Ivacy VPN Review

Ivacy VPN is a lesser-known service based in Singapore. It has a moderate number of servers in 68 countries and offers its services at affordable prices. Although the VPN is not as popular as NordVPN and ExpressVPN, it still holds up in the VPN industry. 

The VPN is very strict about disclosing any information about its parent company. There is no discussion about who owns the company whatsoever. To resolve this mystery and find out more about Ivacy VPN, we decided to review the VPN. In this review, we will go over Ivacy’s features, security, privacy policies, and speed. Read further to know more!

Who owns Ivacy VPN? 

PMG Private Limited owns Ivacy VPN. The company is known to be very secretive about its management team. It was unclear who owned the company, but in 2019, it became evident that a Pakistani-based organization called Gaditek owned Ivacy VPN. Gaditek was established by the Gadit family. 

The same company also owns PureVPN. Umair Gadit is the CEO of the Gaditek organization, and Uzair Gadit is the CEO of pureVPN. For many years Ivacy declined all the news connecting Ivacy and PureVPN together. However, in a blog post in 2019, Frank’s PR Manager stated,

“Ivacy is an independent entity. Even though Ivacy has already debunked this myth on a variety of occasions in the past, people continuing to ask this question is beyond me. I’ll say this once and for all: Ivacy is an independently registered entity with its own merchants, bank accounts, partners, and legally binding contracts. Ivacy’s independently operated and developed apps, backend, billing, legal agreements, and partnerships are a testament to this fact. Their stakes are only minor. What more do you want from Ivacy?”

It is completely okay for two VPNs to operate under the same parent company, but what makes us suspicious about the Gaditek organization is its shady past. It has four review sites where it posts about VPN services and falsely rates Ivacy VPN as the highest. Moreover, The company is known to create fake accounts to promote Ivacy VPN.

While browsing Reddit, we discovered that the company allegedly tried to bribe a reviewer/influencer to positively review Ivacy VPN in exchange for a lifetime VPN subscription. Considering these things, Ivacy VPN looks suspicious, but other than that, it provides advanced security and many unique features. So, if you are not bothered by the shady history of its parent company, Ivacy VPN is a must-try!

What does it offer? 

Netizens need to safeguard their data and online privacy. When you are browsing the internet, online threats can damage your device and data. Hackers and ISPs are always searching for a single bug to get their hands on users’ data. A VPN can protect users from data breaches and protect their privacy; however, it is quite hard to choose a reliable VPN. In 2022, three services, SuperVPN, GeckoVPN, and ChatVPN, got hacked, and hackers stole the information of 21 million users. 

Ivacy VPN is a feature-packed service with many security features, including robust security, fast protocols, and a no-log policy. However, looking into the VPN, we were met with security issues and a shady parent company. This review will explore Ivacy VPN’s features and privacy policies in depth. 

• Online privacy: it uses the AES-256-bit encryption cipher, which is the hardest to crack and is used by the military. 
• Jurisdiction: it is based in Switzerland and is a member of the Fourteen Eyes Intelligence.
• No-log policy: Ivacy follows a no-log policy, meaning it does not save users’ data or personal information that can lead back to its users. 
• Streaming: it unblocks streaming sites such as Netflix, Disney Plus, and BBC iPlayer. It supports streaming on all of its servers. 
• Torrenting and P2P: Ivacy has optimized servers for torrenting, which helps in fast downloading. 
• Gaming: it supports various games and unblocks geo-blocked games. 
• Tor Browser: it is incompatible with Tor and other proxies. 

This review consists of well-researched work and our personal experience with the VPN. Moreover, we researched various online forums and made the VPN undergo a series of tests to check its performance. Continue reading if you want to learn more about Ivacy VPN’s features. 

Security and Privacy 

Security and privacy are two different things. Privacy is how you protect your personal information and data, while security is protection against threats. According to a survey, 39% of businesses in the UK identified cyber attacks, including phishing, ransomware, and malware attacks. The survey also showed that higher knowledge of cybersecurity resulted in more identification of cyber attacks in businesses than less cyber-mature companies.

Ivacy VPN promises to secure and protect users’ data; it uses AES encryption and follows a no-log policy. While it promises to keep no logs and does not store users’ data, it has a very shady jurisdiction in Singapore, which is in alliance with Five Eyes Intelligence. Considering these things, we decided to review Ivacy VPN’s security and privacy features. 

• Kill Switch: it prevents IP leaks during VPN connection drops. (not for Apple devices)
• Split Tunneling: it allows users to select which app data gets encrypted while other passes through the regular network. 
• Secure Download: an anti-malware feature that monitors your device to detect harmful software. 
• Dedicated IP: users connect to the same IP address whenever they connect to the VPN. This prevents IP from getting blocked and helps in secure banking. 
• IPv6 Leak Protection: the VPN disables IPv6 traffic to prevent leaks. 

