Windscribe VPN Review

Windscribe VPN Review Summary :

Windscribe is a VPN service that offers both a free and a paid version. Something we quickly noticed was that compared to other services that have both free and paid versions, Windscribe allows users to enjoy high security and quality in both the paid and free versions.

The only difference is that you get a limitation in customer service and a data quota of 10GB if you use the free version. The quantity is not much if you actively use VPN services, but it provides good opportunities to test out the platform before you sign an active subscription.

As for the free version of Windscribe, it is among the absolute best we have tested so far. You get 256-bit encryption and access to all the most popular streaming services. This includes US Netflix and BBC iPlayer, the downside is that customer service and long distance connections are not particularly strong.

If, on the other hand, you use the PRO variant that is included in the paid subscription, you will get a VPN service that is perfect for torrenting, streaming and work. The service maintains a high and stable internet speed at a relatively reasonable price.

Another advantage is that the company is very transparent in its guidelines for logging and use, but this has not been verified by anyone other than the company itself. To prepare our Windscribe review, we have run both the free version and the paid PRO version through a series of tests.

In Short

Windscribe is a VPN that offers both a free and a paid version. The absolute biggest advantage is that you enjoy both speed and security equally in both variants, but you have to accept a data limit of 10 GB per month if you use the free version.

Our Windscribe experiences show that the service works great with pretty much all popular streaming services, but we did experience some lag when it came to long-distance connections. This detracts a bit, but all in all, both the free and PRO version of Windscribe are an excellent VPN solution that provides high security and a good selection of services.

Recommendations

Windscribe is a good VPN solution with a great offer as they have a free and a paid version. Our Windscribe test shows that you can easily access all the most popular streaming services with both variants. That was a big plus and our Windscribe experience is therefore that it is among the most reliable free VPN solutions available.

It detracts a little from the fact that the company is headquartered in Canada, which is part of the Five Eyes agreement, but the company has strict no-log guidelines to protect users.

The free version offers 10 GB of data each month which we think is very generous when you get access to the full version of Windscribe for free. Regardless of whether you are looking for a simple VPN service for extra security, or access to various streaming services, Windscribe has a good offer and meets the vast majority of criteria for a premium VPN.

Windscribe Speed ​​and locations

When we conducted our Windscribe test, there was a high focus on both locations and speed. Although the company does not publicly state how many servers they have, we can assume that it is a relatively large network.

Figures from Windscribe show that the company offers servers in 110 different locations in 63 countries. In stark contrast to many other players who primarily focus on North America and Europe, Windscribe has a wide selection of locations in central Asia and China.

This has meant that the VPN service’s Stealth solution has quickly become a popular choice among users in Asia, especially Chinese users benefit from Windscribe’s protocols as they are still able to bypass the extensive censorship from the authorities.

After testing several different locations, we were pleasantly surprised by the stable speed Windscribe offers its customers. In particular, same-city connections were stable at around 100 mbps on the vast majority of servers we conducted our Windscribe test on.

At international speed, however, we experienced a drop in speed. Here, the company simply failed to deliver at the same high speed, which is disappointing for an otherwise great VPN solution. When we connected to a US location from London we achieved speeds of 68 Mbps. Corresponding tests showed that speeds for Germany, Singapore and Australia ended up at 85 Mbps, 4 Mbps and 9 Mbps respectively.

Windscribe Logging Policy and Ownership

When it comes to collecting information, Windscribe disappoints compared to similar services. They must be transparent about the collection of user data, but when other players are able to offer a premium offer without the need for data collection, Windscribe should be able to do the same.

The company collects a marginal amount of user data for maintenance purposes. When the whole purpose of a VPN is anonymity and protection of user data, this is far from ideal. Even if the data they collect cannot be used to identify you as a user, we still believe that it should be completely unnecessary to collect such data. Windscribe logs the following information from its users;

• Amount of data transferred in the last 30 days.
• Timestamps of your activity on the VPN network.
• Number of simultaneous connections you have.
• Your OpenVPn or IKEv2 username (Deleted after session ends)
• The time you connected to the network (deleted after the end of the session)

As mentioned above, none of this data can be used to identify the end user of the VPN solution, but we would still have preferred that they did not collect data at all. The company itself has explained that they collect this information to make sure that the solution performs optimally and as intended. Information companies, on the other hand, will never collect is;

Your original IP address

Browsing Log

When it comes to ownership, the company is still owned by managing director and founder Yegor Sak. With private ownership, the company has long managed to maintain its flexibility and continues to offer a good service to users. The only thing we find that can pull it down is that the company has its head office in Canada.

As is well known, the country is part of the Five Eyes cooperation, which means that the various intelligence organizations share information with each other.

