How we test

The same checklist for every product, run with scripts that log the results, so a review can be repeated and checked.

Before testing

• We buy a regular subscription at the public price. If a company offers us a free account, we say so in the review.
• We record the app version, operating system and test location. All of them appear in the test sheet at the top of each review.

VPN tests

Speed

We measure our own connection without the VPN first. Then we connect to servers in several countries and run three tests on each, at different times of day. The review shows how much download speed is kept as a percentage of the bare connection, plus the added latency.

Leaks

With the VPN on, we check whether the real IP address, DNS requests, WebRTC or IPv6 traffic escape the tunnel. A single leak is a fail.

Kill switch

We cut the VPN connection on purpose while a download is running and check whether any traffic leaves through the normal connection.

Streaming

We check which catalogues of the major streaming services open from each tested server. Results change often, so each one carries a date.

Every product

• Daily use for at least two weeks on the platforms the product supports.
• Privacy policy read in full, plus any independent audit, with the auditor and date named.
• Support contacted at least once with a real question.
• Where a money-back guarantee is offered, we request the refund and report whether and how fast it arrived.

Updates

We rerun the core tests when a product changes significantly, and at least once a year. The date of the last run is shown on every review.

What we don't do

• Publish a review before the tests are done.
• Let a company read or approve a review before it goes live.
• Rank products by commission. Some products we recommend have no affiliate program at all.