ibVPN Review: Is it worth it this 2021?
Offers great compatibility and easy-to-use custom app.
How do you choose a “Virtual Private Network” (VPN)? Many VPNs compete in a growing market and make tall claims about their products and services. ibVPN is a relatively small VPN based in Romania, and the letters “ib” in its name stands for “invisible browsing”.
When we review VPNs, we evaluate their privacy and security features, speed, compatibility, and user-friendliness. We check whether they can unblock geo-restricted streaming services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, etc. Whether a VPN allows secure P2P/torrenting activities is one more yardstick. Finally, we evaluate their customer support capabilities and review their price.
We have reviewed ibVPN using these criteria. Does this VPN meet your requirements and should you buy a subscription? Read on, as we answer all of these questions.
Privacy
When you want a privacy-friendly VPN, you really want a VPN that masks your IP address, encrypts your Internet traffic, and refrains from logging your online activities. ibVPN successfully masks your IP address and encrypts your Internet connection.
This VPN doesn’t keep any logs of its users’ online activities, and the company makes it very clear in its privacy policy. When you buy an ibVPN subscription, the company collects your name and email address for setting up a user account. It doesn’t credit card information since 3rd party providers like PayPal process this information.
ibVPN doesn’t sell, rent, or share your personal information with any 3rd party. The company processes your data per applicable laws.
When you visit its website, the company collects anonymized and aggregate site analytics. This doesn’t contain any personally identifiable information. Collecting these analytics doesn’t have any relation to the online activities of its VPN users and doesn’t violate their privacy.
Amplusnet SRL owns and operates ibVPN. It’s a Romanian company, and Romania is a privacy-friendly country. It’s the ideal jurisdiction for a privacy-focused VPN.
Note: A key privacy feature of ibVPN is “TorOverVPN”. This feature allows you to access the TOR (“The Onion Router”) network securely. TOR is a privacy-friendly network. You need to access it using the TOR browser, and the network hides your IP address and location. While it’s privacy-friendly, it also exposes you to serious security risks. With the “TorOverVPN” feature from ibVPN, you don’t need to use a TOR browser. Moreover, you are protected from security risks.
ibVPN makes it clear that if it receives any court order to cooperate with an investigation, then the company will do so. However, it can’t tie any online activity to any user since it doesn’t keep logs. ibVPN makes it clear that it can’t be forced to hand-over information that it doesn’t have.
Security
When do we consider that a particular VPN is secure? We do that when a VPN supports secure protocols, provides robust encryption, and offers advanced security features.
ibVPN supports OpenVPN, which is the most secure VPN protocol. This VPN protocol doesn’t have any known security vulnerabilities.
ibVPN also supports Stealth VPN, which is another secure VPN protocol. Stealth VPN includes all security features of OpenVPN, moreover, it includes obfuscation technologies. This helps to bypass Internet censorship of the kind imposed by countries like China.
ibVPN also supports other secure VPN protocols like L2TP, IPSec, and SSTP. While ibVPN supports PPTP, we don’t recommend you use it. It’s not a secure protocol. In any case, you don’t need to use it.
ibVPN provides AES-256 encryption, which is military-grade. This is the strongest encryption that you can find. ibVPN prevents all IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.
ibVPN offers the “kill switch” feature. This feature blocks the Internet connection if the VPN connection drops suddenly. This way, hackers can’t access your sensitive information even if the VPN connection terminates unexpectedly.
In its “Ultimate VPN” pricing plan, ibVPN offers the “Double VPN” feature. This feature encrypts your Internet connection twice, which adds a layer of security.
ibVPN offers enough security features to qualify as a security-friendly VPN.
Speed
A VPN should invest in high-quality server infrastructure and have enough servers across all key geographies to provide good speed. ibVPN invests in high-quality server infrastructure.
It offers 173 servers across 47 countries. Note that ibVPN has various pricing plans with specific features, and some servers don’t provide some of the features. For example, the company has specific servers for P2P/torrenting. ibVPN maintains complete transparency about its servers, and you can view its complete server list.
It covers all key geographies like North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Latin America, and Africa. The server network of ibVPN is relatively smaller than several leading VPNs. While this VPN offers reasonable speed, users may experience a slower speed depending on where they are.
Access to Geo-Restricted Streaming Services
Popular streaming services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu impose geo-restrictions on their content. They do this to meet their business objectives. Many Internet users want to access their popular content from other countries, and they buy a VPN subscription for this.
These streaming services know that and they aggressively block VPNs. Therefore, many VPNs can’t unblock these geo-restricted streaming services.
ibVPN doesn’t explicitly claim that they unblock any of these geo-restricted streaming services. We find that it can’t unblock any of these streaming services.
Allowing Secure P2P/Torrenting
If you plan to access P2P/torrenting services, then we recommend you check the laws. Some countries don’t allow these services. Even in countries that allow these, you can face copyrights violations issues. P2P/torrenting activities can also expose you to online security threats from hackers.
Many Internet users look for a VPN to securely access P2P/torrenting services. VPNs that follow a “no logs” policy strictly, secures your Internet connection, and offer a kill switch can provide secure access to these services.
ibVPN is a good choice for P2P/torrenting. It doesn’t log the online activities of its users. This VPN provides robust encryption and a kill switch. Its “Ultimate VPN” and “Torrent VPN” pricing plans allow you to access servers that are optimized for P2P/torrenting. ibVPN also provides guides for securely accessing P2P/torrenting services using this VPN.
