PureVPN Review (2022 Updated): Is It Any Good?
Team HowtoWatchinAustralia recently did a complete review of PureVPN security, speed, IP/DNS leak, and torrenting performance. Additionally, we checked whether it works with Netflix in an effort to give a well-rounded verdict if PureVPN is any good or not. So without any further ado, let get straight into the details. We hope you’ll find the information helpful.
What Country is PureVPN Based in?
PureVPN is currently based in Hong Kong. However, ever since the Chinese authorities announced the roll-out of the new security law earlier this year, the company is considering relocating its headquarters to a new location. In fact, it has already removed Hong Kong servers from its server deck, amidst security fears. It agrees with the human rights watchdogs and activists that the New National Security Law poses a threat to its users’ online privacy.
We will keep you updated on any new developments, if and when they take place.
How Many Servers Does PureVPN Have?
As of April 2022, PureVPN has a server park size of 6500+ servers. These servers cover a total of 75+ countries and 90+ locations worldwide. You can find a PureVPN server in all major regions, including North America, Europe, South America, Central America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Each server is helpfully marked with different symbols to make it easy for you to find the best connections for streaming, torrenting, or accessing blocked content.
Is PureVPN Good for Torrenting?
PureVPN is quite good for torrenting and P2P file-sharing purposes. To download torrents with PureVPN, you must change your preference by clicking on its app’s ‘Change Mode’ option.
You need to click on File-Sharing so that you can only find servers that are P2P-supported. Though the speed of PureVPN is not as good as other best VPNs for torrenting, it is still a decent choice for torrenting.
Is PureVPN Safe to Use?
PureVPN is a completely safe VPN to use. It employs advanced tunneling protocols like OpenVPN, IKEv2, SSTP, and L2TP/IPSec that protect your online communications from man-in-the-middle attacks. Additionally, it uses AES 256-bit encryption to further render any hacking attempts ineffective. Even if someone manages to sneak up on your data, they would only find encrypted codes that are impossible to decrypt.
Additional Security Features
Have a look at the additional security features that PureVPN has to offer:
Split Tunneling: This feature splits your internet traffic. You can route some of your traffic through a VPN tunnel that remains invisible to your ISP, while you can route your other traffic through your ISP network. You can turn ON this feature from the Settings menu and it will ask you to enter the websites that you wish to hide their online traffic from ISPs.
Internet Kill Switch: It prevents your original IP address from being seen by your Internet Service Provider whenever your VPN connection drops. The first thing PureVPN asks when you open its app for the first time is to enable Kill Switch. It disconnects your internet when suddenly your VPN is disconnected. You can enable this feature from the Settings menu and then Advanced Option.
IPv6 Leak Protection: This feature protects your IP from being exposed to the public. With the state-of-the-art encryption algorithm, your identity is secured when you connect to PureVPN servers.
Dedicated IP: This is an add-on feature that assigns you a personal IP that only belongs to you. That IP address isn’t shared with other PureVPN users but it costs $0.99/mo for a single IP on top of the regular subscription. You can get PureVPN dedicated IP only for these regions United States, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Singapore, Malta, Germany, Australia, and Canada.
Does PureVPN Hide IP Address?
PureVPN is excellent at hiding your IP address thanks to the multiple leak protection mechanisms it puts in place. These include a network of self-managed and self-owned DNS servers that offer 300,000+ IP addresses for switching, water-tight tunneling protocols, and a robust VPN kill switch.
I tested PureVPN for potential IP/DNS leaks and viruses. Here are the screenshots of the test results:
IP Test
I connected to the France server and tested for IP leak using this website. I found that there wasn’t any IP leak.
DNS Test
When I tested for DNS leak, I did not found the leak either.
Virus Test
Virus Total scanned PureVPN Windows installation file for any viruses or malware. I did NOT found any viruses or malware either.
Does PureVPN Keep Logs?
PureVPN keeps no activity or browsing logs. This has been validated by various third-party audit performers, most recently by KPMG, the world’s leading auditing firm. However, the company accepts logging network information to optimize and troubleshoot its services to provide a better experience to customers.
Other information that PureVPN collects:
- Name
- Email Address
- Payment Method
PureVPN typically uses third-party payment processors (except for a few cases) and passes on the information to the contracted processor without keeping any record of it.
Information that PureVPN doesn’t collect:
- Original IP Address
- VPN Server IP Address
- VPN Session Timestamps
- Browsing Activity
- DNS Requests
In a nutshell, PureVPN doesn’t know what you are browsing over the internet or anything you upload or download. It won’t be able to identify at what time you connect to their VPN server either or which IP is assigned to you.
Does PureVPN work with Netflix?
PureVPN works with Netflix problem-free, unblocking the streaming service in seven regions. These include the US, Australia, Germany, Japan, Canada, France, and the UK. The best part is you can watch your favourite Netflix movie or TV show on any device of your choice – be it a smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer, or smart TV.
What’s more? PureVPN also offers a dedicated streaming mode that lets you connect to your desired Netflix library at just a click of a button.
I tested PureVPN’s streaming mode and was able to stream ‘Norm of the North: Family Vacation’ lag-free:
PureVPN was also able to unblock BBC iPlayer, HBO, YouTube TV, Stan, 7plus, and Hulu in Australia (across the globe as well). Here is a screenshot of me streaming ‘The Choir’ on BBC iPlayer.
To learn about other VPNs that easily passed our Netflix test, check out this best Netflix VPN list.
