The list of VPN providers available seems endless and in a market that is already full of options, new services are regularly launched. One of the recently launched names that you will find in the industry is TouchVPN, a solution that is available for free. While that sounds appealing, it is important to remember that managing a VPN is not cheap so you have to wonder how free services manage to survive. The answer is often worrying since they could be making money by selling your data to third parties. That being said, there are practical solutions that work well and that allow you to defeat geo-blocks and access more content. TouchVPN is one of them. While they are just getting started, their service looks promising and here we will tell you more about it.
Security and Privacy
With free VPNs, there are some concerns regarding security and TouchVPN is not an exception. In fact, you could say that if strong security is what you are after, you are better off looking somewhere else. TouchVPN does apply some level of protection to your internet traffic, but it does so by using PPTP, an encryption protocol that is outdated and that has been already compromised. The only advantage of PPTP is that it is faster than protocols that are more secure such as OpenVPN. If you just want to overcome restrictions for general browsing and to watch some videos, PPTP would be fine, but it is not recommended for handling sensitive information.
Now, let’s talk about privacy, another crucial aspect for a VPN. Well, unfortunately here, TouchVPN will also disappoint you. They do keep logs and it collects your personal information including your name, email address and IP address. While your data is not shared with third parties without your authorization, it would be handed over to authorities if required by them. The main point is that TouchVPN is not a good option if what you want is anonymity.
Features
TouchVPN has apps for Android and iOS that can be easily installed on your device with just a few clicks. The apps feature easy to use interface and in order to connect or disconnect from a server, you just need to click a button. There is also a Chrome extension that will help you to enjoy more freedom while browsing content online. While TouchVPN should also available for Windows, the setup process for this platform is not that simple since the respective link on the TouchVPN website is not working. It makes sense to believe that the only way to run the VPN on Windows is a manual setup. You can go to Windows Network & Internet settings with the help of the information available such as server, VPN username and VPN password. Since TouchVPN can only be used on platforms that support PPTP, it can’t be used on Mac. However, there are no restrictions on the amount of devices you can use simultaneously.
Since TouchVPN is a free VPN service, it doesn’t come as a surprise to know that it doesn’t offer advanced features. It is a fairly basic solution that will help you to get access to content from any location, no matter where you are. It adds some security to your connection, but it is not the most reliable option to protect your data. While it may be effective to bypass restrictions and stream content, it doesn’t support P2P. You can connect to servers in Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. However, if you are a Windows user, you will only be able to connect to servers in the US and the UK. In spite of the fact that it is a free service, TouchVPN offers fast speeds and efficient performance. It is easy to use and will help you to watch videos that are normally not available in your location.
Plans
TouchVPN is free and you won’t need to pay for using the service at any stage. However, you can donate to contribute to the further development of this VPN solution. At the moment, there are no additional features or benefits for those who donate, but it is possible that they add paid plans in the future and if you like the service, donating can help to improve TouchVPN and to get them to add new features in the future.
Support
You can only reach the customer support team via email and although the replies are not as fast as we would like, they are usually professional and helpful. We would like to see a live chat, but since TouchVPN is still quite new and it is a free service, it is normal that they don’t have enough staff to provide continuous support via chat.
Conclusion
Like every service, TouchVPN has some advantages as well as some downsides. The fact that it is free will appeal to many people. If you just want a simple solution to bypass restrictions so that you can read news, watch videos and access content outside your region, TouchVPN would be a practical solution. It offers unlimited bandwidth, which sets it apart from other services of its kind. However, it comes with a limited selection of servers and you will need to set it up manually on Windows. Mac users won’t be able to run TouchVPN on their devices. Security and privacy are not the strongest points for this provider. There are logs kept and the level of encryption used is quite weak. As we previously mentioned, if what you want is ease of use and convenience for general browsing, TouchVPN is fine, if you want anonymity and protection for your privacy, this is not the right choice for you.