FrootVPN Review
- Simultaneous Connections: 5
- Number of Countries: 31
- Number of Servers: 85+
- Monthly Cost – High/Low: $4.99/$2.99 USD
- Zero-Log Policy: Yes
- Review Last Updated: 2017-05-15
FrootVPN is a provider that focuses on offering a high standard of security to keep users protected from online threats such as hacking and surveillance carried by government agencies and corporations. The free solution that they originally offered, helped to gain recognition and although now they only offer paid plans, their prices are very affordable.Privacy is a crucial element of FrootVPN’s service and they proudly boast a no logs policy designed to ensure that every aspect of your browsing remains secure.
Since its creation in 2014, the company has been working to establish a strong network of servers that support the needs of users across the world. Although the selection of servers is still limited when compared to other options, FrootVPN offers multiple advantages that should be considered, including the fact that they support a solid set of features to enhance the protection to your online traffic. As of may 2017, Froot has already expanded to 31 countries with close to 100 server locations.
Privacy/Security
OpenVPN, L2TP and PPTP are the protocols supported by FrootVPN. While OpenVPN is the most secure option, L2TP can be a good alternative in case OpenVPN is not available and it works well with mobile platforms. PPTP may be easy to set up, but it is not recommended due to its weakness and it is likely that it has been compromised. Data is protected with strong 2048-bit encryption and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) key is also available, which provides cryptographic security to protect your online communications. FrootVPN supports TLS1.1 and above using Perfect Forward Secrecy, making it a reliable solution in terms of security.
FrootVPN operates from Sweden, where data retention laws were never applied to VPN providers, not even while the EU Data Retention Directive (which was eventually declared as invalid) was implemented in the country. If you are looking for a solution that helps you to keep your privacy intact, FrootVPN could be a good option as it is one of the providers that doesn’t keep any logs whatsoever. No timestamps, online activities or IPs are logged so there is no data that third-parties could get access to. While you are asked to provide your email address and to set up a username and password when you sign up, you can opt for an anonymous email. As an additional measure to help you to keep your anonymity protected, FrootVPN accepts Bitcoin as method of payment,
Features
The VPN service works on an array of operating systems including popular solutions like Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Linux and Android. The service can also be set up on VPN enabled routers and alternative platforms like Synology NAS and Mikrotik. There is no custom software available at the moment so FrootVPN relies on the open source OpenVPN client. After installing the OpenVPN client, customers will be able to set up the FrootVPN.ovpn file into the OpenVPN configuration folder. They offer a good selection of installation guides that will allow you to set up the service on any of the devices supported.
FrootVPN welcomes P2P and Torrent and aims to offer a high level of privacy, as well as speed for users of these services. When the service was still free and just getting started, it was promoted by The Pirate Bay and it quickly earned new subscribers who took advantage of the security and speed promised by FrootVPN. To suit the requirements of P2P and Torrent users and to ensure that customers also enjoy seamless performance when accessing streaming services and online games, FrootVPN offers dedicated high-speed internet lanes. The dedicated internet access service offers unlimited bandwidth and FrootVPN claims that their servers are connected to a 10Gbit/s backbone network, which ensures that customers can enjoy ultra high speed connections around the world.
The service is designed to allow streaming, downloading and uploading content, as well as other activities that require high bandwidth. In general, we found that the loss of speed with FrootVPN is minimal and the service works well for multiple tasks. However, it should be noted that the results would vary depending on your location and the server you connect to. Some customers have reported intermittent connections and slow speeds, but it is likely that as the network grows, the reliability of the service will improve considerably. At the moment, their network features about 90 servers, and as promised, we can confirm FrootVPN has been expanding their coverage to provide better speed results for all customers, regardless of their location.
In line with FrootVPN’s commitment to security, the service offers protection against IPv6 leaks. Additionally, they have opted for not supporting NAT (Network Address Translation), a router feature. The reason why they are not offering this option is that they want to prevent third-party interception or intervention of any type. FrootVPN now supports up to five simultaneous connections per subscription. While this may be enough for many customers, we hope that they increase the number of devices that can connected at the same time, to give customers more flexibility when using the service.
Servers
As mentioned above, at the moment FrootVPN has just under 100 servers, which is a smaller number when compared to the leading names in the industry. However, the network is continuously growing and at the moment, they have almost doubled their coverage of countries in less than a year. The locations are strategically distributed and users can connect to servers in United States and United Kingdom, which offer some of the most popular content, including BBC player.
There are also servers in Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Europe. Support informed me of plans on continuously expanding globally, but that it will be done slowly in order to retain the best possible control over their network. Although coverage is not large, the low price is reflective of it and can provide great savings for users that don’t need more countries than those available.
Plans
FrootVPN was originally a free VPN, but they eventually started charging for the service to ensure its sustainability. Since FrootVPN is still committed to offer security for all internet users, the prices of the plans are very reasonable. One month costs $4.99 USD and it offers access to all the features and servers available. To save money, you can subscribe for three months for $11.97, which reduces the monthly price to $3.99. The yearly plan costs $35.88, making the monthly price just $2.99. FrootVPN is one of the cheapest solutions in the market and all the plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee, which is something that only a few providers offer.
Customer Support
The website offers a good selection of installation guides and troubleshooting guides to help you fix some of the most common issues. There is a brief but useful FAQ section as well. You can contact the support team via live chat or using the contact form on the website. We had a good experience using the live chat and received fast and polite responses. In the past, some customers reported that they were not receiving responses from FrootVPN and the company was taking too long to process refunds in some cases. However, it seems like they have addressed this and are now working to offer efficient and reliable attention.
Conclusion
Although there are a few areas for improvement, FrootVPN is a promising solution for customers who want to enjoy security and versatility on internet. Their prices are very convenient and the privacy policy is designed to keep customer’s privacy and anonymity protected. The speeds of the service range between acceptable and excellent and while the selection of servers is limited, it covers key locations and is quickly being expanded. As the company becomes more established, we could expect a larger network and more stability of connections for all customers. The service is definitely worth trying, particularly considering that they offer a 30-day money back guarantee.