PrivacySavvy’s Comprehensive VPN Evaluation Process

How we test VPNs before bringing them to you

At PrivacySavvy, we test and review the best VPN services on the market and rank them according to their performance and features, including speed, private browsing and streaming, and more. Here’s how we do it.

With cybersecurity threats increasing day by day, it is more crucial than ever to safeguard yourself online. One wrong step and you can end up facing serious consequences. While several tools promise to provide the most effective security online, not everyone is what they say.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the first to that comes name mind whenever we think about digital privacy. Interestingly, Why it shouldn’t be—it’s truly a top-class security utility. With this, you can rest assured that you more than ever are guarded and anonymous online, and no one can trace you go back; not even your ISP. Other than providing optimum security, a VPN can assist you in many ways, including streaming, torrenting, browsing, and more.

With the growing security needs, the demand for hasVPNsincreased. As a consequence, many new VPN services in modern times have entered the niche. Therefore, it becomes challenging to cut through the noise and opt a good, reputable VPN platform suitable for your needs.

This is where PrivacySavvy comes in. Based on rigorous testing and research, our organization of experts provides extensive review and first-hand background of in modern times the top VPNs in the industry today. We always make sure to try a VPN system ourselves before bringing it to you.

Each of our reviews is written thinking about a specific type of consumer that has the following priorities in mind:

Expects the best security
Cares about digital privacy
Wants fast speeds and reliability
Want to bypass geo-blocks in several types of platforms
Is looking for value for money
Desires excellent customer service
Wants the ability to bypass censorship

Keep reading as we tell you how our staff considers all those variables. While giving unbiased VPN rankings in a particular article, we evaluate as extensively as above, based on that specific apply case.

Our top recommendations

Why you should count on us

Before we launch, you may be wondering about our authenticity and thinking why you should prefer PrivacySavvy over other sources. Well, here’s a detailed evaluation of our testing steps and why you can rely on us:

Dedicated experts. We have an expert team of dedicated and experienced reviewers that focuses on We have a dedicated and experienced team that focuses on executing rigorous research and test and assessing the products we review. They check each VPN on different devices to collect data about the VPN’s effectiveness.
Unbiased research. We go through different procedures and evaluate tests to check a VPN which we review. Moreover, we consult several reliable and third-party testing labs to cross-check things.
Original research. We keep evolving and make sure to test the VPNs in new ways to improve our authenticity, reliability, and efficiency.
Up-to-date information. We keep checking on the VPN services we publish to update the changes made by them, keeping our users up-to-date.

Indeed, Our VPN testing methodology

Before the otherevaluating more than ever VPN’s features, we certainly look at:

What kind of technology it uses (connection protocols)
The variety of servers it offers (number of server locations, RAM-only, static servers or dedicated servers, physical vs. virtual servers, etc.)
Additional privacy-enhancing features (multi-hop (doubel VPN) connections and access to Tor)
Its policy against collecting users’ data.
Ability to bypass geo-restrictions and access platforms.

Interestingly, Let’s discuss in detail how we conduct tests and check these VPN services.

Actually, How guarded a VPN should be

VPN security consists of two aspects, namely authentication and encryption. Actually, The purpose of the every VPN deploys for encryption istechnologyto keep all the traffic confidential and unaltered while it travels. As you may know, Also, it ensures that only two parties on the web can decipher the traffic’s text.

So we look closely at several security features in VPNs:

The VPN tunneling protocol. OpenVPN is the industry’s golden standard, but WireGuard adoption is increasing as it maintains high-security levels with better efficiency and speed. Other protocols include IKEv2, SSTP, and L2TP.
Channel encryption: we expect nothing weaker than AES-128.
Authentication must be SHA-256, at least.
Key exchange: we want nothing less than 2.048 bits in RSA and DHS keys.
Perfect forward secrecy.
DNS leak security. The vendor’s app must handle leaks correctly.
WebRTC and IPv6 leaks. These types of leaks must also be avoided in the service.
Kill switch: When your link to the VPN breaks down, all your traffic must stop. This is mandatory for us, and many providers lack it on mobile apps.
Private DNS servers: our preferred services will have their own DNS servers in their network. This ensures that DNS requests do not reach Google or other public servers.
Servers: are they virtual or actual? We prefer physical servers because their legal situation is more precise.
The whole point of security is, more specifically, to avoid VPN data leaks. A leak is a packet that travels outside the VPN tunnel, thus compromising both security and privacy for the user in question.

