ActiVPN review
[Presented by BestCloudBest.com]
Wondering which VPN (Virtual Private Network) to buy? You likely want to protect your privacy and security while browsing the Internet, therefore, you are looking for a VPN. Many VPNs operate in a crowded market, which makes it hard to choose one. ActiVPN, a French VPN competes in this market too.
What should a great VPN offer? It should offer privacy, security, access to geo-restricted content, secure access to P2P/torrenting services, speed, compatibility, and user-friendliness. You would want great customer support and a reasonable price too.
We have evaluated ActiVPN using all of the above-mentioned criteria. Does this VPN meet your requirements and should you buy a subscription? Read our detailed review where we answer these key questions.
The features of ActiVPN
We now examine the features offered by ActiVPN.
Your privacy at ActiVPN
You probably consider online privacy important, therefore, you are shopping around for a VPN. If a VPN masks your IP address, encrypts your Internet traffic, and refrains from logging your online activities, then it can protect your privacy.
ActiVPN masks your IP address and encrypts the Internet traffic of its users. This VPN doesn’t mention whether it keeps logs of the online activities of its users. ActiVPN indicates that it protects the confidentiality of its users, moreover, it commits to protect their data. However, it doesn’t specify how it goes about these.
We expect a VPN to clearly state that it follows a “no logs” policy. This declaration carries a lot of importance, therefore, we want VPNs to prominently commit to this in their privacy policy. Despite searching around the ActiVPN website, we couldn’t find any privacy policy. Nowhere does this VPN commit to a “no logs” policy, and we consider this as a lack of transparency.
ActiVPN publishes a privacy report or warrant-canary on its website. This report states that the company hasn’t received any national security letters, FISA court orders, or a gag order from a FISA court. We appreciate this transparency.
However, ActiVPN doesn’t state what it will do if it receives such letters or orders. Will it hand over the concerned users’ data to government officials? Does it log the online activities of its users so that it can hand over any data? ActiVPN maintains a complete silence about these questions.
This VPN is subject to the jurisdiction of France. This country is a part of the “14 Eyes” coalition, and countries in this coalition conduct mass surveillance. This wouldn’t pose a serious privacy risk to users of ActiVPN if it doesn’t keep logs. However, ActiVPN doesn’t state whether it keeps logs.
This VPN doesn’t specify what personal information it collects when you buy a subscription. It doesn’t reveal how it protects this personal information and how the company complies with relevant laws.
Does ActiVPN collect any personal information when you visit its website? The company maintains silence about this too.
We find no mention of a “no logs” policy on the ActiVPN website. ActiVPN doesn’t specify what personal information it collects and how it secures it. We don’t feel comfortable with this lack of transparency. VPNs are in the business of protecting the privacy of their users, therefore, they need to maintain transparency about their privacy and security solutions. Leading VPNs maintain this transparency. ActiVPN lags behind its competitors in this regard.
Is your network traffic safe with ActiVPN?
Security tends to be a key priority for most VPN users, and you probably consider it important too. VPNs that support secure protocols, provide strong encryption, prevent data leaks, and offer advanced security features can provide great security.
ActiVPN supports OpenVPN, which is the most secure VPN protocol. This VPN supports L2TP/IPSec, which is secure too. While ActiVPN supports PPTP, this isn’t a secure protocol. We recommend you use OpenVPN.
ActiVPN supports AES-256-CBC encryption, which is the most secure encryption. It uses RSA 2048-bit PKI, which is very secure too.
ActiVPN can’t prevent IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks. This is a key disadvantage, which puts ActiVPN behind its competitors.
ActiVPN doesn’t offer a kill switch. This key security feature blocks the Internet connection as soon as the VPN connection drops. Hackers can’t access your sensitive information even if the VPN connection terminates unexpectedly. All leading VPNs offer this feature, therefore, ActiVPN lags behind in this aspect.
