Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Opting for a free VPN for Android or any other device isn't always a dandy idea. Some providers have bad intentions and will sell your info or your browsing history (or both) to the highest bidder. That's why we e'er recommend paying a few bucks per month for a reputable VPN service.
However, a few trustworthy VPN providers offer free plans, but they have quite a few limitations in place. Almost all of them give you a monthly data allowance, and some fifty-fifty automatically select the location for you lot. If that doesn't bother you, a free virtual private network may exist a good pick for you.
Related: The best VPN routers available
We've rounded up the all-time gratis VPN services for Android yous can get, all of which are likewise bachelor on other platforms. But earlier we dive into the list, allow'due south get-go talk almost what VPNs are and why you lot should utilise one.
The best free VPNs for Android:
What is a VPN, anyway?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
If yous already know what a VPN is, how it works, and why you should use it, feel gratuitous to skip this department and coil down to cheque out the list of the all-time providers. Everyone else, keep reading.
A VPN — brusque for a virtual private network — routes your data through its servers and encrypts it before sending it to the website you are visiting. To put it but, a VPN changes your IP accost, making it seem like you lot're located somewhere else than you really are. For example, if you alive in Frg and connect to the internet via a VPN server in the US, the website you're visiting will recollect you're based in the U.s..
This has a lot of advantages. One of them is to featherbed geo-restrictions put in identify by various streaming services. For example, Netflix offers style more content to its US subscribers than those in most other places effectually the globe. So past connecting online via a U.s. VPN, you can get access to a lot more movies and Telly shows.
A VPN too gives you lot admission to popular services like BBC iPlayer, a free streaming service with loads of great content that is merely available in the UK. But connect online via a UK VPN server, visit www.bbc.co.u.k./iplayer, and outset binge-watching your favorite shows and movies.
A VPN gives you complete anonymity online. Using it hides your browsing history from anybody — if the VPN provider has a no-logging policy — including your Internet service provider. Aye, your Internet access provider can run across your browsing history if you don't use a VPN and can sometimes sell information technology to third parties such as advertisers, which is something we'll talk near in more detail a scrap later. Additionally, a VPN encrypts your data, which comes in handy when browsing the spider web on a public network — more on that subsequently on likewise.
This is a brief overview of what a VPN is. If you desire more details on how information technology works, bank check out our dedicated post by clicking here, or but scout our very own Gary Sims explain it in the video below.
1. PrivadoVPN
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John Dye / Android Authority
PrivadoVPN is a gratis premium cypher-log VPN service based in Switzerland that offers a whopping 10GB of access per calendar month with unlimited speeds and zero ads. It'due south also the only free VPN that supports streaming services like Netflix and BBC iPlayer, also equally torrenting.
It's a breeze to set and includes gratis apps for everything from Android to Windows, iOS, macOS, Fire Television set, and Android TV. Once you download your app of choice, you lot can instantly connect to any server, alter protocols, and even activate the built-in Internet Kill Switch.
The service offers complete end-to-end 256-bit AES encryption and a strict no-logs policy throughout its proprietary global network. Whether y'all stick with the complimentary program or opt for a premium option, you'll become unlimited speeds 24/7 with no threat of throttling.
If 10GB of monthly data isn't enough, y'all tin can always upgrade to a paid programme at just $4.99 per calendar month when yous pay for an entire year. It adds unlimited data to the mix, access to all servers in all 43 countries, as well as access to the SOCKS5 proxy — bang-up for torrent-heavy users that will increase transfer speeds without compromising your privacy. Premium upgrades are also protected by a 30-day money-dorsum guarantee.
The nitty-gritty:
- Free data allowance: 10GB per month with no ads, no speed limits, no logs
- Server selection: Automated or manual — 12 locations available
- No-logging policy: Aye
- Paid plans: Start at $four.99 per month
2. TunnelBear complimentary VPN
The TunnelBear free VPN for Android, which McAfee owns, gets y'all 500MB of data per month. Information technology's super simple to employ and doesn't require a credit menu to sign upwards. Y'all can choose between servers in 23 countries, including the US, Germany, Australia, India, and more.
TunnelBear has a strict no-logging policy for peace of mind and isn't ad-supported despite beingness complimentary (hooray). It offers boosted costless information valid for the month to those who tweet almost the provider, download the TunnelBear app on their PC, or invite a friend who then signs upwardly for the service. Unused data does not ringlet over to the adjacent month.
If y'all demand more information than 500MB per month, y'all'll have to upgrade to a paid plan. Pricing starts at $4.17 per month if you prepay for 2 years.
The nitty-gritty:
- Gratis data allowance: 500MB per calendar month
- Server selection: Manual — 23 locations available
- No-logging policy: Yes
- Paid plans: Start at $four,17 per month
3. Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection
The free VPN by Kaspersky works like a charm simply has its limitations, similar the rest of the services on this list. It offers 200MB of data per day, which translates to about 6GB per month. That'south non bad considering it's costless, but the service however isn't suitable for power users. Unfortunately, there's no option to score additional free data.
