Windscribe VPN Review

Windscribe maintains minimum records for maintenance purposes, which is not ideal. We know that other vendors can work with less and we would like Windscribe to do the same.

Having said this, data saved by Windscribe cannot be used to identify you or retroactively relate their activity to you.

Windscribe records the following information:

• The amount of data transferred in the last 30 days.
• A timestamp of your last activity on the Windscribe VPN network
• The number of simultaneous connections on your account
• Your OpenVPN or IKEv2 username (until the end of your session)
• The time you logged in (until the end of your session)

Windscribe collects this information to ensure that your VPN service runs smoothly. In spite of everything, there is no nothing in the above data that can be used to personally identify you once you have disconnected from the server.

According to Windscribe, your username and connection time are also stored in the server's RAM, which means that they will be deleted by design as soon as your session ends.

Windscribe do not records:

• Your source IP address
• Activity data browsing

Yegor Sak, co-founder of the company, has published a detailed explanation covering precisely what data is collected when you use the Windscribe VPN applications, a nice move towards transparency.

You can also find more information at Windscribe's privacy policy.

With an independent external audit, we would find this explanation absolutely satisfactory.

Based in canada

Windscribe is located in Canada, which is part of the Five Eyes data sharing alliance. It has a public PO address, but has kept the exact location of its Toronto office private.

CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) collects alarming amounts of personal data from users to track and identify persons of concern. According to Modernization Law of the Copyright Canadian ISPs are required to record user data for six months, even though it is unclear whether VPN providers have seen themselves forced to adopt similar practices.

Usually this would be very concerning, but due to Windscribe's minimal VPN logging policy, it is much less of a concern.

Windscribe greatly minimizes the relevance of the jurisdiction of a VPN. While we agree with many points made by Windscribe, it is still much safer for a VPN company to be based in a jurisdiction that is not legally required to hand over company information to authorities, particularly foreign ones like the US. USA

Nonetheless, Windscribe maintains a page that documents the DMCA requests and law enforcement data requests it has received since 2018.

This is a positive step towards transparency, but it means nothing without an independent external audit of the procedure.

Windscribe claims that it only stores connection information in server RAM, and that information is lost by design each time a session ends.

Beyond this, he says, since no browsing history, timestamps or IP addresses are stored, it would be impossible for Windscribe to deliver information to companies or governments.

We just have Windscribe's word that it doesn't log anymore (inadvertently or on purpose), and if it did, it would be conceivable that Canadian authorities could access that data.

If the server setup is as described by Windscribe, and the published data on its transparency is accurate, we will be much more positive about Windscribe's logging policies.

But for now, without an audit or any evidence beyond a few graphics on its web portal, Windscribe's claim that "precisely zero requests were fulfilled due to a lack of relevant data" makes no sense.

Windscribe is one of the fastest VPNs available for a connection in the same city. Regardless, its international speeds are less impressive.

We saw a fall of download speed of 100,45 Mbps to 94.72 Mbps when we we connect to a server in the same city from our London connection when using OpenVPN. It consists of a fall of around 5% , which is very fast.

By comparing our connection speeds before and after connecting to a nearby VPN server, we can see precisely how much Windscribe slows down our connection when connecting to the local server.

The speed results were positive , some of the best we've seen, with an average speed loss of only the 5%. This is the kind of performance you can expect when connecting to a Windscribe server close to your physical location.

Here are the full results of the local speed test:

• Download speed without Windscribe: 100.45 Mbps
• Download speed with Windscribe: 94.72 Mbps
• Our download speed loss when Windscribe is running: 5%

It is also a very reliable VPN service: we did not experience any connection drops while connected to the servers, and the speeds were very consistent from test to test.

This means that Windscribe should comfortably handle whatever you plan to do online, even with many devices connected to the VPN at the same time.

Regardless, it's not the fastest VPN we've tested. Regardless, if you want the fastest VPN out there, you should consider selecting an option from our list of the fastest VPNs.

The ping times on short-haul 12ms connections aren't the best we've seen, either. This means that there may be better alternatives available to players, particularly in online games where low ping is really important.

