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Founded in 2010, VPNSecure is an Australian-based VPN provider with 75 servers in 33 different locations (its website claims over 40 countries, but our researchers only counted just over 30 on the list of servers). It offers the highest level of encryption – AES-256 – as well as following a no-logs policy, which is a clear advantage for the privacy-conscious.
VPNSecure’s headquarters is located in Australia, which has strict data laws and is also part of Five Eyes – an international intelligence-sharing alliance. Our researchers have spent hundreds of hours comparing and testing VPNSecure’s features, including privacy, security, compatibility and speed, to determine how beneficial the service is for VPN users.
Rating: ★★½
VPNSecure is reasonably priced compared to other VPN providers, and although it offers a good level of security, it doesn’t always match up in other areas. It offers three different levels of encryption, including the military-grade AES-256, which as it stands has not been hacked. The service also offers desktop and mobile apps for Windows, Mac and Android, as well as router compatibility.
VPNSecure has over 75 servers in 33 different locations, which isn’t one of the highest on the market at all. The provider does offer a no-logs policy, but it has not been independently audited, and its headquarters is located in Australia, which has strict data-sharing laws.
Our reviewers are dedicated to bringing you the most accurate and up-to-date information so you can make an informed decision when it comes to buying a VPN. We will only recommend a VPN after hours of testing, extensive head-to-head feature comparisons, and after taking into account verified customer feedback and reviews, and the opinions of industry experts.
Our review scores are determined by the following categories:
We research and test a total of 25 elements within these categories, including:
All of our VPN articles are verified by our in-house team of fact-checkers, so you can be assured that our content is as accurate and up to date as possible. For more information on our methodology, read about how we review VPNs.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| AES-256 encryption | Small number of servers |
| Ad block servers available | Limited number of server locations |
| Low price | Headquarters located in Australia |
| No-logs policy | Poor customer support |
| Website not user-friendly |
VPNSecure, when compared to other providers, service doesn’t come out on top. With just 75 servers in 33 locations, users may find difficulty connecting in certain countries where only one server is available. The company claims to have servers in 48 different locations, but when our researchers counted the number of servers listed on the website, they found there to only be 33 different locations.
On the flip side, VPNSecure does use the highest level of encryption, AES-256, which ensures the user’s privacy is protected, as well as having a kill switch – more on those later.
| VPN provider | Price | Free version? | Number of servers | Maximum number of devices | Netflix | BBC iPlayer | Disney+ | Amazon | HBO Max | Audit? |
| VPNSecure | From $2.99 (£2.33)/m | No | 75 | 5 | ✓ | No | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | No |
| ExpressVPN | From £5.36/m | No | 3,000+ | 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Yes |
| NordVPN | From £2.79/m | No | 5,500+ | 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Yes |
| Surfshark | From £1.80/m | No | 3,200+ | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Yes |
| CyberGhost | From £1.85/m | No | 9,000+ | 7 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Yes |
VPN providers typically offer one-month rolling plans and an option to pay annually; the latter is always the cheapest option. With VPNSecure, customers can pay monthly, annually, or sign up for a three-year plan.
There is also an option to trial its services for 30 days for just a fraction of the monthly cost (currently $1). If you decide not to cancel, you’ll be charged the monthly price after this. Cancelling VPNSecure is relatively straightforward via its website and you are able to cancel at any time throughout your plan (though if you have purchased a one- or three-year subscription, you can only get your money back if you cancel within the first 30 days).
| Subscription term | Price |
| Monthly | $9.95 (£7.76) / month |
| 12 months | $6.66 (£5.20) / month ($79.95/£62.39 up front) |
| 36 months | $2.99 (£2.33) / month ($107.64/£84 up front) |
VPNSecure has a variety of ways to pay for its services. As well as the obvious choices like credit card and PayPal, the website offers niche options, such as Cashu – which is a secure online payment method that may suit users located in the Middle East.
Ways to pay for VPNSecure:
What a VPN provider has to offer in terms of privacy and choice of server locations is one of the most important things to consider. VPNSecure offers the highest level of encryption and has a varied number of servers in different locations, but by no means has the best selection on the market.
