Ivacy VPN Review 2024: Can You Trust This VPN?

Ivacy isn’t a VPN you think about when discussing cyber security. However, this company has been on the market since 2007, and it’s been steadily improving over the past few years.

While not very popular, it has its share of users that, to this day, enjoy Ivacy VPN’s ease of use and security features. Ivacy VPN is based in Singapore, which is not a very favorable location and it’s owned by PMG Private Limited.

This brings the VPN in correlation with PureVPN as they share the same father company. However, at first, Ivacy seems to be a bit more trustworthy and less scammy than its Hong Kong-based brother.

But can you really trust this service? Is it as good as it claims to be? Well, you’re going to find that out in my full, in-depth Ivacy VPN review for 2024. As always, I’ll be brutally honest and relentless while putting the VPN to numerous tests.

This way, you’ll know everything there is about Ivacy, its security, performance, streaming capabilities, and so much more. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into this Ivacy VPN test and see how good or bad it is.

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The 3 best alternatives to Ivacy VPN:

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Ivacy VPN User Experience & Device Support

Upon subscribing to Ivacy VPN, the first thing you’ll need to do is download its application. Thus, the very first contact with a Virtual Private Network is either through your desktop or mobile app.

Fortunately, Ivacy VPN has a lot to show here, so let’s start this review by talking about this subject matter.

Desktop and Mobile Apps

When it comes to basic desktop and mobile apps, you can expect the service to be on the top level. It supports all platforms you can think of, including:

• Windows (Chrome/Firefox/Edge)
• Mac
• Linux
• Android
• iOS

Of course, I’m talking about native clients that you can install once you subscribe. However, bear in mind that Ivacy VPN offers a free plan as well, although it’s very limited in terms of the servers and performance you get.

Besides, it doesn’t offer simultaneous connections, whereas, you get 10 of them in the premium plan. Moving on with my Ivacy VPN review, I will mention that I really like its desktop and mobile applications.

Albeit, I love the Windows app the most given its feature-richness that isn’t achieved on any other platform due to technical limitations. Despite that, the mobile app is very similar, which makes it easy to switch between the platforms without having to learn the app again.

The desktop app itself has all the menus on the left, with the center part occupied by the stuff you’ve chosen. If you click on Smart Connect, you can see the connection button and the server list that you can open by clicking on it.

I like that Ivacy VPN also offers dedicated servers easily accessible from the left. You can click on Secure Download to enjoy P2P safely or select streaming, in which case, Ivacy VPN will display all of the platforms it can unblock.

From there, you just choose the one you want and you’re connected to a VPN server made for unblocking it. The Settings menu is simple as well, offering separate menus for each relevant feature. This way, it’s easier to tweak the settings you want.

My only complaint is that the app window is a bit tiny on desktop platforms. Yet, you can’t increase it as is the case with CyberGhost. Nevertheless, this is my only complaint in this regard, as Ivacy VPN is a very intuitive and good-looking service.

TV Apps

Can the same be said about TV apps in this Ivacy VPN review? Well, I think so. Despite being a relatively affordable service, Ivacy didn’t skimp on its app support. Therefore, you get apps for all types of TVs, including a VPN service for Android TV and even Fire TV.

I checked Amazon and Ivacy VPN’s native client was really there! On Android TV, you’ll have to download it from Google Play, after which, you’ll see that it looks pretty much the same as on your mobile phone.

Which is a good thing, of course.

If you use Kodi, Apple TV, or Chromecast, there is some good news. Ivacy VPN supports these platforms but in different ways. For Chromecast, you can find its app on Google Play, while Kodi and Apple TV utilize a VPN through the router.

More about router support in just a second.

Gaming Apps

If you check Ivacy VPN’s applications, you’ll see that it didn’t list PlayStation or Xbox consoles. This is a bit of a shame because I expect proper gaming support from a premium VPN. Now, you’ll say that you can use it for gaming on a PC or your phone.

And that is true. But with the increased prices of PC components and phones, some people still prefer to play games on a console… which Ivacy VPN doesn’t support properly. However, there are some guides on how to set up a VPN on PlayStation 4 and 5 on the site.

