Ivacy has been in existence since 2007, yet its VPN service is not well known. Owned by PMG Private Limited, the company is headquartered in Singapore.

It has a long history of innovations that include the concept of split tunneling, which is a type of technology that makes it possible for your VPN to decide which of your web traffic will receive routing through your ISP and which should be routed through your VPN.

This can translate to faster speeds.

Singapore looks like a safe place for the headquarters of a VPN. It’s not a part of the Five Eyes network. It’s not even part of the 14 Eyes network. However, leaked documents suggest that Singapore is a cooperating nation under the Five Eyes agreement.

The member nations in the Five Eyes are the U.S., Canada, the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia. Within the agreement, the member nations share information and resources about the citizens in their countries.

They do this by tapping into the fiber optic cables at two dozen locations, making it possible for them to spy on anyone at any time.

Documents suggest that Singapore supports and participates in this operation by sharing information. In other words, this is not an ideal situation for the privacy advocate.

It may not be a big concern for you, but some people will undoubtedly be put off by this. If you’re always looking for the best way to protect your online privacy, you won’t be a fan of Ivacy.

Ivacy offers good device compatibility. You can use it on devices running Windows, iOS, Mac, and Android. Further support is available for Linux devices, routers, and smart TVs. Even Xboxes are compatible.

You might be asking whether torrenting is illegal in your country. However, Ivacy allows for torrenting, and it works well. Unfortunately, their overall server network is sparse when compared to some of the huge players in the game.

Ivacy VPN Overview

Security and Encryption

Most legitimate and reputable VPN providers make OpenVPN their go-to protocol. A VPN protocol is a technology that encrypts your web traffic.

It creates a secure connection between your device and the Internet. Everything that passes through the tunnel is encrypted so that no one can spy on you.

Several VPN protocols are out there. Some are outdated and rarely used. Others are considered cutting-edge technology.

The elite government, law enforcement, and military organizations all over the world use it. OpenVPN is one of these.

Ivacy sets default protocols to OpenVPN wherever and whenever it is possible.

However, they also offer a menu of acceptable alternatives if, for instance, your device is not compatible with OpenVPN.

These alternatives are L2TP and IKEv2. Both of these are pretty solid and dependable even if they are not in the same class as OpenVPN. Ivacy also makes available the PPTP and SSTP protocols.

Using these is not recommended as they are among the oldest and least secure VPN protocols.

Additionally, Ivacy uses AES 256-bit encryption to protect your data. Considered unhackable by cyber security personnel the world over, 256-bit encryption is the gold standard when you want to prevent anyone from acquiring your information.

Having such encryption means that your security risks will be low while you’re connected to this VPN. Additionally, having such advanced encryption will stop DNS leaks for good.

Those who are hoping to double their security by using The Onion Router (TOR) in conjunction with a VPN will be disappointed. Ivacy’s VPN isn’t compatible with TOR.

Ivacy VPN’s Server Network

Ivacy’s network currently includes just over 450 servers.

That is a fairly respectable number, though it doesn’t compete with some of the best VPN providers out there that boast networks of more than 1,000 servers.

In fact, an increasing number of providers feature multiple thousands of servers distributed around the world.

The number of servers is important because the closer you are to a server, the faster your data transfer rates are likely to be.

Plus, more servers means more bandwidth for every user, which also translates to faster speeds.

Ivacy’s servers have their locations in diverse regions. With a total of 100 locations, they are relatively competitive with other mid-size VPNs.

In addition to the usual spots like Canada, the U.S. and Europe, Ivacy has good coverage in Central America, South America, Africa, China, Russia, and Turkey.

Is Ivacy VPN Compatible with BitTorrent or P2P?

Ivacy provides servers that have full optimization for P2P. You can find these only in the U.S. and Canada, so this service may not be ideal for dedicated torrent and P2P enthusiasts.

If that’s you, then you might want to look at this list of best torrent sites available – it just might make file sharing easier for you.

Netflix has worked extremely hard to keep people who use VPNs from accessing their service. This is because browsing via a VPN makes it possible for you to appear to be located somewhere that you’re not. Thus, you may be able to gain access to geo-restricted content on Netflix.