On the other hand, Windscribe's maximum upload speeds of 93 Mbps should keep torrent users satisfied, allowing them to easily seeding.

Today we test speeds using the OpenVPN protocol, as it is widely available among VPN services and thus helps us maintain a high level of consistency in our results.

Windscribe applications, despite everything, start by default in IKEv2, which it claims is the best protocol, so you could see slightly faster speeds if you connect therefore.

If you want to know more about how we test VPN performance, take a look at our VPN speed test methodology.

Global speed tests

Along with local speeds, we test the speed of the connection between our London office and Windscribe's VPN servers globally.

The results were less consistent than our local tests - Windscribe performed well, but it basically did not match the best long distance providers.

Here are the average speeds you can expect when connecting from the UK to these international locations with Windscribe:

• USA: 68 Mbps (download) and 73 Mbps (load)
• Germany: 85 Mbps (download) and 86 Mbps (load)
• Singapore: 4 Mbps (download) and 14 Mbps (load)
• Australia: 9 Mbps (download) and 24 Mbps (load)

These speeds will be sufficient for most users, but don't expect to stream video from Asia in Europe smoothly.

How fast is Windscribe compared to other VPNs?

The following results are obtained from our custom VPN speed test tool . We perform speed tests automatically four times a day on a Connection Standard of 100 Mbps (a standard speed for residential Internet).

Here are our results for the last eight weeks on our New York server.

Use our speed test tool to compare Windscribe speeds in different cities.

Windscribe did not perform as fast as its main competitors recently. On our connection from New York to New York, it caused a drop in the 30% in the download speed, compared to less than NordVPN's 10%.

Windscribe is a solid alternative to VPN security with no evidence of past business failures. It comes with many additional functions and customization options as well, ideal for both beginners and experienced users.

It is encrypted with the superior AES-256 encryption and includes our preferred VPN protocol, OpenVPN, so your IP address remains hidden at all times.

In addition there is a Authentication key safe SHA512 and a encryption 4096 bit RSA for the link protocol, all considered the best in security and privacy.

In the five years that it has been running, there is no evidence that Windscribe's security was ever compromised , server or client side.

It also operates Perfect Forward Secrecy, a standard that we hope more VPN providers will adopt.

This means that the encryption keys are not reused between sessions; Even if someone has your private key in their hands, it becomes useless as soon as you log out.

Windscribe enables you to select between UDP and TCP OpenVPN connections. Each of these protocols has its own advantages. UDP is faster but less reliable , but TCP offers the more consistent connection .

If you are playing games or making video calls, we suggest UDP. If you are not doing these things and are experiencing stability issues, we suggest that you switch to TCP.

By default, Windscribe uses the IKEv2 protocol on all platforms. We like IKEv2 as an option for mobile connections, but it is a proprietary protocol without the same proven security as OpenVPN.

We generally prefer OpenVPN for desktop platforms, but IKEv2 isn't a terrible default, either. It is also quite easy to change the protocols in the configuration menus of all the applications, which is good.

Now there is also an option to use WireGuard, which we consider a great alternative to OpenVN.

SOCKS5 is also offered , an old favorite of the torrent users , but it is not a protocol that we would recommend using.

We like Windscribe's 'Firewall' feature, which serves the same purpose as a VPN kill switch, so it's also protected against DNS and IP leaks in case your internet connection goes down. It works in three modes: automatic, manual and always on.

The applications have many advanced security features, including WebRTC protection (called "WebRTC slayer"), port forwarding and double hopping, making your Windscribe connection even more secure by bouncing it between two VPN servers different (at the cost of speed).

Apart from this, Windscribe also includes a split tunneling feature, called "Split Personality", which enables users to route certain applications in / out of the VPN. Luckily, this convenient feature is becoming increasingly standard as it helps keep users in direct control of their data flow.

Ultimately, Windscribe is a VPN extremely safe . We would even go so far as to say that it is one of the most private and secure VPN services on the market.