From the past, Canada is known as a country that collects significant amounts of data on its citizens and CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) collects this on behalf of the authorities. A good example of this is how Canadian ISPs (internet service providers) must collect user data and store this for six months. Through our Windscribe review, we have not revealed whether VPN services have similar obligations.

Windscribe Security and privacy

When it comes to security, Windscribe is just as strong as most other premium offers available today. The company uses IKEv2, OpenVPn and WireGuard.

User data is protected with AES-256 bit encryption and a number of anti-leakage measures are in place, including; DNS Leak Blocking , IPV6 Leak Blocking, TCP Port 443, VPN Kill Switch and WebRTC Leak Blocking. If you want more advanced settings, you can also choose AD Blocker, SOCKS and Split Tunneling at all locations.

This ensures that your user data is safe, while you are always guaranteed a secure connection. Should it, on the other hand, become unstable or exposed, the VPN Kill Switch will cut the transmission before data is exposed. Especially on public networks, this will be a very handy functionality to prevent hackers or monitoring services from gaining access to sensitive information.

The company takes privacy seriously and does not log any data that can identify a user. This despite the fact that the company is located in Canada, which is known for its strict measures against file sharing and the like. Beyond this, it has not been verified by a neutral third party how the company actually follows its own guidelines.

Stealth protocols and availability in Asia have long made Windscribe among the preferred solutions to bypass censorship.

Windscribe Streaming Services & Torrenting

One of the most common reasons why one chooses to use a VPN is to bypass geographic blocks. This works by the fact that the VPN service masks your real location and gives you a fictitious IP address somewhere else in the world.

It is also an opportunity for those who are outside their home country to access entertainment and networks at home. Today, many people use VPN solutions to access different content on international streaming services.

Windscribe, on the other hand, still offers access to a number of popular streaming services in both its free and PRO versions.

Windscribe on different devices

Windscribe offers dedicated applications for the vast majority of platforms and operating systems. In addition, most solutions are very user-friendly and easy to use. Among other things, you will find separate applications for Windows, Mac OS , Android and iOS, as well as for Linux and Android TV.

As with a number of other players, the service for Windows is the most optimal and the iOS app is slightly more limited in functionality. If you want to use Windscribe on another platform, they offer their own Config generator which quickly and easily gives you the exact information you need to set it up manually.

This is especially useful if you want to install a VPN on your router, AppleTV, Amazon Fire Stick, Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation, Roku or Chromecast. You will also find separate apps for Kodi and Nvidia Shield. The software is also adaptable, which means that you can easily install it directly on the router, then all devices connected to the network will be able to easily benefit from the VPN connection.

For browsers, the company offers popular extensions for both Firefox and Chrome . However, it is worth noting that, as with most other browser VPN solutions, they function in practice as a proxy and not a full-fledged VPN solution.

Windscribe Ease of use

For ease of use, both the mobile application and the desktop version are very easy to use. Both parts are easy to set up the first time and using a clear menu with large buttons you can easily choose which location you want to connect to. Another plus we noticed is that the design is consistently the same on all devices, which means you can quickly and easily install it on different devices without the need to learn a new layout.

The only significant difference we discovered was that the MacOS application is a menu bar application, not an independent window. This is something that many VPN applications use, but when we first opened the application, the content and functionality were virtually unchanged from the Windows version.

Mobile devices are also very easy to use and you can find everything quickly and easily on the home page. Windscribe has recently updated its applications for mobile devices and we are very pleased with the result. Among other things, they have included popular choices such as light/dark mode, customization of notifications and language.

You can also quickly and easily choose a location by searching for the desired country, or scrolling through the list. Last, but not least, we have the browser extension for Windscribe. This is packed with functionality and offers a surprising amount right in your browser. Among other things, you can find functionalities such as Ad and Malware block, advanced leak protection, and close connection at city level for PRO users.

It’s worth noting that while a browser extension will protect your location for that session, it won’t offer as comprehensive security as a full desktop application.

Windscribe Pricing

In terms of pricing, Windscribe is very similar to a number of other players, but is somewhat higher in price. They use the same price model where a longer subscription will give access to a lower monthly price and higher savings.

All in all, Windscribe is more expensive than a number of other premium VPN solutions, but if you need a wide selection of locations in Asia, it will be a good choice. If, on the other hand, you just want to have easy access to Netflix or similar, there are several other premium players on the market who are far cheaper, while offering a similar quality.

Lack of customer service options is also something that drags Windscribe down and does not justify the high price they charge their customers. Our Windscribe experiences are therefore that the service is on par with other premium players, but due to the lack of functionality the price is not justified.