Ivacy Review

Privacy and Security

In clear support of privacy, Ivacy maintains a strict zero log policy. Unlike a lot of other VPN providers who advertise zero logs but then record connection data, Ivacy only holds onto the email that you specify. Because no logs are ever recorded, authority requests to Ivacy would be unable to match online activities to any specific user.The OpenVPN protocol uses an AES-256 bit cipher with a standard RSA-2048 key. This is a must for any VPN that vaunts itself on privacy as a selling point. The company also includes high end security features such as an internet kill switch and DNS/IPv6 leak protections.

Singapore may not espouse ideal virtues of freedom of speech, but the country does privacy right. The laws in this Southeast Asian country provide a perfect atmosphere to create a VPN service. As you might have guessed by now, Ivacy is based out of Singapore. Singapore is out of US and EU jurisdictions so this is a big plus for consumer privacy.

Speed

Speed is Ivacy's weak point. The peak speeds of 20-30Mbps down and up are perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately, those speeds aren't always available. At times, Ivacy dropped into the single digits depending on the server. The company has considerably improved over the years though. Reports compared to a few years ago show marked improvement. Hopefully they will continue to focus on adding more servers. My assumption that is that Ivacy's open stance on P2P torrenting as well as their sturdy privacy conditions make for hard to balance server loads.

Ivacy does do one thing to combat their slow speeds. Their split tunneling feature allows users to split their connection between VPN and non-VPN usage. This allows for fast speeds with less personally sensitive activities.

Countries

Ivacy hosts 250+ servers in 100+ cities throughout 50 countries. It's an impressive reach and puts them in the mid range of top tier VPN services. One nice touch is that servers can be manually selected by the user. This allows subscribers to narrow down server choices by city, which is especially great for sporting events. Also noteworthy is Ivacy's Shanghai server in China. All VPN services provide access to the United States and Europe, but China is a rare treat. Both Africa and South America are covered fairly well within the company's 50 country count.

Ease and Usability

The desktop software is fantastic. The options are clearly laid out and easy to select. Users can choose their preferred protocol. Servers can be selected manually by city or by type such as torrenting, streaming, etc. Unfortunately, the mobile apps for Android and iOS are as buggy as the desktop software is user friendly.

It's pretty rare to see a VPN provider with an awesome desktop client and a poor mobile app, but that's what we have here. Unlike many other VPN providers, Ivacy doesn't seem to invest a lot into their apps. Hopefully once the speed issues are resolved, the company will turn to improving their mobile experience. The app is designed well so it's not all bad. It's just that there's some kinks to work out.

Support

Customer support is friendly and helpful. The company actively responds on social media in addition to providing 24/7 live chat support. There are also an abundance of tutorials and "how to" videos available from their website. The only issues reported are in acquiring refunds. The company seems to really beat around the bush to get you to not cancel. Ultimately, you'll get your refund as long as you start the process at least a few days before your point of no return.

Value

At $8.95/month, Ivacy doesn't hang with the big boys. At $1/month, the price for a 5 year prepayment, it's easily the best value in the VPN space. Only PureVPN offers deals at less than $3 per month, and Ivacy is about one third of that price. Seriously, you would only be paying $12 per year to subscribe to this privacy-laden VPN service. The company has been around for over 10 years so there's very little risk involved for the user.

As if the already cheap price wasn't enough to draw you in, they add even more tempting features. Ivacy supports 5 simultaneous connections so it's easy to protect an entire household's activities. Servers broken down by usage type typically means better performance for select activities. Since Ivacy works well with torrenting, streaming, and private internet browsing, there's nothing you can't get out of this service. If money is a concern then there is no better pick than Ivacy.

Bottom Line

Ivacy is by far our top value pick. It can be used for every activity common to VPN users. It's one of the safer and more private VPN services. The company really seems to be making progress every year, and their current promotion is simply unsurpassed in the industry. Responding to refunds with a runaround is disappointing, but we doubt you've read our Ivacy review and understand the downsides.

As a reminder of the two downsides to really keep in mind: the very inconsistent and sometimes awful servers speeds and the buggy mobile apps. If those are deal breakers then there are other VPNs you'll find better suited to you. Otherwise, go with Ivacy for a solid VPN that will save you money.