ActiVPN charges as a premium VPN would, however, it doesn’t offer any advanced security features. We see no mention of PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy) among its security features. PFS changes the encryption key regularly. Even if hackers get hold of your encryption key once, they can’t use it for long. PFS will soon change it. Most of the leading VPNs offer this advanced security feature, however, ActiVPN doesn’t offer this.
While ActiVPN supports secure VPN protocols and provides strong encryption, it can’t prevent data leaks. It doesn’t provide a kill switch or other advanced security features. Its security solutions don’t match the price it charges.
Where are the servers of ActiVPN located?
You want a VPN that offers good speed. For this, you need a VPN that has enough servers in all key geographies. Additionally, the VPN provider should invest in high-quality infrastructure.
ActiVPN offers 63 servers in 32 countries. This VPN displays its list of servers on its website. ActiVPN maintains VPN servers in the following geographies:
· North America: The USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Panama;
· Russia;
· Europe: The UK, Spain, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Belgium, Czech Republic, Sweden, Ukraine, and Poland;
· Africa: Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia;
· Oceania: Australia;
· Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Japan, and Israel;
· Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.
ActiVPN has a smaller server network compared to leading VPNs. You can experience a slow speed at times. Explore leading VPNs if you want great speed consistently.
On what devices can you use ActiVPN?
You want a VPN that’s compatible with various devices that you have. ActiVPN supports key desktop platforms like Windows, Mac, and Linux. It also supports popular mobile platforms like Android and iOS. ActiVPN supports routers and PlayStation.
While that’s good news, ActiVPN has certain limitations too. This VPN doesn’t offer a custom app for any of these platforms. ActiVPN only offers manual configuration guides even for popular platforms like Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
We know many VPNs offer manual configuration guides for Linux, routers, gaming consoles, smart TVs, etc. However, most of the leading VPNs provide custom apps for popular platforms like Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. Some even provide custom apps for Linux.
Many VPN users aren’t tech-savvy, and custom apps help them. They don’t need to manually configure a VPN connection if the VPN provider offers user-friendly custom apps. ActiVPN falls short of expectations in this regard.
ActiVPN allows 5 simultaneous connections. This compares reasonably with other VPNs. However, its manual configuration guides aren’t very easy to follow. The company mostly uses screenshots in the guides. Some screenshots have annotations in French, which could be a challenge for users that don’t know this language.
While ActiVPN supports several platforms, it doesn’t offer a custom app for any of them. It lags behind its competitors in this regard.
Unblocking streaming services with the help of ActiVPN
Popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer impose geo-restrictions on their content due to their business reasons. Many people try to bypass these geo-restrictions by using a VPN.
These streaming companies know that and they aggressively block VPNs. Many VPNs can’t unblock these streaming services. ActiVPN can’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer either. If you want a VPN that can consistently unblock these popular geo-restricted streaming services, then you need to explore other leading VPNs.
Does ActiVPN allow for torrenting?
Are you planning to access P2P/torrenting services? We recommend that you check relevant laws in your country. Some countries ban these services, moreover, you can get into copyrights issues even in countries that allow them.
What if you access P2P/torrenting services perfectly legally? Hackers regularly monitor these services and target their users. Moreover, your ISP might throttle your connection as soon as it detects that you are accessing such a service.
You would need a good VPN to securely access P2P/torrenting services. Such a VPN shouldn’t log your online activities, encrypt your Internet traffic, and offer a kill switch.
ActiVPN doesn’t specify its logging policies. It doesn’t offer a kill switch. We don’t find this VPN suitable for P2P/torrenting, which is one of its disadvantages. Leading VPNs refrain from logging the online activities of their users, moreover, they offer a kill switch. ActiVPN lags behind them in this aspect.
Bypassing the “Great Firewall” of China
Countries like China impose stringent Internet censorship. While many try to bypass them using a VPN, governments of these countries use advanced technologies to identify and block VPNs. For example, the Chinese government uses “Deep Packet Inspection” (DPI) to identify and block VPNs.