But that doesn’t mean much given that these consoles are outdated. Still, you can connect Ivacy to a router and go that route or simply share your VPN connection from your Windows PC instead.

Smart DNS technology isn’t here either, so you’ll have to use the methods I mentioned or set up a virtual router. Surprisingly, Ivacy VPN has a simple tutorial on the latter method, which is pretty comprehensive.

Router Support

Another surprising thing in this Ivacy VPN review for 2024 is router support. Unlike more expensive providers, Ivacy VPN supports a plethora of router models that should make it easy to set up.

Some of the supported models include DD-WRT, Asus, Huawei, Padavan, Synology, Tomato, D-Link, Mikrotik, OpenWRT, and at least 10 more. Furthermore, you get set up tutorials for ALL of these models which I find quite convenient.

Not to mention screenshots for each step that perfectly illustrate how to properly set up a VPN on your router. Of course, if you don’t have a supported router, you’ll have to install third-party firmware, which takes a bit of knowledge.

However, with router support so broad, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have an incompatible router. Also, unlike many other providers, Ivacy VPN offers several protocols here, including PPTP, OpenVPN TCP, and OpenVPN UDP.

Overall, I would say that the router support of Ivacy VPN is great. Better than I expected, honestly.

Is Ivacy VPN Safe & Secure? All Security Features Examined!

With recent improvements that Ivacy VPN made, it also introduced some useful security features. In this Ivacy test, I will talk about them in-depth and see if this VPN’s security is on the level of other premium services.

Here are the security features that Ivacy VPN offers:

Internet Kill Switch

If you ask me, there’s no feature more important than a kill switch in a VPN. I mean, you can have all the encryption you want but a kill switch is a must if you want to prevent potential IP leaks that can occur in problematic connections.

As its name implies, it’s here to shut down your internet connection if you lose a connection to a server. However, in my Ivacy VPN review, I didn’t have the chance to test it too much given that I always had stable connections.

But in a few instances when I encountered some issues, it immediately sprung into action, disabling my internet connection at the same moment. It’s worth noting that it doesn’t work like NordVPN’s kill switch.

This means that, when not using a VPN, it won’t disable your internet. Instead, it will only act if you’re previously connected to a server AND you, for some reason, lose the connection.

Split Tunneling

Split tunneling is another feature I find useful in every Virtual Private Network. While not mandatory, split tunneling makes it easy to exclude certain applications or websites from using a VPN tunnel. In this case, Ivacy offers only a so-called “app split tunneling.”

This means that you can’t block IPs (websites) but only the applications. I don’t find this very convenient, as ExpressVPN or even NordVPN allows me to block IPs and websites from using a VPN, which is useful for bank accounts or local shopping sites.

Still, you can at least block games from using a VPN if you don’t want potential performance decreases. And with Ivacy, you might want to do that because it’s not the fastest VPN. But let’s not get ahead of myself.

256-bit AES Encryption

Of course, a premium VPN like this will offer 256-bit AES encryption. This is the highest level of encryption also used by the military and governments worldwide, which allows them to protect highly sensitive and confidential information.

Regardless of the protocol you use, Ivacy will keep 256-bit encryption at all times, preventing snoopers and hackers from tracking your online activities. Also, there’s no option to change the level of encryption but I never use it anyway.

Why would you downgrade to a weaker level of encryption, right?

Multiport

Ivacy VPN offers something called Multiport. This is actually a pretty simple functionality that, upon enabling it, automatically chooses the port for the best experience. You just need to choose from UDP or TCP and you’re done.

However, you can also manually choose the preferred port. All you need to do is type in the number of the port and Ivacy VPN will use it for your connections. Novice users won’t have to fiddle around with it.

It’s really a minor feature that most people won’t be interested in.

IP/DNS Leak Protection

In the General tab of the Settings menu, you’ll find the option to enable IP/DNS leak protection. By default, it’s enabled, which I also recommend doing. This feature protects you from leaking your IP and DNS addresses to the public eye, in conjunction with a kill switch.

I like that it also protects IPv6 addresses, which is great for those using the newer Internet Protocol version. However, in a minute or so, I’ll test Ivacy VPN for DNS and IP leaks and we’ll see how well this feature performs.