VPNSecure has incorporated an ad blocker within its service. Users can select to use the ad blocker by selecting it in the drop-down server menu on any of its apps. Users can still use the VPN service without the ad blocker by selecting their desired location and making sure it’s not one of the ad-block-integrated servers.
The ad block works on Chrome, Safari and Firefox, and it removes ads from most apps on Android and iOS.
When our researchers tested the ad-block-integrated servers, we found that connection speed was considerably slower, and at times some web pages failed to load at all.
VPNSecure’s server count tends to vary, as there have been times when new servers are added and also times when old servers are no longer in use. With that being said, at the time of writing, there were 75 different servers listed on the website. The website claims it has those servers in 48 different locations. However, when our researchers counted the servers listed, we only counted 33. All of these are owned by the company outright, meaning you need not worry about any third-party interference.
According to our research, most other VPN providers, including ExpressVPN, Surfshark, NordVPN and CyberGhost have more servers than VPNSecure – and they’re also situated in more locations.
VPNSecure advertises that it has a no-log policy on its homepage and throughout its website. It claims to never store data from the websites that its users visit. VPNs with a no-log policy in place mean that the company is not compelled to share your data, simply because this data does not exist – it is not logged.
VPNSecure says it does not log:
Although VPNSecure follows a strict no-log policy, throughout our research, we found that the provider has not been independently audited and it’s based in a country with strict data laws.
Headquartered in Queensland, Australia, the company could face legal challenges.
According to Australian anti-encryption laws passed in 2019, if you’re suspected of engaging in illegal online activity, your data may be requested from third parties such as VPN providers, even if it’s encrypted. Adding to this, Australia is also a part of Five Eyes – an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US. However, with VPNSecure’s no-logs policy, even if it were issued a court order for customer data, it can only provide what it logs.
Following the passing of a law in 2018 that states internet service providers must create a back door for decryption of data, VPNSecure said it would move its headquarters to Hong Kong, but the plan has faced delays due to civil unrest in the region and strict Covid-19 lockdowns. At the time of writing, the company has still not provided an update on its planned move.
Those concerned with privacy may prioritise a kill switch when it comes to choosing the right VPN provider. VPNSecure has a kill switch, which protects its user’s data at all times.
There are times when your privacy could be compromised online, even when using a VPN. If your internet is suddenly interrupted, this could cause your VPN to stop working, and subsequently, expose your IP address and other sensitive information.
If your VPN connection drops, a kill switch disables all internet traffic on your device and keeps your IP address hidden.
VPN split tunnelling allows users to route some of their app traffic through an encrypted server, while other devices or apps access the internet directly.
Answering the question of whether VPNSecure has split tunnelling is not straightforward. The company does not claim to have a split tunnelling service – but it has something similar. Through the preferences section in any of its apps, users can restrict the VPN to only certain domains, which means selected websites would go through the VPN and all other traffic through your regular network connection.
Privacy is an important feature for any VPN provider, and most likely the feature that users prioritise when choosing a service. VPNSecure uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit keys – also known as AES-256. This encryption level is the same standard used by the US government to protect classified information and is trusted by security experts worldwide.
VPNSecure recognises that using such high-level encryption means that internet speed may suffer. This is why the provider offers three levels of cipher encryption – 64 bits (DES-CBC), 128 bits, or AES-256, all of which offer a high level of privacy, but AES-256 is regarded as unhackable.
Although VPNSecure offers AES-256 bits encryption as standard, it is worth noting that many of the top-tier VPNs also use the same level of encryption. Our researchers found that NordVPN, Surfshark and CyberGhost all offer AES-256 encryption as part of their services.
Using a VPN is a great way to protect your data and online identity, including hiding IP addresses and which websites you use. However, as good as this sounds, it does affect your internet speed. Luckily, you can easily test this effect.
There are three main components to consider when testing internet speed, with or without a VPN; these include download speed, upload speed and latency (ping).
Our researchers tested VPNSecure in order to find out how much using the service affected internet download and upload speeds. Firstly, our researcher tested their internet speed without using a VPN – this gave us a baseline to work with, which helped calculate the degradation between the speed with and without using the service. Our reviewers used the Ookla Speedtest to conduct this research.
| Download speed (Mbps) | Upload speed (Mbps) | Latency (ping) | Percentage of base download speed | Percentage of base upload speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 74.2 | 18.17 | 17ms | ||
| UK to UK | 68.14 | 16.56 | 13ms | 91.80% | 91.10% |
| UK to US | 40.53 | 9.64 | 150ms | 54.60% | 53% |
| UK to Aus | 43.79 | 8.99 | 375ms | 59% | 49.40% |
Throughout our testing of VPNSecure, our researcher found that both the download and upload speeds dropped considerably when connecting to different servers that were not in the UK.