Many VPNs find it hard to bypass the “Great Firewall” of China due to technologies like DPI. ActiVPN can bypass this kind of Internet censorship. If you want a VPN that works in China, ActiVPN can be a good choice.
How much does ActiVPN cost?
You want a VPN that offers reasonable pricing plans. ActiVPN offers 3 pricing plans, and all of them include all of its features. These pricing plans are as follows:
· Monthly: You pay $11 per month.
· Yearly: This plan costs you $49.99 once a year, which means that your monthly average cost is $4.16.
· 2-years: You pay $61.88 once in 2 years, therefore, your monthly average cost is $2.57.
ActiVPN offers a secure payment process. You can pay using popular credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. ActiVPN accepts PayPal. It also accepts Bitcoin, which is a relatively anonymous mode of payment.
This VPN doesn’t offer a free trial. While it might offer a refund, it imposes several restrictions. You need to contact its customer support team so that it can troubleshoot your issue. If you connected successfully to a few servers but not all, then you might not get that refund. Furthermore, you won’t get a refund if you connected at least 5 times. We find this a very restrictive refund policy.
ActiVPN is expensive for the products and services it offers. This VPN doesn’t offer a free trial, moreover, it offers a highly restrictive refund policy. ActiVPN lags behind leading VPNs as far as the price is concerned.
The pros and cons of ActiVPN
We now examine the pros and cons of ActiVPN. This VPN offers the following advantages:
· It supports secure VPN protocols and offers strong encryption.
· ActiVPN supports popular desktop and mobile platforms, moreover, it’s compatible with popular routers.
· This VPN can bypass the “Great Firewall” of China.
· ActiVPN lets you connect 5 devices simultaneously.
ActiVPN has the following disadvantages:
· This VPN doesn’t commit to a “no logs” policy, moreover, it doesn’t state what personal information it collects.
· ActiVPN can’t prevent IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.
· This VPN doesn’t offer a kill switch.
· ActiVPN can’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.
· This VPN isn’t a good choice for P2P/torrenting.
· Due to a small server network, you might experience a slow connection.
· ActiVPN doesn’t offer custom apps for any platform. It’s not a user-friendly VPN.
· While this VPN offers manual configuration guides, they aren’t easy to follow.
· ActiVPN offers customer support via a contact form on their website only, and the contact form doesn’t always work.
· This VPN is expensive.
· ActiVPN doesn’t offer a free trial.
· The refund policy of ActiVPN is highly restrictive.
· For the price it charges, ActiVPN has too many disadvantages.
A few quick facts about ActiVPN
Let’s summarize a few quick facts about ActiVPN, which are as follows:
· ActiVPN is a French VPN.
· This VPN doesn’t spell out its logging policy and what personal data it collects.
· ActiVPN provides secure VPN protocols and strong encryption, however, it can’t prevent data leaks.
· This VPN doesn’t offer a kill switch.
· ActiVPN has 61 servers in 32 countries.
· This VPN can’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.
· ActiVPN works in China.
· While it supports all key platforms, it doesn’t offer custom apps. You need to manually configure a VPN connection using its guides, which aren’t easy to use.
· ActiVPN allows 5 simultaneous connections.
· This VPN provides customer support based on a contact form only, and there’s no live chat support.
· It’s not suitable for P2P/torrenting.
· ActiVPN doesn’t offer a free trial, and it has a very restrictive refund policy. It’s an expensive VPN.
Is ActiVPN user friendly?
Most VPN users want an easy-to-use VPN, and you probably want that too. VPNs that offer user-friendly custom apps, excellent manual configuration guides, and an easy-to-use website qualify as user-friendly VPNs.
You will find it hard to navigate the ActiVPN website. The website doesn’t provide sufficient information, and ActiVPN doesn’t provide well-written documentation. For example, we couldn’t locate manual configuration guides for routers other than DD-WRT and ASUS WRT.
