DotVPN Review [2020] – Is It Safe to Use?

If you are looking for a VPN service, DotVPN claims its product is “the better way to VPN.”  

We completely disagree, we recommend avoiding it! Why?

• Slow speeds
• Netflix does not work with DotVPN
• Lack of server options
• Expensive
• Chinese Jurisdiction

Get Nordvpn Or Expressvpn instead , or choose from our best vpn list.

Most VPN services make similar types of claims. Every service you read about is advertised as being better than the rest in one way or another.

So, does DotVPN actually provide a better way to VPN?

Let’s go beyond the promises and claims and find out how well this service performs, and whether or not it would be a good choice for those seeking privacy online.

Introducing DotVPN

While doing our research, we found out a lot of interesting things about this VPN service. Some of these things are advantages and some disadvantages.

When we look at the level of encryption behind DotVPN, we find that it doesn’t pack quite as big a punch as some of the other VPNs we have reviewed. The 128-bit encryption is a step down from the industry standard 256-bit.

If we move towards the protocols, things get a little better. DotVPN uses OpenVPN, which is one of the best options currently available. With advanced levels of security comes slightly slower download and upload speeds, as is the case with most VPNs. You win some you lose some.

Netflix is not an option with DotVPN. With some other VPNs we’ve reviewed, Netflix was up and running. If this is an issue for you, you might want to go with a different VPN.

Overview of Features

What We Like About DotVPN

So far, things aren’t looking great for DotVPN. There is not a lot of features worth mentioning with this VPN. While it may look bleak, there are some pros to DotVPN.

No Logging Policy

Let’s keep this as simple as possible. DotVPN only logs your email address, and it doesn’t take any of your personal information. During signup, some VPNs require you to sign your life away, but you won’t have to do that here.

DotVPN also does not record your internet activity or your actual IP address. Since this is a significant issue with VPN services, we would say this is a significant plus.

Safe Encryption for Mobile Apps

There is a browser extension and a mobile app for both iOS and Android. While both are called DotVPN, they are two very different products.

The browser-add on is not really a VPN. Instead, it is a proxy server which does not have the same level of encryption and privacy as a VPN.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is the protocol used by most proxy servers. DotVPN is using this proxy server with a 4096-bit level of encryption and is also using OpenVPN, which is widely known to be the most secure VPN protocol around.

Whereas the mobile app is a true VPN, protecting all of your activity on your phone and mobile devices.

Decent Server Pack

In the past, we have reviewed many VPN services with as little as 10, 12, or 14 servers in three countries. You’ll be thrilled to know that DotVPN offers 700 different servers across 12 countries.

In addition to offering a large number of servers, you also get to use this VPN on up to five different devices at the same time. You, your kids, and grandma can browse the web anonymously.

Easy to Use

What good is a VPN if you can’t learn how to use it? Overall, we found DotVPN easy to operate and simple to install. It offers a chrome extension that you can download in 30 seconds. Once you get into the app, you’ll find a list of countries to choose from.

This VPN is more user-friendly than a lot of the other VPNs we have reviewed in the past.

What We Dislike About DotVPN

There are also many downsides of this VPN which we list below. Let’s take a look.

Chinese Jurisdiction

DotVPN is located in Hong Kong, which does have a special status and runs on a separate system, different from that of mainland China. However, China’s grip on Hong Kong appears to be growing ever tighter which is a cause for concern.

While China is outside of the 14 eyes alliance, China has strict data laws and is heavy on censorship. All of the VPNs in this country are sponsored by the government. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want China to be supervising my data.

No Netflix

Netflix works hard to ensure that no one bypasses its geo-restrictions. Although DotVPN has a ton of servers, during our research, we discovered that you’d have to search pretty hard to find one that works, if any do at all.

No Torrenting

If you weren’t disappointed enough by the “no Netflix” policy, you’d be thrilled to know that you can’t torrent files either. Check out some of our other reviews of VPN services that allow torrenting.

How Much Does it Cost?

There has to be some good news with this VPN, right? Well, its pricing is quite affordable, and it does also offer a free plan, but you get a “bare bones” package. The premium plan is $2.99 if you pay annually or $4.99 if you pay monthly.

While its pricing is quite reasonable, it must be noted that you can find other leading VPN services, such as NordVPN, which fall into the same price bracket.

Our Verdict

So, what do you think about DotVPN because you probably know what we think? This service does not offer the level of encryption we like to see, it also doesn’t have Netflix or Torrenting. While it’s affordable, there are also better VPNs in the market available for the same cost.

We would not recommend choosing this service if you are looking for a VPN with top of the line privacy protection and a load of features.  check out some of our other reviews.

References