Private Internet Access (PIA ) is a popular VPN service, which is considered remarkably good & affordable. Well, it’s essential to thoroughly review PIA to figure out whether its enticing features and functions are worth the investment or if they are just overhyped for no reason.
To save you time, our team already prepared this private internet access VPN Review blog and evaluated this VPN tool based on multiple factors, including speed & performance, privacy policy, security protocols, pricing, and much more.
Additionally, you’ll explore what online activities you can do with PIA.So, without further ado, let’s dive into our comprehensive PIA review to explore all the buzz regarding this VPN technology.
Private Internet Access Best VPN Deals
Let’s have a look at the best VPN deals offered by PIA in the table below.
| Package | Pricing | Billed Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $11.95/mo (Save 0%) | $11.95 |
| 6-month | $7.50/mo (Save 37%) | $45 |
| 2-year + 2 months | $2.19/mo (Save 82%) | $56.94 |
PIA is a cost-saving VPN service offering three major pricing bundles: 1 month, 1 year, and 3 years. The yearly package is comparatively cheaper than the monthly package, costing only $3.33/mo. The subscription bundle that cost you as low as $2.03/mo is the 3-year package that comes added with a 3-month free. The desirable addition, you’ll get the PC/Mac optimizer along with this package.
The cost of the 1-month plan is more than three times that of the 3-year plan, and neither dedicated IP nor the Anti-Virus program is included. As a result, it’s not really a good deal, especially if you’re considering a long-term subscription. In general, we advise you to purchase the 3-year bundle as it’s one of the most affordable subscriptions available.
Private Internet Access VPN Review
Now, we’ll review the Private Internet Access server speed & performance, security protocols, privacy policy, and devices compatible with PIA.
Speed and Performance
PIA has a reputation for being a fast and reliable VPN service. However, the actual speed and performance that users experience can vary depending on several factors, including their internet connection speed, the location of the VPN server they are connecting to, and the amount of traffic on the server at the time.
To give you an idea of PIA’s speed and performance, we’ll share our speed test conducted on the multiple servers of PIA using the WireGuard protocol.
| PIA (WireGuard) | Download Speed | Upload Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Without VPN | 94.63 Mbps | 92.75 Mbps |
| With VPN | 85.46 Mbps | 84.31 Mbps |
The testing outcomes of PIA were quite amazing and we experience a nearly 10-12% downfall in our internet speed after establishing a connection to one of the PIA’s servers. This is an acceptable speed result as many VPNs reduced your internet speed up to 50-90%.
Not to mention, we connected to the farthest location in order to examine the time required to set up the connection and the percentage of the speed reduction.
The speed results are based on the WireGuard protocol– the best and fast VPN protocol. From the testing outcome, it’s clear that PIA is capable of providing fast download and upload speeds with minimal impact on latency (i.e., the delay between sending and receiving data) while connection setup hardly takes up 5 to 10 seconds. Moreover, the PIA service is optimized for 10 Gbps with unlimited bandwidth and no speed throttling ever.
In terms of server coverage, PIA has a vast network of servers in various locations around the world, which allows users to choose from many different server locations for optimal performance. Overall, PIA is considered a reliable VPN service with fast speeds and good performance, although individual results may vary depending on the user’s specific circumstances.
Device Compatibility
Private Internet Access supports a myriad range of devices and operating systems. Here are the devices and platforms that PIA is compatible with:
- Windows (including Windows 10, 8, and 7)
- macOS (including Big Sur, Catalina, and Mojave)
- Linux (including Ubuntu, Fedora, and Debian)
- iOS (including iPhones and iPads)
- Android (including smartphones and tablets)
- Chrome (extension)
- Firefox (extension)
- Opera (extension)
- Routers (including DD-WRT, Tomato, and PfSense)
PIA also allows unlimited simultaneous connections, which enable users to share and connect different devices at the same time without any hassle. This provides excellent device compatibility, allowing users to protect their privacy and security across multiple devices and platforms. Additionally, PIA provides detailed setup guides and customer support to help users set up and use the VPN on their devices.
Privacy and Security
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a VPN service that prioritizes the privacy and security of its users. PIA’s confirmed its no-log claims of never recording or keeping the user’s data by Deloitte. The no-log policy of PIA ensures that your web search history or other online activity isn’t tracked or logged. Additionally, snoopers wouldn’t be able to trace you or spy on your online whereabouts.
The sad news is, PIA is headquartered in the US, the country that belongs to the five eyes alliance agency; therefore, your data may be shared with these agencies without requiring persimmon from the court.
Also, be informed, PIA collects some personal information, including name, email address, billing country, and payment information, in order to provide top-notch customer care.
As far as security is concerned, PIA implemented robust security protocols and features as follows:
Strong encryption: PIA uses AES-256 encryption, which is a military-grade encryption standard that ensures that user data is secure and protected from eavesdropping and hacking.
Fire-wall-based kill switch: PIA has a secure kill switch that operates on the fire-wall-based functionality. It disconnects users from the internet if the VPN connection drops, preventing data leakage.
Ad and malware blocking: PIA includes an ad and malware blocker, which protects users from harmful ads and online threats.
