IPVanish Review: Exploring the VPN's New Features

VPNs are all the rage right now for protecting you on the internet, but with all of them making big promises, it’s hard to know which live up to the hype. I recently tested IPVanish, which I haven’t used in years. In this IPVanish review, I found some great new features, so read on to see if it’s the solution for you!

IPVanish Overview

One of many Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), IPVanish encrypts your real-time internet activity from cybercriminals, network admins, and even your internet provider itself.

Its easy-to-use apps mask your real IP address, making it seem like you are almost anywhere in the world. Not only does this hide your location, but also lets you unblock international streaming services and other geo-restricted content on the web.

IPVanish is available in multiple languages across mobile, desktop, and streaming devices.

IPVanish Review – Top Features

The versatile VPN has all the expected features, plus many benefits not offered by some of the more well-known providers. I got hands on to see what stands out the most:

Unbreakable Internet Encryption

IPVanish employs military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, which is what you want from any leading VPN.

Since I last used it, older protocols like PPTP, L2TP, and SSTP have been dropped for faster and more secure protocols like WireGuard. If you’re looking to stream or game with a VPN, WireGuard is king.

Its apps also let you switch to other protocols that are useful in different situations. For example, IKEv2 works better on mobile devices. OpenVPN is useful for troublesome networks or when setting up a VPN at the router level.

Fast Servers and Unlimited Devices

You’ll never find yourself without a fast server to connect to with IPVanish. It boasts over 50 countries, countless cities, and a total of 2,400+ individual servers that you can choose manually.

This is useful if you just want to encrypt your connection at home or on the go, or access the open web and apps from countries with censorship. It’ll also get you past those annoying firewalls and filters at school, work, or home.

That’s without mentioning access to your favorite overseas streaming services without getting region-blocked.

IPVanish currently has one of the strongest server backbones, running data centers with 25Gbps machines. I can easily stream in 4K, game without lag, and download torrents at good speeds.

What’s more, thanks to its unlimited devices and connections policy, other members of the household can do the same and you won’t notice any bandwidth issues.

This is good to see when big names like ExpressVPN and NordVPN limit connections and charge more to add devices.

The apps will connect you to the fastest server by default in one click or tap. However, I love that you can dig into the entire list and view the server load and ping. You can connect anywhere and ensure you aren’t getting bogged down by an overload of other users.

So, if you want to use a VPN on all your devices, share it among your family, or even protect a small business, IPVanish is more than capable of doing so.

Optimized For Streaming Services

All VPNs promote their ability to work with popular streaming platforms at home and abroad. However, with increased scrutiny, not all are successful. And, if they are, buffering and disconnects can be an issue.

I tested IPVanish from the UK to watch US versions of Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+ and experienced zero restrictions or performance issues. Moreover, it now has optimized servers for most of the popular streaming services in the US, UK, Denmark, France, and Japan.

Even if there isn’t a dedicated server, as long as you choose the right country, it does a great job.

Comprehensive Apps for All Devices

IPVanish has dedicated apps for a large variety of popular devices. These include:

• Desktop: Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, Linux
• Mobile: iOS, Android, Apple Vision Pro
• Streaming: Fire TV, Apple TV, ONN4K, Chromecast, Nokia Streaming Box, NVIDIA SHEILD

You can also easily set it up on a VPN compatible router by following the guidance on the IPVanish website.

Automatic Kill Switch

VPNs need a kill switch to protect your real IP and connection if you become disconnected. Turn this on and all internet activity is paused until IPVanish reconnects to a secure server.

Unlike other providers, IPVanish implements this feature on most of its devices, including FireStick.

This means any time you watch Amazon Fire TV to access an overseas library, the platform will never see an IP switch or recognize you have been using a VPN. No banned accounts here!

Advanced Split Tunneling

Split Tunneling allows you to pick and choose which traffic you want to send through the encrypted tunnel. For example, I must access all my work apps via my static home IP, so need a VPN that lets me whitelist them.

Not only does IPVanish let you split tunnel apps, but it also allows for individual websites. Furthermore, the feature is now available on Windows, Andorid, and iOS, which is often not the case with other VPNs.

Strict No-Logs Policy

Using a VPN is all about protecting your internet activity, so it’s no good if the provider itself doesn’t limit the info it collects about you.

Since I last used IPVanish, it has now been independently audited by Leviathan Security, confirming it does not “Does not collect, monitor, or log your browsing activity.”

While it will still have a billing record, there is no meaningful data that can be accessed by law enforcement or non-state actors.

IPVanish does collect “…aggregated and anonymous performance data to improve functionality and product performance,” but this does not include any personally identifiable information.

Its privacy policy is clear about not selling or sharing your details with third parties.

Free Threat Protection

Many VPNs try to bundle extra features for a fee, but IPVanish offers some pretty good threat protection as a standard feature.

When you turn this on, trackers, dangerous ads, and malicious sites are blocked. Threat protection is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android mobile, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple Vision Pro. This is much more comprehensive than other VPNs.

Multi-Language Support

As well as English, it’s good to see language support for Polish, Italian, and Portuguese on Windows, mobile, and its streaming devices.

German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, and Italian, is also supported on macOS.

Ease of Use

IPVanish has a clean and modern interface that’s consistent across all its supported devices.

It couldn’t be easier for beginners – just click or tap to connect right away or browse the location list for a specific country or city. You’ll even see an animated map, which is useful for gauging the distance between your real and encrypted location.

If like me, you want to dig a bit deeper, you can find any of its 2,400+ servers, view the load and ping, and favorite them for quick connection later.

Overall, the apps are intuitive with simple tabs and clear settings, and they don’t lag or hog system resources.

24/7 Customer Support

If you need help, the site itself has a large knowledge base, but support staff are only an email or live chat message away.

It even operates a phone line from 9 am to 5 pm CT, Monday to Friday, if you prefer to speak to someone directly.

It takes a couple of minutes to reach a real person, but I found support staff to be helpful and fully educated on the finer workings of the VPN apps.

IPVanish Pricing Plans

IPVanish is priced competitively alongside the leading VPNs with some excellent discounts if you pay for a year or two upfront.

• $12.99 per Month
• Yearly 78% off – ($2.79/mo; $33.48)
• Two Years 83% off – ($2.19/mo; $52.56)

You get a 30-day money-back guarantee on its yearly and two-year plans.

The only downside is the 7-day free trial is limited to mobile only and you must provide billing information first, though it’s easy to cancel.

IPVanish Review – Verdict

Concluding this IPVanish review, I find it to be one of the best with great improvement in recent years.

It doesn’t get much better than unblocking geo-restricted streaming services, unlimited devices, fast and optimized servers, and advanced split tunneling. Free threat protection is an added bonus.

While other VPNs might boast more locations and servers, the average user doesn’t need every country in the world. Plus, IPVanish performs well in speed tests thanks to its 25Gbps infrastructure.

• Get IPVanish

If you want to use it on Windows, try the free trial on mobile first, which has essentially the same features, then decide if premium is for you.