Ivacy VPN is a reliable service with various security features. To understand its privacy features in detail, keep reading. 

Log Policy 

Ivacy VPN follows a no-log policy. The terms and conditions on its website state that the VPN only keeps the following information;

• Your Name.
• Email Address.
• Payment Method.

The VPN ensures that it does not log any data that can link it back to users, such as;

• IP address,
• Sites you visit,
• Downloading history, 
• browsing history,
• outgoing traffic,
• connection times,
• data you have accessed, and/or DNS queries generated by your end.

However, the VPN service is not audited; we only have their words to believe. It will be an excellent kickstart for Ivacy if they conduct an independent audit. This will further amplify their logging policy. 

Jurisdiction

Ivacy is based in Singapore, and the country has a privacy-friendly data-saving policy. According to (Section 25 of the PDPA),

“An organization must cease to retain documents containing personal data or remove the means by which the personal data can be associated with particular individuals as soon as it is reasonable to assume that the retention of such personal data no longer serves the purpose for which it was collected and is no longer necessary for legal or business purposes.”

Despite no data-saving policies, Singapore is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence. Meaning it is obligated to share its surveillance data with the intelligence whenever required. Moreover, some leaked documents showed that Singapore regularly shares sensitive data and resources. 

Although it is alarming news, this is when the no-log policy plays its part. Ivacy does not log data that can lead back to its users. Therefore, even if the VPN service is asked to share users’ data, it would have nothing to share. 

Past History. 

Luckily, since 2007, Ivacy VPN has kept its promise to provide security and complete privacy. The VPN has no records of data breaches or hacking. 

Encryption.

Strong Encryption prevents data leaks, IP leaks, and ISP monitoring. VPNs use encryption ciphers to protect users’ data and keep their digital identities private. In simpler words, Encryption is like a lock. The stronger the lock, the better security it will provide. 

Ivacy VPN uses an AES-256-bit encryption cipher. It is an advanced encryption type and the hardest to decode. The government, military, and industries use the same Encryption. Moreover, banks and ATMs also use the same encryption cipher.   

VPN Protocols.

Ivacy VPN offers different protocols for users to choose from; each tunneling protocol differs from the others. It provides these protocols, 

• OpenVPN: an Open-source protocol suitable for fast speed and robust security. 
• IKEv2: it is ideal for mobile users as it helps establish a connection between cellular data and wifi. 
• L2TP/IPSec: this protocol is only supported by Windows and iOS. It offers reliable speed and average security. 

The VPN lacks the WireGuard protocol, which is among the market’s fastest and most secure protocols. There is no news regarding Ivacy implementing WireGuard in the future, and we hope it does. 

Streaming 

It is important for a VPN to have streaming support. Most VPN users only use VPN to perform streaming and unblock streaming sites. Not only does the VPN help in bypassing geo-blocks it is also useful in preventing issues like ISP throttling and bandwidth restrictions. 

Ivacy VPN also claims to unblock various streaming sites, so we decided to test it ourselves. It has streaming-optimized servers and promises to unblock all major streaming platforms. 

• Prevent ISP throttling: With fast encryption and unlimited bandwidth, Ivacy VPN prevents ISP throttling. 
• Streaming Optimized servers: they help unblock geo-bocks and easily access streaming sites. 
• Kill Switch: it prevents IP leaks during VPN connection drops. 
• Netflix: UK, Japan, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany. 
• Hulu: Blocked.  
• BBCiPlayer: UK servers.
• Amazon Prime Video: Blocked.

Although Ivacy VPN could not access some major streaming sites, we still tried to check if it worked with the Popular Netflix and BBC iPlayer. 

Unblocking Netflix

Netflix applies geo-blocks and firewalls to prevent users from accessing different regional content libraries. A VPN can help unblock geo-restrictions and prevent other issues like ISP throttling. Ivacy promises to work well with streaming services. It has streaming-optimized servers, and we tried to unblock Netflix with them. 

We connected to the US server first, and it easily unblocked Netflix. The picture quality was excellent, and we experienced no lags. Then, we tried to access the Netflix Japan library, which kept lagging. The speed was slow, and the video quality was also pretty bad. We enabled the Kill Switch, but it slowed the connection speed, so we disconnected it later. 

How we set up Ivacy VPN for Netflix;

• Launch the Ivacy VPN app and Log in with your email. 
• Purchase a subscription plan. 
• Connect to a server of the country you want to access Netflix from. 
• Enable the Kill Switch for extra security.
• Open the Netflix site or app on your device. 
• Start streaming!

You must have a Netflix subscription to unblock other regional libraries. 

BBCiPlayer

After unblocking Netflix, our next stop was BBC iPlayer. It is another well-known VPN service, but it is only available in the UK, so for people located outside the UK, BBC iPlayer is inaccessible. This is where a VPN comes into view; it changes your IP location, and users can easily access blocked content. 