The download and upload speeds when connected to a UK server was comparable to the internet speed without using a VPN. The download speed was 91.8 per cent as fast as the non-VPN download speed – which means streaming should be fairly plain sailing and buffer time would be minimal. The same can also be said for the upload speed, which was 91.1 per cent as fast as the non-VPN upload speed. Surprisingly, the latency was marginally quicker when connected to a UK server.
When connected to the US server, both the download and upload speeds dropped by over 40 per cent. The download speed was only 54.6 per cent as fast as the download speed recorded when not using VPNSecure, and the upload speed was only 54 per cent as fast. This could see users having difficulty streaming without experiencing buffer time while using a US server location. It’s also worth noting that the latency was 150ms, which is considerably higher than the 17ms recorded when not using the service.
One of the test results that surprised us was the download speed recorded when connected to an Australian server, which was 59 per cent as fast as the non-VPN result. It was also 5 per cent faster than the US server. There could be a variety of reasons for this, such as server location, and the number of servers available, or it could have something to do with VPNSecure being headquartered in Australia.
The Australian upload speed, however, was the slowest of them all. It was only 49.4 per cent as fast as the upload speed of our tester’s internet when not using VPNSecure.
Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) is a collection of standardised technologies that allows web browsers to directly communicate with each other without the need for an intermediate server. WebRTC is beneficial for internet users and helps to reduce the lag time for video chat, file transfers and live streaming.
Our researchers performed a WebRTC leak test, with and without using VPNSecure’s server. This test is designed to tell users whether their IP address is exposed while browsing or using apps. As expected, our device’s real IP was exposed when we ran the test without the VPN activated.
When performing the test while connected to VPNSecure, our real IP address was still exposed. The test showed that there was a potential leak, which means the user’s sensitive information could be at risk of being shared with a third party – which is a threat to privacy. However, upon running the test using a different service, the IP address detected was that of the VPN server we were connected to rather than our own. There could be many reasons for this, but it is worth noting that VPNSecure failed at least one WebRTC leak test during our research.
With any service that handles sensitive data and claims to protect that information, not share it and keep no logs of it – it’s important to have that verified, rather than just take a company’s word at face value.
With that being said, when our researchers delved deeper into VPNSecure’s privacy and security claims, we found there to be no independent audits of its practices. This means the company has not invited any third-party security experts to verify its protocols. It’s unclear why the company has chosen not to undertake this step, which the other leading VPN providers we’ve reviewed have.
VPNSecure has apps that work on the following computers and devices:
Our researcher found VPNSecure’s desktop app to be user-friendly and would be easy to navigate whether you’re a frequent VPN user or not. The desktop app’s design is quite basic, but that is also what makes it easy to use, as there’s no jargon or anything that is not self-explanatory.
Users can seamlessly switch between server locations using the drop-down menu located on the home screen. Once on the drop down menu, you can scroll for your desired location, or conveniently type one in – you can also choose between ad blocker servers and non-ad block servers for all locations.
As previously mentioned, VPNSecure has three levels of encryption – 64 bits, 128 bits and AES-256. Clicking on the settings button will take you straight to the cipher option, where you can choose which level of encryption suits your needs.
There’s an option to switch on a persistent VPN connection, which means that upon starting up your device you will automatically connect to VPNSecure. This feature is great if you need to hide your IP address but are likely to forget to switch on your VPN.
In the settings, there’s an option to set your favourite location, which will become the default option every time you connect, unless you choose a different server.
VPNSecure’s mobile app’s design looks similar to its desktop version, and the settings mirror the same format. This continuity is ideal for a seamless user experience.
Just like with the desktop app, users can choose their level of encryption from the service’s three cipher options – this is located in the settings section on the mobile app.