IP, DNS and WebRTC leak testing

Why should you trust that it is safe? You should not.

Windscribe has been leak tested so you can check for yourself that it is not leaking.

This was the result when we connected to a US server from our office in London, UK. DNS, WebRTC, and IP address are all displayed in Boston, USA.

No there is a way This information can be used to detect that we are located in the UK, much less our actual IP address.

ROBERT: Windscribe Security Package

Windscribe provides its own ad tracker and malware blocker called » ROBERT «, Which is built into your custom VPN applications. ROBERT includes eight different block lists, making it easy to customize your VPN profile according to your needs.

ROBERT is simply a DNS-level malware and ad blocker, an increasingly common offering from VPN providers. If you're a fan of these things, Windscribe was one of the first to integrate such a service with their VPN.

It enables users to select from a list of content they would like to block, including ads, trackers, and crypto miners. You can also block social media, sexually explicit content, gambling websites, and more.

In spite of everything, the system is not without its problems: the "fake news" block list includes some well known parody sites like The Daily Mash, despite explicitly stating that it doesn't block satire.

There's more than a slight irony to a VPN service blocking content by mistake.

You definitely shouldn't activate the fake news block. Overall, we have found that the other ROBERT filters work as expected.

Regardless, at the risk of sounding frivolous, this is not really what VPN services are all about. The functionality doesn't hurt, but it's not really necessary either and becomes little more than bloatware once it turns off.

Usually we suggest to use of complements of Open Source established to protect your browser from third-party trackers and malware.

Equivalent in this aspect is secure.link , a free URL shortening service offered by Windscribe. It is a useful tool, but in fact it has nothing to do with the VPN service.

Malware and tracking

VPNs process large amounts of data coming in and out of your device, so it is truly important that they are not loaded with any dangerous malware or viruses. To ensure that Windscribe is clean, we ran the desktop application through a full virus and malware test.

These are the results we got from Malwarebytes:

Windscribe released 100% virus and malware free . This is a great result and another proof that Windscribe is a reliable provider.

To verify the security and privacy of Windscribe on all platforms, please also do we execute through the εxodus tool , which produces reports on trackers and permissions present in Android applications.

We discovered that the Android app has two trackers: Google CrashLytics and Google Firebase Analytics. Neither of these is necessarily too concerning, both are event-driven data collection tools that will help Windscribe understand how users interact with the application and respond to issues such as crashes. Without embargo, neither are totally private.

To put this in context, Windscribe has fewer trackers than the NordVPN app , the same number as in the ExpressVPN app , but more than the Astrill app , what do not have none .

Windscribe works out here: Free VPN from FreeVPN.org contains 28 truly horrible trackers But we think that all VPN providers should aim to minimize or completely remove trackers in their applications.

The εxodus report also reveals that the application requests 14 permissions, two of which, GPS and network-based location, are considered "dangerous" or "special" in Google's protection levels.

These could be explained as part of the faster server function, but many other VPN applications with similar functions do not demand such information. This is one area that Windscribe could gain confidence in by making its application open source.

One of the biggest benefits of a VPN like Windscribe is that you can bypass geo-restrictions on content. It does this by masking your real IP address with one from the country you want to access.

This is great news for expats and foreign TV or film fans alike.

Despite everything, platforms such as Netflix have realized this gap and have hampered have VPNs connect to your services. In 2021, only the best VPNs can consistently achieve this.

Windscribe offers dedicated 'Windflix' VPN servers for streaming in various countries around the world. These servers are labeled as Windflix in the server selection menu and can be found in the US, UK and Canada.

Regardless, these specific servers are now mostly redundant. After a recent update , all the Windscribe servers can be used for streaming, including free servers. Which makes Windscribe the only truly free VPN that does pretty well with Netflix.

It also works on all 10 free server locations. This is better than many paid VPNs.

We've tested streaming services, including Netflix, iPlayer, and YouTube, at all four Windscribe streaming server locations.

We have found that WindScribe reliably unblocks Netflix in the four Windflix countries: both the from USA and United Kingdom , as well as Canada and Japan (two places you are not used to seeing VPN providers we are committing to).

