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Atlas VPN is a slightly new VPN supplier primarily based in the US. It’s owned through Nord Security, which additionally owns NordVPN and – now – Surfshark.
Atlas VPN is a lot more of a price providing, even than Surfshark. It additionally has a shockingly succesful loose tier in the event you in reality don’t need to pay for a VPN.
But given its ‘freemium’ industry style, a variety of options are stored locked away for purchasers paying for the Premium tier, such because the quickest speeds, many of the places and servers or even the Amazon Fire TV and Android TV apps.
Originally, the loose model had no bandwidth cap, however now it’s 10GB per thirty days. (You get 2GB according to day at the cell apps, however that can quickly alternate to the similar 10GB per month cap.)
This makes the Premium subscription – at £1.46 / $1.99 per thirty days – appear to be nice price. That’s the associated fee you’ll pay in the event you join and pay upfront for 3 years’ use. It’s simply as pricey as maximum different VPN products and services in the event you pay on a rolling one-month contract.
As with all such subscriptions, you pay the whole thing in advance, however a £53 / $71 outlay for 3 years of VPN use is an excellent deal. You can get that deal on Atlas VPN’s site.
VPNs aren’t all created the similar, and on this assessment we’ll drill down into the more than a few facets of Atlas VPN to peer precisely the way it stacks up in opposition to the large names.
Features & apps
- 31 international locations coated through 750+ servers
- WireGuard protocol
- SafeSwap servers
Many other people need a VPN to circulate video, equivalent to staring at presentations on Netflix which aren’t to be had for your area. Atlas VPN Premium can do this, and can unblock many products and services together with Disney+ and BBC iPlayer (we checked they usually paintings). Plus, the corporate is ok with you the use of the provider for P2P downloads, like torrent information.
You can’t get entry to all Netflix areas regardless that, as Atlas VPN’s server community covers round 31 international locations with 750-ish servers. Since we ultimate seemed, servers had been added in Japan and a couple of different international locations, however protection remains to be most powerful in Europe and weakest in Asia.
New are SafeSwap servers. Available places for those are the United States, Singapore and the Netherlands. Instead of assigning you only one IP cope with and sticking with it whilst the relationship is energetic, SafeSwap often adjustments your IP cope with from the to be had pool, and this makes it even tougher to spot you, which is excellent for privateness.
There are apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, however no browser extensions: one for Chrome and browsers that use its engine is within the works. Note that browsers can’t determine VPN connections, so that is more likely to be a easy proxy and now not a VPN.
There at the moment are Atlas VPN apps for Amazon’s Fire TV units and Android TVs, and those can best be utilized by Premium subscribers.
You gained’t to find many choices within the apps – they’re elementary, however this additionally makes them lovely simple to make use of. Oddly, the server listing within the Windows app is not in alphabetical order, however it’s within the different variations.
Two more moderen options are the Data Breach Monitor and Tracker Blocker. The first displays electronic mail addresses and notifies you in the event that they ever seem at the darkish internet. This is an improve of the unique ‘Data hack detection’ function which allow you to test if a undeniable electronic mail cope with were leaked in information breaches. That’s one thing you’ll get on-line free of charge from web sites equivalent to haveibeenpwned.com.
Oddly, the Data Breach Monitor permits you to input any electronic mail cope with with out verifying that you simply personal it. Neither does test for any earlier breaches: best long run ones. That way you continue to want to use haveibeenpwned.com to peer if you wish to have to take any motion (equivalent to converting passwords) straight away.
Tracker Blocker – in the past known as SafeBrowse Plus – warns you of probably bad web sites, and likewise makes an attempt to forestall monitoring cookies and different way of tracking your behaviour on-line.
The phone apps are lately known as Atlas VPN: Private Fast Proxy. However, they’re correct VPN apps, now not mere proxies. Proxy is just used as a result of that’s incessantly what other people seek for on app retail outlets.
What’s lacking is any roughly split-tunnelling choice so only a few apps run by way of the VPN (Netflix, your bittorrent shopper and so on). This choice is best discovered within the Android app.
We’d additionally just like the approach to favorite servers. In the Windows and macOS apps, there isn’t even a ‘contemporary servers’ phase. And there’s no strategy to see how busy every one is, and, for players, the ping.
Dark mode has been added, however best to the macOS and iOS apps thus far.
Logging into the apps is best required in the event you’re a paying buyer. Unfortunately, that is the place we hit our first snag: as a substitute of a password, you input your electronic mail cope with to be despatched despatched a six-digit code. This can take a few mins to reach. Given this, a password can be preferable, but it surely does upload a layer of safety.
