners undisclosedprovider claim |
| Leadership team publicly named | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Verifiable postal address for legal service | yesconfirmed | yesprovider claim |
| Sister VPN brands in the group | Betternet, Ultra VPN / UltraAV, VPN360, Touch VPN (per Point Wild / Pango portfolio disclosures)provider claim | none documentedprovider claim |
| Group owns VPN review and comparison sites | Comparitech (listed among Point Wild brands)provider claim | none documentedprovider claim |
| Runs an affiliate programme | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| YouTube and influencer sponsoring | occasionalprovider claim | unknownprovider 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 | Originally Switzerland-based (from 2008); later operated by CyberDock IT Solutions GmbH in Hamburg, Germany; technical entity claimed as Webinvest International SA (Panama)provider claim |
| Operating status | activeconfirmed | discontinuedconfirmed |
| Discontinuation date | ? | 01/30/2026provider claim |
| 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 | No user traffic logs; no IP addresses, access times/duration, or per-user bandwidth stored; account holds login, expiry, emailconfirmed |
| Activity and traffic logs | noneprovider claim | noneconfirmed |
| Connection logs | per sessionconfirmed | noneconfirmed |
| 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 | noneconfirmed |
| Recording of transferred data volume | per accountconfirmed | aggregate onlyconfirmed |
| Enforcement of the device limit | Premium links up to 10 devices per accountprovider claim | Unlimited simultaneous connections (vendor claim; mirrored in reviews)provider claim |
| Minimum account data required | Device hashes for free products without account; paid/account flows collect additional account data per general policyprovider claim | username/password, account expiry, emailconfirmed |
| Telemetry in the apps | cannot be disabledprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Trackers and SDKs in the Android app | Free versions: Google advertising ID (AAID) to Google for personalized adsprovider claim | None — vendor claimed in-house development without third parties (Wayback home)provider claim |
| Trackers in the iOS app | Free versions: IDFA to Google for personalized adsprovider claim | No iOS app (CyberInsider con); N/A for first-party iOS SDKsprovider claim |
| Trackers and cookies on the website | Cookies for analytics, personalization, and targeted advertising (site cookie banner)provider claim | Google Analytics with anonymizeIp; advertising cookies disclosedprovider claim |
| 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 | Payment processors (Paymentwall, PayPal, Stripe, Bitcoin processors); Google Analytics on website with anonymized IPprovider 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 | VPN: no connection data retained; account credentials/email/expiry retained for billing/supportprovider claim |
| EU representative named under GDPR | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Independent no-logs audit | yesconfirmed | noprovider 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 | No-logs policy described as involuntarily tested via police server seizures (notably 2016 Golem/heise reporting); vendor claimed regular internal/external audits on Wayback homepageprovider claim |
| Audit report published | summary onlyconfirmed | not publishedprovider claim |
| App and client audits | none published on fetched pagesprovider claim | Vendor claimed regular internal/external audits on Wayback homepage; no named app-audit firm/report URL foundprovider claim |
| Infrastructure and server audits | none published on fetched pagesprovider claim | No public infra audit report found; involuntary 2016 seizure treated as practical no-logs test in secondary sourcesprovider claim |
| Audit frequency | irregularprovider claim | irregularprovider claim |
| Tested in court or by authorities | none documented on fetched official pagesprovider claim | 2016 Netherlands server seizure reported; no customer data recovered (vendor/community narrative on archived pages and reviews)provider claim |
| Transparency report | occasionalprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Warrant canary | noneprovider claim | staleprovider claim |
| Security incidents and data leaks | 2017 CDT complaint to FTC alleging undisclosed data sharing/traffic redirection on Hotspot Shield Free (per Wikipedia)confirmed | Police seizures of VPN hardware/servers reported (heise 2010; Golem 2016); operator framed seizures as validating no-logs (no user data found)confirmed |
| Bug bounty programme | none published on fetched Hotspot Shield/Pango pagesprovider claim | ? |
| Handling of reported vulnerabilities | none disclosed on fetched pagesprovider claim | ? |
| Open source clients | noneprovider claim | someprovider claim |
| Open source server side | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Reproducible builds | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Available on F-Droid | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Listings by independent bodies | Cited Speedtest/Ookla fastest VPN; TechRadar, CNET, ZDNet, PCWorld quotes on marketing pagesprovider claim | Historically recommended in privacy community reviews; CyberInsider and SafetyDetectives reviewed it; recommendations withdrawn after Jan 2026 shutdownprovider claim |
| WireGuard | noprovider claim | noprovider 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 | Stealth VPN (DPI obfuscation wrapping VPN to look like HTTPS)provider claim |
| Legacy protocols still offered | Proprietary Hydra primary; OpenVPN/WireGuard not advertised as primary on fetched product pagesprovider claim | SSH2 tunnelprovider claim |
| Default data cipher | AES-256confirmed | AES-256 (OpenVPN)provider claim |
| Weakest accepted cipher | AES-256provider claim | AES-256provider claim |
| Key exchange and authentication | Catapult Hydra proprietary protocolprovider claim | OpenVPN / IPsec industry standards (details not fully specified on feature pages)provider claim |
| Perfect forward secrecy | ? | yesprovider claim |
