The team behind My Private Network has an extensive experience in internet security and communication services. Since 2008, this VPN has been offering privacy protection and a valuable tool to unlock international content. Their network of servers has excellent global coverage and their customer support is excellent. We’ll go through the main aspects of My Private Network to help you decide if it is the right choice for you.
Privacy/Security
Using public Wi-Fi in cafes, restaurants or hotels can be very convenient and sometimes, it is the only option to connect to internet when you are on the go. The problem is that using public Wi-Fi is also risky since it makes you more vulnerable to eavesdroppers and hacking. My Private Network aims to keep your information secure by encrypting all your traffic when you connect to their VPN servers. The highest level of security is available in their OpenVPN configuration, which offers 4096 bit key length, data packet authentication using SHA 256 bit and data packet encryption that uses AES256 bit. While this option provides strong protection, it can affect the speed of your connection. My Private Network also supports PPTP (the least secure) and L2TP.
When you sign up to My Private Network, you are only asked to provide your email address and to set up a username and password to access your account. Their privacy policy establishes that they don’t keep logs of your internet activity, the bandwidth used or your DNS queries. However, connection/disconnection times are logged for “accounting and administration purposes”. While the fact that they keep some logs may disappoint some users, the truth is that many other providers also store this information in order to manage the service. What is more important is that they promise that they don’t monitor or log your online activities.
The main concern for privacy conscious users is that My Private Network is based in the UK, which puts them under the jurisdiction of the GCHQ. However, it is worth noting that the provider appears to have a solid approach towards privacy. This is reflected on their commitment not to keep activity logs, their warrant canary and the fact that they support BitPay as a payment solution to use Bitcoin. Users also have the option to send encrypted emails to a secure email address.
Features
My Private Network is compatible with Windows, Android, OS X, iOS, Linux, DD-WRT/Tomato routers and more. The website offers detailed guides to set up the service on all the platforms supported. The installation is simple and the service is easy to use. They offer the possibility to unlock Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other websites and services that may be blocked in your location. Although My Private Network doesn’t offer the advanced features that other providers have in their clients, they are a good basic solution. Although the speed would depend on the protocol, location and other aspects of the service, the results obtained from My Private Network were not as good as expected.
Servers
My Private Network has servers in over 44 countries, including Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, Finland, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, United States and Sweden. P2P is allowed but only in their servers in Malaysia, Czech Republic and Russia.
Plans
In terms of plans, My Private Network has opted for simplicity and they offer two main options for their customers. There is a Single Country subscription and a Global subscription, which provides access to all the servers in their network. The Single Country plan costs £4.97 GBP per month (around $6.50 USD at the time of writing), but to save money in the long run, you can pay £47.71 (roughly $62 USD) for a full year, which reduces the monthly cost to less than £4, just above $5. While the Single country plan is a limited solution, it may suit if you are only interested in one particular location.
In order to enjoy a flexible service, it is advisable to opt for the Global Subscription, that allows you to change your location when needed. This option costs £8.97 GBP per month ($11.70 USD0, or you can opt for a full year for £86.11 or $112 per month. This would reduce the monthly cost to £7.17 or 9.32 in US dollars. The plans are not exactly cheap if compared to other providers. My Private Network doesn’t have a free trial, but they offer 100% satisfaction guarantee and if you are not happy with the service, you can reach out to them to request a refund.
Customer Support
It has to be said that the website is well-design and attractive. It also contains useful guides, an extensive Knowledge base and a forum. The information is presented in a clear and transparent manner, which shows the professionalism of the company. For instance, they are clear about their position regarding Torrents and BBC iPlayer. While they aim to allow users to access these services, they state that they don’t condone illegal torrents and admit that BBC iPlayer may not be accessible (even with their service) if you don’t have a UK TV license. The main downside of their customer support is that it is only available via email and while the replies are detailed and helpful, response times may vary.
Conclusion
My Private Network has good points, including its commitment to privacy, the ease of use and its security. Unfortunately, their speeds are disappointing and the fact that they are based in the UK, may cause concern for privacy conscious users. We hope to see them expanding their selection of features and improving speeds in order to provide a top quality VPN solution.