Fast speeds and a low learning curve

ExpressVPN is sweet at its job. It is simple to be skeptical of any service with a knack for self-promotion, however do not let ExpressVPN’s hype distract you from the truth that it retains its front-page promise of “simply working.”

Exterior of strong safety, the 2 greatest issues ExpressVPN presents are quick speeds and a easy interface. Our checks confirmed solely a 7% common drop in obtain pace and a 2% lack of add pace, worldwide. And whereas the shortage of additional options might frustrate skilled customers, it makes for a real set-and-forget VPN on any platform.

This is not to say ExpressVPN is with out flaws — it is almost bereft of customization choices and it is notably costlier than its competitors — nevertheless it beats most VPNs in a head-to-head matchup.

For this overview, we adopted our rigorous 10-step VPN testing course of, exploring ExpressVPN’s safety, privateness, pace, interfaces and extra. Whether or not you learn straight by or skip to the sections which are most vital for you, it’s best to come away with all the knowledge you could resolve whether or not to subscribe.

Editor’s notice (9/25/25): We have overhauled our VPN protection to offer extra detailed, actionable shopping for recommendation. Going ahead, we’ll proceed to replace each our greatest VPN listing and particular person critiques (like this one) as circumstances change. Most just lately, we added official scores to all of our VPN critiques. Try how we take a look at VPNs to study extra in regards to the new requirements we’re utilizing.

Desk of contents

Findings at a look

Putting in, configuring and utilizing ExpressVPN

This part focuses on the way it feels to make use of ExpressVPN on every of the key platforms the place it is out there. Step one for any setup course of is to make an account on expressvpn.com and purchase a subscription.

Home windows

As soon as subscribed, obtain the Home windows VPN from both expressvpn.com or the Microsoft Retailer, then open the .exe file. Click on “Sure” to let it make adjustments, watch for the set up, then let your pc reboot. Together with the reboot, the entire course of takes 5-10 minutes, most of it idle. To complete, you may want your activation code, which yow will discover by going to expressvpn.com and clicking “Setup” within the top-right nook.

Excessive simplicity is the watchword for all ExpressVPN’s designs. The Home windows consumer’s launch panel consists of three buttons and fewer than ten phrases. You possibly can change your location or let the app choose a location for you — the “Sensible Location” is the server with the very best mixture of being close by and unburdened.

The whole lot else is crammed into the hamburger menu on the prime left. Right here, in seven tabs, you may discover the Community Lock kill swap, the 4 kinds of content material blockers, the cut up tunneling menu and the choice to alter your VPN protocol. You may as well add shortcuts to numerous web sites, helpful for those who usually use your VPN for a similar on-line locations.

To sum up, there’s nearly nothing right here to get in the best way: no delays, no snags, no nested menus to get misplaced in. It might be the world’s most ignorable VPN consumer. That is not a nasty factor in any respect.

Mac

ExpressVPN’s app for macOS is nearly similar in design to its Home windows app. The method for downloading and setting it up is almost the identical too. As on Home windows, it may be downloaded from the App Retailer or sideloaded immediately from the expressvpn.com obtain heart. Only some options are lacking and a pair others have been added. Break up tunneling is gone (except you are still on a macOS decrease than 11), and you will not see the Lightway Turbo setting.

Mac customers do acquire entry to the IKEv2 protocol, together with the choice to show off computerized IPv6 blocking — Home windows customers have to depart it blocked always. Nearly each web site remains to be accessible by way of IPv4, nevertheless it’s helpful for those who do have to entry a selected IPv6 handle whereas the VPN is lively.

Android

Android customers can obtain ExpressVPN by the Google Play Retailer. Open the app, check in and also you’re able to go. The Android app has a really good dark-colored design, solely barely marred by an pointless info field about how lengthy you have used the VPN this week.

There’s a big button for connecting. Clicking on the server identify takes you to an inventory of areas. On this listing, you’ll be able to both search or scroll and might select particular person areas inside a rustic that has a couple of. We related to as many far-flung server areas as we may, however not a single one took longer than a couple of seconds.

The choices menu is organized sensibly, with no choice situated greater than two clicks deep. You will note a few choices right here that are not out there on desktop, the very best of which is the flexibility to mechanically connect with your last-used ExpressVPN server each time your telephone connects to a non-trusted wifi community.

