BlufVPN is a newcomer in the market that seems like a secure and reliable VPN. The VPN started its services in 2020 and is helping people all across the globe to protect their online privacy and freely browse the internet. However, the VPN opaque company ownership and logging are quite questionable, which puts the users in a perplexing situation about whether to use it.
The VPN provider offers an easy sign-up process and a decent server size but quite a few security and privacy features. Look at the table below and see what more this newbie VPN offers its users.
Security and Privacy:
Encryption
- 4096-bit DH encryption key
- AES-256-GCM encryption algorithm
Jurisdiction
- Estonia
Log Policy
- Have a shady logging policy and retains users’ data
Security Features
- Kill switch
Streaming and Torrenting
List of Compatible Streaming Platforms
- Amazon Prime Video
- Disney Plus
- Hulu
- Netflix
- BBC iPlayer
List of Torrenting Features
- Torrent IP leak protection
User-friendliness
No. of Servers
- 500+ servers in 50+ countries
Pricing
- $9.99/m on a monthly plan
- $2.00/m on a two-year plan
- $3.49/m on the annual plan.
Customer Support
- Email Support
- Live chat
- Contact form
- Website resources
Compatible Devices
- Android
- macOS
- Windows
Since BlufVPN is pretty new so, trusting it is a bit difficult. Hence let’s start an in-depth review of BlufVPN to conclude the VPN provider’s performance.
Security and Privacy
Most users prefer a VPN to boost online security and protect themselves from threats. Thus, ensure that the VPN you choose uses high encryption standards and protocols for data protection. Besides this, the VPN has its headquarters in a non-invasive jurisdiction and keeps your online activities and other sensitive information private, like IP addresses.
What Encryption does BlufVPN use?
BlufVPN protects all online information and internet traffic and ensures that no one else can learn about the users’ digital footprints. For this purpose, the VPN uses a military-grade AES-256-GCM encryption algorithm and a 4096-bit DH encryption key. With rock-solid encryption, your data remains secure and out of the reach of hackers, ISPs, and government surveillance agencies.
Jurisdiction of BlufVPN
The newly launched BlufVPN has its headquarters in Estonia, ranked as a free country in the Freedom House Index Report 2022. Additionally, Estonia isn’t a member country of the five eyes, nine eyes, and fourteen eyes alliance.
However, the country does practice mandatory data retention laws under which the higher authorities log users’ data and online activities. The service providers can collect and retain some metadata for at least one year. Also, in December 2020, the Estonian government was a client of a surveillance company that allows users to monitor calls, texts, and mobile locations by exploiting weaknesses in the mobile telecommunication infrastructure.
Since the country imposes no restrictions on anonymous communication and encryption, there’s nothing much to worry about.
Does BlufVPN Keep logs?
To ensure an anonymous web browsing experience, it’s essential for a VPN not to collect or share any user information with a third party. BlufVPN claims to follow a strict no-log policy and refrain from gathering IP addresses, browsing data, and connection data about the subscribers.
However, when investigated in detail, BlufVPN was found to have a shady logging policy. The VPN provider’s privacy policy revealed that they collect users’ information.
The screenshot clarifies that the service provider logs sensitive information like IP address, browser type, time zone, and device name. Since the VPN logs the IP address during a session, it’s concerning, and most users won’t like it.
Furthermore, no proof like security or log audit report is present that can assure users that BlufVPN won’t compromise their digital privacy.
Which Tunneling protocols does BlufVPN use?
BlufVPN creates a private tunnel for the data to travel securely without anyone knowing. During this, the VPN uses various secure encryption protocols for maintaining data security:
- OpenVPN
- IKEv2/IPSec
- WireGuard
While browsing the web, use the OpenVPN protocol. It is an open-source protocol that uses AES-256-bit encryption and Blowfish and RC5 protocols to safeguard internet traffic. Since OpenVPN can be run on UDP and TCP ports, it’s not easy to block it. However, with the OpenVPN protocol, the speeds are pretty fast and stable.