We've never had a problem testing Windscribe with Netflix in the UK or US, which means you can watch these Netflix libraries in Full HD without buffering. At the same time, we recently found out that Windscribe can unlock over 40 international Netflix libraries , what makes Windscribe one of the best VPNs for Netflix today.

To give you a good idea of what to expect, we have run special speed tests on all Windflix servers in the UK.

The absolute value we get is not as important as the speed drop we experience when using the server. This is because our 100 Mbps connection has higher bandwidth than many home Internet connections.

As reference, Netflix's official internet speed recommendations they are 3 Mbps for SD quality, 5 Mbps for HD quality, and 25 Mbps for Ultra HD quality.

We don't think they are 100% accurate, they are a bit on the low side, but they do offer an indication of the quality you can expect.

Using Windscribe from our London location, we can expect to stream in HD or Ultra HD from the US, UK and Canadian libraries, and at least SD from Netflix's Japanese library.

Regardless, Windscribe's servers in the US also work well for seamless access to Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to get Disney + to run on US servers, so fans of the Mandalorian should look for an alternative VPN like Surfshark.

We also tested Windscribe to see if it offers access to BBC iPlayer. We found that the browser proxy will give you access to BBC iPlayer, but the full VPN does not always.

Even Windscribe's dedicated server cannot always achieve this; It's been on and off for a while, but it seems to be getting better. Read our guide to the best VPNs for BBC iPlayer to get a more reliable solution for streaming BBC videos.

Regardless, the VPN unblocks geo-blocked content on YouTube, which is a bonus. We also found that Windscribe was the most effective VPN for unblocking DAZN. Out of all the popular regions we tested, it was the only VPN that worked with all 9 libraries.

All in all, Windscribe Pro is a solid streaming VPN, if not the best.

Exceptionally, this  do not only applies to Pro version . Since its recent update, Windscribe's free VPN has also been successful in unblocking content.

We have also been successful in getting the free app to unblock geo-blocked YouTube videos, and have found that the free browser add-on also unlocks BBC iPlayer quite consistently.

The torrenting feature works quite well (but watch out for Canada)

Windscribe is also a good VPN for torrenting, since P2P activity is allowed on most Windscribe servers worldwide, even though not all servers are optimized for P2P. Servers that are down are marked with a icon » P2P «.

The speeds are also good enough to download torrents, which is really important. The key here is that Windscribe distributes its P2P servers globally, maximizing your chances of achieving good download and upload speeds.

This means that you can sow as much as leeches; just make sure to keep Windscribe active if your torrent client keeps seeding in the background.

With a trusted logging policy and high-level security (like the all-important kill switch), Windscribe will not only ensure your downloads are complete quickly , but in addition to safe way and anonymous .

If you are new to torrenting, Windscribe has guides for setting up a SOCKS5 proxy with uTorrent , Deluge , qBittorrent and VUZE . These are useful, but both we and Windscribe suggest using the full desktop VPN client in conjunction with your torrent client for maximum privacy.

Another thing to pay attention to is Canada's aggressive copyright laws. Fines for copyright infringement in Canada can be up to $ 5000 , so it is a good idea to ensure that it is never breached.

When thinking about jurisdiction, it is always a good idea to pay attention:

• The location of the server you are connected to
• The jurisdiction under which your VPN provider operates

We have not seen any examples of trolls from Rights from Author that have Windscribe user data in their hands, but you should pay attention that Canada is a country where they have the advantage, legally speaking.

When torrenting with Windscribe, we definitely suggest not connecting to servers in Canada, the US, or the UK.

Windscribe has a diverse network of VPN servers from 110 cities in 63 countries . This is a large number that includes almost all regions of the world.

East Asia is fundamentally well represented, which is rare - there are Windscribe VPN servers in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and more.