Compatibility
To offer great compatibility, a VPN should support all key platforms. ibVPN supports all key desktop platforms like Windows, Mac, and Linux. It offers custom apps for all of these platforms.
Among mobile platforms, ibVPN supports Android and iOS. It offers custom apps for both of these platforms.
ibVPN offers manual configuration guides for all of the above-mentioned platforms. If you prefer to configure a VPN manually, then you can use these guides.
You can manually configure ibVPN on several popular routers like DD-WRT, Sabai, etc. ibVPN also offers manual configuration guides for popular smart TV platforms, gaming consoles, and Roku streaming players.
While ibVPN offers excellent compatibility, its “Standard VPN” and “Torrent VPN” plans allow 1 connection at a time only. This falls short of what many of its competitors offer. The “Ultimate VPN” plan offers 5 simultaneous connections, which is on par with its competitors.
Ease of Use
VPNs that offer easy-to-use custom apps for all key platforms, excellent guides, and a user-friendly website qualify as user-friendly VPN. ibVPN offers user-friendly custom apps for all the key platforms. This helps users that aren’t tech-savvy since they can avoid the work of manually configuring a VPN connection.
For platforms that don’t support VPN apps, ibVPN offers excellent guides. This includes routers, smart TV platforms, and gaming consoles.
The ibVPN website is very user-friendly. You can easily find all the key menu options and get the information you need. This VPN offers an easy-to-use buying process too. You can easily find custom apps, guides, and support options.
Customer Support
We consider that a VPN has excellent customer support capabilities if it provides a 24×7 live chat support, comprehensive guides, and a searchable knowledgebase. It should have prompt, knowledgeable, and professional customer support representatives too.
ibVPN offers 24×7 live chat support. The customer support representatives demonstrate very good knowledge, professionalism, and promptness. Furthermore, you can contact the customer support team using tickets and email too.
ibVPN provides detailed guides, a comprehensive FAQ page, and a searchable knowledgebase. The knowledge base articles are very easy to read and understand.
ibVPN demonstrates excellent customer support capabilities.
Price
ibVPN offers two kinds of pricing plans, namely, business plans and personal plans.
The business plans are as follows:
- Family VPN 7: This plan allows 7 simultaneous connections. It costs $13.95 if billed monthly, and the average monthly cost is $8.32 if billed yearly.
- Small business VPN 15: This plan provides for 15 simultaneous connections. You pay $24.95 per month if you opt for monthly billing. The average monthly cost is $16.66 if you opt for yearly billing.
- Small business VPN 25: You get 25 simultaneous connections in this plan. It costs $44.95 if billed monthly, whereas, the average monthly cost is $33.32 if billed yearly.
The personal plans are as follows:
- Standard VPN: This plan allows 1 connection at a time only. It doesn’t allow P2P/torrenting, moreover, it doesn’t offer features like TorOverVPN and “Double VPN”. You pay $4.95 if you opt for monthly billing, whereas, the yearly billing option costs you $36.95 per annum.
- Ultimate VPN: This plan includes all features, and allows 5 simultaneous connections. It costs you $10.95 per month if you opt for monthly billing. You pay $58.06 per annum if you opt for yearly billing.
- Torrent VPN: This plan allows 1 connection at a time, and P2P/torrenting. However, it doesn’t offer features like “TorOverVPN” and “Double VPN”. If you choose monthly billing, then you pay $4.95 per month. The yearly billing option costs you $36.95 per annum.
Note: ibVPN offers a Smart DNS pricing plan. This offers Smart DNS and proxy services, however, it doesn’t offer any VPN features. Since we are reviewing the VPN products and services of ibVPN and not proxy services, we aren’t evaluating this pricing plan.
All pricing plans include 24-hours free trial and 15-days money-back guarantee. You can pay using popular credit cards, PayPal, and prominent cryptocurrencies. Your payment transactions are secured by prominent 3rd party providers like PayPal.
The Pros and Cons of ibVPN
ibVPN offers the following advantages:
- Strong privacy track record, “no logs” policy, and privacy-friendly jurisdiction
- Robust security including secure protocols, strongest-possible encryption, and a kill switch
- Compatibility with all key platforms
- User-friendly custom apps for all key platforms
- Secure access to P2P/torrenting services
- 24×7 live chat support by competent customer support representatives
- Excellent guides, FAQs, and a searchable knowledgebase
- A 24-hours free trial and a 15-days money-back guarantee
This VPN has a few limitations too, which are as follows:
- It can’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer
- 2 of its pricing plans offer 1 connection only at a time
- While it offers reasonable speed, its relatively smaller server network might cause users from some geographies to experience a slower speed
- ibVPN is a bit expensive
Conclusion
ibVPN delivers most of what it promises. It’s a privacy and security-focused VPN that offers great compatibility. It can’t unblock popular geo-restricted streaming services, and some of its pricing plans offer 1 connection only at a time. Users from some geographies might experience s slower speed. However, ibVPN offers user-friendly custom apps, great customer support, and excellent documentation. It offers a 24-hours free trial and a 15-days money-back guarantee.