There are additionally a couple of basic safety instruments: an IP handle checker, DNS and WebRTC leak testers and a password generator. These are additionally out there on the web site, however right here, they’re constructed into the app. Excluding the latter, we would advocate utilizing third-party testing instruments as a substitute — even a VPN with integrity has an incentive to make its personal app appear like it is working.

iPhone and iPad

You possibly can solely set up ExpressVPN’s iOS app by the app retailer. Throughout setup, you might have to enter your password to permit your telephone to make use of VPN configurations. In any other case, there aren’t any main variations from the Android course of.

The interface is just not fairly as pleasing because the dark-mode Android app, nevertheless it makes up for that by chopping out a few of the litter. The tabs and options are comparable, although cut up tunneling and shortcuts are absent. Additionally, each cell apps make buyer help much more accessible than their desktop counterparts — plus, cell is the one solution to ship e-mail help tickets.

Browser extension

ExpressVPN additionally consists of browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. These allow you to join, disconnect and alter server areas with out leaving your browser window. It is good, however not important except you’ve a really particular internet browser movement you want.

ExpressVPN pace take a look at: Very quick averages

Connecting to a VPN nearly at all times decreases your pace, however the very best VPNs mitigate the drop as a lot as potential. We used Ookla’s pace testing app to see how a lot of your web pace ExpressVPN preserves. For this take a look at, we emphasised the areas ExpressVPN makes use of for many of its digital servers, together with the Netherlands, Brazil, Germany and Singapore.

Some phrases earlier than we begin:

• Latency, measured in milliseconds (ms), is the time it takes one information packet to journey between your machine and an online server by the VPN. Latency will increase with distance. It is most vital for real-time duties like video chatting and on-line gaming.

• Obtain pace, measured in megabits per second (Mbps), is the quantity of knowledge that may obtain onto your machine at one time — similar to when loading an online web page or streaming a video.

• Add pace, additionally measured in Mbps, is the quantity of knowledge your machine can ship to the online directly. It is most vital for torrenting, because the quantity of information you’ll be able to seed determines how briskly you’ll be able to obtain in change.

The desk beneath reveals our outcomes. We performed this on Home windows, utilizing the automated protocol setting with the Lightway Turbo function lively — a current ExpressVPN addition that retains pace extra constant by processing connections in parallel.

These are extraordinarily good outcomes. ExpressVPN is a winner on each obtain and add pace. Irrespective of the place we went on the planet, we by no means misplaced greater than about 7% of our obtain speeds, and add misplaced an astoundingly low common of two%. This implies that ExpressVPN deftly distributes its consumer load between servers to remove bottlenecks.

The latency numbers look worse, however the rise within the desk is much less sharp than we projected. Ping size relies upon much more on distance than obtain pace does, so we anticipate it to shoot up on servers greater than 1,000 miles from our location. Protecting the common beneath 300 ms, as ExpressVPN does right here, is a powerful exhibiting.

ExpressVPN safety take a look at: Checking for leaks

A VPN’s core mission is to cover your IP handle and make you untraceable on-line. Our process on this part is to determine if ExpressVPN can perform this mission each time you join. Whereas we will not be 100% sure, the checks we’ll run by beneath have led us to imagine that ExpressVPN is presently leak-proof.

Accessible VPN protocols

A VPN protocol is sort of a widespread language {that a} VPN server can use to mediate between your units and the online servers you go to. If a VPN makes use of outdated or insecure protocols, or depends on distinctive protocols with no seen specs or supply code, that is a nasty signal.

ExpressVPN offers you a number of three protocols: IKEv2, OpenVPN and Lightway. The primary two are strong selections that help the most recent encryption algorithms. OpenVPN has been absolutely open-source for years and is the only option if privateness is your objective. Whereas IKEv2 began life as a closed undertaking by Microsoft and Cisco, ExpressVPN makes use of an open-source reverse-engineering, which is each higher for privateness and fairly quick.

Lightway is the odd one out, a protocol you may solely discover on ExpressVPN, although its supply code is accessible on Github. It is just like WireGuard, in that each attain for quicker speeds and decrease processing calls for by maintaining their codebases slim. Nonetheless, Lightway was just lately rewritten in Rust to higher shield the keys saved in its reminiscence.

In the end, you’ll be able to’t go flawed with any of ExpressVPN’s protocol choices. 99% of the time, your most suitable option might be to set the controls to Computerized and let the VPN resolve which runs greatest.

