Have you ever wondered how much your smartphone can say about you? Your online social habits and personal and financial information are all stored in your tiny device.
People use smartphones, especially Android phones, and roam around public places with public Wi-Fi accessibility. Unfortunately, that is where snoopers and cyber criminals come into action and forcefully access your smartphones using different tactics to steal your sensitive information for their benefit.
Therefore, using the best VPN for Android has become necessary to secure your smartphone all the time.
How to select the best VPN for Android
Several VPNs support Android OS. But your choice might be personal preferences or other smaller yet necessary details. So, when selecting the best VPN for Android, you should look for a few crucial things.
A true-blue Android app will sweat blood to make things as convenient for you as possible. The best VPN for Android must have a user-friendly interface and offer enough options to allow some experienced users to tweak accordingly.
Other considerations for the best VPN for Android include ironclad security and a crystal clear privacy policy with easily understandable terms of service. It should also offer supported connections. Even the speeds the VPN provides should be noted, as they hold equal importance in selecting the best VPN for Android.
Here are free trial VPNs for Android
This article provides a guideline to help you choose the best VPN for Android. For you, we have worked our fingers to the bone and brought forth these five best VPNs for Android:
1. NordVPN
NordVPN: The VPN offers over 6,000 servers in 60+ countries, making it one of the leading VPN providers on the market today. There are also multiple simultaneous connections, high-speed connection and robust security features.
NordVPN ranks among the best VPNs for Android and has more than 750 SSL-secured servers in 50+ countries optimized for unlimited bandwidth and speed. These servers have been smartly categorized into P2P, Standard, Dedicated, Streaming, VPN-over-VPN, and Tor-over-VPN to satisfy everyone’s needs. You can switch among different servers to find the suitable one for yourself or let NordVPN recommend the best server.
This best Android VPN app provides various exclusive features, including strict security, Bitcoin payment support, Internet Kill Switch, DNS Leak Resolver, etc. As NordVPN is Panama-based, it has a strict no-log policy, and thus, it also exempts government surveillance and ISP monitoring by anonymizing your identity. The unique security features include security tools for Identity protection and Data Integrity. Furthermore, the Double encryption feature multiplies the encryption and security strength.
The customer support offered by NordVPN is phenomenal in both a helpful and knowledgeable manner. This Android VPN app also has a Smart DNS feature for fast streaming and unblocking geo-restriction.
2. ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN: It has fast servers in 105 countries, making it one of the most popular VPN services. A money-back guarantee is included, along with military-grade encryption.
ExpressVPN is the Editor’s Choice for the best VPN for Android. It has sweated blood to gain this position with its exceptional features. Its reliable customer support and ease of use are the primary reasons it is one of the best Android VPNs and adds to a tremendous Android VPN experience. This Android VPN app has servers all around the globe and offers unlimited server switching.
The Android VPN by the company has a simple and clutter-free VPN app for Android smartphones and provides more exclusive features like traffic usage stat, Bitcoin payment support, and the shortcut home screen widget for establishing an instant VPN connection.
Moreover, ExpressVPN allows you to connect at least three devices simultaneously and protect all of them. The pricing plans offered by ExpressVPN are a bit pricier than the rest, but they come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
3. ExtremeVPN
ExtremeVPN:Featuring more than 6,500 servers in 78 countries worldwide, NordVPN is an affordable and easy-to-use VPN service. With this provider, online gamblers can enjoy fast speeds and high-quality security to ensure their privacy is protected.
ExtremeVPN is the most reliable VPN of all time and is one of the best VPNs for Android. It offers military-grade solid encryption using 256-bit AES encryption and Android’s latest IKEv2 security protocol. This Android VPN app provides various other security protocols, including L2TP, PPTP, IPsec, OpenVPN, and SSTP.
ExtremeVPN has the largest server base (including China, Hong Kong, Korea, etc.) in the VPN industry, making it a perfect travel-the-world companion. Moreover, the Android VPN app by ExtremeVPN has a neat user interface with rich features such as Split Tunneling (to separate traffic into VPN and non-VPN), Virtual Router (make your device into a hotspot router), DDoS Protection, and widgets to establish a quick VPN connection without logging any of your activities.
