{"id":26527,"date":"2019-05-30T08:06:34","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T08:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/comparakeet.com\/?page_id=26527"},"modified":"2019-06-01T11:17:35","modified_gmt":"2019-06-01T11:17:35","slug":"hotspot-shield-review","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/comparakeet.com\/best-vpn-services\/hotspot-shield-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Hotspot Shield Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who is Hotspot Shield?<\/h2>\n

If they wanted to, VPN providers could technically snoop on your online activities. So, better think twice about getting in bed with those who hide behind a veil of anonymity! Here are more good-to-know tidbits about Hotspot Shield:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Owned and Operated by<\/strong><\/td>\nAnchorFree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year Launched<\/strong><\/td>\n2008<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Base of Operations<\/strong><\/td>\nUnited States<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Operates in a Privacy-friendly Country?<\/strong><\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Logging Policy<\/strong><\/td>\nSome logs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Encryption Used<\/strong><\/td>\n256-bit AES Encryption<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Servers Located in<\/strong><\/td>\n25 countries<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plans and Pricing<\/h2>\n

Starting at \u20ac15.99\/month (or around $18.59\/month), Hotspot Shield Elite<\/strong> has one of the most expensive price tags around. That\u2019s a lot of money to shell out for a VPN service! Longer subscription terms shave off a few Euros, but you\u2019ll still be looking at monthly costs of at least \u20ac6.99\/month (or around $8.11\/month). Even ExpressVPN\u2019s pricey subscriptions are looking more reasonable at this point.<\/p>\n

The good news is that Hotspot Shield also offers an unlimited plan<\/strong> for a one-time payment of \u20ac139.99. For the equivalent cost of nearly two years of subscription, you can enjoy Hotspot Shield\u2019s service for a lifetime, which is a pretty good deal. Of course, that depends on what you\u2019re hoping to get out of a VPN service.<\/p>\n

Check out all the different paid plans below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
1 Month<\/strong><\/td>\n6 Months<\/strong><\/td>\n1 Year<\/strong><\/td>\nUnlimited<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u20ac15.99\/mo.<\/td>\n\u20ac10.99\/mo.<\/td>\n\u20ac6.99\/mo.<\/td>\n\u20ac139.99 one time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Payments accepted include popular credit cards, like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners Club International and Union Pay. You can also pay using PayPal and bank transfer.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re unsure whether Hotspot Shield is the right VPN for you, you\u2019ll be glad to know that you can try out their service at no cost, for 7 whole days. Even better, they have a rather generous 45-day money-back guarantee so you have more than enough time to decide whether you want to continue the subscription or not.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, you can opt for the free version of Hotspot Shield. But take note that it has several limitations. Check out how the Elite and Free plans compare below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHotspot Shield Free<\/strong><\/td>\nHotspot Shield Elite<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bandwidth Allocation<\/strong><\/td>\n500MB per day<\/td>\nUnlimited<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Server Locations<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Access to Geo-Restricted Sites<\/strong><\/td>\nLimited access<\/td>\nUnlimited access<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ads?<\/strong><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Connect up to 5 Devices Simultaneously<\/strong><\/td>\nNo<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Support<\/strong><\/td>\nEmail<\/td>\nPriority email, 24\/7 chat (coming soon)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Security<\/strong><\/td>\nAES 256-bit encryption<\/td>\nAES 256-bit encryption<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Other products in this category<\/div>
<\/a>
<\/div>1st<\/sup> Place<\/span>9.8 out of 10<\/span>
Read Review<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/div>2nd<\/sup> Place<\/span>9.7 out of 10<\/span>
Read Review<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/span>
<\/div>10th<\/sup> Place<\/span>5.5 out of 10<\/span>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>
\n

Servers and Locations<\/h2>\n

Hotspot Shield currently has over 2,500 servers located in 25 countries around the world. Countries include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
United States<\/td>\nHong Kong<\/td>\nDenmark<\/td>\nRussia<\/td>\nIran<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brazil<\/td>\nIndia<\/td>\nFrance<\/td>\nSpain<\/td>\nTurkey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Canada<\/td>\nJapan<\/td>\nGermany<\/td>\nSweden<\/td>\nUAE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mexico<\/td>\nUnited Kingdom<\/td>\nIreland<\/td>\nSwitzerland<\/td>\nAustralia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
China<\/td>\nCzech Republic<\/td>\nNetherland<\/td>\nUkraine<\/td>\nNew Zealand<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

It must be noted that the availability of certain server locations may vary per platform. Also, Hotspot Shield uses virtual locations. That is, servers are set up too look like they are in a specific country but are actually housed in a completely different location, usually nearby. Virtual servers are commonly used to ensure faster and more reliable connections, but performance isn\u2019t that far off compared to physical servers.<\/p>\n

How is the Performance of Their VPN Servers?<\/h2>\n

On numerous tests, Hotspot Shield consistently delivered fast download and upload speeds. In fact, it may be one of the fastest VPNs around. This is partly thanks to the company\u2019s proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol, which was created specifically to address latency issues that were prevalent in the previous protocols they used (IPSec and OpenVPN).<\/p>\n

Take this with a grain of salt though, because results typically vary per user. Depending on your location, your base download\/upload speeds, and other factors, some servers may perform better than others. For example, the Europe or Asian servers may perform better than US servers, but that may not be the case for those living near the US. This is normal, as far as VPN services go.<\/p>\n

On top of speedy connections, Hotspot Shield Elite subscribers can also enjoy unlimited bandwidth. This means that you can download and stream to your heart\u2019s content. And yes, the VPN lets you download via P2P without restrictions<\/strong>, as well as access blocked content on Netflix<\/strong> without issues.<\/p>\n

The same, however, cannot be said of Hotspot Shield\u2019s free version. It will simply block Netflix access (or BBC iPlayer, Hulu and more, for that matter) and urge you to upgrade to the Elite version. It\u2019s to be expected, of course. Not only is access to geo-restricted content limited on the free version, the bandwidth is also capped at 500MB\/day.<\/p>\n

How Secure is Hotspot Shield?<\/h2>\n

Hotspot Shield utilizes strong 256-bit AES encryption to help secure connections, along with a kill switch that automatically stops inbound and outbound traffic should a VPN server unexpectedly fail. The icing on the cake is that both the app and browser extensions offer ad and malware blocking features, too.<\/p>\n

When it comes to privacy, Hotspot Shield doesn\u2019t store nor share your true IP address\u2014the data is erased once you disconnect from the VPN. On the other hand, the company does collect data on the websites you visit and the apps that you use, so it\u2019s a mixed bag as far as privacy is concerned.<\/p>\n

Hotspot Shield claims that the data is used for analytics and troubleshooting though, which is not that uncommon in the VPN industry. More importantly, the data they collect is in aggregate form<\/strong> and not presented in a way that directly identifies you as the user. The information they collect also includes:<\/p>\n