Testing for leaks

ExpressVPN is likely one of the greatest providers, nevertheless it’s not leak-proof (as you’ll be able to learn within the Background Examine beneath). Fortunately, checking for DNS leaks is an easy matter of checking your IP handle earlier than and after connecting to a VPN server. If the brand new handle matches the VPN server, you are good; if not, your VPN is leaking.

First, we checked the Home windows app with cut up tunneling lively to make sure the flaw actually had been patched. We examined a number of servers and did not discover any leaks, which suggests the patch labored, although leaks had been uncommon even earlier than ExpressVPN mounted the vulnerability.

In actual fact, we did not discover any leaks on any ExpressVPN server we examined on any platform. Although questions stay about iOS, as you may see later on this part, that is an issue on Apple’s finish that even the very best VPNs can do little or no about for now.

The commonest explanation for VPN leaks is using public DNS servers to attach customers to web sites, which might mistakenly ship looking exercise exterior the VPN’s encrypted tunnel. ExpressVPN avoids the dangers of the general public system by putting in its personal DNS resolvers on each server. That is the important thing issue behind its clear invoice of well being in our leak testing.

Two different widespread flaws can result in VPN leaks: WebRTC visitors and IPv6. The previous is a communication protocol utilized in reside streaming and the latter is a brand new IP normal designed to increase area availability. Each are good, however presently non-compulsory, so ExpressVPN mechanically blocks each to make sure there is not any alternative for leaks to come up.

One notice about VPN safety on iOS: it is a recognized and persevering with downside that iOS VPNs don’t stop many on-line apps from speaking with Apple immediately, exterior the VPN tunnel. This dangers leaking delicate information, even with Lockdown Mode lively in iOS 16. A weblog put up by Proton VPN shares a workaround: connect with a VPN server, then flip Airplane Mode on and off once more to finish all connections that had been lively earlier than you related to the VPN.

Testing encryption

We completed up our battery of safety checks by trying out ExpressVPN’s encryption immediately. Utilizing WireShark, a free packet sniffer, we inspected what it appears to be like like when ExpressVPN transmits information from certainly one of its servers to the web. The screenshot beneath reveals an information stream encrypted with Lightway UDP.

That lack of any identifiable info, and even readable info, means encryption is working as meant. We repeated the take a look at a number of instances, at all times getting the identical consequence. This left us glad that ExpressVPN’s core options are working as meant.

How a lot does ExpressVPN price?

ExpressVPN subscriptions price $12.95 per 30 days. Lengthy-term subscriptions can deliver the month-to-month price down, however the nice offers they provide are likely to solely final for the primary billing interval.

A 12-month subscription prices $99.95 and consists of three months totally free along with your first cost, costing a complete of $6.67 per 30 days. The bonus disappears for all subsequent years, elevating the month-to-month price to $8.33. You may as well join 28 months at a price of $139.72, however that is additionally once-only — ExpressVPN can solely be renewed on the $99.95 per 12 months stage.

There are two methods to check ExpressVPN totally free earlier than making a monetary dedication. Customers on iOS and Android can obtain the ExpressVPN app with out coming into any cost particulars and use it free for seven days. On any platform, there is a 30-day money-back assure, which ExpressVPN has traditionally honored with no questions requested. You’ll have to pay earlier than you should use it, although.

In our opinion, ExpressVPN’s service is strong sufficient that it is price paying further. Maybe not this a lot further, however that will depend on what you get out of it. We advocate utilizing the 30-day refund interval and seeing how effectively ExpressVPN works for you. If it is a VPN you’ll be able to get pleasure from utilizing, that runs quick and unblocks the whole lot you want, that is price a server’s weight in gold.

ExpressVPN facet apps and bundles

ExpressVPN consists of some particular options that work principally or wholly separate from its VPN apps. A few of these come free with a subscription, whereas others add an additional price.

Each subscription consists of the ExpressVPN keys password supervisor. That is out there below its personal tab on the Android and iOS apps. On desktop, you may have to obtain a separate extension out of your browser’s retailer, then check in utilizing your account activation code. It is out there on all Chromium browsers, however not Firefox.

Beginning in 2025, new subscribers get an eSIM plan by vacation.com, a separate service linked to ExpressVPN. The baseline 1GB vacation eSIM plans final for five days and might apply to international locations, areas, or your complete world (although it isn’t clear whether or not the package deal deal applies to the regional and world plans). Longer-term plans embrace bigger eSIM plans.