In total, Windscribe offers more than 110 individual VPN locations , which means you can opt at the city level in several different countries. There are multiple servers in multiple locations, but you can choose your city within:

• Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney)
• Canada (Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver)
• France (Marseille, Paris)
• India (Chennai, Indore, New Delhi)
• Israel (Ashdod, Jerusalem)
• Italy (Milan, Rome)
• Russia (Moscow, Saint Petersburg)
• Spain (Barcelona, ​​Madrid)
• United Kingdom (London, Manchester)
• Central US (Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Louisville, New Orleans, Salt Lake City)
• Eastern US (Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC)
• US West (Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oregon, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle)
• Turkey (Bursa, Istanbul)

As we might expect, there is very good coverage of Canada here, with servers on the east and west coasts of the country.

Regardless, we are a bit disappointed that Windscribe refuses to reveal the total number of individual VPN servers or IP addresses it maintains, and some of their servers are rented in Rather than being wholly owned, which could mean Windscribe plays a lesser role in your security than we would like.

Regardless, we can assume that there are at least 110 of each.

Windscribe claims that all of their servers are located where they say. Surprisingly, this is rarely the case when VPNs have large server networks. HideMyAss !, as an example, has the largest server network we've seen, with 'servers' in every but five countries in the world, but a large number of them are located in the US and UK. .

In Windscribe's case, at least one of their servers is lying about their locations - by pinging the Troll station, the Antarctic server reveals that it is indeed physically located in Canada. Regardless, we think this is probably something unique: after all, the server is called "Fake Antarctica."

The Windscribe web portal includes a neat page with real-time updates of server status and capacity . This is great when you are trying to find a fast server or are trying to solve a slow connection obstacle.

There is also static IP addresses available in 13 different locations, which can make it easy for you to constantly access streaming services. With Windscribe, this IP will be shared with about 10 more users.

A static IP connects you to the same IP every time you connect. This comes with some benefits, like decreasing the chance of websites to blacklist your IP.

You can also choose between a data center or residential IP . Residential IP is more expensive, but it truly improves the chances of transmission services working properly.

Since a residential IP makes you look more authentic, it also prevents you from displaying unnecessary captchas on the web.

An example where this is useful is Amazon Prime Video, which will log you out of the desktop whenever your IP address changes. With a residential IP, your streaming experience becomes smoother.

China and other countries with privacy-hostile censorship regimes are increasingly using technologies such as deep packet inspection (DPI) to identify and block VPN traffic, preventing people from accessing the global internet.

Many VPNs, including Windscribe, have rejected this censorship but employ obfuscation technologies, making it difficult for censors to identify VPN traffic.

Windscribe uses a "Stealth protocol" to avoid detection by censors. This protocol uses the open source Stunnel algorithm , to route your OpenVPN traffic through an additional TLS tunnel.

We have seen this protocol working first hand in China, using our Shanghai server. Windscribe allowed us to break through the Chinese firewall without much trouble. Regardless, we can't measure performance, so it's hard to say how well the VPN will perform in China.

We were even able to use Windscribe Free in China, connecting to server Hong Kong> Victoria .

If this doesn't work, there is also a Wstunnel mode that wraps OpenVPN in WebSocket instead of TLS. It's nice that Windscribe gives you the ability to fiddle with which form of obfuscation it uses, particularly since what works in China is known to change so frequently.

The Stealth protocol is not available at all on iOS , which we would like to see change in the near future. This means that you will not be able to use your iPhone in China with Windscribe.

Regardless, if you try Windscribe in China, you will need to make sure you have it pre-installed on all your devices before traveling, as it is blocked for download within the country.

In other high-censorship countries with less effective censorship apparatuses, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Turkey, Windscribe also appears to be an effective solution.

Use Windscribe with Tor

If you are concerned about your communication being overseen by a government, employer, or corporation, or if you are looking to overcome censorship at any level (from your network administrator, ISP, or government), Tor can be a very useful tool.

It works by routing your traffic through three random servers, giving you complete anonymity, even from the Tor network itself.

Windscribe does not have explicit Tor support, but a basic Tor over VPN setup is feasible, where you open the Tor browser on a computer.

