PrivateVPN is a subscription VPN service for encrypting internet traffic and routing it through a selected server location. It provides applications for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, with connection options for Linux and routers. The connection uses the VPN server’s public address when communicating with websites and other internet services.
An account can connect ten devices at the same time, and the service has no bandwidth consumption limit. Devices can use different server locations, so a phone and a computer do not have to share the same destination.
Server locations and dedicated IPs
The PrivateVPN desktop app places location choice behind its Change control, with an ON/OFF button for starting the connection. Selecting a location determines where traffic leaves the VPN network. This changes the public address seen by online services and can provide access through a different region.
PrivateVPN offers shared static IP addresses across its locations and dynamic dedicated IP addresses through OpenVPN at selected locations. The desktop location selector includes a Dedicated IP tab for those connections.
Connection Guard
PrivateVPN’s kill switch stops internet traffic when the VPN connection fails. On Windows, macOS and Android, this prevents applications from continuing over the ordinary internet connection while the tunnel is down. Traffic can resume through the VPN once the connection returns.
The Windows app also has Application Guard within its Connection Guard settings. Users add executable files to a list of programs that PrivateVPN should close after a lost VPN connection. This acts on selected applications directly: it terminates their processes rather than only interrupting their network traffic.
DNS leak protection and no-logs policy
DNS leak protection keeps website address lookups inside the VPN connection. Those lookups translate names into the addresses needed to reach a site; sending them through the tunnel avoids routing them separately through the usual network’s DNS service. PrivateVPN also follows a no-activity-logs policy, covering browsing activity rather than keeping a history of the sites and files accessed through the service.
Port forwarding
PrivateVPN supports incoming connections through port forwarding on selected servers. An external application reaches an assigned port on the VPN server, which sends the traffic down the encrypted tunnel to the connected device. This can serve P2P file sharing, a game that accepts peer connections, or a remotely accessed service while using the VPN address.
The desktop app’s Advanced View shows the random temporary port assigned to the connection. A receiving application can use that port for its incoming connections. Connections in the Dedicated IP category allow forwarding across the ephemeral port range used for temporary connections, rather than limiting the application to that single assigned port. Availability depends on the selected server location.
Stealth VPN
Stealth VPN disguises the VPN connection’s traffic to resemble ordinary internet traffic. It provides another connection option on networks that restrict recognizable VPN traffic, where a standard VPN connection may be blocked.