The app seems to work well in the mobile version, and our researcher found they were able to hide their IP address well while keeping internet speeds relatively the same. Users can also choose to reconnect on app start-up and choose a favourite server location, just like with the desktop app.
VPNSecure can be set up on your router at home, but only if it has the capability to do so. If your router is compatible, then this is one of the best ways to use the service – or any VPN. It means that as long as your router is switched on, all devices connected to the wifi network will automatically be protected. This way, you never need to worry about turning your VPN service on for each of your devices.
You’ll find that VPNSecure lists all of its compatible routers for you to check yours, or you can purchase one of the suggested products through its website. The steps to set it up are clearly outlined, and the page also mentions that customer support is able to help you with the process.
There are very few ways to contact VPNSecure should you need support or guidance. There’s no email, phone or live chat service available; this is certainly a downside – especially considering most other providers that we have reviewed do have other means of contact available.
Contact via VPNSecure website: Our researchers found you can contact the provider using an online form through the ‘contact us’ page. The website claims there is 24/7 support, however, we did not feel this was the case; when our researchers sent a message via the online form, we did not receive a response at all the first time. The second message we sent did receive a response within a few hours.
However, there are detailed how-to guides on various topics that may help customers troubleshoot their own problem without having to contact the company.
VPNSecure receives mixed reviews on Trustpilot, Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Throughout our research, we found customers mostly complained about slow internet speeds and unstable connections.
Other customers praised the VPN provider for its price, ability to unblock websites where countries use high-tech firewalls, and for its customer support.
“Have been using this service for a year or so now. I like the range of proxy locations available, and the Chrome extension is useful but would be more useful if it stored username and password so I don’t have to re-enter it each time I change proxy or open a new browser session. Also sometimes the proxies run very slowly.If those things were fixed, I’d give VPNSecure five stars. As it is, I’m currently looking for a new proxy service.”
“I grabbed an offer with VPNSecure, and I have to say, I didn’t expect much given the cheap price, but I am enjoying it a lot. It’s like you have control over your whole online experience. My VPN traffic was usually blocked in Egypt with other VPN vendors, but with VPNSecure all my VPN traffic is undetected thanks to their stealth protocol.”
“I have been using the app for over a year. Overall, I’ve been very satisfied. [It’s a] no-logs generated service. I can use peer-to-peer apps with it, on all servers. Most of all, support is very responsive and knowledgeable. When I contacted them about a minor issue I was having on one specific kind of device, an update was available to fix it in less than 48 hours. Excellent! Two negatives: Hulu seems to have blocked it. Occasionally, throughput is a bit slow, but 95 per cent of the time it’s not an issue.”
“The new version looks better and works okay but please add landscape support on iPad. The VPN service is okay, however servers often fail and aren’t available so you have to keep trying different servers until one works.”
VPNSecure has positives and negatives, but it’s really a question of which features users wish to prioritise. Obviously, privacy is usually top of the list for any VPN user – after reviewing VPNSecure, we can’t verify it’s as secure as its name suggests since the service is not independently audited.
It uses the highest level of encryption, but it failed the WebRTC leak test, which means that users’ IP addresses could come under attack from third parties. As well as this, there’s no independent audit, which means its no-logs policy has not been verified. It was also discovered that its headquarters is located in Australia, which has strict anti-encryption laws and is part of Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing alliance. Putting all of these findings together, it would be difficult to conclude with certainty that the service’s privacy is of a good enough level for those wishing to protect their online identity.
On a more positive note, VPNSecure does have desktop and mobile apps that are user-friendly and offer different levels of encryption. There’s also an option to turn on an ad-blocker server, which means users can enjoy ad-free browsing.
VPNSecure is also reasonably priced, especially if users purchase a 12-month or three-year subscription.
Overall, VPNSecure is easy to navigate, but for users who are hoping to hide their IP address and know that their data will never be logged, this may not be the right choice for you.
Overall score: ★★½
| Reputation | ★★½ |
| Privacy | ★★½ |
| Performance and features | ★★½ |
| Plans and pricing value | ★★★ |
| Customer experience | ★★ |
The data in this review is reported from a neutral stance and should be used for informational purposes only. We review VPN services from the perspective of:
Independent Advisor does not endorse the streaming of content from regions other than where the subscription is held, nor does it endorse the downloading or consumption of illegally pirated content.