WireGuard Support

Lastly, we need to talk about the available protocols because the VPN offers quite a few of them. You can choose from OpenVPN (TCP & UDP), L2TP, IKEv2, and WireGuard. I like the last one the most given its performance-oriented nature.

This allows Ivacy VPN to connect faster and provide somewhat better performance. OpenVPN is a tested solution but WireGuard is a more modern solution that spawned NordLynx, NordVPN’s improved version of it.

Just beware that, while using WireGuard, you won’t have split tunneling available for some reason. But in that case, just switch to OpenVPN and you’ll be good to go.

Ivacy VPN IP and DNS Leak Test: No IP/DNS Leaks Found

Time for some practical work. Let’s proceed with my Ivacy VPN review for 2024 by performing a few IP leak tests. I used a server in the US for this test and I visited the website called ipleak.net.

As you can see above, Ivacy VPN showed no IP or DNS leaks, which is what I expected.

So it looks like its security features do a good job after all. While not as feature-rich as ExpressVPN or CyberGhost, Ivacy VPN surely goes out of its way to secure your connection and keep it away from prying eyes.

Does It Have a No-Logging Policy?

With a high level of security, it’s logical to expect a no-logs business model. Ivacy VPN, strangely, walks the line between being a trustworthy and an untrustworthy VPN, with its vague and sometimes deceptive business practices.

For the start, Ivacy VPN is based in Singapore. Seemingly outside of the 5/9/14 Eyes region. However, we already know that Singapore is in a close relationship with these countries, supplying user information gathered by its ISPs.

A red flag indeed, but not necessarily a bright red one.

Thankfully, it has a very short privacy policy, which allows us to examine it quickly.

Which Information Isn’t Stored?

Right from the get-go, Ivacy clarifies that it’s a no-logs service, to make sure it captures your attention. It claims not to store or monitor your browsing activities, IP address, connection logs, browsing history, outgoing/inbound traffic, connection times, and so on.

Moreover, the VPN won’t store any DNS queries or download history, which should result in a completely anonymous experience. However, having in mind its connection with PureVPN and its parent company, it’s most likely not going to be that way.

Which Information Is Stored?

Before I address that issue, let me talk about which information Ivacy VPN stores. You know that a 100% no-log VPN doesn’t exist and to make things functional, this one stores your name, email address, and payment method.

This information is needed for obvious reasons, such as keeping your subscription active and subscription renewal – if needed. Of course, we can sprinkle in anonymous reports and statistics that are by no means going to infringe on your privacy.

Ivacy VPN is so bold in its claims that it says that, even if the government seizes its servers, it won’t be able to find any relevant information.

The Problem With Its Parent Company

The main issue here is a bunch of people behind it. In my Ivacy VPN review, I found out a lot of stuff regarding this provider. You see, its parent company is PMG Private Limited, on paper, but the VPN itself is operated by Gaditek.

Gaditek is a company based in Pakistan that owns two VPN brands – PureVPN and Ivacy. This company is pretty secretive and even refuses to reveal the identity of the people behind it, which, I think, isn’t going to aid its transparency.

Furthermore, we found out that the owner and founder of Gaditek is the Gadit family, and the CEO is Uzair Gadit. Coincidentally, this man is also the CEO of PureVPN, which Ivacy admitted in a 2019 post on its site.

The CEO of Ivacy VPN, however, remains unknown, despite the speculations that it’s Muhammad Saad Khan. Although this man actually never associates himself with this company.

You can see that the entire scheme behind Ivacy VPN is pretty vague and obscure. Gaditek, on the other hand, is known for some despicable business practices that I’ve also seen in PureVPN.

Namely, the company owns a few review sites where it positions its products at the very top. We also noticed the company’s tendency to make fake social media accounts and promote or review positively its VPNs by using them.

Not to mention that in 2016, it tried “bribing” a certain user on Reddit by offering him a lifetime subscription if he gave Ivacy VPN a better rating and reviews on his site. So, while Ivacy VPN doesn’t seem to store any logs, the looming question of its owner remains.

I don’t think that the service is particularly trustworthy as a result. Plus, it has no third-party audits like Surfshark VPN or NordVPN, making it even harder to believe what Ivacy says. Needless to say, I’m surely not going to recommend a VPN with such a troubling history.

