It’s been around since 2006, IvacyVPN has quite gained a formidable reputation in the VPN industry. I was curious to put together this IvacyVPN review as there were “mixed” comments about their services on various forums.
More so, upfront, they claim to come packed with impressive features such as AES 256 bit encryption, anonymous torrenting, Netflix streaming, etc. So the question remains, are these claims a tough outer shell with a hollow inside?”
To see for me, I subscribed to their service and checked it through a series of tests.
Interested? Read along!
Overview of IvacyVPN
| Type | Findings |
| Anonymity Level | through different levels of tests found ( 7.6/10 ) |
| Jurisdiction | Singapore: away from 5, 9, 14 eyes |
| Log Policy | suspicious log policy |
| Servers | 1000+ servers – 100 countries |
| Netflix | Yes, working |
| Torrenting | Yes, Allowed 16 P2P optimised servers |
| Refund Policy | 30-Day conditional refund policy |
| Pricing | As low as $3.33/mo on the annual plan |
| Website | www.ivacy.com |
Overall Experiences:
Before getting into more deep insights about Ivacy, here is my quick view of the service.
It’s pretty easy to install and quick to connect with the server you need. I haven’t found any lag in it. The best part is? You can quickly get the “streaming” option from the sidebar of the App. I have tested it, its working and streaming with HQ quality as well.
Drawback:
The most important need of using a VPN is for your privacy and security; I have found some lag in that case. There aren’t any “RUN time” VPN leaks that have been found, but Kill-switch might get you trouble.
For Mac users, there isn’t any “Kill-switch” option available; however, in “Windows,” you might find the button under the app settings. And the best part is? It’s not working either. After spending some time with an excellent support guy on chat says, “I might have to disable my firewall.”
Also, for mac users, you won’t get to select the “encryption type.” Only available for windows guys. I will update the Ivacy VPN review as I have found the solution to this.
Anyways, let’s check out how it performs with VPN leaks and other anonymity levels.
Anonymity Level ( 7.6 )
To check out the anonymity level of the Ivacy service, I ran various tests over it. For further credibility, I have added screenshots of my tests too.
| Method | Findings | Rate |
| History | NO past bad record or leaks found | 10 |
| No-Log | Claimed No-Log Policy, But found suspcious terms. | 5.0 |
| Killswitch | for mac not available, Windows not working | 0 |
| IPLeak | Not Leaking | 10 |
| DNS Leak | Not leaking | 10 |
| Torrent Leak | Not leaking | 10 |
| IPv6 Leak | Not leaking | 10 |
| Browser leak | WebRTC blocked, NO Leaks | 10 |
| Encryption | ESP over IKEv2 Found | 9.5 |
| Tor/VPN | Working great with Tor | 9.2 |
| Log-Audit | no log audit report available | 0 |
| Anonymity Level | Calculate upon VPNleaks performance | 7.6 |
VPN Leaks Test
For this VPN leak testing, I would take Ivacy on a walk to check whether it’s leaving the footprints behind or not.
I will take continuous real-time tests by IP leak, DNS Leak, IPv6 Leak, Browser Leak, Torrent Leak, and most importantly, Killswitch.
Let’s get started!
IPLeak
Run through several times continually to check if there is any lag or not. Found No IP Leak!
DNS Leak:
Send and receive 5000 requests within 6 mins and found nothing. NO DNS Leak
Browser Leak:
That is another privacy threats that most VPNs chose to ignore. I checked for this browser vulnerability through the IP Leaks tool, and there you go! I found No WebRTC Leaks!
Torrent IP Leaks:
Torrenting can get you buried neck deep into trouble. Yes, even if you are only downloading movies! To save yourself from such hassles, it is better to check for encryption while torrenting.
I checked for torrent IP leaks through this tool, and I found No Torrent IP Leaks!
IPv6 Leaks:
IPv6 leaks protection is a matter most VPNs overlook, no matter how much of a threat to privacy. IvacyVPN offers this protection, and when I checked for leaks, I found No IPv6 leaks!
Killswitch:
That was a disappointing feature only available with Windows and android, sorry for mac and iOs users.
I have tested, not working in windows as well. NOT WORKING
After getting my fill of VPN leak tests, I then checked for encryption and a hoard of other security features offered by IvacyVPN.
Encryption Standard:
IvacyVPN allows various levels of encryption that you can choose as per your use. However, this privilege is only for Windows users! I found no such setting on Mac, while on Windows, the following protocols were available:
- TDP
- UDP
- L2TP
- IKEv
I nevertheless checked their service and found the network secured through ESP, a protocol used by IKEv2. Now, this is sure sounds like 256-bit encryption to me!
