Private Internet Access Review
Community-sourced VPN review based on real Reddit & Twitter discussions
Private Internet Access (PIA) has a long-time fan base and a reputation for being a solid “everyday VPN” that’s usually easy to live with. People like that it’s affordable, works across Windows, Andro...
What the Community Says
Private Internet Access (PIA) has a long-time fan base and a reputation for being a solid “everyday VPN” that’s usually easy to live with. People like that it’s affordable, works across Windows, Android, macOS, and Linux, and has a track record of backing up its no-logs claims in real-world situations. It also gets a lot of love from folks who torrent and want features like port forwarding.
The biggest hesitation is trust: it’s a US-based service and it’s owned by Kape, which makes some people uncomfortable and sparks a lot of debate online. On the practical side, some say speeds and reliability aren’t as strong as they used to be, and there are occasional app quirks—especially on macOS (background service issues) and for Linux if you’re using the command line. A few people also mention setup headaches with certain networking gear and the occasional “it used to be great, but I moved on” vibe.
Strengths
- Good value for the price
- Generally easy to use on Windows and Android
- No-logs track record people point to
- Linux support (especially with the GUI app)
- Port forwarding and torrent-friendly features
Weaknesses
- Ownership and trust concerns (Kape)
- US jurisdiction makes some people uneasy
- Some reports of slower speeds or worse reliability over time
- macOS app/daemon can be glitchy
- Linux command-line experience can be frustrating
Summary generated 1 week ago from 159 community mentions
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What People Are Saying
50 reviews"PIA is no longer a reputable VPN service. They were bought out by an Israeli company and will 1000% sniff your traffic and will share their subscriber info to any paying entity. Nord, Mullvad, and Proton are near the top for best service. Mullvad is an absolute must if you are privacy and opsec minded. Payment options are endless and do not require any account creation. You can mail them $20 and they'll send a card to wherever you want. Some good info here for all VPNs available below. [That one privacy guy](https://thatoneprivacysite.xyz/) Fantastic guide overall! The fact the CAF still s..."
"These 4 are the only VPNs worth spending your time and money on when it comes to privacy. Everything else - looking at you Nord, PIA and SurfShark - is a complete and utter waste of time."
"Been with PIA for several years and nothing but good things to report. Great prices good speeds and easy setup on windows, android and Linux systems. One issue on an Android device and customer service solved it for me. Highly satisfied with PIA."
"PIA is excellent. I've had it for years and never a problem."
"PIA has been awesome for me, been with them for sometime… port forwarding was a breeze and speeds have been great. Lots of servers and the 3 year deal is one of the best on the market."
"Personal VIew mix with professional testing (my business does audits) **Top ones I would personally use on Linux** * Mullvad - Best combination of true privacy, service, and cost * Mozilla (uses Mullvad servers) * Proton would be higher if it had feature parity with the Windows client. **Ones I would personally avoid** * PIA (Private Internet Access): Ties to Government (Israel) * NordVPN: Had a security breach that could cause major issues and didn't notify users until it was leaked online. As someone in the business, their explanation was BS. They are also linked to Tesonet who is a dat..."
"I've been using Private Internet Access (PIA) for over 6 years, and I've never had any real issues; real easy to use, features that everyone wants and over 3 years for the price of everyone else's 2 (currently 3y4m for $79). Why doesn't anyone suggest them anymore?"
"I like Private Internet Access"
"[https://www.security.org/vpn/private-internet-access/review/](https://www.security.org/vpn/private-internet-access/review/) I agree with the assessment. Good download speeds. I have not noticed an issue with the upload, but I have asymmetric cable internet. Multiple sources have verified the no-logs policy. PIA also maintains servers in many locations."
"I currently use Private Internet Access VPN on both Firestick and Thompson google tv box both work well. I would say that it’s worth looking at cashback sites such as Quidco or topcashback as I got 2 years for about £5 as the cashback was so high."
"I've been a Private Internet Access user for years, simple and effective VPN. In my opinion for most normal people any VPN provider like PIA, Nord VPN, etc are fine. Personally it's nice to be able to view TV in Canada, UK, and France that we can't view without a VPN. Obviously fine for the elephant in the room as well haha, but I'm a language learner so foreign TV and game boy ROMs are my main draw."
"I've been *paying* for and using PIA (private Internet access) for a long time and can recommend it. Never ever use a free VPN. If you don't pay for something, then *YOU* are the product."
"Private Internet Access has a no log policy which has been proven in court. "
"I just moved to Proton from PIA and after testing Nord....it was easily the fastest. Nord was not bad compared to mega slow PIA"
"I use PIA. One of the cheapest dependable ones."
"I’d recommend PIA"
"I am here in China now and I tried PIA and Open VPN. Neither work. Let’sVPN works great."
