Banana VPN Review
It’s been a decade since Banana VPN was launched and during its time in the market, the provider has earned recognition as a simple and effective solution to secure your internet traffic. KIS Limited, the company behind Banana VPN is based in the UK and Cyprus, and it has extensive experience in networking and hosting solutions. Banana VPN combines efficiency, ease of use, flexibility and security, allowing you to defend your data from online threats and to bypass restrictions to access the content that you want, from any location. Banana VPN allows you to bypass censorship and geo-blocks and it is particularly useful for users in Asia and the Middle East who need to access applications like Skype, Google Talk and Facebook. We’ll take a closer look at what Banana VPN offers to help you to decide if it is the right choice for you.
Security and Privacy
SSTP, L2TP, PPTP and OpenVPN are the protocols supported by Banana VPN, giving users flexibility to get the level of security that they want. If you want strong security and reliability, it is advisable that you opt for OpenVPN. Banana VPN uses 128-bit encryption and while this is not the highest protection available, it will be enough to keep your data safe and won’t slow down your connection as much as higher encryption would. If just want to boost the defense to your privacy and security when you are streaming content, using VoIP applications or playing games, Banana VPN would get the job done effectively.
Banana VPN doesn’t keep logs of your online activities. Although it does log some details related to your connection, including bandwidth and duration of the sessions, this information is only kept for 2 weeks. It should be noted that during the registration process, you are asked to provide your full name, email and physical address. In some cases, you may even have to submit a copy of your photo ID or credit card to confirm your identity. While this is a measure to prevent fraud, it will certainly cause concern among those who are looking for the highest level of privacy.
Unfortunately, anonymous payment method such as Bitcoin are not accepted. The fact that the company is based in the UK, one of the countries in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, will also be seen as an issue by some. If you need a solution that helps you to achieve the best possible level of privacy, Banana VPN may not be right for you. However, if you simply want to bypass restrictions and add some protection to your traffic while browsing or streaming content, Banana VPN is worth considering.
Features
Banana VPN doesn’t have its own software, but it supports all major platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS. When you set up a subscription, you get an email with the details needed to access your account. You just need to follow the instructions included to set up the VPN manually on the platform of your choice. Banana VPN focuses on simplicity and it doesn’t offer a lot of features. The service’s main purposes are:
To provide a layer of security and anonymity by encrypting your online traffic and masking your IP address.
To help you to defeat censorship and restrictions that prevent you from accessing websites and services, including popular options like VoIP apps, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. If the content you want to access is blocked in your country or network, you can rely on Banana VPN.
At the moment, Banana VPN has servers in 7 countries: Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. While it is true that other providers offer many more locations, Banana VPN’s servers are strategically distributed to ensure that customers from around the world can enjoy good speeds and access the best international content. The servers in the US and the UK will allow you to stream media that is only available in those countries. Banana VPN also offers dedicated IPs, which will allow you to access financial services, games or VoIP applications without issues.
In spite of its limited network, Banana VPN delivers good speeds so you will be able to use VoIP services and streaming apps without facing significant delays. While how fast Banana VPN can be is something that depends on you location, your connection and other factors, in general you can get over half of your regular bandwidth and the speed is consistent. Banana VPN doesn’t impose limits on speed or bandwidth, but keep in mind that it doesn’t support P2P. The service includes the basic functionality that you need from a VPN, but it lacks advanced features like kill switch. Still, if you want a simple solution, Banana VPN won’t disappoint.
Plans
Banana VPN’s standard price is $14.99 per month, but bear in mind that this doesn’t include taxes. These are added during checkout, making the total price $18.14. You can save money by extending the length of your subscription. Six months cost $72.60, including taxes. This reduces the monthly cost to $12.10. You can get a bigger discount on the monthly price by opting for the yearly plan. This costs $100 and when taxes are added, the total cost is $121. If you subscribe to Banana VPN for a full year, the monthly cost is brought down to $10.08. While that is a considerable reduction compared to the monthly plan, the truth is that overall Banana VPN is not one of the cheapest options available. That being said, the provider has been in the market for a long time and it has earned many loyal customers thanks to the simplicity and good quality of the service. One thing to note is that they only accept card payments and won’t offer services to customers in Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam or Nigeria.
Customer Support
The Banana VPN website is easy to navigate and it includes the most important information about the service and what it can do for you. The FAQ section features a varied set of questions and answers that cover different aspects of Banana VPN. You can also find set up guides to get the service running on your device. The customer support team can be contacted via email or using the contact form on the website. Th ere is also a live chat so you can help faster. The customer support is available every day from 8 AM to 10 PM UK time. In general, their responses are professional and helpful.
Conclusion
Banana VPN offers a simple and effective way to get around online restrictions and to keep your data protected from security threats. Although Banana VPN doesn’t provide the highest level of privacy, it has to be said that the services doesn’t claim to be a privacy-focused tool. Its aim is to help users to access VoIP apps, social media networks, streaming services and content that may be blocked in their region. Although Banana VPN is slightly more expensive than other services and it has a limited global coverage, the service works well and it is ideal for users who prefer a simple VPN.