If you’re concerned about your internet privacy, then it makes sense that you’d seek out the most private VPN services. Why should every villainous government and massive corporation know everything you’ve been searching for and doing on the internet?
By using one of the most private VPN services, you can ensure that your internet activities genuinely remain completely private. Even though you probably aren’t doing anything wrong online, it still doesn’t feel good to know that the algorithms are determining your marital status, your health conditions, your income, and everything else about you, based on shopping habits and search histories.
It’s not exactly easy to quantify the different levels of privacy that each VPN provides, but we have our personal recommendation for the most private VPN, and that’s Ivacy VPN. We’ll get into the benefits of Ivacy VPN below, and we’ve also chosen three the best VPN providers (some of them even fairly cheap VPN options) whose services give you an especially high level of privacy, with an ample selection of servers, and a kill switch in place so your privacy is protected if the VPN goes down for even a second.
The most private VPN services are:
- Ivacy VPN – most private option
- PureVPN – best no-logs policy
- IPVanish – best for encrypted storage space
- Private Internet Access – most servers
1. The most private VPN
Ivacy VPN is the most private VPN and offers an exclusive price for PCGN readers.
| Ivacy VPN features | |
| Locations | 5,700+ servers in over 100 countries |
|---|---|
| Services unblocked | BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix |
| Free trial | No – $0.99 seven day trial instead |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
| Simultaneous connections | 10 |
| Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Fantastic price for PCGN readers
- Military-grade 256-bit encryption
- Good number of simultaneous connections
Cons:
- No Apple kill switch
- Weird paid trial
If you ask us, Ivacy VPN is the most private VPN service. Our reason for choosing it is that it uses military-grade 256-bit encryption in order to ensure that no prying eyes are able to take a gander at your most private search activities.
Additional level of privacy aside, Ivacy VPN also offers a pretty great service across the board. It boasts a selection of over 5,700 servers, which are located in over 100 countries around the world. Although it doesn’t offer a VPN free trial it has a 30-day money-back guarantee that enables you to get a full refund at any point within the first 30 days of your subscription. You can also pay $0.99 to use it for a week, but that’s a bit of an odd feature.
The only real downside is for Apple users, because it doesn’t feature a kill switch if you use it on Mac. Privacy-wise, you’re going to want to have your kill switch on in order to sever the connection if the VPN drops, stopping even the tiniest portion of your search history being revealed to your internet service provider (ISP).
2. The best no-logs VPN
PureVPN is the best no-logs VPN, and its pricing works out at $2.29 per month.
| PureVPN features | |
| Locations | 6,500+ servers in 78+ countries |
|---|---|
| Services accessed | Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube |
| Free trial length | 7 days for $0.99 |
| Simultaneous connections | 10 |
| Router support | Yes, but only under PPTP and OpenVPN |
Pros:
- Regular third-party privacy audits
- Good number of simultaneous connections
Cons:
- Limited Linux support
- No across-the-board router support
The vast majority of paid VPN services have a no-logs policy… but whose word do you have for that, except their own? Of course, they’re most likely telling the truth, but if that’s not enough for you, you’ll want to try PureVPN. In order to prove to any doubters that it truly is a no-logs VPN, it submits itself to an annual third-party audit, which leaves no room for doubt about its claims.
Another benefit of using PureVPN is that it allows for you to use up to 10 simultaneous connections, meaning that you’ll probably be able to protect the privacy of your whole household in one go. On top of that, it has more than 6,500 VPN servers across more than 70 countries, so you’re getting a decent server range too.
If you want to try it out, there is a trial plan that you can use for a week that costs only $0.99. It may not actually be free, but it’s a low price to pay to test out the service and make sure that it does everything you need it to do.
3. The best VPN for encrypted storage space
IPVanish is the best VPN for encrypted storage space.
| IPVanish features | |
| Locations | 1,600+ servers in 52 countries |
|---|---|
| Services unblocked | Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, YouTube |
| Free trial | No free trial |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
| Simultaneous connections | Unlimited |
| Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Options for encrypted storage space
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
Cons:
- Fewer servers overall
- Smaller range of server locations
Sometimes it’s not just about keeping your internet activity private, but about protecting the privacy of all the files on your computer. Nobody has a right to look at those photos of the time you spent at Gazza’s Nudist Plaza, especially not dubious Google Drive hackers. IPVanish gives you an extra level of privacy by protecting your files.
In addition to a fantastic VPN service, IPVanish can give you access to 250GB of SugarSync encrypted storage and backup. Not only will this help to protect the privacy of your personal files, but it will also help you to keep them safe from sudden hard drive crashes and breaks.
This is also the only service on this list that allows you to have an unlimited number of simultaneous connections through the VPN. If the ten simultaneous connections that most of the other providers on this list give you isn’t enough for your household, then this will be the one to go for.
4. The VPN with the most servers
Private Internet Access is the provider with the most VPN servers.
| Private Internet Access features | |
| Locations | 35,000+ servers in 78+ countries |
|---|---|
| Services unblocked | Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube |
| Free trial length | No free trial |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
| Simultaneous connections | 10 |
| Router support | Yes |
Pros:
- Enormous number of servers
- Good number of simultaneous connections allowed
Cons:
- No kind of trial available
- One of the slower services
Private Internet Access has a much bigger server selection that any of the other providers on this list. This is good because it means that if one server gets blocked by a website or service, there’s a good chance that one of the others will give you the opportunity to access it without any trouble, while maintaining your privacy the whole time.
It is also compatible with most major streaming platforms, and allows you to use up to ten simultaneous connections (like PureVPN), so should be good if you want to protect the privacy of your whole household. Or maybe you just like to keep it on by default on a number of devices that are active all the time.
It is somewhat disappointing that there’s no kind of free trial available, or even a trial that costs only $0.99. However, with a 30-day money-back guarantee in place, you can essentially try it out risk-free for a month, and if you don’t like any aspect of it, you can easily get a refund.
We compiled this list by carefully considering the strengths of different VPN providers. After looking at what countless different VPN services had to offer, we narrowed it down to these four top choices. Based on our expertise, we’d say that Ivacy VPN was the best VPN for privacy, but we understand that for some users, the other providers will be more appropriate.
If you want to see some other recommendations, you might like to look at our guide on the fastest VPN. We’ve also got one on VPN deals for anyone seeking a bargain.