This VPN doesn’t offer custom apps for any of the platforms it supports. ActiVPN offers manual configuration guides, however, they aren’t easy to use. The guides mostly rely on screenshots, and some of them have annotations in French. English-speaking users could find it hard to follow some of these guides.
Once you set up a VPN connection manually on your device, changing a server can be hard. The connection is unstable at times.
We find that ActiVPN isn’t sufficiently user-friendly. It lags behind leading VPNs in this aspect.
Customer service at ActiVPN
You will want a VPN that provides great customer support. This includes excellent documentation and robust contact support.
ActiVPN doesn’t offer custom apps, which increases the need for customer support. The company offers an FAQ page on its website, however, the FAQ articles aren’t easy to read. These FAQ articles include manual configuration guides, and we have already mentioned that these aren’t user-friendly.
Given these, you would need robust contact support. However, ActiVPN doesn’t offer live chat support. You need to use the contact form on its website to reach its customer support team. The contact form doesn’t work well, as we found during our repeated attempts to send questions to the ActiVPN support team. At the time of this review, we haven’t been able to send our questions to the ActiVPN support team using the contact form.
ActiVPN doesn’t offer sufficient customer support. This is a key disadvantage, and this VPN lags behind its competitors in this regard.
What's the jurisdiction of ActiVPN?
ActiVPN is subject to the jurisdiction of France. France is a part of the “14 Eyes” coalition of countries that conduct mass surveillance. It’s the ideal jurisdiction for a privacy-focused VPN, moreover, ActiVPN doesn’t state whether it follows a “no logs” policy. That’s a disadvantage.
Does ActiVPN keep any logs?
ActiVPN doesn’t commit to a “no logs” policy on its website. We expect VPNs to state that they don’t log the online activities of their users. A privacy-focused VPN should publish a comprehensive privacy policy, where it should commit to following a “no logs” policy. We see that all leading VPNs do that. Some VPNs even get their “no logs” policy audited by independent auditors.
On the other hand, ActiVPN maintains silence about its logging capabilities. We consider this lack of transparency a key disadvantage.
About the encryption and protocols used by ActiVPN
ActiVPN supports OpenVPN. OpenVPN enjoys the reputation of being the most secure VPN protocol, and it doesn’t have any known security vulnerabilities. ActiVPN supports L2TP/IPSec, which is another secure VPN protocol. PPTP is the other VPN protocol supported by ActiVPN, however, we don’t recommend you use it. This protocol has security vulnerabilities.
ActiVPN provides AES-256-CBC encryption, the strongest encryption available in the market. This VPN uses RSA 2048-bit PKI, which adds to security.
ActiVPN can’t prevent IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks, which is a key drawback. This VPN doesn’t offer a kill switch, which is another disadvantage.
ActiVPN doesn’t offer advanced security features like PFS. While ActiVPN charges a premium for its products and services, its security solutions don’t match its price.
The conclusion of our review
ActiVPN doesn’t specify whether it logs the online activities of its users. This VPN doesn’t state what personal information it collects and how it processes that. This lack of transparency leaves question marks over its ability to protect your privacy. While ActiVPN offers secure protocol and strong encryption, it doesn’t prevent data leaks. This VPN doesn’t offer a kill switch.
With only 61 servers in 32 countries, you can expect a slow connection. This VPN can’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. We don’t recommend this VPN for P2P/torrenting. ActiVPN works in China, which is an advantage.
While this VPN supports all key platforms, it doesn’t provide custom apps for any of them. It offers manual configuration guides, which aren’t easy to use. ActiVPN allows 5 simultaneous connections, which is reasonable. This VPN doesn’t offer live chat support, and the contact form on its website doesn’t always work. The lack of good documentation compounds the problem of inadequate customer support.
ActiVPN is expensive! It doesn’t offer a free trial, moreover, it has a highly restrictive refund policy. We don’t recommend you buy an ActiVPN subscription. You can get a VPN with much better products and services at a lower price.
