hide.me Review (2024)
Based in Malaysia, hide.me is a VPN provider that boasts unmatched security, speed, and ease-of-use. Started in 2012, the company currently has more than 5 million users from around the world. It has more than 30 servers spread in more than 25 countries across five continents, which provide complete anonymity for your online activities.
What we like
- Lifetime free plan available
- Port forwarding available
- Certified zero logs
- Independent from any government interference
- Supports modern security protocols
- Outstanding speeds
- Applications for mobile devices available
- 24/7 customer support
What we don't like
- Complexity in setting up simultaneous connections
- Number of servers may not sufficiently handle heavy traffic
Features
hide.me is an excellent VPN provider that can confirm its commitment to zero logs storage, gigabit speeds, and simplicity clearly sets it apart in the industry.
The website is properly designed and free from unnecessary clutter. I was able to quickly navigate the website and find the information I was looking for. Signing up is fast and straightforward. You only need to provide your email address and you’ll be sent a link to activate your account and install the application. It’s that simple.
Whereas I’d an enjoyable overall experience using hide.me, I experienced one big issue with it: setting up the OpenVPN is not easy. Even though it provides guides on how to set up OpenVPN on various platforms, I found it difficult to smoothly sail through the installation process. It could have been much better if it were in-built into the main hide.me client.
To enhance the user experience, hide.me offers 24/7 support via live chat, support tickets, email, community, and FAQs. So, you are sure of getting prompt feedback to address any issue you’re experiencing.
Pricing
For making payments, hide.me provides a wide range of secure and easy-to-use options, including major credit cards, PayPal, and various e-payment methods—even Bitcoin!
If you make full payments of at least one year in advance, you’ll get discounts of up to 45%. Also, if you’d like to cancel your subscription, you’ll need to notify hide.me within the initial 14 days of your contract, and you’ll get a full refund in case you’ve not surpassed 500MB in terms of bandwidth usage.
Free plan
With this plan, you can access most of the hide.me services without paying any money, for as long as you want. However, the services are available in a limited capacity, which may not sufficiently meet your VPN needs.
If you do not have enough money or you just want to try out hide.me services, the Free Plan could be great for you.
Premium plan
According to the hide.me website, this plan is the most popular. For $9.95 per month, and comes with comprehensive features that suit heavy VPN users, especially businesses. Some of its additional features include the ability to carry out unlimited data transfer and port forwarding.
All plans are covered by a 30-day 100% Money-Back Guarantee.
Tests
A good VPN provider is capable of sustaining the primary Internet speed without any serious downturns.
Here’s a screenshot of my network speed without connecting to hide.me:
Here’s a screenshot of my network speed when I connected to a VPN server in Canada using hide.me (on Free Plan):
DNS test
This VPN incorporates DNS leak protection in its features. You can easily activate this setting and keep yourself secure on the Internet. I carried out a DNS test and the results revealed that all the DNS servers are associated with hide.me.
WebRTC test
When using a VPN, have you bothered to check if it’s leaking your real IP address? I checked if hide.me’s assigned IP address was susceptible to leakage and confirmed that it ensures users are invisible on the Internet and does not leak their assigned IP addresses.
Furthermore, hide.me prevents outgoing IPv6 connections, which automatically blocks any IP leaks.
Testing on mobile
This VPN works well with mobile devices, just like its desktop client. The company has applications for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. I downloaded the Android app from Google Play Store and tried using it on my phone. Surprisingly, I didn’t notice any performance issues or stretched mobile data usage. And, while I was on the move, I found the IKEv2 connection to be more resilient than the other protocols.
Privacy
They take the privacy of users very seriously. Importantly, the company affirms that it doesn’t keep any customers’ data or logs on its servers. It has also published an audit report from independent security experts that certifies its commitment to customers’ privacy.
Furthermore, since the company is located in Malaysia, far away from any Western government jurisdiction, hide.me is not legally obligated to store users’ Internet session logs or hand them over to any authority. Therefore, you can rest assured that your online privacy will not be compromised.
Apart from supporting a wide range of secure payment methods, hide.me also allows customers to use Bitcoin for making anonymous payments.
Security
To enhance users’ security, hide.me uses top-notch servers that live up to its superior privacy standards, without any hanky-panky involvement. The VPN servers, which are completely access controlled and operated only by the company, support all the modern protocols, such as OpenVPN, IKEv2, SSTP, PPTP, and SoftEther. The company follows the latest cryptographic standards to ensure the servers are correctly configured to support the encrypted and unobstructed flow of data.
Website blocking
A good choice for those who want to celebrate freedom of speech and access the Internet without any restrictions. If you are living in a country that restricts access to some websites or online services, you can easily bypass such restrictions and enjoy using the Internet.
I tried accessing Netflix using hide.me’s Canada VPN, and I was amazed how it worked well without experiencing any blockage issues. I also signed on to the VPN and I comfortably used BBC iPlayer, as if I was from the UK.
Final thoughts
Reliable and secure, with fast service that can sufficiently meet your VPN needs, especially if you can afford the Premium Plan at $5.41 per month. However, the VPN provider’s server network is limited, and may not guarantee optimal up times during peak traffic seasons.
Nonetheless, you can opt for the forever Free Plan, and give them a try before spending money on the other plans. You can also opt for the Premium Plan, and try for 14 days. If you think it’s not delivering on its promises, you can request a refund.