Although, I’ll recommend the aforementioned ExpressVPN or NordVPN instead.

Ivacy VPN for Streaming: Netflix & Other Platforms TESTED

Planning to get a VPN for streaming? In this case, you might want to know how well Ivacy VPN does for this purpose. With its dedicated streaming servers, it sounds easy to unblock all your favorite streaming platforms abroad.

But, as said, let’s spice up this Ivacy VPN review with streaming tests on Netflix and other relevant platforms to see if it’s any good.

Does Ivacy VPN Work on Netflix?

The burning question for those purchasing Ivacy is whether or not it works with Netflix. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work particularly well, as I couldn’t access the website at all. That applies to Netflix US.

And bear in mind that I tested both streaming and non-streaming servers with the same outcome. Either way, I always received an error message in Chrome, saying that Netflix unexpectedly closed the connection.

Mind you, I didn’t have any internet issues at the time and I tested it for several days straight.

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t manage to unblock Netflix Japan and watch Naruto Shippuden. Either way, the speeds were SO slow, so I had to wait for an eternity, just to see that the show I searched for wasn’t available.

As you can guess, unblocking Netflix Canada was a futile attempt. Once again, I experienced very long loading times either way, but at least I managed to access Netflix.

The inability to unblock Netflix is pretty clear, and aside from that, I wouldn’t recommend this provider for streaming due to obvious performance issues. I’ll talk about them very soon in my Ivacy VPN review and test.

Other Streaming Platforms

When it comes to other platforms, Ivacy VPN will be a major disappointment. Starting with the US server for streaming, I tried unblocking Hulu and Disney+ with no success.

Next, I used the British server to unblock BBC iPlayer. That attempt proved to be useless because it didn’t work AND Ivacy VPN, once again, stepped on the stage with a lackluster performance.

I somehow managed to access Hotstar with an Indian server, though. But with its subpar speeds and long loading times, watching Bollywood movies and shows wasn’t enjoyable.

Speed Tests: Here’s How Fast Ivacy VPN Really Is

The fact that I didn’t enjoy using Ivacy VPN has to do with how fast or slow it is. Obviously, it’s very slow, but to show you how much, I did some tests for a few days.

I tested this VPN for 3 days, 3 times a day, with 4 server locations – the UK, the US, Japan, and Australia. Bear in mind that I’m from Eastern Europe and here, my not-so-great internet speeds look like this:

Now, when using Ivacy VPN, I’ve compiled the best results that look like this:

UK:

US:

Australia:

Japan:

You now see the reason behind the VPN’s poor performance. Its speeds are undoubtedly slow even when using a server in the UK where I don’t have speed reduction with other VPNs. Here, it’s indeed noticeable, which especially applies to servers far away from me.

The Japanese VPN server showed particularly slow speeds, which is why I could barely watch Netflix Japan. In fact, you’ll barely be able to do any streaming with Ivacy, so it’s better to go for a fast VPN like ExpressVPN.

Is Ivacy VPN Good for Gaming?

Gaming is yet another unenjoyable activity with this provider. Having speeds so slow, playing fast-paced online games will be a chore, rather than an enjoyment. When using the server closest to me, I got somewhat decent results.

However, even in this case, the lag increase was noticeable in games like Warzone and Apex Legends. Slower games tend to be more playable, though, but let’s be real – not many games have the patience for slow-paced action.

If you’re into cloud gaming, Ivacy VPN will be your worst nightmare. Already laggy, cloud gaming becomes even “laggier” (if that’s the word) when firing up Ivacy. Thus, I strongly advise you not to use this VPN for any gaming endeavors.

But if you’re a masochist and you love suffering from slow connections… well, be my guest!

Can I Use Ivacy VPN for P2P and Torrenting?

Torrenting/P2P servers are present in Ivacy VPN’s application and are easily accessible by clicking on “Secure Download.”

Here, you’ll see that there are P2P servers in 9 locations, which isn’t very impressive. However, Ivacy recommends these servers for downloading torrents, so many people will use them. The point of having P2P servers is to optimize them for security and performance.

This VPN did 50% of that, having a serious lack of speed and haste. When downloading torrents, I couldn’t utilize even 70% of my native speeds, resulting in me waiting for a lot longer than I anticipated.

