Ivacy Review 2019
BEST FOR: Great VPN for torrenting
- No logging policy
- Solid security and privacy protection
- One-size-fits-all solution
- Unlimited speeds
Ivacy Overview
Ivacy is a VPN service based in Singapore. It started way back in 2007 and was the first VPN to bring split tunneling to the industry. The VPN boasts quite a number of top features and a robust network. At its fair pricing, one is tempted to think about the hidden catch. In this Ivacy VPN review, we’ll let you know more about this VPN so you can determine if it’s the right product for you.
Pros
What we liked
- Doesn’t keep logs
- Solid security
- Supports P2P
- Kill switch
- Split tunneling
- Fairly priced
- Works with Netflix US
Cons
What can be improved
- No free trial
Security & Privacy
Privacy
Ivacy VPN is based in Singapore, which is a good location to base a VPN. This doesn’t mean that the VPN is run from Singapore, which is a move we have seen with a number of VPNs. Ivacy lists its address as PMG Pte. Ltd. 38 Beach Road #29-11 South Beach Tower, Singapore 189767, but its employees work from various parts of the world, in what the VPN terms as “privacy reasons.”
That said, it actually helps Ivacy not keep any usage logs. Their privacy policy states that
“We strictly do not log or monitor, online browsing activities, connection logs, VPN IPs assigned, original IP addresses, browsing history, outgoing traffic, connection times, data you have accessed and/or DNS queries generated by your end. We have no information that could associate specific activities to specific users.”
Further, Ivacy VPN doesn’t ask for much from you during sign up. All you’re required to provide is your email address and then enter a password. You can then choose to pay via an anonymous method like Bitcoin, which would mean that they can’t access your real details.
The VPN also implements a number of features that are meant to boost your privacy. This includes features like IPv6 protection and a Kill Switch. You can also use their Secure DNS add-on.
Security
In terms of security, Ivacy performs admirably by offering 256-bit encryption that makes it almost impossible for hackers to steal your data or log your activities. This is combined with a standard RSA-2048 key for OpenVPN connections, and MS-Chap v2 for data authentication. The Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange (DHE) is used for Perfect Forward Secrecy. This can be termed as solid security.
In terms of protocols, Ivacy is quite flexible. The VPN gives you the freedom to choose from OpenVPN, L2TP, PPTP, SSTP and IKEV. PPTP and SSTP are quite fast, but they are also very insecure, which is not a good balance. L2TP, on the other hand, is very secure, but offers very poor speeds.
- PPTP
- L2TP/IPSec
- IKRv2
- SSTP
OpenVPN on the other hand is the industry standard. It is regarded as the protocol with the best balance of speed and security, and it’s the most recommended VPN protocol. However, the default protocol in Ivacy VPN desktop clients is IKEV. This can be seen as a move by the VPN to help you boost browsing speeds. The VPN still has good enough security and great speeds.
Pricing & Payment
Ivacy VPN offers a simple pricing method, whereby all the VPN packages offer the same features.
most popular
2 Year
Save 77%
$239
$2.25
Per month
30-day money back-guarantee
Billed at $54
*Although we make every effort to ensure all prices are accurate, we cannot guarantee thet they are always up to date
Here’s a breakdown of the plans:
- 1-month plan: $9.95 billed every month
- 1-year plan: $3.33/month, billed $40 after 12 months
- 2-year plan: $2.25/month, billed $54 after 24 months
When paying for the VPN, you will also be offered Port Forwarding and Dedicated IP as extra options for purchase. These extra services cost $1 and $1.99 respectively. You can still decide not to purchase them.
Generally, Ivacy VPN is a very well-priced VPN, especially when you consider the features that this VPN offers in comparison to others.
Free Trial
Luckily, you can try Ivacy VPN before paying. The VPN provides a free 3-day trial with all their plans, and you won’t be charged before your trial expires. If you do not cancel, you’ll be charged amount equivalent to the plan you chose.
Money Back Guarantee
Apart from the free trial, Ivacy also backs up their service with a full refund policy. They clearly state they offer a 30-day money back guarantee. However, this one only applies to the yearly and two year subscriptions. The monthly plan is only covered by a 7-day money back guarantee.
To qualify for a refund, you should not have used it before, and your account should have been suspended for breach of terms of use. Further, if you have paid using an anonymous payment method, it’s impossible to get a refund.