When looking for ultra-fast connection speed, use the advanced WireGuard protocol. It has a small code size and uses ChaCha20 encryption that no other VPN protocol uses, so you get the best connection speed.
BlufVPN uses the IKEv2/IPSec protocol with the same encryption as OpenVPN. It is another good option, especially when you want a stable connection, even on mobile devices.
How good is BlufVPN at bypassing censorship?
A VPN is a helpful way to circumvent internet censorship and freely access blocked websites and services. Also, you can use the VPN in countries where the state restricts accessing the free internet.
If you’re looking for a VPN to bypass censorship and internet blocks, then BlufVPN isn’t the option to consider. The VPN lacks advanced features and technology like stealth mode and obfuscation technology that helps bypass censorship.
BlufVPN has a decent server network and offers servers in various locations, including oppressive regimes like UAE and Turkey. You can use unrestricted internet in China by connecting to servers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam. But the absence of essential anti-censorship features results in inconsistent experience.
Past track history of BlufVPN
BlufVPN is a secure VPN provider that started its services in 2020 but didn’t provide much information about it, which is quite suspicious. There is no ‘About us’ page on the BlufVPN website. Plus, on the LinkedIn page, there are no details about who owns the VPN.
Despite providing limited information, the VPN provider enjoys a good reputation and has no bad track records. After digging out news reports, no event involved BlufVPN leaking users’ data. Thus, the VPN so far seems capable enough to maintain online privacy.
Extra privacy and security boosting features
A reliable VPN comes with a range of extra features that boost the security and privacy level and improve user experience. Unfortunately, BlufVPN offers no additional security and privacy-enhancing feature except a kill switch.
Kill switch
A VPN kill switch is a vital and innovative feature that ensures that your IP address won’t be exposed when the VPN connection drops. The kill switch automatically disconnects you from the internet when the VPN connection malfunctions until the connection is re-established. It is a helpful feature that allows secure browsing and prevents the VPN from leaking sensitive information. BlufVPN offers the kill switch feature in both Android and Windows apps. This feature is not enabled by default; hence, you must manually turn it on by configuring the settings.
Streaming and Torrenting
Torrenting and streaming have many security and privacy issues; thus, a reliable VPN is essential. A VPN compatible with streaming and torrenting uses various advanced features that help prevent these issues and boost the user experience.
Compatible streaming platforms
BlufVPN is another option that you can choose to watch the blocked streaming content. The VPN offers dedicated streaming servers that help to unblock the geo-blocked content on Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, and Hulu.
Moreover, you can also watch your favorite content on US Netflix without any buffering or significant connection drops. The VPN offers decent and stable streaming speeds that won’t disappoint the users. However, since the VPN lacks obfuscation technology, this can be frustrating and spoil the streaming experience.
Is BlufVPN a good option for downloading torrents?
BlufVPN allows torrenting and P2P file-sharing, but it isn’t the best option to consider for torrenting. The VPN enables torrenting on specific servers, which increases server load resulting in inconsistent downloading speed. The slow speeds result in an unsatisfactory torrent downloading experience.
Moreover, BlufVPN lacks the advanced torrent-centric feature, i.e., split tunneling, that improves the downloading speed. Also, the VPN doesn’t fully follow a no-log policy and logs a sessional IP address which puts the users in significant doubt. The only feature from which you can benefit is the kill switch. It prevents your torrent IP address from getting exposed and guarantees the utmost online protection.
Using the best VPN for torrenting is recommended if you are looking for a better option.
How fast is BlufVPN
BlufVPN claims to provide stable and fast connection speeds to users. The VPN speed depends on the protocols and the server you’re connected to. You can switch to the WireGuard or IKEv2/IPSec protocol for maximum speed.
In addition, the VPN has 500+ servers in more than 50 countries. But since the server network is not vast, you can expect issues like overcrowded servers and high ping times.