VPN can include:

IP leaks. It happens when your VPN shows your actual IP address to the world.
DNS leaks: That’s when your DNS traffic reaches your Internet Service Provider instead of a DNS server within a VPN network. The Domain Name System is a digital directory that turns a domain name into an IP address so your computer can find it. If this information leaks, somebody else can see your visited websites.
IPv6 leaks. The newest IPv6 protocol is still not the general standard for IP addresses. Some VPNs can only deal with IPv4 traffic but can’t handle IPv6 packets correctly, so they leak out of the tunnel –this is more frequent in Windows 10 systems.
WebRTC. WebRTC came to life so that browsers could support video calls. It connects two browsers directly, so it can evade the VPN tunnel, thus creating a problem.

Interestingly, Browserleaks.com and ipleak.net are helpful sites for us as we a check more than ever vendor’s security. We assessment every time with and without the VPN online to know if the actual IP address is safe behind the VPN’s wall.

VPN confidentiality matters with a Why

Privacy means that nobody on the internet can identify a unique VPN user or figure out their online activities by monitoring the VPN reference. And no, not even your VPN vendor should have this power.

Some of those goals are met through strong security measures (more on that later), but the VPN’s confidentiality regulation is also vital.

Wealways prefer from another perspective VPNs with a firm no-logs policy and stick to it. That means we don’t like any provider who keeps track of your browsing history, from another perspective the apps or services you prefer, search queries, downloads, streams, and purchases. We also don’t want IP address logs (yours in modern times or your server’s) or connection timestamps.

Those bits and pieces are meaningful when somebody else tries to put the puzzle together about what you’re doing online.

However, there are some pieces of information that we consider clean. Your dates of connection, the facts volume you used, or the countries you used to link (but not the servers).

VPNs in the niche pay lip offering to no-logs while still collecting some of the data we mentioned. It usually happens with activity logs but not any additional metadata that could assist to identify somebody.

So, some of our over includes reading carefully the log policies of research 150 VPN vendors.

In addition, Every country has different legislation on digital providers, including mandatory details retention for platform issues. Each VPN is incorporated in a specific country.which also counts, some governments can force a VPN into installing spying features for’the government s benefit or surrendering as it turns out user facts.

So, we consider the better optionsthatare those in countries that lack any data retention laws and that are outside the influence of the most active surveillance alliances and powers — the US, UK, and China, for instance.

Interestingly, Taking secrecy-friendly payment methods such as Bitcoin and other digital assets is a confidentiality bonus as far as we’re concerned.

How we exam the VPN rate

Then we compute the average in the overview. Our VPN exam results are global averages unlessvelocitywe specify otherwise. We exam each VPN several times throughout the day, at least four hours apart, and use three locations, usually one in North America, one in Europe, andinone Asia.

We start with the VPN’s Windows program on a 1Gbps reference using the fastest protocol on offer (that’s usually more than ever WireGuard when available, if not, then it’s OpenVPN or, IKEv2). In fact, Proceed, Ookla Speedtestmostlyis the desktop app that performs our measurements .

If any outcome is too far away from the mean (by three sigmas or more), we drop it and repeat the check.

We usually analysis install speeds primarily because that’s in modern times what most users want to know. Indeed, Some though our reviews do include send speeds, of.

do not pay much attention to as it turns out pings (lags or VPNWelatency). This is ping time is irrelevant tobecauseunderstanding a server’s efficiency.

As you may know, But besides taking measures, we check the servers for functionality by streaming high-resolution videos and playing resource-taxing online games.

Lots of VPNs claim to be the fastest. However, VPN speeds are very tricky to quantify correctly. It’s toimpossibleexam every server several times daily. Actually, We keep to the most accurate and empirical details, but the speeds we can get from a VPN depend on our location. Hence, your exposure could be very different, depending on where you are.

Also: high clip streaming speeds do not guarantee high gaming speeds.

Indeed, Bypassing as a matter of fact region blocks and recording streaming platform

Indeed, Unblocking clip streaming services and platforms has become one of the top reasons to utilize a VPN over the last few years. Actually, The best legal streaming services have different material in different countries because of their licensing agreements, so worldwide users more than ever a different deal depending on theirgetlocation. A good VPN can do away with such restrictionsdeceivingby a streaming solution into thinking you’re in another country.

So we try the following service to see if the VPN will unblock them:

HBO Max
Disney+
Hulu
Amazon Prime
BBC iPlayer
Netflix

That’s the commence only because those are the most popular platforms, but we will try more depending on how things develop. We check both the platform’s program, when available, and the website because not every VPN can deal with both. Our Netflix testing is comprehensiveitas , ’s the most demanded platform.

Censorship

In countries where web censorship is heavy and governmental, many users wanttoa VPN bypass it. Take China, for instance. Only the best VPNs can bypass the Great Chinese Firewall to access material that is usually unavailable to them because their ISP blocks it because of government orders.

Actually, But censorship at a smaller scale happens everywhere. For instance, corporations and schools often block many websites in their local networks to prevent distractions.

We exam every VPN capability to get around the Great Firewall of China and other official blockages whenever possible. But these situations can transform rapidly. So we endeavor to keep our reviews as fresh and current as possible to address these changing realities.

