Summary
With a reliable connection and top-notch unblocking performance, WeVPN is the perfect VPN for Netflix lovers. However, there have been some glitches with its Windows kill switch which we cannot use at this point but it should be fixed soon enough!
Pros
- Very low prices
- Consistently good speeds
- Unblocks Netflix, Amazon, iPlayer, Disney+
- Bitcoin support
Cons
- Windows kill switch didn’t work
- Poor website
- No security audit
- Multiple other Windows app issues
Table of Contents
WeVPN Overview
Launched to the public in March 2020, WeVPN is very much an upstart with its own unique selling point. Significantly more than just 100+ servers (400+) and only one Mac app, for now, makes it clear that this company has some catching up do before they can be taken seriously as competitors try out their own services following what appeared like unstoppable success last year.
This is a great VPN for those looking to get around geo-blocks, avoid tracking copies of your activities and stay anonymous online. There are dozens of locations across the globe with support available on all major platforms including Android & iOS apps as well Windows PCs! The price tag isn’t too bad either at only $5 monthly (billed annually) or two-thirds less than some competitors costing more per month ($3).
For just $5, we have a month-long free trial that lets you try out our service before committing. And if it doesn’t work for whatever reason? No worries! We provide an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee so there’s nothing stopping you from giving us another go – even on your second account or as part of a family plan with friends who also want VPN protection from those pesky internet scofflaws at home.
Privacy and logging
With its registered place of business, outside the 14 Eyes group, and with no data retention laws in place, WeVPN has a good start. The privacy policy spells out more details to ensure customer protection: “we do not keep any logs related to which VPN servers or IP addresses our customers are utilizing when they use specific IP on the network”.
The policy states WeVPN’s apps include diagnostic and crash reporting via Google Firebase Crashlytics which may transfer information about application usage to the company. This doesn’t relate to your browsing history, though it is anonymized if you’re still unhappy with this practice – so feel free not to send any data at all!
It’s good to know that WeVPN is planning on having its systems independently audited by fall 2020, but until then there are some questions about their privacy policy. If you’re not an expert in tech reviews or data compression algorithms – which seems unlikely given the nature of this business you might want to take a look at what they say before signing up with any confidence!
Getting started
WeVPN has a Medium blog, but its site design means the only indication of this is an M logo at the top left. If you don’t notice it or recognize it right away and click on the get started button from their website’s homepage – which prompts users for account creation with Medium instead We VPN-you might be confused about being asked to do so rather than signing up through our own service!
After a few seconds, We VPN’s installer was downloaded and installed on our system. Once launched we were greeted with an informative welcome screen that walked us through all of the features this app provides for free users or those who want more encryption without having to pay extra fees every month!
We were excited to try out the WeVPN mobile apps, but we quickly discovered there’s a lot going on in their email that wasn’t explained. After clicking through a few pages of links and downloading instructions from Google Play Store or App Store respectively (which proved useless), one of our team members found an easier way: just enter your phone number into each field under “PSN” when prompted by entering data associated with another account!
Apps
WeVPN’s Windows app annoyed us instantly by displaying a ‘Your Account is renewing in 29 days!’ desktop notification as soon as it launched, then again on the console with an Extend your plan link. We paid for just minutes earlier: couldn’t they hold back their marketing? The interface was otherwise very familiar – there is a large Connect button that takes you to the default location or current server depending on what browser tab you’re viewing; options menu which includes Settings & Helps buttons among others).
The location picker is a flat list includes countries and cities, with no server load or latency figures to indicate relative speeds. There’s both a Search box as well as Recent Locations list so it shouldn’t take long for users who need their requested servers quickly with minimal delay in response time.
The location window is a little different than other windows in that it can stay open and doesn’t just disappear when you choose something. It also displays nearby servers, making switching very easy!
The connection time was fast and the app console displayed some welcome status information: my original IP, as well as data uploaded and downloaded. There are even ‘Copy’ buttons to copy either on-the-go IPS or an entire session so you can paste them into your clipboard!