You possibly can add a devoted IP handle to your ExpressVPN subscription for an extra price per 30 days. A devoted IP permits you to use the identical IP handle each time you connect with ExpressVPN. You possibly can add the handle to whitelists on restricted networks, and also you’re assured to by no means be blocked due to another person’s dangerous exercise on a shared IP.

Not like lots of its rivals, ExpressVPN would not presently provide antivirus or on-line storage providers, however there’s a complete bundle of ID safety instruments known as Identification Defender. We’ve not reviewed any of those merchandise intimately, however this is an inventory for reference:

• ID Alerts will inform you if any of your delicate info is leaked or misused on-line. It is free with all plans, however you may should enter your private info in your ExpressVPN account web page or a cell app.

• ID Theft Insurance coverage grants as much as $1 million in identification theft reimbursement and comes free with new ExpressVPN one-year or two-year subscriptions. It is not but out there to those that subscribed earlier than it launched in October 2024.

• Information Elimination scans to your info in information brokerages and mechanically requests that or not it’s deleted. It is also free with one-year and two-year plans.

• Credit score Scanner is just out there for United States customers. It displays your exercise on the three credit score bureaus so you’ll be able to rapidly spot any suspicious transactions.

The Identification Defender options are presently solely out there to new ExpressVPN clients within the US.

Shut-reading ExpressVPN’s privateness coverage

Though we fear that the consolidation of VPN manufacturers below the umbrella of Kape Applied sciences (ExpressVPN’s guardian firm) will make the trade much less aggressive, we do not imagine it is influencing ExpressVPN to make the most of its customers’ privateness. To substantiate, and get a full sense of what kind of privateness ExpressVPN guarantees its customers, we got down to learn ExpressVPN’s privateness coverage intimately. It is lengthy, however fortunately geared toward informal customers as a substitute of attorneys. You possibly can see it for your self right here.

Within the introduction, ExpressVPN states that it doesn’t hold both exercise logs (similar to a consumer’s looking historical past whereas related to the VPN) or connection logs (such because the length of a consumer’s session and their IP handle, which can be utilized to extrapolate looking exercise). It then specifies the seven kinds of information it is legally allowed to gather:

• Information used to enroll in an account, similar to names, emails and cost strategies.

• VPN utilization information which is aggregated and cannot be traced to any particular person.

• Credentials saved within the ExpressVPN Keys password supervisor.

• Diagnostic information similar to crash experiences, that are solely shared upon consumer request.

• IP addresses licensed for MediaStreamer, which is just for streaming units that do not in any other case help VPN apps.

• Advertising and marketing information collected immediately from the app — a “restricted quantity” that is saved nameless.

• Information voluntarily submitted for identification theft safety apps.

Of these seven exceptions, the one ones that depend as purple flags are account information and advertising information. Each classes are extremely private and could possibly be damaging if mishandled. Fortuitously, complying with subpoenas is just not one of many allowed makes use of listed for both information class, nor does the coverage let ExpressVPN promote the info to different non-public events.

The one actually annoying factor right here is that for those who ask ExpressVPN to delete your private information, you will not have the ability to use your account from then on. You are not even eligible for a refund on this case, except you are inside 30 days of your preliminary subscription.

As for advertising information, ExpressVPN collects machine fingerprints and placement information while you join an account on its web site. The privateness coverage additionally claims that is anonymized, as its “programs are engineered to decouple such information from personally identifiable info.” Audits corroborate this, as we’ll see within the subsequent part. So, whereas it could be higher if ExpressVPN did not gather any private information in any respect, its practices do not seem to pose a danger to something you do whereas utilizing the VPN — simply the ExpressVPN web site.

Privateness audits

VPN suppliers usually get third-party accounting corporations to audit their privateness insurance policies. The thought is {that a} well-known agency will not mortgage its popularity to lie on behalf of a VPN, so their outcomes might be trusted.

For the final a number of years, ExpressVPN has had KPMG look over its privateness coverage and related infrastructure (see “TrustedServer” beneath). KPMG’s most up-to-date report, accomplished in December 2023 and launched in Might 2024, discovered that ExpressVPN had sufficient inner controls in place that customers may belief its privateness coverage.

The report is freely out there to learn. This can be a excellent signal, although we’re searching for a extra up-to-date audit quickly.