To get your money back, just contact the agents via live chat, and they will assist you.
Payment Methods
Ivacy offers a wide selection of payment options to let you pay comfortably. These include credit/ debit cards, PayPal, Alipay, PerfectMoney, Payment Wall, BitPay and coin payments. Our highlight here has to be the fact that Ivacy VPN allows you to pay anonymously via Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This means that since Ivacy promises not to collect any of your logs, then they can’t link your activity back to you.
Credit cards
Payment Service
Crypto Currency
Others
Performance
Ivacy VPN performed quite well during our review, especially the Windows VPN client. We experienced a few connection issues with the Android client, but they went away just by selecting a different server.
The VPN features seem to work well, particularly the kill switch and split tunneling.
Speed test
We did a few speed tests to see how fast Ivacy VPN is. The first speed test was done without a VPN, and its aim was just to give us the benchmark.
We then did a second speed test while connected to a server near us. We obtained the following results:
A distant server then gave us the results below.
From this Ivacy VPN review, we can say that Ivacy is one of the faster VPNs thanks to their IKEv2 protocol. The VPN’s OpenVPN speeds were however not impressive, and this speed test was done using the default IKEV protocol which is definitely faster than OpenVPN.
This speed test was recently conducted on April 16, 2019
Get started with Ivacy today to stay safe, private, and secure online!
Visit IvacyServers & Location
Ivacy VPN doesn’t have a network as big as some of the top VPNs, but their network is quite impressive. 450+ servers in 100+ locations and 55 countries is not a small number, and these are enough to ensure that you are not crammed on one server with many other users.
What impressed us most though is Ivacy VPN’s generous server distribution. Ivacy manages to sufficiently cover some of the regions that are frequently ignored by VPNs. The VPN has servers in 6 African countries, and 5 South American Countries.
Something else we really liked here is the fact that you can choose servers in terms of either countries or cities.
Ivacy VPN servers are optimized to provide you with the best performance, and server switches are unlimited. On connection, you get access to their pool of 80-120 IP addresses on each server.
Unfortunately, some of these servers are virtual servers, which would slow down your ping and speeds significantly, depending on where you live.
Features
Ivacy is a feature-packed VPN service. Below, we look at what this VPN has to offer.
Kill Switch
Ivacy VPN offers kill switch protection, one of the most important features in a top VPN. Ivacy VPN kill switch disconnects you from all internet activities whenever you unexpectedly lose your VPN connection. This greatly helps you from being exposed to the ISP at that particular time.
P2P & Torrenting
Unlike most VPN services that back away when it comes to torrenting, Ivacy VPN actually has servers that are optimized for this purpose. They are then able to offer blazing fast speeds to ensure that your connection speeds are not hugely affected.
Ivacy VPN has placed these servers in countries that don’t have strict data retention laws as well as strict copyright infringement laws.
Features
Smart DNS
Bypass Netflix
Onion Tow Web Address
Split Tunneling
Stealth Technology/Servers
Allow Torrenting
Automatic Kill Switch
ipv6
Open Ports
IPv6 Protection
Ivacy VPN has implemented a tool that forces all IPV6 traffic through the VPN’s secure tunnel. This is a good feature that enhances user security by blocking any potential leak at the source.
Secure DNS
Secure DNS is an additional feature offered by Ivacy. The feature can be used as an add-on that you need to add to your browser. Ivacy VPN’s Secure DNS add-on lets you route your requests through Ivacy’s DNS server to prevent any DNS leak.
NAT Firewall
This is a new feature that has now been added to Ivacy VPN’s long list. The feature however is not part of the package that Ivacy VPN offers. It can only be used by paying an additional $1 a month at the time of purchase.
Ivacy’s NAT firewall protects you from all cyber threats and lets you enjoy an anonymous and unrestricted internet. The service does not run on device level, but rather at the server level. This means that you can use Ivacy NAT Firewall regardless of which device you are connected from. You can also configure it on any router, and it will cover every OS security leakage ensuring that you stay safe while online.
Dedicated IP Address
This is another additional and new feature that costs $1.99 a month. The difference between a shared IP and a dedicated IP is that a shared IP can be used by hundreds of users, while a dedicated IP can only be used by you. This therefore gives you the control over your IP’s online profile, and also provides you with the ability to access the server directly without changing DNS settings for the domain name.
