OneVPN Review

With the increased number of threats that affect privacy and security, the importance of using a VPN service to keep your data protected is highlighted. Online security can’t be taken for granted and if you don’t take the necessary measures, your information could be easily compromised. A VPN offers an effective solution to protect your data from malicious hackers, bypass online restrictions and censorship, avoid online surveillance and more. OneVPN aims to offer all these features to give users true online freedom and strong security, without sacrificing speed. Based in Hong Kong, OneVPN is a relatively new provider that promises a high quality service with the best speeds in the market. In this review, we’ll help you to find out if it lives up to these claims or not.

Privacy and Security

In order to keep your data protected, OneVPN supports high level encryption and a variety of protocols that give you flexibility to stay safe. You can choose between OpenVPN, IkeV2, IkeV1, PPTP, L2TP and OpenConnect. OpenVPN is the strongest option for security and it also delivers reliable performance. With this protocol, OneVPN uses AES 256-encryption, which has become the standard in the industry and it provides solid protection against security threats. It is recommended that you use OpenVPN whenever possible, but OpenConnect is a good alternative that is based on the same technology as OpenVPN. IkeV2, Ikev1 and LT2P are also safe (although not as much as OpenVPN), but it is advisable to avoid PPTP as it is a weak protocol that has already been compromised.

OneVPN is based in Hong Kong, which means that it is not part of international spying alliances such as the feared Five Eyes and Nine Eyes. These spying alliances have been set up to allow member countries to share citizens’ data. Since Hong Kong is not in the list of countries that participate in these spying alliances, you won’t need to worry about having your data being handed over to US or UK organizations like the NSA and the GCHQ. On the other hand, it is worth noting that while Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy, it is still officially, part of China, a country that applies regulations on VPNs. Of course, OneVPN’s jurisdiction is not the only thing to consider when it comes to privacy.

OneVPN’s privacy policy states that there are no logs kept of your personal information such as location, address or number. They don’t keep records of your online activities or the IP addresses used. They also mention that since they don’t keep any logs, there is nothing that they could share with third-parties, even if they received a request from authorities. They mention that:

OneVPN strictly refrains from sharing information with any third party and other entities, whosoever it may be. It is against our organizational rules to share user data with anyone. Besides, OneVPN cannot share the data as it does not store/keep/track. Therefore, besides your name and e-mail, we have nothing to forward or share.

The only data collected is your name and email address, which are required during the sign up process. However, you can use a private/ anonymous email address to register. Furthermore, OneVPN supports anonymous payment methods such as cryptocurrency and gift cards.

IP and DNS leak test

Before using OneVPN, it is important to note that you need to adjust the settings to avoid leaks. By default, there are leaks on most servers so first you need to go to the Advanced settings menu. There you need to click Fix DNS Leaks whenever you change servers, afterwards, the leak is fixed. We confirmed that OneVPN hides your IP address and it also protects you from DNS leaks. To run the tests, we used websites like ipleak.net, dnsleak.com and browserleaks.com/webrtc.

The tests showed that OneVPN was really masking our real IP address, keeping our true location hidden. There were no DNS leaks detected or any other issues that could expose your real location. However, we noticed that some of the IPs didn’t match the location of the server they were connected to. Although this may be an issue if you are trying to access content that is only available in that specific location, in the end, the tests showed that OneVPN is true to its claims of not exposing your real IP address.

Features

OneVPN has apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. There are also guides that will help you to install the VPN on routers and devices running Linux. It is also possible to set up OneVPN in other platforms such as smart TVs and Tor browser, but you will need to do it manually. It is possible to connect to up to five devices at the same time, this means that you can enjoy the flexibility and protection of your VPN in your mobile phone, tablet, laptop and more, simultaneously. Signing up is easy and after selecting the plan you want, you just need to enter your name and email address. Then, you just need to choose your preferred method of payment. Once the software installation is completed, your current location will be displayed. Then, you need to enter your login details in the relevant fields.

OneVPN offers anti-malware protection that protects you from apps that could harm your system and affect the integrity of your data. It also includes an Ad-Blocker that allows you to browse the internet without having to deal with annoying ads. It blocks invasive advertisement from the source, preventing it from ruining your browsing experience. In addition, OneVPN supports NAT Firewall, which provides an additional layer of protection to keep threats at bay. You will enjoy a high standard of security with OneVPN’s built-in kill switch, a feature that is available on the desktop apps and that prevents your real IP address from getting exposed, even if the VPN connection drops. If that happens, the kill switch will shut down the internet traffic to make sure that your real location is not leaked.

OneVPN has hundreds of servers in at least 57 countries covering all continents, the problem is that not all of them work as they should. There are countries in the list of locations that simply don’t work, for instance, we were not able to connect to servers in Ireland or Brazil. Only one of the servers in the United States worked and that is not all. As previously mentioned, some of the servers show a different source country IP address. For instance, when we connected to a server in the Netherlands, we got a German IP address. This could be a problem if you need to get an IP from a specific location to be able to access content that is only available there. This also raises concerns about how honest is OneVPN about the location and amount of servers within its network.

Unfortunately, when it comes to speed, things don’t get any better. Although some servers reach decent speeds, others are fairly disappointing. Canada offered good results at 70 Mbps, but in the US the speed dropped below 5 Mbps, while Europe it was around 10-15 Mbps. On the plus side, the US server that does work, allowed us to bypass Netflix’s geo-restrictions. OneVPN even has a feature specifically designed for streaming. One-Stream is a solution that promises to offer the best possible performance for media streaming. There are also good news for torrent users as OneVPN supports torrenting in all its servers. The fact that it has a zero logs policy makes it an ideal solution to protect your privacy while you download or stream content.

Pricing

There are three plans available, but like with most VPNs, the main difference is the length of the subscription. One month of service costs $7.95, while six months cost $29.95, which reduces the monthly price to $4.99. The best deal is the yearly plan, which is priced at $48. With this plan, the monthly price is just $3.99. All the plans offer unlimited bandwidth and access to all the servers and features available. You can pay using cards, PayPal, PaymentWall, Bitcoin and gift cards. All the plans come protected with a 7-day money back guarantee.

Support

The website is easy to navigate and the Support section contains useful guides and information about different aspects of OneVPN. However, there are many details missing, as well as some inconsistencies. For instance, in some pages it is mentioned that only three simultaneous connections are supported, while others say that you can actually connect up to five devices at the same time. Although there is a live chat that could help to clarify the discrepancies, it can take ages to get a response, even when OneVPN promises 24/7 support. You would have better luck using the email-based ticket option. In spite of the slow response, OneVPN deserves recognition for the friendliness of its customer support.

Conclusion

While OneVPN needs to address some performance issues, there are good features that are worth noting. The provider uses strong encryption to protect your data, it also has a zero logs policy that helps to guarantee your privacy. Torrenting is allowed in all the servers and OneVPN has a kill switch that prevents that your real IP and location get exposed. The price is also convenient and if the service focuses on fixing the problems (servers being down and slow response time of its customer support), it could become a good alternative for users who want a simple, yet effective way to enjoy security and online freedom.