TrustedServer

“TrustedServer” is a advertising time period ExpressVPN makes use of for its RAM-only server infrastructure. RAM-only servers haven’t any arduous drives for long-term storage and return to an ordinary disk picture with each reboot. This makes it theoretically unimaginable to retailer consumer exercise logs on them, even when ExpressVPN wished to do this.

The KPMG audit, linked above, experiences that TrustedServer works as marketed. Between its many clear privateness audits and the Turkish server incident in 2017, we’re ready to say ExpressVPN is a non-public VPN, despite its aggravating exception for advertising.

Can ExpressVPN change your digital location?

Subsequent, we examined whether or not ExpressVPN can truly persuade web sites that you simply’re someplace apart from your actual location. Our safety checks have already confirmed it might probably disguise your IP handle, nevertheless it takes greater than leak-proofing to idiot streaming websites nowadays — Netflix and the others have gotten excellent at combing by metadata to smell out proxy customers.

The method for testing this can be a lot like how we dealt with the DNS leak checks: strive a number of totally different servers and see if we get caught. We checked 5 pattern areas exterior the U.S. to see if we a) acquired into Netflix and b) noticed totally different titles within the library. The outcomes are beneath.

In fifteen checks, ExpressVPN slipped up solely as soon as. Docklands, the UK server it selected because the quickest, wasn’t capable of entry Netflix. We switched to a server labeled merely “London” and unblocked it with out difficulty.

All the opposite areas acquired us entry to an alternate Netflix library on the primary strive. We even checked whether or not the India server, which is bodily situated within the UK, confirmed us totally different movies than the UK servers. It did, which makes us much more assured that ExpressVPN’s digital areas are hermetic.

Investigating ExpressVPN’s server community

ExpressVPN customers can connect with a complete of 164 server areas in 105 international locations and territories. These areas are moderately effectively distributed throughout the globe, however as with all VPNs, there is a bias towards the northern hemisphere. There are 24 areas within the U.S. alone and an additional 66 in Europe.

That is not to say customers within the International South get nothing. ExpressVPN has IP addresses from 9 nations in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) and 6 in Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa). The community even consists of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia, spectacular since central Asia will be the area most frequently shafted by VPNs.

Nonetheless, many of those servers have digital areas totally different from their actual ones. For these of you selecting a server primarily based on efficiency as a substitute of a selected IP handle, ExpressVPN’s web site has a useful listing of which servers are digital. The dangerous information is that it is a massive chunk of the listing. A complete of 63 ExpressVPN areas are digital, or 38% of its complete community.

To cut back the sting, ExpressVPN takes care to find digital servers as near their actual areas as potential. Its digital areas in Indonesia and India are bodily primarily based in Singapore. This is not at all times sensible, resulting in some awkwardness like working a Ghana IP handle out of Germany. Nevertheless it helps ExpressVPN carry out higher within the southern hemisphere.

Additional options of ExpressVPN

In comparison with direct rivals like NordVPN and Surfshark, ExpressVPN would not have many particular options. It is aimed squarely on the informal market and can in all probability disappoint energy customers. Having stated that, what they do embrace works effectively. On this part, we’ll run by ExpressVPN’s 4 substantial options exterior its VPN servers themselves.

Community Lock kill swap

“Community Lock” is the identify ExpressVPN offers to its kill swap (although it is known as “Community Safety” on cell). A VPN kill swap is a security function that retains you from broadcasting exterior the VPN tunnel. If it ever detects that you simply aren’t related to a reputable ExpressVPN server, it cuts off your web entry. You will not have the ability to get again on-line till you both reconnect to the VPN or disable Community Lock.

That is vital for everybody, not simply customers who want to cover delicate visitors. The just lately found TunnelVision bug theoretically permits hackers to arrange faux public wi-fi networks by which they redirect you to equally faux VPN servers, which then harvest your private info. It is unlikely, however not unimaginable, and a kill swap is one of the simplest ways to forestall it — the swap at all times triggers except you are related to an actual server within the VPN’s community.

Like most of ExpressVPN’s options, all you are able to do with Community Lock is flip it on and off. You may as well toggle whether or not you may nonetheless have the ability to entry native units whereas the kill swap is obstructing your web — that is allowed by default.

Risk supervisor, advert blocker and parental controls

ExpressVPN teams three instruments below the heading of “superior safety” — Risk Supervisor, an advert blocker and parental controls. Risk Supervisor consists of two checkboxes: one which blocks your browser from speaking with exercise monitoring software program and one which blocks an inventory of internet sites recognized for use for malware.

