FinchVPN is a provider based in Malaysia and it has been operating since 2012. The service is focused on providing affordability, compatibility, as well as a high level of encryption to protect its customers’ data. Although it doesn’t offer as many features as other providers in the industry, FinchVPN has a free option that can be convenient for browsing content without being subject to geo-restrictions. Is FinchVPN a solution that you should consider? We’ll find out in this review.
Privacy and Security
PPTP, L2TP/IPsec and OpenVPN are the protocols supported. These are popular options that will suit different platforms and settings. In general, OpenVPN is the best choice in terms of security, but the other protocols can be a good alternative if OpenVPN is not supported on your device. FinchVPN is set to offer protection when you are using public WiFi, which is more likely to be lurked by malicious users who may try to get access to your online traffic and steal important data. The level of encryption applied goes from 128-bit up to AES 256-bit, which provides strong protection for your data. There is also 160-bit encryption available, which gives you a good balance between security and speed.
The privacy policy states that FinchVPN doesn’t log or monitor the online activities of its customers and no traffic is stored. This means that the websites you have visited, the data downloaded or anything else that you do on the internet, won’t be recorded by FinchVPN. However, they do keep some connection logs, including the time and date of the connection, as well as the bandwidth used during the session. This information is regularly deleted, although the company doesn’t mention how often this is done. Although Malaysia is not part of the major spying alliances around the world, the country is in the list of nations where internet is under strong surveillance. This should be considered if you are after a high level of privacy since the provider is based there.
Features
FinchVPN works on different platforms including major options like Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. However, it only offers dedicated VPN clients for Windows and Android, in all other cases, the service has to be set up manually. Fortunately, FinchVPN offers detailed guides that will help you with the configuration process. The Windows client is user-friendly, although it could do with more information and options, particularly when it comes to best servers to connect to. The Android application has an appealing design and it is very easy to use.
All the protocols available with FinchVPN offer “Anti-DPI” a feature that ensures that you can defeat the firewalls and Deep Packet Inspection that may block the VPN service. FinchVPN has servers in over 20 countries including United States, Germany, Japan, Romania, Hong Kong, Latvia, South Africa, Australia, United Kingdom and Malaysia. The speeds are generally good, although they are not exactly remarkable and the performance may vary across the network. There are no bandwidth limits imposed, but it should be noted that torrenting is only allowed in some servers. In addition, FinchVPN doesn’t allow multiple devices to be connected at the same time and advanced features like kills switch are not available in their software.
Plans
FinchVPN has a free plan that offers limited bandwidth and support for OpenVPN and PPTP. It only gives you access to a few servers and there is no remote support available, but it can be a good option if you want to add a layer of anonymity to your online browsing and bypass geo-blocks to access websites. In order to get access to all the features available and increase the data transfer allowance, you can upgrade to the Pro plan.
The Pro plan gives you up to 25GB per month, access to all the servers and remote support. It costs only $1.93 per month, and if you opt for a full year of service, the cost is reduced to just $1.61 per month. The Premier plan is the most complete solution as it offers unlimited data transfer, access to all the servers, remote support and port forwarding for $3.86 per month, or $3.21 per month when you pay for a full year in advance. There are multiple payment methods accepted including cards, PayPal, Bitcoin and Perfect Money. Keep in mind that FinchVPN has an strict no refund policy.
Customer Support
The website offers setup guides, FAQ section and other useful resources with information about the service. You can find information about all the aspects of the service and there is also a section that displays the status of the servers. If you need to reach out to FinchVPN you can create a support ticket, send an email, contact them via the social media profiles or join the discussion group on the website.
Conclusion
The low prices and the free VPN option that FinchVPN offer will attract the attention of many users. Although there are not that many servers, they are strategically located to ensure global coverage. The downside is that the performance will vary across the servers and the service lacks advanced features and only allows one connection. The service can still do with some improvement, but if you are looking for a simple and cheap solution, it is good to know that an option like FinchVPN is available.