Hide.me’s free proxy extensions and applications for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Fire TV have more than 10 million registered users. Free and commercial versions of the VPN are both readily accessible. Both versions of Hide.me have shown up in our testing. It is quick, secure, and provides excellent customer service.
Subscription plans include a vast server network spread over 66 locations and 2,000 countries. Streaming services in the United States might make use of servers tailored to their needs.
However, just five VPN servers are available in the free edition, and data use is capped at 10GB per month. An hour and a half’s worth of streaming time Hide.me isn’t the best P2P file-sharing or streaming VPN on the market, but it’s still a decent option. You may mask your IP address and secure data transfers over public WiFi with this app.
There are many problems with the user experience with Hide.me applications, in spite of their great degree of customizability: poor connection times, program crashes, and an inconsistent kill button. However, our Hide.me review reveals Hide.me’s free and premium VPN applications are not flawless, but they’re secure to use and reliable.
Logging and Jurisdiction:
Hide.me keeps temporary connection data for troubleshooting reasons. An internal IP address and a random username are also in this package.
Hide.me collects the following information from its users:
- The email address (stored in encrypted form on secure servers).
- You will get the username at random.
- The non-public IP address is allocated to an internal network.
Each time this data is wiped out, a new one is created. Anonymity is maintained by not tracking your location, IP address, and browser history. This ensures that no one can relate your activities back to you. Hide.me, on the other hand, keep as few logs as possible.
For most privacy-focused VPN providers, you simply need an email address to join up. Hide.me does a superb job of limiting personal information to a minimum.
Your email address is encrypted and stored by the firm and may be used to contact you, but you may choose not to receive these messages. After you’ve signed up, you may also permanently erase your email address. Hide.me does declare that, if asked, it will provide whatever information it possesses on a user under investigation by law enforcement agencies, although this is not guaranteed.
Is HideMe Safe to Use?
This VPN was a pioneer in allowing a third-party evaluation to certify its integrity.
DefenseCode LTD’s Leon Juranic conducted an audit of Hide.me in 2015 and found that the service’s safe logging policies have been validated.
However, because Hide.me saves some transient connection logs, we can’t accept the audit’s conclusion that Hide.me is “totally zero logs.” To be fair to Hide.me, we think it’s a secure and private VPN.
Speed and Reliability of HideMe:
Hide.me short-distance speeds are impressive, but long-distance speeds are not. In spite of the fact that Hide.me’s free edition has a monthly data maximum of 10GB, there are no performance restrictions.
Hide.me is one of the fastest free VPNs we’ve tested since free users will get comparable speeds to paid subscribers. In contrast, speeds drop to 3Mbps once you’ve used 10GB of data each month.
Hide.me Features:
Hide.me encrypts your WiFi connection with industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption to hide your IP address. The VPN service supports WireGuard, OpenVPN (UDP/TCP), IKEv2, SoftEther, and SSTP protocols. These protocols are available on both desktop and mobile applications. Consistency amongst Hide.me’s many applications is a welcome sight.
Stealth Guard and built-in leak prevention are just a few of the other security features available. Also included is a kill switch to safeguard your IP address in the case of an unexpected loss in connection. A new multihop feature from Hide.me gives you the option to create a second VPN connection for more anonymity.
Allows you to specify which apps and services will not work unless you are connected to a VPN server using the Stealth Guard function. If you don’t have a VPN, Stealth Guard makes sure you don’t unintentionally utilize an app or service that compromises your privacy.
You may also use Dynamic Port or Ephemeral Port when configuring your DNS to utilize a random port number for each and every connection. ISPs will have a tougher time tracking and blocking your VPN usage if you do this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hide.me VPN secure to use?
Yes, in the grand scheme of things. Because Hide.me VPN doesn’t record usage or security, you can be absolutely sure about your privacy. We ran across some troubles with the kill switch during our testing, which is a possible weak point.
How much does Hide.me’s VPN service charge?
Because of the free version of Hide.me VPN is available, the first cost is zero dollars. It costs between $3.84/month and $9.95/month if you choose the premium version.
Is Hide.me privacy focused?
Yes. Privacy-focused Hide.me VPN is located out of Malaysia, which is not a member of the Five Eyes spying organization.
Can you unblock Netflix using Hide.me?
Sadly, Hide.me was unable to unblock Netflix on any of the servers we tried (US East, US West, and London, UK). As streaming services like Netflix continue to tighten down, this is a constant battle for many VPNs.
Verdict
Hide.me’s expensive fee is one of the first things you’ll notice about it. Speed isn’t its only selling point; the company is also proud to tout its security. This could be enough to persuade the more privacy-conscious consumer. P2P server listings, port forwarding, and limitless data transfer are just a few of the features available.