You possibly can’t customise the lists, so that you’re restricted to what ExpressVPN considers worthy of blocking. They share their sources on the web site. Whereas the lists are in depth and open-source, they depend on after-the-fact reporting and might’t detect and block unknown threats like a correct antivirus.

The adblock and parental management choices work the identical means: examine a field to dam the whole lot on the listing, uncheck it to permit the whole lot by. In checks, the advert blocker was almost 100% efficient towards banner advertisements, however failed to dam any video advertisements on YouTube or Netflix.

The parental management choice blocks an inventory of porn websites. It is a straightforward choice for involved mother and father, however solely works whereas ExpressVPN is related. As such, it is meant for use along with device-level parental controls that stop the kid from turning off or uninstalling the VPN consumer.

Break up tunneling

Generally, you may discover it useful to have your machine getting on-line by two totally different IP addresses directly — one to your residence providers and one for a location you are making an attempt to spoof. That is the place cut up tunneling is useful: it runs some apps by the VPN whereas leaving others unprotected. This will additionally enhance your speeds, because the VPN must encrypt much less in complete.

ExpressVPN consists of cut up tunneling on Home windows, Android and Mac (although solely on variations 10 and beneath). You possibly can solely cut up by app, not by web site, nevertheless it’s nonetheless fairly helpful. For instance, you’ll be able to have BitTorrent dealing with a heavy obtain within the background whilst you use your browser for innocuous actions that do not want defending.

ExpressVPN Aircove router

By now, it needs to be clear that we discover ExpressVPN to be a extremely dependable however usually unexceptional VPN service. Nonetheless, there’s one space through which it is a clear trade chief: VPN routers. ExpressVPN Aircove is, to our information, the one router with a built-in business VPN that comes with its personal dashboard interface.

Often, putting in a VPN in your router requires tinkering with the router management panel, which turns off all however probably the most skilled customers — to not point out making it a large ache to modify to a brand new server location. Aircove’s dashboard, against this, might be immediately acquainted to anybody who already is aware of the best way to use an ExpressVPN consumer. It even permits totally different units in your house to hook up with totally different areas by the router VPN.

Aircove’s largest disadvantage is its worth. At the moment retailing at $189 (not together with an ExpressVPN subscription), it is round 3 times costlier than an aftermarket router fitted with free VPN firmware. A few of you may nonetheless discover the comfort well worth the one-time cost.

ExpressVPN buyer help choices

ExpressVPN’s written assist pages are a few of the greatest available on the market. Its reside chat is extra of a blended bag, and complicated questions might trigger delays. Nonetheless, it’s a minimum of staffed with human brokers who goal to answer precisely, moderately than resolve your ticket as rapidly as potential.

We approached ExpressVPN’s help options with a easy query: “If I requested that ExpressVPN delete all my private information, would I have the ability to get a refund for my unused subscription time?” (Bear in mind from the Privateness Coverage part that submitting a full deletion request additionally cancels your ExpressVPN account.)

Our first cease was expressvpn.com/help, the written help heart and FAQ web page. It is divided into setup guides, troubleshooting, account administration and data on every of ExpressVPN’s merchandise. The setup guides are glorious, together with screenshots and clearly written steps; each features a video information for many who study higher that means.

Troubleshooting is simply nearly as good — no movies, however the identical requirements of readability and usefulness prevail. The part begins with basic issues, then delves into particular points you may face on every working system. Every article clearly derives from an actual buyer want.

The reside help expertise

To get solutions on our refund query, we visited the account administration FAQs. This part said that the refund coverage solely applies inside 30 days of buy. Fairly clear-cut, however we nonetheless wished a solution on our particular case, so we contacted reside chat by clicking the button on the bottom-right of each FAQ web page.

Stay chat begins with an AI assistant, which isn’t too arduous to get previous — simply ask it a query it might probably’t reply, then click on “Switch to an Agent.” We acquired on-line with (what claimed to be) a human in lower than a minute. Answering the query took longer and concerned an uncomfortable 10-minute silence, however we did get a transparent verdict from an actual individual: refunds are inside 30 days solely, it doesn’t matter what.

If the reside chat agent cannot reply your query, you may be redirected to open an e-mail help ticket. Annoyingly, there is not any solution to go on to e-mail help by the web site or desktop apps, although cell customers have the choice to skip immediately there.