Apart from all the security and privacy features, the pricing plans offered by ExtremeVPN come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
4. Private Internet Access (PIA)
Private Internet Access: A cost-effective VPN service offering 35,000+ servers across 84 countries worldwide. The service is known for its wide range of servers, security, and device compatibility.
Private Internet Access is among the best Android VPN apps and the second most common VPN service that netizens use worldwide. This Android VPN app has more than 3000 SSL-secured servers in over 24 countries of the world. The encryption and security offered by this best Android VPN app are extraordinary. It provides 256-bit AES encryption with robust OpenVPN security protocol. It also provides other security protocols like PPTP and L2TP-IPsec so you can switch between them anytime.
Although PIA VPN is US-based, it clearly stated in its privacy policy that it does not keep any logs of your Internet data. This Android VPN app has a simple design and many more essential features than any other VPN can provide. But what makes it exclusive are its extraordinary features, including the built-in ad-blocker that blocks malware, trackers, and ads.
This best Android VPN app also lets you shuffle among the servers for the best speed. PIA VPN unblocks geo-restrictions and censorship. It also masks your IP and ensures complete anonymity so that ISP monitoring and third-party infiltration can be restricted. This Android VPN app also offers 24/7 reliable customer support. The pricing plans offered by PIA VPN come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
5. Ivacy VPN
Ivacy VPN: A quite new VPN in the market, offering features of a top-notch at reasonable price. It offers 5,700+ across 100 locations worldwide, with unlimited bandwith, and robust privacy.
Ivacy VPN is also one of the best VPNs for Android. This Android VPN app has a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and is another tough competitor in the race to provide quality VPN services. Ivacy VPN unblocks geo-restrictions and censored websites and thus lets you stream flawlessly on your Android device.
This best VPN for Android provides excellent customer support through its different support channels. Ivacy VPN offers state-of-the-art encryption services with 256-bit AES encryption to protect online privacy and prevent data theft. This Android VPN app even allows you to bypass ISP throttling, firewalls, and port blocking.
Ivacy VPN has hundreds of SSL-secured servers in 50+ countries, and they are all optimized for P2P, security, and video streaming. This Android VPN app offers the latest IKEv2 security protocol, which you can always change between SSTP, L2TP-IPsec, PPTP, and OpenVPN. Furthermore, being a Singapore-based company, it keeps no usage logs. Ivacy VPN thus offers a zero log policy.
This best VPN for Android has an attractive design and outstanding functionality. The most popular Split Tunneling features allow you to divide your Internet traffic into VPN and non-VPN. The pricing plans offered by Ivacy VPN are affordable and come with a 7-day money-back guarantee.
5 best free VPNs for Android
Google Play Store is full of free VPNs. Each one of them claims to provide the best VPN service completely Free! But which one is the best free VPN for Android? And which ones to ignore? We have reviewed some popular free VPNs available on the Google Play Store and listed them in order.
Before you continue, you should always consider what you are signing up for, especially regarding your security and privacy. When you choose a VPN service, you are entrusting it with your personal information, and some of them have vague and questionable privacy policies. If the service is being offered for FREE, it is crucial to consider the company and always be skeptical about its business model.
What is the brand? Who owns it? Are they selling your data? Are they exposing you to serious threats? For example, the popular free VPN service Hola VPN sells users’ bandwidth, and the VPN Defender is owned by the information analytics company App Annie.
So, it is always essential to research the service that interests you, read up on their privacy policies, and decide whether you should trust the company. If you are in doubt, you can always check our best VPN for reliable Android services and make your privacy their top priority to protect.
1. CyberGhost
CyberGhost VPN – owned by CyberGhost SRL company – is the leading free VPN service on smartphones. CyberGhost VPN for Android offers unlimited bandwidth and a sophisticated Android app with rich features such as connections over UDP/TCP and Hotspot Protection. The VPN servers are spread across Russia, the Netherlands, the UK, the USA, and France.
However, you will have to stand in the waiting queue for the free session to wait for your turn, which can take quite a long time for users to wait, which irritates most people. Besides this issue, CyberGhost VPN is still the most popular service among Android users and ranked first in our Free Best VPN for Android list.
