When choosing a VPN, you have endless options available. The most popular ones meet the majority of computer user’s needs but perhaps not everyone.
You don’t see many recommendations on purpose-based servers like one that is best for streaming or large companies. Most VPN services don’t market themselves this way, but Ivacy is unique. Our Ivacy review takes an in-depth look at Ivacy, a VPN option not as well-known as some of the others.
Ivacy’s Features
Ivacy has proven it’s an excellent choice for a VPN over the last decade since its inception. The company has revamped its prices to make it a more affordable option which is a major box checked off for many people. First, Ivacy has a neatly-designed interface that some compare to HotSpot Shield.
VPN Options
Ivacy was founded in 2007 and is based out of Singapore. The location is unique to this service. Ivacy’s primary VPN options are Dedicated IP, Smart Connect, Streaming, Unblocking, and Downloading.
Smart Connect is your typical VPN connection. It allows you to choose your locations by city or country. The United States has 12 city locations, but most other countries have between 1 and 3 options.
Streaming lets you choose a connection based on activity or country. These are listed as channels and include Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, large amounts of overseas content, and some of the major TV networks.
Ivacy uses Secure Download for P2P downloads and conventional program and file downloading. There is no limit on data transfers. Ivacy has an additional feature here that scans for malware on downloads which is an awesome bonus. Ivacy designed the Unblocking feature to get around national and corporate firewalls that could be preventing you from accessing some content.
Some people have reported problems with being kicked off the VPN with no notice. Other services provide a pop-up notification when you’re dropped, but Ivacy doesn’t.
Services and Features
Ivacy has some incredible security and privacy features which we’ll talk about later on. This VPN has apps for Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android. It also includes directions for running Ivacy on routers, Roku, Linux, Kodi software (home theater), and how to connect using game consoles such as Xbox and PlayStation. Ivacy also includes directions for smart TVs.
Ivacy also offers split tunneling so you can run some applications through your regular IP address and others through VPN. The company claims that it was the first to introduce split tunneling in 2010.
Another great feature is that you can connect up to 5 devices simultaneously which is pretty standard for VPNs. It has servers optimized explicitly for P2P in many countries including the UK, Canada, and the U.S.
This VPN also has no limit on server switching and bandwidth. Compared to other popular VPNs, Ivacy doesn’t have as many locations or servers. Yet, they still have more than 1,000 servers in over 50 different countries with 12,000 IP addresses. You can see the location of the servers on its website.
Ivacy provides stellar customer service with 24/7 dedicated support including a trouble ticket system, live chat, email, and social media support. Not many VPNs offer this much customer support. The support is one of its most beneficial features.
Ivacy’s online resource library is full of helpful information on troubleshooting and getting started using the VPN service. The information provided is great for beginners or those familiar with VPN networks.
There’s also a blog with informative content on everything from torrenting to proposed guides for Facebook in the United Kingdom.
Pros and Cons of Ivacy
Pros:
- Excellent 24/7 Customer Support
- Multiple Protocols
- Split Tunneling
- No Logs
- Economic Price
Cons:
Security and Privacy
Like other VPN services, Ivacy employes people in many countries. It is secretive with who its top executives are. PC Magazine spoke with a company spokesperson about this matter, and their comment was,
The company’s privacy policy calls for no-logging of session or traffic data. The only information that its collects is any failed login attempts, the country you’re connecting from, and aggregate usage of bandwidth. The only information that Ivacy requires from you is your email address, and the company expunges that after 1 year of activity.
Ivacy accepts many standard payment types, and it also allows you to use cryptocurrency to pay anonymously. Its kill switch cuts the internet connection if you discover that there’s a leak. Reviewers reported that it worked most of the time but that they found instances that it didn’t.
You have control over your VPN experience at all times. With Ivacy, hackers can’t gain access to your device and RIAA, and MPAA can’t track you. Your ISP can’t see any of your VPN activities; no one can trace these activities back to their origin. One of the best benefits is that you can stream geography-restricted channels.
Ivacy also has multiple protocols for different activities and includes many of the most common ones such as L2TP, PPTP, IKEv2, SSTP, and open VPN. It also has the revolutionary Stealth protocol. For enhanced security, Ivacy utilizes military-grade 256-bit encryption and some first-class security protocols.
Speed, Reliability, and Performance
Ivacy allows for unlimited speed and 99 percent uptime. When accessing BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Netflix, and other channels you can stream with no buffering or lagging which isn’t always easy to achieve.
Ivacy has good but not the best speed. Reviewers performing speed tests discovered that the service kept an average 38 percent of base speed over 5 different countries. Australia wasn’t very fast, but Japan and the UK were quick. The U.S. and Germany also held strong.
Great streaming, retained speed, and excellent overall performance has illustrated Ivacy’s reliable service.
Sometimes when a VPN service has excellent customer service and costs less, performance and reliability suffer. However, this isn’t the case with Ivacy. Reviewers who tested Ivacy only noticed a couple of glitches and those didn’t last long.
The number of servers and their locations makes sure that customers don’t experience any downtime. The unlimited bandwidth also contributes to Ivacy’s reliability.
Pricing
Ivacy has economical prices and like other VPN services, the longer the subscription, the better the discount. You can choose a month-to-month plan for $9.95 a month.
It also has a 1-year subscription that costs $3.33 a month or a 2-year plan that equals $2.25 a month. It’s one of the least expensive VPN services. The company recently overhauled its prices, and it wasn’t even that expensive before.
Ivacy has 2 money-back guarantees. If you choose the monthly plan, there is a 7-day money-back guarantee. The 2-year subscription provides a 30-day money-back promise.
Final Thoughts
Ivacy is decent, but it is not the best service out there. Although the pricing is good, it isn’t the cheapest. It is also lacking in the number of servers it has compared to top competitiors.
We like that security and privacy are critical to Ivacy. It ensures your privacy is protected by not keeping any logs on user information and activity. Ivacy provides multiple protocols for the various activities of users. There is a kill switch to ensure anonymity if the connection drops.
Stream geographically-blocked content and download all the files that you want. There’s also no limit on speed once a subscriber connects to one of Ivacy’s servers.
With over 15 great features and 200,000 customers, Ivacy has shown its competitors that it is a force to be reckoned with.
However we would still go with a service like Expressvpn or Nordvpn over Ivacy any day of the week.
References
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