The excellent information is that there’s no restrict at the collection of units you’ll use with Atlas VPN on the identical time, not like maximum VPNs which both pressure you to make use of only one tool at a time or 5-10.
Privacy
If you realize the rest about VPNs, you’ll know that they’re incessantly registered in international locations with beneficial privateness rules, even though their exact workplaces are in other places. Altas VPN is primarily based in the United States the place government can ask products and services handy over no matter information they have got.
This is why VPNs function ‘no-logs’ insurance policies so there’s no information handy over. Atlas VPN says it doesn’t log any person information, however take a look at its privateness coverage and also you’ll see it does log some information.
Most is usual follow. In order to optimise and broaden the provider the corporate likes to understand which servers individuals are the use of, more or less the place they’re positioned on the planet and what tool they’re the use of to get entry to it, which choices they modify in settings, and so on. None of that is intended to be for my part identifiable: it’s nameless.
The coverage used to state that additional info was once logged such because the date and time of connection and disconnection from the provider. Fortunately this is now not the case. The coverage now reads “We are no-logs VPN: we don’t acquire your actual IP cope with and we don’t retailer any data that identifies what you browse, view, or do on-line by way of that VPN connection. The best data amassed is elementary analytics, to verify nice provider to all our customers.”.
Since Atlas VPN’s privateness coverage hasn’t been audited, you’ll simply need to take the corporate’s phrase for it, and that’s why its USA location is a long way from ideally suited.
However, in the event you’re simply the use of a VPN to unblock movies, web sites and for safety on, say, lodge Wi-Fi, none of this issues. Anything that would get you in hassle with the regulation is every other topic.
Performance
We examined Atlas VPN on a home ~70Mbps broadband line in the United Kingdom (with 18Mbps add speeds). The effects confirmed that connection instances have been most often swift and dependable.
A handy guide a rough check of the Los Angeles server confirmed nearly no slowdown, with a 66Mbps obtain velocity. Even the relationship to Japan ran at a fragment over 60Mbps.
As of but, not one of the unbiased check homes have added Atlas VPN to their roster, so we will be able to’t say evidently how briskly connections are the use of WireGuard. It’s not likely to be as fast as NordVPN, however this can be a finances VPN provider.
Usefully, Atlas VPN has supported IPv6 from the get-go, which means you’re safe out of your actual IP cope with being uncovered even though you will have an ISP that has already converted from IPv4 (equivalent to BT in the United Kingdom).
We discovered no DNS leaks in our assessments both.
The connection dropped on a few events when the use of the Windows app and – unusually – the kill transfer is now not enabled through default.
Unblocking is lovely excellent: we have been ready to observe titles unique to Netflix Japan, in addition to different areas plus presentations on Disney+, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer.
Support
Just lately Atlas VPN added 24/7 are living chat for Premium subscribers. This is best to be had in a internet browser while you’re logged into your Atlas VPN account, versus within the apps themselves.
However, once we examined this, the reaction was once quick and technical questions have been spoke back temporarily and correctly.
Previously, in the event you wanted lend a hand, you needed to seek the FAQ on Atlas VPN’s site, or post a lend a hand request by way of electronic mail to [email protected]
Pricing & plans
As we stated, signal as much as Atlas VPN for 3 years and also you’ll pay the identical of $1.99 per thirty days, or £1.46 in the United Kingdom.
You can’t in reality pay anonymously regardless that, as the one choices are PayBuddy, Google Pay and credit score/debit playing cards.
Prices have long gone up for the reason that provider first introduced in 2019 when it was once simply £1 / $1.39 per thirty days. And if you are after an affordable VPN, it’s price looking at our assessment of Ivacy.
It limits you to 5 units, however has significantly extra servers in more or less two times the collection of places and helps OpenVPN (however now not but WireGuard). It’s additionally primarily based in Singapore, which is a extra privacy-friendly jurisdiction.
You too can see different suggestions in our roundup of the most efficient VPN products and services.
Verdict
Atlas VPN has come far in twelve months since we ultimate examined it. Several of our criticisms had been addressed, from the relationship logs to are living chat and apps for Fire TV and Android TV.
The addition of WireGuard has advanced connection speeds and – for many of us – there at the moment are servers within the places they would like, in particular in the event you’re after a VPN to unblock video streaming products and services.
And if that’s you, then you definitely’re most certainly now not through the loss of complicated choices in Atlas VPN’s apps, and gained’t leave out split-tunnelling or a internet browser extension.
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