Once I switched to a server closer to me, things were a bit better but not much. To get the most out of Ivacy VPN, you’ll need to connect, if possible, to a server in your country. This way, you won’t experience a big speed reduction.

But the key takeaway is that you can indeed use it for torrenting. Although getting the best performance is impossible here, a better choice in this price range is CyberGhost (check out my CyberGhost review) which is a great Ivacy VPN replacement.

Is It Working in China & Other Censored Countries?

China and its Great Firewall did a lot of damage to Chinese people’s internet freedom. With thousands of websites blocked and dozens of VPNs not working, reclaiming online freedom in China is becoming increasingly difficult.

VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN are proven to work in this country. But these heavy hitters are nothing like Ivacy which is a much smaller provider. Thus, we purchased a subscription and gave it out to our writers in this country.

As much as they tried, none of them could successfully use Ivacy VPN in China. The VPN was simply detected by the firewall and blocked completely afterward. This applies to all of its protocols, including WireGuard and OpenVPN.

The good thing is that Ivacy works in Turkey, Russia, the UAE, and a few other similar countries. In China, you’ll have to go for the more expensive options I mentioned.

Servers and Server Locations: Here’s How Big Ivacy VPN Is

One thing that caught me off guard in this Ivacy VPN review for 2024 is the server fleet. Not long ago, this provider had around 2,000 servers in 100+ locations – not bad.

Today, this number went to 5,700 servers in the same 100+ locations, which is a LOT better. 100+ locations don’t mean 100+ countries, so I counted around 70 countries on the list. Once again, this is a great number considering that NordVPN has 60 of them.

Is the server distribution good, though? I would venture to say it is. Apart from the US and many European countries, Ivacy covers all other continents. There are many servers in Australia, Egypt, Monaco, Japan, India, and many other locations.

Moreover, even some less popular countries are on the list. I, for example, found servers in Oman and Brunei, which not many VPNs have. Additionally, you’ll find servers in censored countries like Russia and Vietnam with the latter being virtual.

So far, its server list is nothing short of impressive. It’s larger than NordVPN or ExpressVPN even.

Customer Support: How to Contact Ivacy VPN for Help?

To get help from Ivacy or simply ask a question, you can rely on its 24/7 live chat support. In the fashion of PureVPN, live chat support is very good and here, you can get pretty much instant responses to your VPN-related issues.

I found the support team helpful enough which applies to its self-help methods. A comprehensive blog resides on the site and it’s filled with interesting articles and information. Then, you have the Support Center.

The Support Center sports multiple quick start guides, FAQs, video tutorials, and whatnot. All of this makes using Ivacy VPN much easier, especially with solutions to potential problems within your hand’s reach.

Ivacy VPN Pricing: Is It Affordable?

Earlier in the Ivacy VPN review, I mentioned that this is a cheap provider. However, its cheap price applies only to a long-term, 5-year plan which represents the highlight of this provider. Let’s take a look at the pricing at the time of this review:

As you can see, its 5-year plan costs a measly $1.00 a month which is $60 paid upfront. Quite a long plan, you’ll agree but there’s also a 2-year plan at just $1.75 a month, along with a monthly plan at $6.49. The monthly plan is very cheap, we must admit.

Overall, Ivacy VPN offers quite competitive prices that are a tad lower than its competitors. Its 30-day money-back guarantee is also a great addition but beware that the monthly plan comes with a 7-day refund period instead.

Available Payment Methods

If there’s one thing I appreciate in this Ivacy VPN review, it’s the choice of payment methods. You get everything, from VISA, PayPal, and Bitpay to Coingate, PerfectMoney, AliPay, DotPay, and many other services.

Regardless of your choice, there aren’t any value-added taxes but there are some differences in terms of getting a refund. Namely, if you use crypto-related payment methods, you won’t be able to get a refund, so make sure you test it out with other methods first.

How to Get a Refund from Ivacy VPN?

Speaking of refunds, getting your money back from Ivacy is a piece of cake. You can do so by contacting the support team using live chat and saying that you want a refund. Doing so, they might ask you why, but you just say that you don’t need a VPN anymore and you’re good.