There are many server locations available, simply you can't cull which ones to connect to using a free plan — the service volition choose "the closest server" automatically. The app is easy to employ, allowing you to beginning browsing anonymously with simply a elementary tap. Signing up for the VPN is a breeze, and prices are pretty attainable.
The nitty-gritty:
- Free data allowance: 200MB per 24-hour interval
- Server choice: Automatic
- No-logging policy: Yes
- Paid plans: Start at $four.99 per calendar month or $30 per year
4. Hotspot Shield costless VPN for Android
A few things make Hotspot Shield one of the all-time free VPN services for Android you can go. Information technology offers 500MB of information per day or around 15GB per month. That's not plenty for heavy usage, simply information technology is more than what yous go with most other free virtual private networks.
It'due south also super easy to get started, every bit you don't have to share your electronic mail address or your credit card info with the provider. Just download the app on your device, tap Connect, and you're set to get. The major drawback is that you tin can't select the server y'all want to connect to — the app will practice that for you lot automatically. In that location are likewise ads present in the Android app, which is annoying.
Similar the rest of the services on this list, Hotspot Shield has a no-logging policy. It also offers paid plans starting at $seven.99 per month to eliminate the ads and the rest of the limitations.
The nitty-gritty:
- Information allowance: 500MB per mean solar day
- Server selection: Automatic
- No-logging policy: Yep
- Paid plans: Start at $7.99 per calendar month
five. Avira Phantom free VPN for Android
The sign-up process is hassle-complimentary. Just download the app, select a location, then turn on the VPN to start browsing anonymously — no need to share any personal data with the provider. The gratuitous version offers everything y'all go with a premium programme, with a couple of exceptions. At that place's no impale switch available for disabling internet admission if the VPN connection drops and yous don't get any tech support.
The nitty-gritty:
- Data allowance: 500MB per month
- Server selection: Manual — xl available
- No-logging policy: Yes
- Paid plans: Start at $ten per calendar month
half-dozen. Hibernate.me
This Android VPN limits you to 10GB of data per month, which is quite generous. At that place are v server locations available to choose from — Netherlands, Canada, Singapore, and the US (e and due west declension).
Hide.me promises it won't log your activities, giving you lot peace of mind that the provider won't sell your data to the highest bidder. It'south piece of cake to gear up and start using without the need to share your credit carte du jour info. All these things combined brand it one of the best free VPN services to use.
If y'all need more information, in that location are a few paid plans to choose from. Pricing starts at $iv.99 per month and goes all the manner upwards to $12.95 per calendar month, depending on the length of the subscription.
The nitty-gritty:
- Data allowance: 10GB per month
- Server selection: Manual — five available
- No-logging policy: Aye
- Paid plans: Start at $4.99 per calendar month
seven. Speedify gratuitous VPN for Android
Speedify offers 2GB of free data per month and can only be used on ane device. It's like shooting fish in a barrel to set up, every bit you lot don't even demand an account. Download the app, connect, and you're ready to get.
The service tin automatically connect you to the fastest VPN server based on your location, or you can select the server yourself. Like the remainder of the VPNs on this listing, Speedify promises a no-logging policy, meaning it provides full anonymity online.
If 2GB per month isn't plenty for yous, the company as well offers paid plans with unlimited information. Pricing is gear up at $fourteen.99 per month, only you tin get it down to just $four.99 per calendar month if you opt for a three-year program.
The nitty-gritty:
- Free data allowance: 2GB per month
- Server selection: Manual — 37 locations available
- No-logging policy: Yes
- Paid plans: Start at $four.99 per month
8. Windscribe VPN
Windscribe is quite a generous complimentary VPN, offering 10GB of data per calendar month. Simply only if yous share your electronic mail address with the provider. If you lot don't, you'll accept to do with simply 2GB of data per month.
Yous have the option of manually selecting the server you desire to connect to. There are enough of them to choose from — there are servers in 10 different countries on the gratuitous plan. There are as well loads of great features available, including Dissever Tunneling, which allows you to choose which apps go over the VPN.
If you like using Windscribe but don't similar the information limits, you'll need to stride upwards to a paid program. A monthly subscription will set you dorsum $9, but you tin can get the price down to $four.08 per month if you lot prepay for the unabridged year. Too, a paid subscription is the only way to access servers in "Fake Antarctica."
The nitty-gritty:
- Complimentary data allowance: 2 or 10GB per calendar month
- Server selection: Manual — 10 locations available
- No-logging policy: Yes
- Paid plans: Outset at $4.08 per month
9. ProtonVPN
The final provider on our all-time complimentary VPN list is ProtonVPN, which stands out because it doesn't accept a information limit (you're limited to "medium speeds"). You tin browse anonymously online with your Android phone or any other device for every bit long as you want, but your speed will take a hit — especially when there are many users online. There are three locations available: kingdom of the netherlands, Nihon, and the US.