This comes with two benefits:

• Your ISP or network administrator will not be able to see that you are accessing the Tor network, which could help you get around government, workplace, or campus bans.
• If something were to go wrong with the Tor network, it would be Windscribe's IP that would be exposed, not yours.

But it also has some downsides, namely that using Tor with a VPN is not as completely anonymous as using it alone.

Windscribe's custom apps are remarkably easy to use and don't compromise on the need for specific features to suit serious VPN users.

Windscribe's home screen is simple on both desktop and mobile devices, with a large on / off button and a list of VPN server locations. The advanced alternatives are hidden in their own menu, and users are cautioned not to touch them "unless they know what they are doing," which we quite like.

The Windows application is exceptionally well presented and easy to use. A central power button connects or disconnects the VPN, and you are clearly shown which server it has connected to, along with its IP address.

There is a country search bar, which is a must-have feature for usability with a VPN that has as many options available as Windscribe.

The advanced alternatives are also easy to find in a drop-down menu at the top left of the application.

Windscribe offers plenty of room for customization. You can toggle the latency display between a performance bar or a specific ms measurement. In addition there are 25 language options available, which is a welcome alternative for accessibility.

You can also toggle the application between window and tray, which we like (even though we really prefer windowed mode). You can also customize the notifications and the order in which the countries are listed within the application.

We have been told that split tunnels will be added to Windows, Mac and Linux soon; it will be a welcome addition.

Mac OS

The Mac application differs slightly from the Windows application. It is a menu bar application, rather than a separate window.

Regardless, don't mistake that for simplicity or poor design. MacOS is quite similar to the Windows application and has several of the same features, the only notable absence being the "always-on" option on the computer.

Again, there is a wide range of customization alternatives available within the app. You can change the order of placement, turn notifications on and off, and alter the appearance of server latency.

Unique to the MacOS application, you can hide the Windscribe icon from the dock, making the application feel like it's running passively in the background. This is a nice platform specific touch.

Android

The Android application is the most complete of all Windscribe applications. The only major feature missing is the "Firewall" kill switch. Even though it consists of an important omission, which we would like to see added.

The application includes a network whitelist option, which enables you to choose certain networks that Windscribe will not activate, such as your home network or other trusted network. We really like this addition for mobile devices, where you don't always notice your phone moving between networks.

In addition, there are the standard Windscribe customization alternatives: placement order (which is particularly welcome on mobile devices), latency display, language choice, and notification.

Windscribe, exclusively for mobile devices, has also included a dark / light mode change, even though the impact of this is truly minimal.

ios

Like all Windscribe applications, the iPhone and iPad application is easy to use and well designed.

You'll get the same customization options on iOS as on Android: location order, latency display, notifications, language, and light / dark mode.

Regardless, what you won't get are many of the advanced features available in the other apps. There is no split tunnel feature, or the ability to set the application to "always-on", as an example.

There's also no stealth protocol, so you won't be able to use the iOS app from censored regions.

Regardless, unlike the Android app, there is a very important kill switch, which means you don't have to worry about staying exposed if your VPN connection goes down.

Browser extensions

We really like Windscribe's browser plugins. They come with an unusually large collection of features including malware and trade promotion blocking, advanced leak protection, and city-level server selection (for Pro accounts).

As we have already mentioned, Windscribe browser plugins for Firefox and Chrome are not strictly VPN speaking, they are proxies.

Being proxies, these extensions will not fully protect your data like a desktop VPN would, and will only redirect traffic from your browser window.

Regardless, what you can do is successfully spoof your location. In addition, a long list of servers is offered at the city or country level.

The plugin comes with many browser features, such as the ROBERT ad blocker, a firewall, and tools to prevent online advertisers from tracking you, such as » Cookie Monster ", what controls and it even eliminates its own and third-party cookies. according to your preferences.

In addition there are some advanced tools to help you spoof GPS location (Location Warp) and browser time (Time Warp).

You can even randomly assign your user agent to prevent your browser from determining what operating system and browser you are using.

This is a great suite of privacy and security focused tools that are easy to use thanks to a lightweight and intuitive user interface.