The Settings box covers all the main features you’d expect from a quality VPN: automatic connection when connecting to insecure or untrusted networks, along with split tunneling that defines which applications use your secure tunnel and which ones don’t. There’s also an option for using custom DNS servers so they’re always up-to-date no matter what device we’re on; plus WeBlock blocks ads, trackers & malware in addition!
VPNs are a great way to protect your data and identity, but we found several issues with this particular VPN. The kill switch didn’t seem like it would do much when connecting via IKEv2 protocol–in fact, the connection remained open despite our attempts at closing it—and forcibly Closing or Switching Off access wasn’t really an option either since our real IP address remained unprotected by any means while browsing online without being logged in – which can lead to vulnerable web pages that may exploit you as soon as someone finds out where they come from!
WeVPN has had some technical issues with its IKEv2 network connection. We weren’t sure if our testing was to blame, so we put the app through some extreme situations and found out that it lost track of its internal state–but not necessarily an issue!
I found a few interesting things in the app’s settings, such as TCP/IPv6 being enabled. This should make more opportunities for IPv6 leaks but we’ll have to see how it affects any real-world situation because of an option that blocks all connections with this protocol at the adapter level.
The firewall is a very useful tool for protecting your system. It should be enabled by default, but if you want to use the least invasive options possible it’s best not to turn this on originally and then enable file sharing only when necessary with trusted sources (like employees).
You can also set up the connection to remember your login credentials, which is great if you’re going on vacation for example. These aren’t WeVPN account details but rather a server logins so they won’t be exposed unless there’s something else wrong with them (and even then).
The app was installed easily, this time asking us whether we’d like to send crash and diagnostic reports back. The default is ‘Yes,’ but pay attention or you can disable the feature with a tap–learn one build of WeVPN’s Android client and all others will feel very similar in design thanks largely due to it being built on top of another framework!
There are a few missing features to the Windows VPN service, but it’s otherwise identical. ‘Aggressive IPv6 leak protection’ helps reduce data leaks and puts in effort for an easy-to-use vibrate on connect feature that notifies you when all connections have been made successfully through your device.
Netflix
WeVPN is an excellent choice for anyone who needs to access geo-blocked content. We were able to stream BBC iPlayer, Netflix US, and Amazon Prime Video around the world with no issue whatsoever – even when connecting from locations that are usually challenging (like Thailand). Disney+ may defeat most VPNs in this regard though!
One of the ways to get around geographic restrictions is by using a VPN. If you find yourself unable to stream content from certain websites, WeVPN says its new feature called Weplay can help! It claims that this service will provide users with access all over the world – sounds like something worth checking outright?
Lastly, you should also know that WeVPN can unblock many of the top streaming platforms. It doesn’t need any special name or trademark because its service does what it needs to do: help users find an optimal solution for accessing content on various networks around the world without compromising speed or security – all while keeping your personal data private!
Performance
Our tests showed that when we turned on a VPN, the download speeds dropped by 5-6%. However, this difference is very small and you won’t notice any drop in your regular internet traffic. The average server tested was able to stream HD content without buffering at all!
The US speeds were good at 200-230Mbps on a 600Mbps test connection. Some VPNs are faster – like VPN Unlimited, which hit 300mbps in very recent tests and Speedify reached 275mbps; current speed champion Hotspot Shield soars to 460-580 MBPS but WeVPN performs better than most as it provides consistent performance all day long!
If you run into any issues with your account, don’t waste time looking for support. The site only has a handful of articles and basic FAQs that are hard to use because they didn’t work as advertised–the search box on the front page never returned any hits during testing!
The chat feature on the website is a decent way to get in touch, but it may disappoint if you were expecting live support. Still very new though and as WeVPN gains experience with their service I’m sure response times will improve over time!
Also check:
Conclusion
WeVPN is a perfect VPN for streaming. It’s speedy, seriously cheap and it unblocks almost anything – but there are some technical issues that need sorting out before we could recommend We with any privacy-critical tasks like torrenting or downloading illegal material online (stick to Express).