The VPN provider takes much time to establish a long-distance server connection. Also, you can expect a significantly slower connection. But BlufVPN’s speeds are enough to browse the web without connection lags. You can access websites and web pages with fair speeds.
Besides this, the speed is sufficient during streaming, but the speeds are not ideal for torrenting.
User-Friendliness
Another quality of a top-rated VPN provider is that it is user-friendly and doesn’t cause any issues while users use it. BlufVPN is a user-friendly VPN offering dedicated apps for different platforms and operating systems. The apps are attractive and easy to download and navigate.
The number of servers BlufVPN offers
BlufVPN doesn’t offer a vast server network like many top VPN providers. The VPN comprises over 500 servers in 50+ countries. All these servers offer unlimited bandwidth and promise a secure browsing experience. Some locations offer multiple servers, which is a plus point. You can find BlufVPN servers in locations like:
- America (13 locations)
- Australia (1 location)
- Canada (3 locations)
- France (2 locations)
- Germany (3 locations)
- New Zealand (1 location)
- The UK (3 locations)
BlufVPN connects you with the optimal server and ensures a smooth user experience.
The VPN offers specific servers for torrenting and streaming, but the exact number is not revealed. The speeds are reliable if you connect to a server within the same country or continent. Still, if you’re connecting to a remote server, you experience connection drops.
How good is BlufVPN customer support
BlufVPN’s customer support is one of its most disappointing aspects. Though the VPN on its website claims to offer 24/7 support, no instant live chat option is available. A separate support page provides an email address, support form link, and live chat option to connect with the representatives of the customer support team.
The VPN live chat feature is not like other VPN providers. The Facebook messenger app first asks for your username and password. Also, the live chat feature is pretty misleading as instead of assisting users 24/7; you can only contact them at particular times from 9 am to 7 pm.
The other way to contact the support team is by emailing or filling out the support form, but these services are unresponsive. An email was sent inquiring about the dedicated P2P and streaming servers, but after more than 24 hours, the support team didn’t respond. The only reply they sent was an automated email about receiving the query.
After waiting eight days, the support team finally replied, which was a great disappointment.
Besides this, BlufVPN has a FAQ and blog section. You can find guides and news in the blogs section, but it hasn’t been updated for a while and lacks in-depth research essential for resolving an issue.
What devices BlufVPN is compatible with
BlufVPN is compatible with Android, Windows, and MacOS devices. You can easily download these apps from the respective app store. The installation process is easy and doesn’t at all trouble the users. You can log in to the apps by entering the credentials. Though the VPN selects the best server location, you can also choose a server. Also, for a secure browsing experience, enable the kill switch feature, but you won’t find this feature in the MacOS app.
Apart from this, the VPN isn’t compatible with any routers, smart TV, or gaming consoles, which is a slight drawback.
Conclusion
BlufVPN is a good option for beginners, but there’s still significant room for improvement for a hassle-free user experience. The VPN uses strong encryption and protocols to protect internet traffic from prying eyes. It also allows users to stream geo-blocked content on various streaming platforms quickly. However, the speeds are sometimes inconsistent due to a limited server network and increased server load.
Moreover, the VPN lacks advanced features like split tunneling, obfuscation technology, and port forwarding. Also, despite claiming to follow a no-log policy, BlufVPN logs some of the users’ information, which is unacceptable.
Besides this, BlufVPN lacks compatibility with major platforms and devices, and customer support is not impressive.
BlufVPN is a versatile VPN, but it will not be compared with the top names in the VPN industry until it works on its weak area.
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About the Author
Farwa is an experienced InfoSec writer and cybersecurity journalist skilled in writing articles related to cybersecurity, AI, DevOps, Big Data, Cloud security, VPNs, IAM, and Cloud Computing. Also a contributor on Tripwire.com, Infosecurity Magazine, Security Boulevard, DevOps.com, and CPO Magazine.
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