DNS leak protection: PIA has DNS leak protection, which ensures users that their DNS queries are not exposed to their internet service provider (ISP) or any other third parties.
MACE protection: PIA includes MACE protection, which blocks domains that are known to be associated with ads, trackers, and malware.
What Can You Do with Private Internet Access VPN?
IP address masking: PIA masks users’ IP addresses by assigning them a new IP address, making it difficult for third parties to track their online activity.
Streaming:
Yes, Private Internet Access (PIA) does offer dedicated and optimized servers for streaming but only for specific nations, including the U.S. (US East Streaming Optimized and US West Streaming Optimized), UK London Streaming, AU Australia Streaming, and much more.
These servers are optimized for streaming, providing fast speeds and reliable connections to popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Crunchy Roll, Eurosport, Disney+, and more.
To test whether PIA is accessible to bypass Netflix Japan library content limitations, we connected to the JP Streaming Optimized server of PIA. As a result, we were able to watch exclusive movies and TV shows on Netflix Japan effortlessly without any buffering or lag– thanks to the optimized server infrastructure of PIA.
Torrenting:
Yes, PIA allows torrenting and P2P file sharing with unlimited bandwidth and super-fast speeds. Luckily, all the servers of PIA support torrenting and works great with uTorrent, BitTorrent, Deluge, and other torrenting services.
Further, the Mace ad blocker blocks unnecessary ads that appear while you torrent on these torrent websites. There is also a port forwarding feature that will enhance your torrenting download and upload speed. It lets you access blocked torrenting websites by evading NAT firewalls.
Gaming:
PIA like other VPNs masks your IP and enables you to play online video games with lower pings and improved connection speed. PIA servers located across multiple countries allow gamers to connect to a server that is closer to their physical location. It will improve the gameplay due to the reduced distance between the VPN and the gaming server.
We connected to the US server and evaluated the speed and performance of PIA. The recorded download and upload speeds were 81.74 Mbps and 80.65 Mbps, respectively. The icing on the cake is PIA’s ping rate, as we measured it to be 90 ms. PIA is a definite choice for gamers but it might affect your speed if you’re choosing a long-distance server.
Payment Methods
PIA integrated various payment methods to help users sign up for the service securely and anonymously. These payment methods include credit and debit cards, Cryptocurrency, PayPal, etc. which may vary according to your region. PIA also accepts Third-party gift cards (including Walmart, Best Buy, Starbucks, and many more).
It’s better to purchase the PIA VPN package through the Bitcoin payment method as it’s one of the secure, anonymous, and encrypted payment options.
You can select the payment method and subscribe to the service with a 30-day money-back guarantee. However, be mindful that PIA is unable to directly refund some payments. You can’t always get your money back, for instance, if you pay with a gift card or through an app store.
Private Internet Access Free VPN
PIA isn’t a completely free-of-cost VPN service. Instead, it allows users to sign up for the service with a risk-free 30-day refund policy on every PIA premium account. However, PIA does offer a 7-day free trial on Android and iOS mobile apps. The refund policy of 30 days gives you peace of mind and complete digital freedom. Users can withdraw from the service within the given time period if they’re not satisfied with their purchase.
Conclusion
We vouch for the PIA service as an all-in-one secure VPN. The app is jam-packed with the latest features and advanced security protocols. It delivers lightning-fast speeds and conceals your IP address. Its robust servers to protect your digital identity over the internet.
Snoopers and hackers wouldn’t be able to dig into your personal information with PIA. Furthermore, online activities are safer as PIA incorporates an anti-virus feature into their apps. Thus going above and beyond in providing extra security & privacy to its users!
FAQ
Here is the list of the most frequently asked questions related to the Private Internet Access review.
Yes, PIA is a reliable and good VPN with strong security and a no-logs policy that has been upheld in court. It has the world’s largest server network, AES-256 bit encryption, ad & malware blocker, advanced split tunneling, and dedicated IPs, which makes it a remarkable VPN.
The use of a VPN in Private Internet Access (PIA) is to give users safe and private access to the internet and to keep the real identity of users hidden or concealed by means of IP masking. Users can protect their online security and privacy by connecting to PIA’s VPN network, which encrypts and routes their internet traffic through a remote server.
PIA is a VPN tool with a zero-logging policy, thus ensuring that none of your browsing habits or search activities are traced or recorded into their systems. There is no possibility to keep track of any user behavior or maintain logs when using PIA.
Kape Technologies, which runs the three rival VPN services CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, and Zenmate will now be operating Private Internet Access as announced by PIA on 18 November 2019.
The PIA VPN may not connect for a number of reasons, including network connectivity problems, firewall or antivirus software preventing the VPN connection, obsolete VPN software, or server problems at the VPN provider’s end. If you’re having trouble connecting to PIA, then test a few different server locations. Some servers might go offline for maintenance or because of technical issues.
According to the Private Internet Access privacy policy, they do not sell or rent any personal information, including user data, to any third party. Furthermore, they state that they do not profit from their users’ data in any way.
PIA monthly package is available for $11.95 per month with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