For BBC iPlayer, we connected to the UK-based server and waited a few seconds until the connection was established. The site lagged a bit, and the video quality was blurry. Unlike Netflix, the connection speed was slow, and we could perform HD streaming. 

How we set up Ivacy VPN for Netflix;

• Launch the Ivacy VPN app and Log in with your email. 
• Purchase a subscription plan. 
• Connect to a UK-based server. 
• Open the BBC iPlayer site. 
• Start streaming!

You must have a BBC iPlayer subscription to unblock the site. 

How Good is Torrenting with Ivacy VPN?

Ivacy is a reliable choice for torrenting. It lacks a SOCKS5 proxy but has other features that help secure downloading. Moreover, AES encryption protects your device and data while treating. Ivacy VPN provides the following features, which make torrenting easier and more secure.

• Split Tunneling: it allows users to select which app data gets encrypted while other passes through the regular network. 
• Torrenting-optimized servers: Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, and Turkey
• Robust security: AES-256-bit encryption helps in securing torrenting and preventing ISP throttling. 
• Secure Download: an anti-malware feature that monitors your device to detect harmful software. 

We used Ivacy VPN for torrenting, which is how we set up the VPN. We connected to an optimized server in Belgium and enabled the Split-tunneling feature. The downloading speed wasn’t very high; you must have a stable internet connection for fast downloading. We also experienced no IP leaks, which was a good overall experience. 

Is Ivacy VPN Good for Gaming?

Gaming on Ivacy VPN is pretty easy. It has high encryption and servers that can unblock geo-blocks and offer robust security. The VPN offers the following features that help in gaming,

• Split Tunneling: it allows users to select which app data gets encrypted while other passes through the regular network. 
• Dedicated IP: users connect to the same IP address whenever they connect to the VPN. This prevents the IP from getting blocked. 
• IPv6 Leak Protection: the VPN disables IPv6 traffic to prevent leaks. 

We enabled the Split tunneling feature and opened the game. Fortunately, there were no lags, and the speed was fast. You must have a stable internet connection if you want fast speed. It also prevents DDoS attacks, and the overall experience was excellent. 

Is Ivacy VPN compatible with the Tor Browser?

Tor is an essential tool for secure browsing, and it is crucial to have a VPN that works compatibly with it. While trying to access the Tor browser with Ivacy VPN, we experienced slow speeds and less-than-optimum performance. Moreover, the VPN does not provide access to the Tor anonymization network nor has any security features to support the browser, such as Multi-Hop. Overall, Ivacy VPN is not a good option for Tor users.

Pricing and payment methods. 

Ivacy VPN is a very affordable service with three pricing plans. It has ongoing discounts and is offering a 90% discount on the 5-year plan. This is an excellent deal, and the VPN is extremely cheap compared to other services. Additionally, it has a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Plan	Pricing
1-month plan	$9.95
1-year plan	$3.50
5-year plan	$1.00

The VPN offers the following payment plans,

Ivacy also has anonymous payment methods, meaning you can keep your identity private while purchasing the VPN. 

Customer support.

We are certainly impressed by Ivacy’s customer service. It offers 24/7 live chat support, and users can also email them regarding their queries. We contacted the live chat support, and this is how it went. 

We got connected with an agent named James. Assuming James was a human, he easily guided us and answered our questions within a few seconds. 

They also have a FAQs section where you can find answers to basic questions, and users can also submit tickets anytime. Additionally, they have video tutorials for beginners and new users, which is very thoughtful of Ivacy. 

Pros and cons.

Ivacy VPN is an excellent all-rounder service and we compiled a list of all its pros and cons of it. 

Pros	Cons
It has robust AES encryption that prevents data breaches and ISP monitoring.	It has a no-log policy that ensures it does not keep tabs on users’ activity.
It is based in Singapore and is a member of the five-eyes Intelligence.	The speed is very slow compared to other VPN services.
It is blocked by streaming services like Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.	Kill Switch is only available for Apple devices.
Ivacy has to stream and torrent-optimized servers.	It lacks Tor Browser support.
The secure download features help in preventing malware attacks.	A no-log policy ensures it does not keep tabs on users’ activity.
The VPN provides cheap and affordable subscription plans.	It has no application of Linux.
It can unblock Netflix US.

Final Words 

Ivacy is an average VPN service with good encryption and reliable tunneling protocols. The VPN has a no-log policy and provides many servers in 60+ countries. It is definitely not the best VPN as it lacks many major features, but it is an overall good VPN service. 

It supports streaming and torrenting and can unblock geo-blocked games. However, it has a  shady jurisdiction and lacks WireGuard protocol. Altogether, it is a reliable service but not the best. The VPN still hasn’t conducted an independent audit to verify its no-log policy, and we can only hope that in the future, Ivacu will take the initiative to improve the service. 

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