Update: Recently, Smart Sense decided to focus efforts on other projects and it is no longer supporting VPN Defender. The free service and the paid solution, VPN Defender Pro have been discontinued.
Based in San Francisco, Smart Sense is a company dedicated to offer advanced technology solutions, particularly for mobile platforms. One of their services is VPN Defender, which is focused on protecting data and offering a fast performance, as well as reliability, free of charge. This VPN focuses on keeping tablets and smartphones safe and providing users a way to access more content and enjoying a wider variety of entertainment and communication options. We’ll go through the most important aspects of VPN Defender to find out if it is an option that truly helps to enjoy online privacy and security.
Security and Privacy
If you have a smartphone or tablet, you know how convenient public WiFi can be. If you need to check your WhatsApp messages, your email or Google something and you don’t have a data plan, you are likely to find a WiFi hotspot when you are on the go. The problem is that public WiFi hotspots can also be dangerous and put your data at risk. These networks are often unsecured and they could be easily compromised. Using a VPN is recommended, even when you are using a safe home or work network, but it is particularly important when you are using public WiFi hotspots. VPN Defended is designed to help you to add a layer of protection for your data. It adds encryption to your internet traffic, preventing others from accessing your data and seeing what you are doing online.
The problem is that there are no exact details about the level of protection that is applied and unfortunately, given that this is a free VPN, it is likely that the encryption used is not that strong. This is why we recommend that you only use VPN Defender and similar services, only for general browsing. It should also be noted that VPN Defender keeps logs and the information recorded is enough to identify you and see what you do online. For instance, they record your IP address, apps installed, operating system, websites visited and even carrier details. It is even likely that they sell information about your browsing habits to third parties. While they don’t sell your personal details, the fact that they keep logs and that they share data to advertisers is enough reason to give it a thumbs down when it comes to privacy.
Features
As we mentioned before, VPN Defender is mainly intended as a solution for mobile devices. They have apps for Android and iOS, which means that the installation process is very simple. You don’t need to set up the VPN manually and since the service is completely automated and it is constantly running in the background, you won’t need to enable it whenever you go online. VPN Defender keeps things simple and its apps are user-friendly and offer the basic functionality needed to bypass restrictions and add some protection to your internet traffic.
The servers available in the VPN Defender network are set to help you to unblock videos, websites and even VoIP services. You can connect to servers in the United States and get access to the massive selection of content that is available there. VPN Defender is also meant to help internet users to defeat censorship and restrictions imposed in school and work networks. Your IP address is masked when you use VPN Defender, so you can overcome restrictions and enjoy access to popular sites and services like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Skype, Instagram and more.
The speeds of the service are good, considering that it is a free service. Plus, there are no bandwidth restrictions, which is something that you will commonly find when you use free VPNs. VPN Defender works with all carriers and thanks to the good speeds of the service, you will be able to watch videos, make Skype voice calls, play games and more, without experiencing slow performance. The selection of services may not be as extensive as what other VPNs offer, but at least you can connect to popular locations like the US.
Plans
You can download VPN Defender for free and the provider doesn’t spam you with ads. There is a paid service that allows you to access more server locations and enjoy additional features, as well as other benefits.
Customer Support
If needed, you can reach out to VPN Defender’s customer service team via email. You can send your questions also through the contact option within the app, if you are already using it. The responses take a while, but this is understandable since VPN Defender is a free service and it hasn’t reach the popularity of the major names in the industry. Since you are not paying for the service, dedicated service is not something to be expected. One of the benefits of upgrading to the paid plan is that you can get faster and more detailed replies.
Conclusion
VPN Defender is easy to use and it is an effective app to get around online geo-restrictions. You will be able to access a greater variety of content by changing your IP address. However, the selection of servers is very limited and the provider sells your browsing patterns to third parties. The level of security used is not strong and it is not the ideal choice for those who want online privacy.