Requires Version: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and up
2. Betternet
Betternet – Owned by Betternet LLC – with a more than 38 million user base, is one of the most popular free VPNs for Android.
The Betternet has a very simple design and is separated into two parts: a functional part and an ad part that shows ads to install an app or watch a video through which Betternet earns its revenues, which means that third-party advertisers WILL have ACCESS to the collected data for analytics.
The functional part is pretty simple and only has a connect button that automatically selects the best possible server. Betternet VPN allows unlimited bandwidth, but speed is slow on servers because of the populated servers.
However, suppose you are not annoyed by the ads and are not worried about your shared impersonal information. In that case, this VPN app will hide your identity and elevate geo-restriction on some services. Besides such issues, Betternet VPN ranked second in our Free Best VPN for Android list.
Requires Version: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and up
3. Turbo VPN
Turbo VPN is rated highest on the Google Play Store and has been downloaded over a million times. The Turbo VPN service supports all mobile carriers and encrypts your internet connection with OpenVPN (TCP/UDP) security protocol. The Android app is simple and easy to set up without technical functionality. However, the app shows occasional ads to earn revenues, which are sometimes annoying and insecure because third-party advertisers can access our impersonal information.
However, Turbo VPN has not mentioned the servers on their Google Play Store page, which is uncomfortable. In addition, the connection gets disconnected randomly and exposes our identity on the web, which most people overlook. Besides such issues, Turbo VPN ranked third in our Free Best VPN for Android list.
Requires Version: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and up
4. Touch VPN
Touch VPN – owned by TouchVPN Inc. – with over a hundred thousand five-star ratings, is growing in popularity among free VPNs available on the Google Play Store. Touch VPN encrypts your internet traffic to bypass regional restrictions and hides your true online identity over the web.
Android VPN app by Touch VPN has a sophisticated app and neat design; however, to use the app, you’ll have to share it on your social media. The app hides your IP address but does not bypass Netflix restrictions as it boasts about. Moreover, the service is blocked in some regions, e.g., Iran. Nevertheless, Touch VPN ranked fourth in our Free Best VPN for Android list regarding free VPNs.
5. SuperVPN
Super VPN – owned by SuperVPN Inc – with a 4.5-star rating on Google Play Store is considered the best Android VPN among Android smartphone users. The Super VPN app is simple but shows regular ads to earn revenue, meaning third-party advertisers can access your impersonal information for analytics.
In the Super VPN Android app, you can select servers from the USA, Singapore, Japan, Australia, UK, France, Canada, and others, which take quite some time to connect, which irritates some users. Moreover, the VPN connection disconnects anytime without any network lock support, which exposes your identity upon disconnect. Besides such issues, Super VPN is ranked fifth in our Free Best VPN for Android list.
Some additional privacy recommendations for Android
Although there is no need to panic over the security and privacy concerns once you have employed one of our 5 highly recommended best VPNs for Android if you still wish to increase the security of your Android device, then you can take a look at these additional privacy recommendations:
Privacy Browser Extensions
The following Firefox browser extensions can boost your security and privacy, and the best part is that they work the same in Firefox for Android as they do on the desktop:
- EFF develops HTTPS Everywhere, and it tries to make sure you connect to a website that uses HTTPS – HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure – connection, if available.
- A uBlock Origin is open-source software (FOSS), a lightweight free ad-blocker that performs double duty as an anti-tracking add-on.
- Self-Destructing Cookies is the most trustworthy Firefox add-on as it automatically deletes cookies when the browser tab that sets them is closed. Tracking via cookies is thus avoided without ‘breaking’ the websites and provides high protection. This extension protects Etags and Flash/zombie cookies and cleans DOM – Document Object Model – storage.
De-Google Your Phone
Google is the biggest threat to your privacy when using an Android device. That is because the entire business model relies on profiting from your data.
The Google Play Services framework is an extreme threat to security and privacy. This software allows Google to perform a lower level of surveillance on Android users’ devices.
Here is a guide to disabling the default system apps and the apps from Google on Android phones. Root access is not required for this. One thing to be noted here is that disabling Google Play Services will prevent many other apps from working correctly.
F-Droid is an app for the Android platform that makes it easier to browse, install, and keep track of updates on your device without the need for Google Play Services.