In theory, ROBERT is what truly sets Windscribe's browser add-ons apart from competitive VPNs. Very few can say they offer protection against malware, phishing, and business promotion, along with the ability to add custom filters to control your internet experience.

Regardless, the reality is that you can get more use from an open source plugin like uBlock Origin . Windscribe may outperform third-party plugins with its security features, but it doesn't come close to dedicated free software.

In addition, there is limited integration with the desktop application, which allows you to see the status of the VPN on the entire device, but not change it. We expect Windscribe to move towards a more complete integration in the future.

Regardless, for now, if you are looking for the best in privacy and security, we suggest that you use the desktop app in conjunction with a privacy-prioritizing browser setting.

Smart tv

Windscribe also maintains a smart TV app for Android TV or Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Let's start with the obvious: it's ugly.

Compared to all the other Windscribe apps, the TV app looks bad and can be tricky to use. Regardless, you can filter locations only for Windflix servers, a good option for a TV VPN.

The app includes a split tunnel feature, called "split routing," which we like. It enables you to apply the VPN only to certain applications on your smart TV.

Overall, it comes with more features than we expected. You can enable / disable LAN connections to other local devices or set it to connect when you turn on your TV.

The application maintains local logs, which you may choose to send to Windscribe, presumably taking into account the problem response. We understand the value of this, but we don't love it from a privacy perspective.

By default, it runs on OpenVPN UDP over port 443, and it can also connect using OpenVPN TCP, Stealth, and IKEv2.

Despite everything, this application has clearly not been prioritized.

We do not suggest selecting Windscribe for this application specifically; Check out our list of the best VPNs for Fire TV Stick, but it's a bonus if you already have your heart set on Windscribe.

Customer support is one area where Windscribe sometimes lags behind the competition.

Windscribe customer service is missing live chat; It is something we always look for in a superior VPN (ideally, it will also be 24 hours). Instead, Windscribe has a online library Very extensive of guides , frequent questions and even his own server subreddit and discord .

Windscribe also provides an online support ticket submission and automated chat agent, Garry, although we suggest that you don't waste your time with the latter as it is generally not that helpful.

Plus he only understands English, which is quite disappointing. At least a basic understanding of languages like Spanish or Mandarin Chinese would go a long way for Windscribe's international audience.

When you get stuck with the chatbot, it will give you the ability to "Talk to a human." Despite everything, this only puts it through a ticket system.

Regardless, the response time could be better, but we found that Windscribe generally contacted us within one day.

Windscribe accepts the common range of payment methods, including the most popular credit and debit cards, PayPal and Bitcoin, as well as several international options through its association with Paymentwall.

Once you've signed up for a paid subscription, the money-back period is only three days and you're only eligible if you've used more than 10GB of bandwidth, which isn't that much.

Windscribe may also take up to 30 days to refund your money to your account. This is a truly restrictive return policy. Our advice is to try a free account before signing up for the service.

Free Windscribe

As we mentioned at the top of this review, Windscribe also has a no-cost plan available.

Their no-cost plan is one of the best we've seen and a great way to try Windscribe before committing to a subscription.

The plan comes with servers in 10 of Windscribe's 63 countries and a monthly data limit of 10 GB.

With a free Windscribe account, you can connect to:

• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Romania
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• U.S

The data limit is quite generous for a free VPN without commercial promotion. This is one of the reasons Windscribe's no-cost plan is our favorite free VPN .

Performance may not be as good in the free version, either. When we tested, the free app consistently ran slightly slower than the Pro alternative, even when connected to the same server.

The free version of ROBERT only gives you access to the Malware blocking list, but this is the most useful feature in the blocking suite of course.

Regardless, at the same time as these missing advanced features, you get access to the same service as the paid version. The biggest downside is that you won't be able to access Windscribe's Windflix streaming servers.

Depending on your needs, you might even be able to use Windscribe Free for the long term, but we hope that most users will want to upgrade to the premium subscription for faster servers, streaming, unlimited data, and all the advanced features of Windscribe.