They are a proxy network with a VPN twist. It works great for masking your IP address and their client allow you to encrypt the network with a 256-bit SSL encryption. They have a great client and some pretty cool features. Let’s dive into the review and take a closer look.
This review will be focusing mainly on their premium service which has more features for us to review. However, it should be noted that like many proxy services available on the internet, Hide My IP offers a free product that is limited to the number of premium locations you can use and the number of devices you can connect, etc. Their free service has more servers but they are lower quality and not all of them are encrypted (they’re public proxies). When you use the premium service you are guaranteed to get a good connection with solid encryption.
**Official website: https://www.hide-my-ip.com
Hide My IP is offer proxy network service, offer a great software which works like a VPN service, and offer Chrome and firefox extensions,and DNS Proxy tool.
Pricing and Packages
Hide My IP offers cheap prices starting $2.91 for their premium yearly plan. Keeping prices cheap is a great thing when providing a VPN service because its a main factor when deciding to make a purchase. Also, they offer other plans if you don’t want for a longer commitment. They have monthly and quarterly plans which cost $4.95/month and $2.39/month respectively.
Payment Options
After going through their payment gateways I was happy to see that they offer a range of payment options, including some secure options too. Hide My IP let me pay with the standard gateway methods, like debit/credit card and they accept all major companies, including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. As with the majority of services, they also let you pay with the third-party application known as PayPal.
What was particularly pleasing to see was they accepted Bitcoin, something that is hard to find with other services. Bitcoin allows for anonymous payments on the internet which some users would prefer.
Hide My IP Client User-Friendliness and Setup
The software was very easy to download and took only a few moments. Their website is super easy to navigate so you should have no problem finding the download buttons for both the free version and the premium version. When I downloaded the Windows client (because I run Windows on my computer) I found it to be very easy and straightforward. It wasn’t the best looking client in the world but it had plenty of options and things to change. If you had downloaded the premium version you will have some extra choices, including the option to select whether you use the premium servers (for improved speed) or the regular servers. You also get a drop-down menu of all the proxy server locations and there are hundreds, I was quite impressed at the range.
The client can be configured using the front end screen and in the settings/advanced settings. You can select it to run automatically and start-up with the computer. What I also liked was there were options for your internet filters. You could choose to have the browser filtered, the entire internet connection or a select few applications.
With the advanced settings, you could change the DNS protection which you have to set up yourself. They also allow you to activate SSL encryptions and cycle through various IPs every few minutes. Their client was quite extensive for a proxy client – I was impressed, to say the least.
Servers and Speeds
When you are using their premium service you get access to their private proxy network which has encrypted tunnels and fast connections. In total, the premium service has over 110 different locations to choose from with even more servers in those locations. For example, there were 30+ servers just in the US alone – perfect for unblocking Netflix if you’re wanting to stream.
As for their speeds, the premium network was fantastic. I was getting around 50Mbps on my connection without the proxy and when I connected to the US it barely dropped, both for the upload and download speeds. I got the same result from Europe. It seems their private network is up to scratch and is completely separate from the public network. As for torrenting, I wasn’t able to find anything on their website that showed their policy on torrenting but with most proxy networks it is a no-go. This is because they may be keeping logs (again, something I didn’t see disclosed on the site) and torrenting might not be a great idea. However, if streaming and unblocking content is your thing then go ahead, they have plenty of servers in many locations that make unblocking content easy.
Compatibility
This proxy network is useful if you are looking to give your other devices a little bit of privacy also. The Hide My IP client can be downloaded for both Mac and Windows and their clients work great. They also offer compatibility with a whole other range of devices, including Android, IOS, and Linux.
If you are going to be using their smart DNS service, you’re in even more luck because they allow you to set up the software on your router or TV!
Customer Service
Their support system is set up using tickets and emails. You can call them as well if that is more convenient. To sum up, their customer service isn’t brilliant and a lot can be improved.
Privacy and Security
For a proxy network, their security and privacy were ok. They have a range of public servers that are encrypted but the majority of them are not, so if you are looking for good security you should opt for their premium version. The premium version allowed me to encrypt the network with 256-bit SSL which is good encryption and will stop both ISPs and hackers from taking your IP address. I could not find anything on their privacy policy about logs which was not only concerning but worrying. If you are a privacy-conscious individual you should opt for a safer alternative. Also, they offer a DNS protection tool on their client which stops leaks. However, this was not working for me and stopped my connection from working which was annoying.
Free Trial and Refund Policy
Their premium version has a 14-day free trial which is good news. This allows you to try it out before you go ahead with the purchase. As well as a free trial, you also get a 30-day refund policy with every purchase, so you can return it if there are any problems.
Conclusion
Hide My IP is a great service and although they are not technically a proxy service they do provide some high-quality servers. They have over 110 premium proxy servers that have great speeds and allow you to unblock your location in a lot of different countries. Their client is ugly but has plenty of options and they have good policies for refunds and trials. The only issue I have with their service is that there is no confirmation on logs or torrenting. Also, their DNS protection didn’t work on my computer so I am still unsure about it for the moment. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a cheap service that hides your IP, this is recommended.
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