Perfect Privacy VPN Review – Is It Worth Your Money?

Perfect Privacy has been around since 2008 and it seems that ever since then, this VPN software has been all you need for, well, perfect privacy.

Now, let us detail what we found when running tests for this Perfect Privacy VPN review.

Security and privacy

Perfect Privacy, LLC provides all you need to feel secure and anonymous:

• Dedicated bare-metal VPN servers
• Secure tunneling protocols (and several not-not-so-secure ones): OpenVPN, IPSec, PPTP, SSH2
• HTTP and SOCKS5 proxies
  
• IPv6 ready
• No DNS or WebRTC leaks.
• Multi-hop VPN chains (cascading connections)
• Three Stealth VPN protocols: Stunnel, SSH, and Obfsproxy3

• Customizable kill switch (Firewall) 
• TrackStop Filter (protection against ad-tracking, browser fingerprinting, malware infections, and phishing sites.
• NeuroRouting AI – a unique server-side feature that increases online security and anonymity by introducing dynamic multi-hops.

In summary, the answer to whether Perfect Privacy VPN is safe to use is a simple “yes.” This is, quite possibly, the richest VPN in terms of security features.

Does Perfect Privacy keep logs?

The absolute minimum – practically, “no”

According to the Privacy Policy, “no personal user data such as IP addresses are collected” when using the VPN. They reinforce this in the FAQ section, which claims that none of the servers keep any logs whatsoever that could identify you.

The no-logs policy and the privacy-friendly company jurisdiction (Switzerland) make Perfect Privacy a great choice.

The only information they collect is your login credentials, payment information, and configuration settings. Realizing that some users may find this concerning, Perfect Privacy advises users to visit their website using a VPN.

You won’t even find the Android app on the Google Play Store due to privacy concerns. This provider simply won’t put up with the aggressive data gathering and surveillance policies of Google. You can download the Android app only from the official Perfect Privacy VPN site.

Where is it based?

Perfect Privacy VPN is based in Zug, Switzerland.

Perfect Privacy’s parent company Vectura Datamanagement Limited Company has its headquarters in Switzerland. This is a privacy-friendly country, meaning you can rest assured your data is in good hands.

However, it does have its payment processing and app listing in the US (plus its principal office in Panama). This doesn’t seem to be much of an issue since its legal headquarters are still in Switzerland. However, some users may not want to have any connection with the founding Five Eyes member at all.

Speed and performance

Now, this is a grey area. Download and upload speeds can vary quite wildly due to factors such as the time of the day, the server load, your distance from the server, your hardware, and your baseline speed.

Speed tests

On our test laptop, we saw a 285 Mbps download and a 300 Mbps upload baseline speed with 3 ms latency.

When we ran the speed tests using the regular (OpenVPN) setup, the speeds were quite overwhelming, so, in the interest of thoroughness, we also ran some tests with the Stealth VPN feature on. In some cases, download speeds increased substantially.

In general, all three options (Stunnel, SSH, and Obfsproxy3) proved to offer faster download speeds than with StealthVPN turned off. The SSH and the Obfsproxy3 stealth options also offered much better upload speeds.

London, UK with Stunnel, SSH, and Obfsproxy3

• Download: 59 Mbps (21% of baseline)
• Upload: 9 Mbps (3% of baseline)

• Download: 66 Mbps (23% of baseline)
• Upload: 49 Mbps (16% of baseline)

• Download: 49 Mbps (17% of baseline)
• Upload: 144 Mbps (48% of baseline)

We experienced similar tendencies in most of our tests for American and European servers. Of course, VPN speeds depend on many different factors, not least of which is your base connection speed, the distance from the VPN server, and others.

Perfect Privacy server coverage

Perfect Privacy has 50+ servers in 26 countries, mostly in Europe and the US, but also a few locations in Asia (Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong), Australia, and one in Egypt.

While this may not seem impressive, one has to remember that all Perfect Privacy servers are physical, providing much better performance compared to the virtual ones. All in all, this is a decent, but not very impressive server list.

Ease of use and multiplatform support

In general, we can say that it’s fairly easy to use Perfect Privacy VPN. However, the client interface needs a face-lift ASAP. It’s as if the design had come straight from the 90s.

Perfect Privacy has apps for:

• Windows
• macOS
• Android

However, the website has manuals on how to set up the service on:

• iOS
• Linux
• Amazon Fire TV Stick
• pfSense
• eBlocker
• RaspberryPi
• Routers: Vilfo, AsusWRT-Merlin, DD-WRT, Tomato by Shibby, and DrayTek

We had a look at the Windows client. After launching your Perfect Privacy app, you will see the following notification:

This pop-up comes up if your Windows Firewall is disabled or not available.

Then, the login screen appears as the default tab of the Settings window.

Enter your credentials and click the Login button to start your Perfect Privacy VPN session. On this screen, you can also choose between the two main VPN protocols: IKEv2/IPsec or OpenVPN. But it’s possible to change this setting any time after login.

Once you press Close to hide the Settings window, the Perfect Privacy VPN Manager appears.

At the top, you will find some basic data, such as whether you’re connected, your current IP address, and the domain name of your server. The two letters, F and D, stand for Firewall (kill switch) and DNS leak protection.

Then comes the server list. There are five columns: Country, Server, Ping, Available Bandwidth, and Action (Connect/Disconnect and Show).

