The Best VPN for the iPhone or iPad

Your phone stores tons of private information about yourself and what you do online. Did you know that many of the apps you use have access to your data, and they can sell it at will? What are you doing to protect yourself? Thankfully, a virtual private network (VPN) makes it easy to protect your browsing data and other private information.

A VPN enables you to protect your data from snoopers and mask your true location. It hides your online forays in a secure tunnel that outsiders can’t penetrate, but you must choose wisely since you’re trusting your VPN provider with all your online activities. If the service is free, you have to wonder how it’s staying afloat. Do some research to make sure the company behind the VPN isn’t selling your data or bandwidth to third parties.

Here, we’ll tackle what you need to know about VPNs and take a closer look at the best and most secure options to protect your private information.

Notes: If you’re looking for additional ways to keep your data private, check out our encryption explainer to find out what it is and why it works.

Keep in mind that you may need to install the OpenVPN Connect client and follow a guide in order to take advantage of the OpenVPN protocol on iOS. All the apps will work with IPSec or another protocol by default. You’ll find guides on most of the service provider’s websites to do this.

CyberGhost is a solid VPN service that offers decent speeds. You can select from more than 3,700 servers in more than 60 countries, and you can connect up to seven devices simultaneously. It’s also available for Android, Windows, and MacOS.

For those abroad, it also provides secure access to streaming services. The service supports PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, and OpenVPN protocols and offers up to 256-bit encryption. CyberGhost has a decent privacy policy and doesn’t log your activity or store personal data.

CyberGhost VPN has a premium subscription plan that costs $5 per week, $10 per month, or $50 per year, but it’s worth watching out for deals, as there are frequent limited-time offers that can bring the monthly cost way down.

App Store

The Private Internet Access (PIA) anonymous VPN service remains a popular option on iOS. It offers a decent selection of locations across the world with more than 3,300 servers across 32 countries. Speeds are generally fast, and the service supports 256-bit encryption and OpenVPN, though it recommends 128-bit encryption for speed. It’s also based in the United States and promises not to log traffic and VPN usage.

While the desktop clients offer all sorts of configuration options, the iOS app is very straightforward. You log in, pick a destination from a list, and away you go. Speed information is an obvious omission, and it does sometimes disconnect you. There’s no free trial for PIA, but the service does offer a seven-day, money-back guarantee. It costs $10 per month or $75 for the year, but there are often promotions and cheaper deals if you’re willing to sign up for longer. Subscriptions include support for up to 10 devices to connect simultaneously, which makes it a good value for the money.

App Store

With ExpressVPN, you can connect to more than 3,000 servers in 94 countries worldwide. You’ll also find support for 256-bit encryption and OpenVPN. There’s no logging policy, so you can rest assured the service won’t track your online activities. It’s generally fast and reliable, with good customer support should you need it.

The iOS app shows locations in a list or on a map, and you can tap to connect. There are more than 160 regions to choose from, with the option to set your favorite for later. Express VPN also offers Windows, MacOS, Android, Linux, and router apps. It supports devices running Apple TV, Fire TV, and Android TV, too.

You can try ExpressVPN for free for one day. After that, subscriptions run $13 a month, $60 for six months, or $100 for the year. There is also a 30-day, money-back guarantee. However, you can only connect with three different devices simultaneously.

App Store

NordVPN has had an interesting couple of years. Having confirmed in 2019 that one of its 5,000+ servers had been breached in 2018, it has since made a number of security improvements that have helped it regain trust and also re-earn a place on this list (as well as our best VPNs list). It now employs double 2048-bit SSL encryption, making your connection highly secure, while also offering servers in around 60 nations worldwide.

Other notable features include unlimited data, high connection speeds, custom DNS addresses, two kill switches, and the ability to use six devices with a single account. It’s also very easy to use and set up, making it one of the best VPNs for the iPhone.

App Store

With a whopping 700 servers placed in over 60 different countries, you shouldn’t run into any issues with connecting to IPVanish. It guarantees zero-logging while still effectively offering substantial support for OpenVPN and 256-bit encryption. Furthermore, it admits P2P traffic, which is usually blocked by some other services. 

You’ll discover that the iOS app is relatively user-friendly. You can quickly and easily scan through using your current location and the most popular countries. Areas like the U.S.A. catalog servers by specific cities. That’s all there is to it – nice and simple. 

It has a broad array of premium subscriptions — $10 per month, $27 for three months, or $75 each year. It offers infinite bandwidth, and you can have a maximum of 10 concurrent connections on various devices.

IPVanish

Do you have any more questions about VPNs? Here’s everything you wanted to know about VPNs but were afraid to ask.

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