Read next: The best VPNs for torrenting
Setting upwards the VPN is easy, although you have to brand an account. But once yous sign upwards, you lot get a full-featured seven-twenty-four hour period trial for gratuitous. The Android app doesn't contain any ads, regardless of whether you're on a costless or paid plan.
ProtonVPN has a strict no-logging policy and can only be used by a single device at a time by free users. Paid plans outset at $4 per month and go all the style upwards to $24 per month.
The nitty-gritty:
- Data allowance: Unlimited
- Server choice: Manual — iii available
- No-logging policy: Yes
- Paid plans: Starting time at $4 per month
Are free VPNs even safe?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Yes and no — it depends on the provider you cull. Using one of the VPNs listed above is probably safe, although we can't make whatever guarantees. Withal, many sketchy VPN providers out there should be avoided at all costs.
The reason why is that some will try and make money off of you somehow. Running a VPN service is expensive, and the provider has to brand money one style or another. So if it is not making it via subscription fees, it could be making it either via ads (which is understandable but annoying) or by selling your info or your browsing history — or both — to the highest bidder. Basically, a free VPN provider could exist doing the exact thing it should be protecting yous from.
Read side by side: The all-time VPN routers for gaming, concern, and personal use
To put things into perspective, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) reviewed 283 VPN apps on the Play Shop a few years back and constitute frightening results. eighteen% of the VPNs didn't encrypt data, while 75% used third-party tracking libraries. Yikes! That merely goes to show that you have to be careful almost which free VPN service you opt for.
Enquiry is key when deciding whether or non a item VPN is trustworthy. Practice some digging online and bank check out what diverse publications and users say about it. Also, make sure the company isn't based in a state with a bad track record on online privacy, like Mainland china or Russia. Yous could never be sure if a VPN is sticking to its promises, merely research will at least requite you some peace of listen.
Which platforms practice costless VPNs back up?
In add-on to Android, all the free VPNs on this list also support Windows, Mac, and iOS devices. Some also support Linux and offer extensions for various browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.
Can I install a free VPN on my TV or gaming console?
VPNs don't play well with TVs. While you can download and utilise them on Android TVs, nearly other smart TVs don't support them. The same goes for gaming consoles similar the Xbox Ane and PlayStation 4. However, there are hacks you tin can use to get around these restrictions.
I of them is to install a VPN on your router, which will and so protect every device on the network, including TVs, gaming consoles, computers, and tablets. That ways y'all don't have to install a VPN app on every device y'all use anymore. Having a VPN on your router protects your device as soon as y'all go online.
However, non all VPNs support this characteristic. From the providers on our list, the only ones that exercise are Hide.me, Windscribe, and ProtonVPN. Additionally, you demand a supported router as well. But even if you accept 1, we don't recommend installing a gratuitous VPN on it merely to protect your TV or gaming panel. The reason why is that the information limits offered past free VPN providers are too low for you to play games or watch content online oftentimes — we'll talk about this more in the next section. Installing a VPN on a router makes much more sense if you lot take a paid subscription.
Practise free VPNs work with Chromecast or Fire TV Stick?
David Imel / Android Authority
You lot're probably wondering why you lot should go through all the trouble of installing a VPN on your router just to get access to more Netflix shows via your Idiot box app if you can just bandage the shows from your phone to the Telly via a Google Chromecast. Well, the problem is that VPNs and Chromecasts don't play well together. While your telephone is connected to a VPN, your Chromecast is not, so the two can't communicate with each other. The way to get around this is to connect both the devices to the same VPN server, which you tin do by installing a VPN on your router.
Things are slightly different for Amazon'due south Burn Telly Stick since the device doesn't demand to exist paired with a phone. All you lot have to do is download a VPN app to the Burn down Goggle box Stick, switch information technology on, and you lot're ready to get. The free VPN providers on this listing that offer an app for the Fire Tv set Stick are Hotspot Shield, Hide.me, and Windscribe.
It's a similar story with the latest Chromecast with Google TV, since it has a user interface, offers access to the Play Store, and doesn't need to be paired with a mobile device to work.
Can I apply a free VPN for Netflix?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Sure, you lot can, but y'all have to keep data limits in heed. If you want to sentinel an hour or more of Netflix or whatever other video streaming service per day, a free VPN likely isn't for you. As explained in our "How much information does Netflix use" postal service, you'll burn through around 300MB of information per hr when streaming at just 480p. When watching 4K content, the data usage per hour jumps to as much as 11.5GB. If you get downward the middle and opt for Total Hd (1080p) streaming, look to utilize around 3GB per hr.
