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Secure your privacy on the internet by hiding your privacy with secure servers located around the world

Secure your privacy on the internet by hiding your privacy with secure servers located around the world

Vote: (3,000 votes)

Program license: Free

Version: 4.0.6

Works under: Android

Also available for Windows Mac

Vote:

Program license

(3,000 votes)

Free

Version

4.0.6

Works under:

Also available for

Android

Windows Mac

Pros

  • Generous free plan with unlimited bandwidth
  • Makes understanding virtual private networks easy
  • Great for unblocking some popular video streaming services

Cons

  • Raises serious questions about user privacy and security
  • Commercial plan can't hold a candle to the competitors

As a virtual private network provider, Turbo VPN can help you mask your internet traffic from prying eyes. It's not the most capable, secure, or fully-featured option in the robust VPN market — but it could be the right choice in specific circumstances, especially when you factor in the potential of its free plan. But the fact that Turbo VPN exists almost exclusively as a platform for mobile devices makes for a slim number of viable use cases.

That's not to say that the software isn't popular. Its friendly pricing plan and flexibility for data usage have made it a ubiquitous presence throughout Asia, Europe, and America. And the fundamentals are a great deal. Free users get protection with unlimited bandwidth, and the only tradeoff is a relatively aggressive succession of banner and video ads. Unfortunately, the commercial plan has difficulty keeping up with any of its major competitors in terms of value for your dollar. Faster speeds and the ability to connect more devices can bring additional utility, but the steep pricing of the plan and the mobile-forward approach to this service makes it hard to imagine scenarios where that would be worth the cost.

A virtual private network exists to keep your information safe and secure from as many threats as possible. The problem with Turbo VPN is that it's hard to discern whether or not it can even promise that. Their terms of service offer little information on how user information is encrypted or stored, and it includes few safeguards against surrendering or selling your information to private businesses or government agencies. Many VPN providers are wrestling with these notions when creating terms of service and negotiating the best way to profit, but Turbo VPN ranks among the least transparent today. And while no active vulnerabilities have been found in the mobile version, the lack of a kill switch in the desktop platform is a worrying precedent.

Whether or not that bothers you will depend on how much you care about security. If you want to make sure that no one has access to what you're doing, you won't find that here. But if all you want to do is mask your IP address against common threats and potentially bypass the regional locks for some video and music streaming services, it can offer that. Functionally, it's hard to imagine a significantly more intuitive interface for a VPN client. Its range of features aren't especially broad nor its assurances of security especially deep, but it does offer an introduction to virtual private networks that practically anyone can use. You just might want to consider upgrading to a more serious service if you find yourself liking what you see.

Pros

  • Generous free plan with unlimited bandwidth
  • Makes understanding virtual private networks easy
  • Great for unblocking some popular video streaming services

Cons

  • Raises serious questions about user privacy and security
  • Commercial plan can't hold a candle to the competitors