How Many Devices Does PureVPN Support?
PureVPN supports up to 10 devices at the same time. These devices can be Windows, Android, macOS, or Linux-operated. PureVPN is also compatible with VPN-enabled routers, gaming consoles, and different smart and Android TV models.
PureVPN Windows App
There are a lot of features in the PureVPN Windows app that you should know before using it. Once you open the app, you will find a ‘Change Mode’ option that asks you for what purpose you need to use PureVPN.
You can choose options like streaming, internet freedom, security and privacy, file sharing, and dedicated IP.
If you choose the ‘streaming’ option, you will find PureVPN regular servers and also an important option i.e. Popular Websites that will help you connect to streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, BBC iPlayer, etc.
PureVPN Android App
On its Android app, you will find 3 main options at the top i.e. Quick Connect, Countries, Popular Websites. To find the fastest server that is nearest to your country, click on Quick Connect.
But if you want to connect to a regular server of your choice, then choose the Countries option and select any server.
The popular website option is the same as the Windows app. Just select any streaming site and it will connect you to the best server that unblocks it.
PureVPN Apple TV app
PureVPN is now compatible with Apple TV, offering a native app that works perfectly fine with this streaming device. All you need to is to download the PureVPN app from the Apple TV app store, log in to your VPN account, and connect to your desired server location to get started. With your Apple TV device connected to PureVPN, you can enjoy unrestricted access to global content, including HBO Max and Hulu on Apple TV.
How Do I Download PureVPN?
Follow these steps to download PureVPN on any device. I used an example of PureVPN on Windows:
Step 1: First you need to subscribe to PureVPN
Step 2: Download and Install the PureVPN Windows app
Step 3: Open the PureVPN app and enter Username/Password
Step 4: Select any server i.e. US server and connect to it
Step 5: Once connected, access any blocked website or stream securely on the web
Is PureVPN Fast?
PureVPN offers decent download speeds, clocking an average of 14.95 Mbps on a 20 Mbps internet connection. However, it needs perfect network conditions to perform at optimum levels. This means if you live in the outback, where the quality of internet signals tend to be poor or share your connection with multiple users, PureVPN may not produce the best upload or download speeds.
I tested 3 different PureVPN servers for speed i.e. Australian server, Canada server, and US server. My original speed without a VPN was recorded at 20 Mbps.
US Server (Columbus)
This server speed was above average. My internet speed was only decreased by 22%.
| Speed Test Type | Speed Test Results |
| US Server Ping | 101 (ms) |
| US Server Upload | 4.32 (Mbps) |
| US Server Download | 15.56 (Mbps) |
| Speed Decreased by | 22% |
Australia Server (Sydney)
This server speed was also fast. My internet speed was only decreased by 25%.
| Speed Test Type | Speed Test Results |
| US Server Ping | 123 (ms) |
| US Server Upload | 3.87 (Mbps) |
| US Server Download | 14.92 (Mbps) |
| Speed Decreased by | 25% |
Canada Server (Vancouver)
This server speed was good but not fast. My internet speed was only decreased by 30%.
| Speed Test Type | Speed Test Results |
| US Server Ping | 132 (ms) |
| US Server Upload | 2.79 (Mbps) |
| US Server Download | 14.38 (Mbps) |
| Speed Decreased by | 28% |
How Much Does PureVPN Cost?
PureVPN offers three pricing plans to users: i) a 1-month plan, ii) a 1-year plan, and iii) a 2-year plan. The 1-month plan is priced at $10.95 and is the most expensive. The 1-year plan costs $69.95 or $5.82 per month. The 2-year plan provides the biggest savings, costing AU$5.09/mo (US$ 3.33/mo) 2-year plan. All three plans come with a no-questions-asked 31-day money-back guarantee.
You can pay through Credit Card (VISA, MasterCard, or AMEX), PayPal, Alipay, Bitcoin, Skrill, Mint, and more. Payments made through cryptocurrency are non-refundable. If you want to cancel your PureVPN plan or do not want auto-recurring payments to be deducted, you can contact [email protected] for assistance.
Is PureVPN Customer Support Responsive?
The customer support for PureVPN is highly responsive. You will find 24/7 live chat support that will help you solve every problem that customer encounters.
Other than live chat support, you will find resources that will help you solve your problem without bothering the chat supports. These are:
- Setup Guides
- Troubleshooting
- FAQs
- Ticket
You can connect with PureVPN through social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Do I Recommend PureVPN?
Yes, I definitely recommend using PureVPN.
PureVPN is doing everything it can to gain users’ trust. From conducting an independent audit of its logs to announcing the removal of its Hong Kong servers, it shows that PureVPN truly cares about users’ online privacy after all.
Having fast speed with over 6,000+ VPN servers, it makes a perfect VPN for unblocking streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, etc, and giving users’ an excellent streaming experience.
It doesn’t leak an IP or DNS as shown in the tests, nor does it has malware installed in its downloadable file to sneak up on users’ activity in private.
All in all, PureVPN is perfectly safe to use because it uses the strongest encryption and has a Kill Switch feature that protects your identity even when the VPN connection drops.
Still, if you want to know more about other VPN reviews and to choose which one suits you best, check out our list of best VPNs Australia.
More VPN related articles for you:
- Free VPN Australia
- Cheap VPNs for Australia
- Private Internet Access Review
- Does NordVPN Offer Free Trial
- 3 Best Ways to Hide Your IP Address
- VPNs Which Offer a Free-Trial