VPN Split Tunneling
It was Ivacy VPN’s security team that invented the revolutionary concept of split tunneling way back in 2010. Ivacy was the first VPN to provide the technology.
Split tunneling is very useful technology that allows VPN users to decide which data they want to send through the VPN, and the data that should go through the ISP. It is very useful for example in cases where you want to stream content or access local news.
Ivacy Setup & User Interface
Getting Started with Ivacy VPN
Since Ivacy doesn’t offer a free trial, you will need to subscribe by clicking “Get Ivacy Now.” You will then be taken to a page where you can choose your preferred subscription plan. You can then choose to pay through any acceptable payment method suitable to you.
Ivacy VPN will only ask for your email address and password, requirements that can be considered basic. You will then receive an email with installation instructions immediately after payment.
Ivacy VPN has an attractive lush-bluish theme. It is one of the well-organized and information-rich VPN websites we’ve visited. You’ll find almost everything you need to know about the security, privacy and features of the VPN. At the bottom of the website are various useful links.
The Ivacy VPN Client
Ivacy VPN’s Windows client looks impressive, with a bluish theme that reminds us of Hotspot Shield VPN. The Home screen shows you your state of connection, your current location and your IP address. The big white button is the connection button. On the left side, there are a number of features that can be utilized. These include Secure Download, Streaming, Unblocking and Dedicated IP.
Options for Customization
Under Settings, you can choose your desired protocol as well as activate the kill switch and split tunneling.
Ivacy VPN Mobile Apps
The Ivacy Android app is quite good-looking and well organized.
On launching, it opens the Smart Connect window where you can connect to the nearest server or select one of your choice.
There’s also a window named “purposes” where you can choose what you want to do.
Under “Locations,” you can easily choose a server of your choice. A server can be chosen either according to the country, or even according to your preferred city.
By clicking on the menu button on the top left side, you can access the various features of the Ivacy Android app. These include activating the Kill Switch, Split Tunneling as well as choosing a port and a protocol.
Compatibility
Ivacy VPN is one of the most compatible VPNs that you will come across. The VPN supports the following devices:
- Windows PC
- Mac OS
- Linux
- Android
- iOS
- Linux
- Blackberry
- Openelec
- Android TV
- Routers
- Kodi
- Chrome
Kodi and Chrome are new additions from Ivacy, and they are very welcome. You can now add the VPN directly to Kodi and stream privately and anonymous.
Netflix
We were glad to find that Ivacy VPN works with Netflix. However, only their US servers are optimized for Netflix, but we were glad to see that they all work. The only other library you can get with Ivacy VPN is Netflix UK, but you will have to use trial and error which is not ideal.
BBC iPlayer
Ivacy VPN also works with BBC iPlayer, but you will still need to use trial and error when it comes to getting a working server.
China
For the lack of obfuscation technology, Ivacy is not a VPN that works in China.
Devices
- iOS
- Android
- Blackberry
- Windows Mobile
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux
Browsers
- Chrome
Others
- Android Boxes
- Router Configuration
- xBox 360
- DDWRT Router
Customer support
Ivacy VPN’s customer support is one of the best that we have reviewed. First, the Website has a 24/7 live chat support assistance that responds almost immediately. To test it, we asked a simple question, and got a reply within 5 seconds.
There is also a ticket system that is especially meant for technical support. This can be accessed by clicking “Contact Us” on the top right side of the website. You will then be required to fill in a form. You can also decide to send an email to support@ivacy.com.
We tested the ticket system, and got our reply in 2 hrs 5 minutes.
Apart from these, the VPN also has a rich database of FAQs and set up guides. These documents not only address almost all major issues, but they are also clearly written and easy to understand. The search bar can be used to make work much easier.
Conclusion
Ivacy VPN comes out as a good VPN service. This is especially true when you consider its features. It is a fully featured service that offers services for significantly less cost than most of the top VPNs. Its compatibility also makes it quite an attractive VPN option. However, in our Ivacy VPN review, we noticed that the VPN’s speeds are not as good. And though it supports P2P, the VPN doesn’t work with Netflix and BBC iPlayer. If you are not so interested in streaming these two services, then Ivacy VPN may be the VPN for you.
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Performance
Privacy
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