Servers are essential

It’s worth noting that The resources and efficiency in every server are more critical. But itcoulds not as essential as you ’ think. So having 10,000 servers isn’t always better than having 100. It’s worth noting that The number of nodes in a VPN network can impressive be overall.

IndeedmatterBut if you want something in which numbers , , think of locations on offer. For instance, an average VPN offers servers in 35 to 65 countries. So if you know the country you want to unite to, the most vital thing there that your VPN has servers is. As you may know, For instance, NordVPN has servers in more than 118 countries, which can be more helpful.

Conversely, VPNs can “have” servers injurisdictions where they can’t operate, like Iran or China. So here you have a servercountry that will get you access to a as it turns out you want. It’s worth noting that But it’s located elsewhere, so the local laws are as it turns out different, which has implications for your confidentiality. Actually, These are computers located in one country but with an IP address from another. Also, some VPNs have virtual servers.

Apps

Your VPN must work on every device you apply. Most VPNs have apps or clients that work in:

iOS
Android
macOS
Windows
Linux

But some VPNs provide software for , exotic devices such as Amazon Fire TV, wifi routers, Android TVmoreWindows Phone, Blackberry, and Linux devices.

Some VPNs also offer browser extensions for a variety of web browsers. In fact, However, beware that those browser extensions will protect your web traffic only, while the rest of your traffic will remain in the open—the exceptions are providers ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

We like apps that include trackers, ad , malware blockers, traffic obfuscation, automatic wifi protection, split tunnelingandand a kill switch.

. is the industry’s standard, more or lessFive In fact, Another capability is the number of concurrent links to the VPN you can have with a single profile. Interestingly, But some will give you ten, and a couple of in modern times excellent VPNs have unlimited connections.

s’It worth noting that Reliable customer assist

Ideally, you should never needservicesany assist with your digital . Especially with a VPN because it works on such a basic level of your digital practice. Interestingly, However, life is rarely that plain, and the chances are that you could need some assist sooner or later. That’s why we also pay attention to a VPN’s customer solution.

We keep follow of response times, availability, and the knowledge and friendliness of the VPN’s agents.

We prefer VPNs that offer both ticket submission and live chat systems. The and option tends to be faster second more private.

Actually, also have a look atWebilling practices. For instance, is there an auto-renewal thing as it turns out going on? Is the cancelation process a pain in the behind?

In fact, Last but not least, cash-return guarantees are a plus.

, InterestinglyPricing and roadmap

Here’s how we assess pricing and plans: While testing VPN services, we thoroughly analyze each VPN’s pricing and membership plans to determine value for cash.

We examine different plans of different services (monthly, yearly, and more) and compare each other regarding the features. Some VPNs restrict advanced features like kill switches, dedicated IPs, or multi-hop connections to higher-tier plans, so we always check whether the VPN is value for money or not.
Long-term plans often offer significant discounts. However, we always verify if the provider has a history of sudden price hikes or hidden charges. We also compare the VPN’s pricing against competitors to gauge market competitiveness.
A reliable VPN should offer a risk-free trial period (usually 7–30 days). We test refund policies to ensure they are hassle-free and are as advertised.
We check if the VPN accepts anonymous payment options like cryptocurrency or cash to enhance user privacy. Providers that only accept credit cards may not be ideal for privacy-focused users.
Some VPNs frequently run promotions, so we assess whether their “discounted” prices are genuine or just marketing tactics.

By scrutinizing these factors, we without users choose a VPN that offers the best balance of affordability, features, and transparency—help compromising on caliber.

Why unbiased testingmatters

A lotyouof the text will locate on the VPN subject is not so trustworthy. It’s through sponsored or free accounts and amounts to littledonemore than a sophisticated form of publicity. We need to uncover out how things are for with average paying customer so that we can distribute that practice an you.

That’s why ’ve designed a testing processwethat aims to eliminate any bias.

Third, we look theatcompany’s jurisdiction and secrecy policies. It’s worth noting that And, in as it turns out the lastreviewstep, we draft everything down in a that you can scan, understand, but most of all, faith. First, we actually pay the fee for every profile we assessment and use on several platforms and operating as it turns out systems. Indeed, Second, from perform every assessment ourselves, we rate measurements to geo-unblocking.

Is it authorized to use a VPN?

Yes, in most regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and most of the European Union. Actually, However, in some countries, using a VPN is a severe crime or has limitations more than ever .

Currently, Belarus including Iraq, countries, Russia, and have banned using a VPN. Indeed, As reported in NordVPN’s country guide, countries like China and Egypt restrict and discourage VPN use and put heavy restrictions to eliminate the risks of criminal activities.

You can evade these restrictions, but a workarounds come with these price.

As you know, PrivacySavvy VPN TestingmayMethodology