SaferWeb is a a provider owned by UK-based company Pseudio Ltd, which is also behind Total VPN and Incognito. SaferWeb intends to provide a high level of security for your online data, while keeping the service easy to use. The provider is relatively new in the market but it aims to get the attention from customers through a combination of affordable prices and convenient technology. Their software is designed to help you to keep your data secure in an easy way. In this review, we’ll find out more about what they offer.
Privacy/Security
The protocols supported by SaferWeb are PPTP, OpenVPN and IKEv2. Although PPTP is easy to configure on most platforms, it is considered as a weak solution and it is very likely that it was already compromised by the NSA. OpenVPN is highly recommended due to its stability and high level of security, while IKEv2 is a practical option that can be easily set up and used on mobile devices. According to their websites, they also expect to add other options such as L2TP/IPsec in the future.
Unfortunately, since they are subject to UK jurisdiction, they are more likely to be affected by the GCHQ’s surveillance and the invasive legislation that compromises privacy in that country. In their knowledge base, it is mentioned that they plan to accept Bitcoin in the future but at the moment this option is not available and only cards and PayPal are supported as methods of payment. Since the company is fairly new, it is understandable that some options are not offered yet but due to their location and lack of transparency about the level of encryption used, privacy and security concerned users should be cautious,
Features
SaferWeb offers software for Windows, OS X and Android. Support for iOS and Chromebook is set to be available in the near future and other platforms as Xbox, PlayStation and BlackBerry are also supported, although they have to be configured manually. The website offers set up tutorials for this purpose. The software is designed to be easy to use and users can connect to the server of their choice without hassle and also find a quick connection based on their location and requirements.
Although SaferWeb’s service is basic (particularly when compared to some of the best established VPN solutions available), they offer the main functionality that you need to keep your data protected from online threats. Some add-ons are also on offer, including “Supercharged locations”, which allow you to get access to faster servers. However, the prices of some of these extra features seem excessive and makes SaferWeb an option that can’t be considered as good value for money.
Servers
SaferWeb has servers in over 30 countries including Iceland, Italy, Canada, United States, Sweden, Israel, United Kingdom, South Africa, Romania, Ireland, Japan, Argentina, Netherlands and Australia. They have servers optimized for P2P in Netherlands.
Plans
There are two main plan, Premium and Super Premium. While you will be able to create an account for free providing only your name and email address, you will be asked to upgrade to get access to all the features and servers available. The Premium service offers access to 7 locations and supports one device, while the Super Premium plan allows you to connect to all the server locations and supports up to 3 simultaneous connections.
The pricing structure is very confusing and even seems arbitrary. For instance, the Premium plan is priced at less than €5 per month (at least this is the price displayed before you create an account), but that is only an introductory price and after the initial month, you can expect to pay considerably higher fees. After you log in, you will see that the monthly cost is considerably increased. This is misleading and explains why one of the main reasons for complaints about SaferWeb are related to their billing.
Customer Support
While live chat is available, the service is not always reliable and you may have to wait several minutes to get a response. When we tried the service, the agent disconnected shortly after we asked a question. While we don’t know if this was intentional, we had to try again, only to get the same person, who provided a very basic answer. SaferWeb also offers a knowledge base and tutorials. Apart from live chat, their team can also be contacted via email/ ticket system.
Conclusion
Although this VPN provider promises a high level of protection for your data, as well as flexibility to bypass online restrictions, the lack of advanced features and the misleading pricing structure raise concerns about the quality of the service. While it is great that they have live chat available, the customer support doesn’t provide detailed answers and in some cases, you will need to wait too long for a response. SaferWeb hasn’t been too long in the market so we can only hope that some of the issues found can be addresses.