If you want to connect or disconnect, click the Plug icon (Connect/Disconnect) next to the location.

There are four buttons at the bottom of the VPN Manager:

• Ping Servers: to display the latency for all servers on the list so that you can order your list accordingly;
• Settings: to present the Settings window;
• Quit: to disconnect the VPN and exit the program;
• Minimize: to hide the VPN from view.

While this is a relatively easy-to-use app, we do have some issues with it.

It is rather annoying that you have to terminate your current connection to connect to a different server. During our tests for this Perfect Privacy VPN review, we also experienced some unwanted freezing. Having left the connection on, after a while we couldn’t disconnect from the server or turn the VPN software off anymore.

Another annoying bug is that toggling the Stealth VPN feature sometimes causes the client to quit.

If we turn a blind eye to the old-fashioned design and the occasional freezes, this VPN client is pretty impressive. It comes with lots of features and customization opportunities.

Apart from the basic Perfect Privacy Settings, there are five other tabs on the Settings window:

• Program Settings
• Firewall and DNS
• IP and Ports
• Cascading and Stealth
• Other

In this sense, this VPN is better for experienced users. For example, there are three ways you can set up your kill switch/firewall and DNS leak protection. Fortunately, there are descriptions to assist novice users.

Not all possible settings are available through the client. But don’t panic because the Member area of the official website has a dashboard just for that. This is where you can configure the TrackStop Filter, NeuroRouting, Using a random exit IP address, and Port forwarding.

In summary, this may not be the most trendy app on the market, but you can play around with a great variety of security settings and more. In fact, this is one of the best-equipped VPN apps we have reviewed.

Unblocking Netflix and other streaming platforms

You can’t consistently use Perfect Privacy VPN for Netflix US anymore. We tried all of the servers and failed.

However, it is possible to watch Netflix UK consistently. You need to connect to the London2 server after you turn on the Stealth VPN feature and select either Stunnel or Obfsproxy3. Disclaimer: the stealth protocol shouldn’t influence your ability to bypass Netflix IP blocks, but we can’t argue with reality.

In the end, this was the only Netflix library we managed to access without a hitch.

We also found that BBC iPlayer doesn’t work no matter how stealthily we tried to access the videos.

On a more positive note, Perfect Privacy will let you stream your favorite NBC and Comedy Central shows.

If Netflix is your main reason for wanting a VPN, check out our Best VPNs for Netflix list.

P2P and torrenting

If you want to have decent privacy and security, we definitely recommend Perfect Privacy VPN for torrenting but with one caveat. P2P file-sharing is not supported on the US and French servers.

Nevertheless, you can use most of the other Perfect Privacy locations for torrenting. The bare-metal servers, along with the great privacy features, should give you all the protection. In addition, the service offers port forwarding (important for seeding) and a SOCKS5 proxy. What’s more, there are no traffic limits.

Some reviews also go as far as calling Perfect Privacy VPN the best VPN for torrenting. While it’s a very solid choice, the best VPN for torrenting it is not.

Online censorship in China and elsewhere

Yes, you can use Perfect Privacy in China. It’s equipped with all the necessary features (StealthVPN, NeuroRouting, and multi-hops) to make sure that the Great Firewall with all its vicious tools (such as Deep Packet Inspection) can’t get to you.

These amazing features don’t only come in handy in China. There are more countries where VPN use is restricted, the censorship – heavy, and the punishments – severe. Perfect Privacy VPN seems like a good choice if you want to practice your right to online anonymity.

For your information, there is only one server in Hong Kong. However, users in Asia also have the choice of servers in Singapore and Japan.

Customer support

Long story short, there’s no live chat support available. While this is usually a painful drawback, Perfect Privacy seems to make up for it through its effective, fast, and helpful email support. A lot can go wrong when using a VPN service. This is why you need to make sure that your chosen VPN service has decent support, preferably including a live chat option.

This provider offers the following platforms for customer support:

• Forum
• Email address
• Support tickets
• TeamViewer

In general, the Perfect Privacy support team seems responsive and up to the task.

Pricing

Pricing is one of the weakest parts of Perfect Privacy VPN – it’s just far too expensive for what it offers. While it’s a great service (OK, they could use some more servers or locations) with industry-leading features, there are other VPNs with similar features and much better prices.

The pricing plans are:

• 1-month: $12.99/month
• 1-year: $9.99/month  ($119.99)
• 2-year: $8.95/month ($214.95)

Of course, the high level of online security and privacy that comes with this VPN justifies the prices. Yet, there are similar VPN services (like NordVPN, for example) with much more affordable pricing plans.

If you do end up deciding on Perfect Privacy, you’ll appreciate the diversity of payment options. In addition to credit cards, PayPal and Bitcoin, there are 60+ payment options available via Paymentwall. This also means you can pay anonymously for this VPN.

Perfect Privacy comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee, but make sure you read the refund policy carefully. If you use a gift card, coupon, crypto (Bitcoin), or cash to buy your subscription, it is not possible to get a refund.

Bottom line

At the end of our Perfect Privacy VPN review, we conclude that this service is undoubtedly one of the best for security and privacy, even though it could and should be cheaper. We would go so far as to say this is one of the most-ethical VPNs on the market today. However, those who want a service to access streaming platforms should look elsewhere.