ExpressVPN background examine: From founding to Kape Applied sciences

ExpressVPN launched in 2009, which makes it one of many oldest client VPNs in continuous operation. In additional than 15 years of operation, it is by no means been caught violating its personal privateness coverage, although its document is not freed from extra minor blemishes.

Headquarters within the British Virgin Islands

Founders Dan Pomerantz and Peter Burchhardt registered the corporate within the British Virgin Islands from the begin to make the most of that territory’s favorable authorized surroundings for on-line privateness. The BVIs haven’t any legislation requiring companies to retain information on their customers, and the method for extraditing information is famously tough, requiring a direct order from the very best courtroom.

In 2021, the BVI carried out the Information Safety Act (DPA) (PDF hyperlink), which prevents corporations primarily based within the territory from accessing information on their customers anyplace on the planet. It is an incredible privateness legislation in principle, modeled on best-in-class laws within the EU. Nonetheless, we could not discover any proof that its supervising authority — the Workplace of the Info Commissioner — has a pacesetter or employees.

In different phrases, whereas ExpressVPN is just not legally required to log any information on its customers, there’s technically no one stopping them from doing so. Whether or not you belief the jurisdiction will depend on whether or not you belief the corporate itself. Let’s have a look at what the opposite proof says.

Safety and privateness incidents

Two vital incidents stand out from ExpressVPN’s 16-year historical past. In 2017, when Andrei Karlov, Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, was shot to dying at an artwork present. Turkish police suspected somebody had used ExpressVPN to masks their identification whereas they deleted info from social media accounts belonging to the alleged murderer. To research, they confiscated an ExpressVPN server to comb for proof. They did not discover something.

A police seizure is the very best take a look at of a VPN’s strategy to privateness. The supplier cannot put together beforehand, faux something, or collude with investigators. The Turkey incident remains to be among the finest causes to advocate ExpressVPN, although eight years is a very long time for coverage to alter.

The second incident started in March 2024, when a researcher at CNET knowledgeable ExpressVPN that its model 12 for Home windows sometimes leaked DNS requests when customers enabled the cut up tunneling function. Whereas these customers remained related to an ExpressVPN server, their looking exercise was usually going on to their ISP, unmasked.

The bug solely impacted a couple of customers, and to their credit score, ExpressVPN sprang into motion as quickly as they realized about it. The group had it patched by April, as confirmed by the researcher who initially found the vulnerability. However whereas their fast and efficient response deserves reward, it is nonetheless a mark towards them {that a} journalist observed the bug earlier than they did.

Kape Applied sciences possession and administration questions

In 2021, an Israeli-owned, UK-based agency known as Kape Applied sciences bought a controlling curiosity in ExpressVPN. Along with ExpressVPN, privately held Kape owns CyberGhost, Non-public Web Entry, and Zenmate (earlier than it merged into CyberGhost). As proven on its web site, it additionally owns Webselenese, writer of VPN overview web sites WizCase and vpnMentor, which poses an obvious battle of curiosity.

When reached for remark, a consultant for ExpressVPN stated that “ExpressVPN doesn’t immediately interact with, nor search to affect, the content material on any Webselenese website,” and pointed us to disclosure statements on the web sites in query — this is one instance. Even so, it is a good reminder to not take VPN critiques at face worth with out realizing who’s behind them (Engadget is owned by Yahoo, which doesn’t personal any VPNs).

Diving deeper into the background of Kape’s possession will lead you to proprietor Teddy Sagi. Return far sufficient, and you will see he did jail time in Israel and was talked about within the Pandora Papers, amongst different issues. Extra just lately, headlines in regards to the billionaire have targeted extra his companies within the on-line playing and fintech arenas, in addition to his actual property ventures. An ExpressVPN consultant informed us that “Kape’s manufacturers proceed to function independently,” and our investigation bore that out — we could not discover any proof that Kape or Sagi have immediately tried to affect ExpressVPN’s software program or day by day operations.

Nearer to the rapid day-to-day operations of ExpressVPN was the corporate’s employment of Daniel Gericke as CTO from 2019 by 2023. Throughout that point, the US Justice Division introduced it had fined Gericke and two others for his or her earlier employment on a surveillance operation known as Undertaking Raven, which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) used to spy by itself residents.

The revelation prompted a public response from ExpressVPN defending its choice to rent Gericke, arguing that “