Depending on the payment method, processing a refund can be fast or slow. The fastest processing is on PayPal, where you get your money back in a few hours. Using credit cards, you can get a refund in a few business days, making it more for patient users.

What We Don’t Like About Ivacy VPN?

From a technical standpoint, I think that this service is a mixed bag. While it offers a few great features, it counteracts them with as many, if not more bad ones. Thus, I don’t like its exceptionally slow performance and poor streaming capabilities.

Another thing I don’t like is the whole mess behind Ivacy VPN’s parent company. No doubt, Gaditek isn’t a trustworthy business entity, and with the VPN’s Singaporean jurisdiction, it’s hard to put 100% trust in this provider.

Not to mention that the service isn’t particularly feature-rich and its streaming servers are barely functional. All of this makes it an undercooked dish that needs a bit more time in the oven… or a change of chef, which means changing its untrustworthy parent company.

How Do Other People Rate Ivacy VPN?

Gaditek’s frauds and deceptions are already exposed in this Ivacy VPN review for 2024. Thus, if you check Trustpilot, you’ll see its 4.7-star rating that doesn’t reflect the actual quality. Pretty quickly, I realized that many of the reviews are paid by Gaditek or whomever.

It’s strange that the majority of 5-star reviewers have only one or two reviews, each having to do with Ivacy VPN. Conversely, 1-star users have dozens of them, which implies that we’re most likely talking about real perspectives.

Android users on Google Play rate Ivacy VPN with 4.3 stars with a few bad reviews from the start of 2024.

On the Apple Store, it has 4.1 stars in total, which is the worst ranking out of all 3 platforms. Interestingly, some users claim that it’s a scam and a waste of money, while some complain about connection drops and slow speeds.

Conclusion: Half-Baked & Untrustworthy

At the end of the day, after my long Ivacy VPN review, it’s time to put it to rest. I feel like Ivacy is severely undercooked, even with more than 15 years of existence in the marketplace. While it’s secure and offers lots of servers, its other issues are way more concerning.

Its parent company is untrustworthy and is known for deceptive business practices. Furthermore, its performance is subpar, with below-average streaming capabilities and an inability to work in China.

However, the main issue I recommend avoiding this VPN is the concerning past of its parent company. Gaditek surely knows how to ruin a VPN (PureVPN as well) and taint its reputation with some of the things it did in the past.

Unfortunately, that stain of shame looms over Ivacy as well, making this otherwise cheap VPN not worth your money.

See my test of ExpressVPN and try it out or go for CyberGhost instead – I’m sure you’ll like these VPNs a lot more! They are among the best alternatives to Ivacy VPN in 2024.

Ivacy VPN Review: FAQ

After fully reviewing Ivacy VPN, let us answer a few more questions regarding this underwhelming VPN.

Is Ivacy VPN legit?

As a legal company, it is. However, as mentioned in our review of it, the company isn’t particularly trustworthy as a VPN service. Its father company is very shady, with a troubling past that looms over the company even in 2024. On top of that, the VPN fails to meet our expectations.

It promises a lot on its website, so much so that it seems superior to significantly more expensive services. In the end, that’s not the case and you’ll be very disappointed with what you’ll get. In short, this is a legit company but not the most trustworthy.

You’ll be better off with the likes of ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and NordVPN instead.

Why is Ivacy VPN still popular?

To be clear, the VPN Isn’t very popular but it does have plenty of users that keep it afloat. Most likely, it’s due to cheap prices, especially the 5-year plan at just a dollar a month, with a 30-day refund policy. Sadly, even this price isn’t enough to justify the purchase of a VPN like this.

It isn’t working for streaming, on top of which, it’s in Singapore, which has ties to the 5 Eyes alliance.

Ivacy VPN or PureVPN, which one to use?

It doesn’t matter. Both VPNs come from the same pot but they’re “cooked” in slightly different ways. PureVPN seems to be slightly more advanced with its quantum-resistant encryption and several third-party audits. However, this company also had major security drawbacks in the past.

Price-wise, it’s better to get Ivacy VPN but in the end, the result will be the same and you won’t like either of them. Consider CyberGhost if you’re after a cheaper but far better provider. This VPN has more servers, stronger security, and no shady business practices like Ivacy or PureVPN.