Logging Policy
Looking into logging policies is crucial. After all, if our VPN starts logging information, it’s like unprotected internet all over again! I read through the logging policies of IvacyVPN and was a bit satisfied with their claims as they say have a strict no-logs policy
“We have a zero-log policy”
In fact, they hands down announce that they don’t keep any information whatsoever.
“We strictly do not log or monitor, online browsing activities, connection logs, VPN IPs assigned, original IP addresses, browsing history, outgoing traffic, connection times, data you have accessed and/or DNS queries generated by your end. We have no information that could associate specific activities to specific users.”
Suspicious Thing found!
Although it is indeed relieving but the question remains, “are they really private or it’s just a marketing strategy?”. After all, they don’t have any document or log audits claiming their integrity!
Apart from that, while scoring through their “Refund Policy” and the “terms of use” I came across an alarming situation. They have a refund clause that explicitly says that Ivacy will not allow refunds if there is a violation of their “terms of service”
Meanwhile, on their terms of use, they mention the prohibition of criminal and illegal activities. Although I completely support them on their prohibition, the question arises, “ how do they know if user activity is illegal or not if they don’t keep logs?” I contacted their support team and came up with no satisfying response.
I am trying to contact their support by email; if we found something, I will keep you posted.
Jurisdiction
It is based on Singapore’s safe shelters, a well away country hidden from 5 eyes, 9 eyes, and the 14 eyes. It doesn’t have any data retention laws of its own, so it’s all safe and secure!
Crypto payments
Crypto payments are like the epitome of privacy! I was glad to see IvacyVPN allowing cryptocurrency as a payment option. That means more privacy!
Tor compatibility
Using VPN with Tor is always the smartest option. Why? For added privacy and increased speeds, of course! But, the downside is that most VPN services are not compatible with Tor. IvacyVPN is, however, amongst the handful exception to the situation.
I checked their connection with Tor and found a significant change in speeds. Moreover, they are also protecting the network through ESP, a part of the IKEv2 protocol. So, security and speeds? Sounds compatible to me!
Previous Track Records
I sniffed around and dug in deep to find any dirt on IvacyVPN. However, my efforts were in vain as they have a spotlessly clean track record. No information leaks issues at all whatsoever!
Torrenting Support:
IvacyVPN comes with flexible torrenting options. It has a substantial list of almost 17 dedicated P2P servers. And the cherry on top? You can use their “smart download” mode for efficient downloading. However, with their kill switch not working so torrenting is sure risky business!
Split Tunneling:
That is quite a robust feature that allows you to be versatile with a VPN connection. How? Well, with split tunneling, you necessarily don’t have to direct all your web traffic through VPNs. You can split some and use your LAN connection too!
This feature comes in quite handy as it allows your downloads to remain anonymous even while you connect to LAN networks. Also, you can easily access both local and foreign websites. But the best part? It goes easy on bandwidth and doesn’t hog speeds!
However, with IvacyVPN, only windows users can enjoy this feature. While as for Mac users, they are deprived of it as yet.
Netflix Testing:
Ivacy allows you to access US Netflix and other blocked streaming channels quickly. I have tested it; it’s working great.
Refund Policy Revealed
Although IvacyVPN promises a flashy “30-day money-back guarantee”. However, once you dig into it, there is more to the story. That is, the money-back policy is only applicable upon the basis of specific clauses such as:
- The only way you will get a refund is to apply it within 30 days, counting from the original date of the subscription.
- If you have a monthly subscription, you can ask for a refund within 7 days only.
- Refund policy is only applicable if you have not breached any “terms of use” clause.
- You will only get a refund if you have not applied for a refund before.
- Refunds are not possible if the preferred payment method is Bitcoins.
Payment methods:
Their payment methods are mainstream through credit/ debit cards. They also allow online transfers with PayPal, AliPay, etc. If you want to remain anonymous, they seem to respect that too and allow payments through bitcoins!
However, with bitcoins, there is a drawback to getting no refunds. After all, it is anonymous and untraceable!
Payment insights
It is always a smart move to check for payment insights before opting for a VPN provider. We all don’t want a fat purchase now, do we? I checked for payment insights of IvacyVPN, and these are their payment plans:
- A one-month subscription for $9.95
- Two years subscription for $1.99 per month, offering an 80% save
- One year subscription for $3.33 per month offering 33% savings
Wrapping Words:
If this is the end of the world and you are surviving the apocalypse scenario, then Ivacy would be the best choice! Otherwise, I won’t recommend using it for privacy and security matters.
But! in the streaming case, you can use it. It’s best to use with it.
What are your thoughts about the IvacyVPN review?