The methods that have been defined below help you to get along without the Google apps. However, they require you to root your Android device:
- Titanium Backup can remove any app with your Android device, including all the Google apps.
- You can also replace the regular Android OS entirely with a custom read-only memory – ROM – by doing so, Google apps are removed. Some good examples include Copperhead and Lineage OS.
Enable Built-in Encryption on your Android Phone
Google has weaseled out of its promise that all the new Android devices would be shipped with full disk encryption. Luckily, it is pretty simple to manually encrypt your Android device and the SD card it uses.
Here is a guide of 5 simple steps which will help you to encrypt your Android phone easily:
- First, you must plug your phone into a power source because the process can take an hour or more to complete. This duration depends upon the amount of data that needs to be encrypted.
- Make sure that all the essential data has been backed up.
- Go to Settings > Lock Screen > Screen Lock > (enter current password) > Password. Create a strong password at least 6 characters long with a minimum of 1 number.
- Note: If you do not perform this step first, you will be directed back to do this step to encrypt your device.
- Go to Settings > System > Security > Encrypt device.
- Select ‘Encrypt Phone’ to confirm the encryption process. You shall be asked once more to confirm your password. After entering it, you can now sit back and relax as the encryption process heads toward completion.
- Once the process is completed, you must enter your master password whenever you reboot your phone.
Use an Encrypted Messaging App
Different Messaging apps provide end-to-end encryption, protecting your Android device’s communications from the prying eyes of hackers and snoopers. Such an example includes Signal, regarded as the most secure communication method.
Other examples of encrypted messaging apps include Wickr Me, Telegram Messenger, Silent Phone, Whatsapp, etc.
How to set up a VPN for Android
Custom VPN Apps
Downloading a custom VPN app from the Play Store seems the easiest way to set up a VPN for Android. That will work swiftly, just like you are installing any other Android app. You might be able to sign up for the service after getting a free trial via in-app purchases or visit the provider’s website to sign up.
But remember that you should only download the apps a renowned source recommends. Free apps must be avoided at all costs.
Set Up Your VPN Manually
Many Android device manufacturers modify the OS with their custom skins. Also, there are many versions of Android spread in the wild. Therefore, details may vary device by device, but the instructions would be close enough for most Android users:
- Go to Settings > More networks > VPN. Note that a lock screen needs to be set up for this. If you are not already done with it, then follow the cues.
- Touch + to Add a VPN network. Enter the credentials provided by the VPN provider, the name of the VPN, and the Type.
- Check whether you are connected or not. The key icon in the taskbar lets you know whether a VPN connection has been established.
Set Up OpenVPN manually
OpenVPN for Android is a fully-featured and open-source app. The OpenVPN for Android can be set up quickly by following the steps below:
- Download the OpenVPN configuration files from your VPN provider’s website. Unzip them – if required – then transfer them to a folder on your Android device.
- Download, install, and run OpenVPN for Android if you haven’t already done so. Touch the + icon at the top right of the screen to Add a Profile. Give the Profile a suitable name and tap ‘Import”.
- Navigate to the folder where the unzipped OpenVPN configuration file(s) are saved, and choose a server (.ovpn file). Once it is imported, touch the tick () icon to continue.
- Once done, you can see the server name under the Profiles tab. Just tap it to start the VPN. You can import .ovpn files for various servers, which will be displayed here.
Many VPN providers include all the necessary keys and account information in customized VPN files so that no further configuration is required. Others may require that you enter your account credentials. Kindly see your provider’s documentation for particular instructions.
Conclusion
Your Android device carries more information than you can imagine, so protecting your device with an Android VPN app can save you considerable time.
Therefore, the security and privacy of your Android device should be of utmost priority. Unfortunately, the free VPNs we reviewed proved unproductive as they allowed third parties to access and use your information for marketing campaigns.
Therefore, if you are a security and privacy freak and want to protect your Android device, you should use one of the mentioned above 5 best VPNs.
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About the Author
Rebecca James is an IT consultant with forward thinking approach toward developing IT infrastructures of SMEs. She writes to engage with individuals and raise awareness of digital security, privacy, and better IT infrastructure.
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