You can watch Netflix using VPNs, but Ivacy won’t allow you to do this. Testing on four servers revealed that a successful connection was never achieved.

Speed Test Results with Ivacy VPN

Speed test results on Ivacy weren’t too shabby. Granted, they don’t compete with the best Canadian VPNs for Canadian consumers (In French: Meilleur VPN) like NordVPN, but among the most budget-conscious VPN providers, their performance is decent.

When connected to a U.S. server in New York, download transfer rates clocked in at 45.86 Mbps with uploads reaching 43.92 Mbps.

A server in Amsterdam yielded similar results. The downloads were 53.04 Mbps while the uploads were a somewhat disappointing 25.39.

Once again, a server in London delivered similar performance. Downloads were 53.24 Mbps. Uploads were 33.36 Mbps.

It was disappointing to discover that the servers in Asia were not available at the time of testing, so there are no results for this region. Nonetheless, the overall results of the speed tests reveal that Ivacy is somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to data transfer rates.

Considering the meager price tag, this is a respectable result. If the price is your number-one concern, then Ivacy may not be a bad choice for you.

Of course, if you’re looking for more robust offerings and prioritize speed over price, then you would be better served by one of the faster VPNs.

Does Ivacy VPN Keep Logs?

Too many VPNs boast about their “No Logs Policy” in bold print on their home page, then you read their privacy policy. In it, you discover that “no logs” doesn’t mean the same thing to you as it does to the VPN provider.

They may keep records concerning the devices you use, your ISP, what time you connect to the VPN and how long you maintain that connection. For example, if you want to hide your IP address from the government, Ivacy won’t help you in the long run.

Perhaps they’re not keeping records of the websites that you visit or what you do while you’re there.

That may be good enough for some people, but others who are passionate about protecting their privacy should not accept anything less than an actual “no logs” policy.

Surprisingly, that is precisely what Ivacy’s VPN provides.

Like many other VPNs with similar strength, they boast about their policy against logging on almost every page of their website.

If you’re already using a similar service, you might wanna test your VPN’s strength before changing to another provider.

Still skeptical?

Then take a look at their Ivacy privacy policy.

You’ll discover that Ivacy genuinely believes in privacy. Moreover, the only data that they keep about you is your email address.

The payment method options that are accepted by Ivacy bear out this policy for total privacy.

You can use the standard options like a debit or credit card, but if you want even more anonymity, you can pay using BitCoin, Paymentwall or a variety of other cryptocurrencies. That’s the kind of privacy that even the most passionate person can appreciate.

How Much Does Ivacy VPN Cost?

Ivacy is pretty affordable with a month-by-month price of $8.95. Of course, if you go with a subscription, you get a substantial price break.

Signing up for the one-year plan will run you just $36, and the two-year program is a mere $48. For your money, you can connect up to five devices simultaneously.

Like many popular VPNs, Ivacy offers a money-back guarantee for unsatisfied customers. This guarantee is only good for seven days from the date of the subscription, so you have to decide fairly quickly.

Moreover, Ivacy hides plenty of restrictions on this guarantee in the fine print. For instance, if you have uploaded and downloaded more than seven gigabytes of data or you have connected to Ivacy more than 30 times, then you are out of luck.

If you used BitCoin or PaymentWall, you are similarly not entitled to a refund.

This isn’t an unfair money-back guarantee, but Ivacy hides these restrictions in terms of Service, which most people don’t review before signing up for the VPN. This policy probably leads to more than a few disgruntled people.

Is Ivacy a Recommended VPN?

Ivacy is only recommended if you are concerned with price above all else. Their network and speed are respectable, but some people won’t like Singapore’s relationship with the Five Eyes countries.

If anonymity is a priority, keep looking around because there are better and faster VPNs are out there like Surfshark and the aforementioned Nord.

In the world of VPNs, it all comes down to how much you value your privacy. If you value your privacy and everyone else’s every year at $30-40, then good luck—because you’re going to need it.

But if it’s worth multiples of that (We should hope so), then you better start prioritizing security and functionality. See, once your data is out there, it’s out there for good.

Knowing this, do you still think it’s a good idea to go cheap on your investment for security?