Netflix can employ as much as 11.5GB of data per 60 minutes.
By comparing those numbers with the data limits set in place by free VPN providers, you can quickly effigy out that free VPNs aren't the best for Netflix. Speed may be questionable for some providers, especially ProtonVPN, which will reduce your speed when many users are online. This may translate to a bad Netflix experience, as the video may cease and buffer multiple times while yous're watching it.
You likewise have to consider that many complimentary VPNs will automatically select your location, which ways they are more or less useless for Netflix. Yous would have to opt for a provider that offers manual server selection — similar Windscribe, for example — and then yous tin can connect to a US server to become access to a larger library of content.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Netflix doesn't like it when people visit its website via a VPN. The service constantly blocks VPN servers once information technology identifies them, and then the one you go with may non work. This applies to both free equally well as paid VPN providers, even so.
Will a free VPN go on me rubber on public networks?
Eric Zeman / Android Potency
Like a paid VPN, a gratuitous one should keep you safe when using public networks in places similar restaurants, hotels, and airports.
The problem with public networks is that they aren't very secure. It's relatively easy for someone with the right equipment to capture the packets of data that go from your device to the router, allowing them to run into exactly what you're doing online. If the website you're visiting uses a protocol chosen Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the hacker can see your login details if you sign in and everything else you exercise on a website.
To protect your information, using a VPN on public networks is a great idea.
For that reason, using a VPN on public networks is a not bad idea since the service encrypts your data so that the hacker tin't run into your online activities. You can read more about this in our "How easy is information technology to capture data on public free Wi-Fi?" article written by the professor himself, Gary Sims.
Still, it'southward worth mentioning that hackers tin can't see what you practise online when visiting websites with encrypted connections (HTTPS). A VPN may not exist required in this case, but you'll ever have to check whether a website is secure or not. If the connection is secure, you'll see a green padlock in the address bar of your browser. Most popular websites offer encrypted connections these days, merely non all of them.
Unfortunately, in that location's no padlock visible when information technology comes to Android apps, making information technology a lot harder to figure out whether a connection is encrypted or non. And then in a instance like this, using a VPN is a good thought.
Will a gratuitous VPN hide my activity from my ISP?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authorisation
Every bit already mentioned, your Isp can run into the websites you visit and exactly what yous practise on them, provided they don't take an encrypted connection. If you lot're on an encrypted connection (HTTPS), your Isp tin can all the same come across the websites you visit, but it can't see what you practice on them. For example, information technology sees you lot visited YouTube simply doesn't know which videos you watched. Past using a VPN, your ISP will see nil.
That means if the government comes knocking on their door demanding to see your browsing history, information technology's out of luck. But you probably don't do anything illegal online, so this shouldn't be as well big of a business organization to you.
A more than significant outcome is that ISPs in the Usa tin sell your browsing data to third parties like advertisers, which is a large no-no in my volume. And so by using a VPN, you can make sure your Isp won't be making whatever actress money off you.
It's essential to keep in heed that while your Internet service provider won't see your browsing history anymore if yous use a VPN, the VPN provider could. All the major VPN companies promise they don't log your activities, then this shouldn't be a concern. Simply then again, there'due south no way you can check if that's true.
Information technology's a lot easier to believe this merits if it'southward coming from a reputable VPN that charges for its services than the one that doesn't. As already mentioned at the beginning of this mail, if the VPN provider isn't making money from subscriptions, it might be making it by selling your data.
Complimentary vs. paid VPN: Which one is right for me?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
If y'all're not a power user and only need an Android VPN now and then for some low-cal browsing at dwelling and on public networks, a gratis VPN volition do you lot but fine. But if you want to apply a VPN to sentinel content on streaming services, regularly download stuff from the net, and keep browsing history individual at all times, a paid VPN is the way to get. Simple equally that.
In that location's a third choice as well. If yous only demand a VPN for a week or so to exam it out, you lot could just sign up for a free trial. Non all providers offer information technology, just some do. This will become you unlimited data, probable faster speeds than free VPNs, and you won't have to worry about the provider selling your personal data as much. If yous don't need the VPN after the free trial, but cancel your subscription. To keep using information technology, pay the subscription fee at the terminate of the trial and remain anonymous online.
One of the best options for a free trial is ProtonVPN, which gives y'all full access to its services for seven days without spending a dime — click hither to learn more. Only if afterward reading this article you lot've decided to skip free VPNs altogether and don't intendance much virtually free trials, check out the iii paid providers we recommend, along with their prices, below:
- ExpressVPN — from $viii.32 to $12.95 per calendar month
- NordVPN — from $3.30 to $11.95 per month
- Ivacy — from $1.33 to $9.95 per month
To larn more most good VPN providers, check out our guides for the best VPNs for gaming, torrenting, and Netflix.
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