| Post-quantum key exchange | not availableprovider claim | not availableprovider 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 | Stealth VPN (HTTPS-like masking against DPI)provider claim |
| Usability behind the Great Firewall | per user reportsconfirmed | unclearprovider claim |
| Kill switch | not availableprovider claim | system-wideprovider claim |
| Permanent lockdown | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Split tunneling | not offered on Hotspot Shield select-plan/feature lists fetchedprovider claim | yes (app split-tunneling per SafetyDetectives review of the service)provider claim |
| Multihop | not availableprovider claim | freely combinableprovider claim |
| Tor integration (Onion over VPN) | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Port forwarding | not availableprovider claim | availableprovider claim |
| SOCKS5 proxy | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| HTTP proxy | noprovider claim | yesprovider 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 | noprovider claim |
| Traffic analysis defence | Proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol; historical circumvention useprovider claim | Stealth VPN Technology / NeuroRouting historically offeredprovider claim |
| IPv6 inside the tunnel | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Obfuscation without configuration | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Number of servers | 1,800 Serverprovider claim | 55 Serverprovider claim |
| Number of countries | 80 Laenderprovider claim | 23 Laenderprovider claim |
| Number of cities | 35 Staedteprovider claim | 35 Staedteprovider claim |
| Virtual locations | not labelledprovider claim | no virtual locationsprovider claim |
| RAM-only servers (diskless) | noprovider claim | entire networkprovider claim |
| Hardware ownership | rentedprovider claim | colocationprovider claim |
| Own AS (autonomous system) | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| 10 Gbps ports | noprovider claim | some serversprovider claim |
| P2P and file sharing | entire networkprovider claim | entire networkprovider claim |
| Public server list | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Public status page | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Known upstream hosting providers | Third-party infrastructure providers (unnamed); Pango states it would leave any provider requiring activity loggingprovider claim | 100% dedicated bare-metal / root servers (no cloud VPS); operators not individually named on fetched pagesprovider claim |
| 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 | manual config onlyprovider claim |
| Android app | native appconfirmed | native appprovider claim |
| iOS app | native appconfirmed | native appprovider claim |
| Android TV app | native appprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Apple TV app | not availableprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Fire TV app | native appprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Browser extension | not availableprovider claim | not availableprovider 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 | VPN Routers documentation linked in footerprovider claim |
| Native build for Apple Silicon | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Command line documented | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Simultaneous devices | 10provider claim | unlimited / personal multi-device use allowed; no sharing credentialsprovider claim |
| Usable without an account | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Data required at signup | any email addressprovider claim | any email addressprovider claim |
| Account model | email as loginprovider claim | email as loginprovider claim |
| Cash by mail | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Monero | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Bitcoin | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Lightning | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Retail gift cards | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| PayPal | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Credit and debit card | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| SEPA payment | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Monthly price | €11.99provider claim | €12.99provider claim |
| Effective price on the longest term | €7.99provider claim | €8.95provider claim |
| 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 | 7 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 | Poor / largely incompatible with Netflix and Disney+ per CyberInsider testing notesprovider claim |
| Other streaming services | Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+provider claim | CyberInsider: does not work well with streaming sites such as Netflix and Disney Plusprovider 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 | ? | Not documented on fetched Wayback/review pagesprovider claim |
| Official support in restrictive countries | Historically used for censorship circumvention (Arab Spring); Hydra marketed for accessprovider claim | ? |
| 24/7 live chat | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Email or ticket support | yesprovider claim | yesconfirmed |
| Telephone support | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| German-language support | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Documentation assessment | workableprovider claim | workableprovider 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 | ? |
| Tracker load of the website | Essential + analytics/personalization/targeted advertising cookies disclosed on siteprovider claim | Privacy policy covered website cookies historicallyprovider claim |
| URL of the warrant canary | none foundprovider claim | Historical warrant canary page (service discontinued)provider claim |
| Length and readability of the legal documents | Long formal ToS with commercial/cancellation sections; not specially simplifiedprovider claim | Technical privacy-focused documentation historicallyprovider 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 | Discontinued service — historical claims onlyprovider claim |