"i mean Andrew did prove multiple times with pia he dont keep logs plus i just found the service cool since its something they claim you dont need to trust you can verify they cant even monitor let alone spy"
"Don't use anything owned by Kape Technology. This includes PIA and a handful of other consumer VPN solutions."
"PIA was awful for me, kept causing a jump in the stream every couple of minutes. Switched to Nord and it's flawless."
"And you enable and disable it just fine? I don't have whatever issue he is talking about, but it's a known issue that the daemon in Mac doesn't shut down and start up again properly, requiring a full uninstall, reinstall, and sign in to be able start the vpn again. You have to do this every time you disable and want to re-enable it. It's also a known issue that, while the application is installed at all on Mac, it completely disables private relay. Even while the app is closed and the daemon has been killed. These are both repeatable, known, and acknowledged issues that have practically gon..."
"Recommended by the earlier video: TunnelBear, Mullvad (Mozilla VPN), IVPN, VyprVPN, Proton VPN I use PIAVPN as my trusted VPN, the only internet service I currently pay for. Very simple install on Linux with additional useful features, designating programs to use VPN while others do not, multiple devices etc. [https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/](https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/)"
"This sounds like some conspiracy theorist shit. I've use PIA for over 12 years and never had anything questionable happen regarding my VPN use or personal data."
"The main business model of most VPN providers, yes including most paid ones, is selling your data. There is a reason why the PIA's and NordVPN's of the world can afford to sponsor all those creators."
"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQmLMGcCO3I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQmLMGcCO3I) Check 7:53. Their parent company used to make browser malware. I've been using PIA for several years but I'll jump ship once my subscription expires. Their linux app is also buggy under debian13. When I try to power off the OS and cancel out, VPN connection drops but kill switch does not activate. I was able to reproduce the issue it a few times so it wasn't a one-time thing."
"PIA is definitely the best VPN i have used, apps works pretty great - portforwarding is pretty straight forward, it might not be the fastest but i will still get like a 500/500ish connection with it more often than not. And it is unlimited? i use like 6-7 connections, and never had any issues even when borrowing one out to a friend or smth."
"Kape (PIA’s parent company) used to be Crossrider, which was infamous for its association with adware/PUP software, and some of its leadership has past ties to IDF intelligence units. “Don’t worry, that’s all totally behind us now, guys. Pinky promise.”"
"Something funny? Pia has no logs. They do not collect browsing history, ip, or personal data. They have continuously gone to court and successfully fought turning over data multiple times."
"> Mac app is a disaster, need to restart my Mac to restore Internet after disconnecting from vpn, often doesn’t launch until I delete the app and re install, nightmare I don't have any of those problems with PIA on my Mac. It is rock solid."
"Pia is great. Apps work well on all platforms. It is friendly with openvpn mods too. Had it for years."
"Don't really know much about rtings.com but they're incorrect about at least one of the "cons" they list, as PIA absolutely does have anonymous registration options. I've used PIA for years and have been happy with the service."
"I just subscribed. PIA Is vast improvement to my old provider Cactus. Port forwarding works as advertised. Works great on my NAS with gluetun."
"I had it for several years. Switched to Surfshark when renewal came up because I was dissatisfied with speeds and reliability, especially in the final year of my term. I have been more than satisfied after switching. TL;DR: I cannot recommend PIA."
"I've had PIA for many, many years. Tried several others and I love it."
"have been using PIA for over 10 years. On Apple platforms. Been stable overall, no significant hiccups. Any issues they have server side is usually resolved quickly."
"Been with PIA for over 10 years. Tried both ProtonVPN and NordVPN to see if I should switch, but they both were lacking (to put it mildly), so I stayed with PIA. Aside from the glitchy Automation in their Android app, everything else works like a charm."
"PIA is solid if you care about lots of server locations and decent speeds. Apps feel a bit dated but it has been reliable for me day to day."
"I just renewed Pia for another 3 years,used it the last four years,no complaints."
"All the homies that know don’t use PIA or any of the vpns funded by anyone connected to pia and their mgmt"
"PIA 80 dollars for 3 years. Tons of features and integrated in browsers too."
"Based on privacy policies/practices and speed I would say Mullvad. Never anything owned by Malware company Kape technologies . They own a bunch of vpn companies like PIA and ExpressVPN as well as a vpn review website."
"Yeah you can VPN on Android and iPhone no problem. Just need an app (I've used Nord and Private Internet Access with no issues)"
"Private Internet Access review for 2026: Any idea? I tested out Private Internet Access earlier this year and wanted to share how it has been for me. I was looking for a VPN that was affordable but still focused on privacy, and PIA kept coming up as a popular option. One thing that stood out right away was the size of their server network. There are plenty of locations to choose from, so finding a nearby server was easy. I also liked that they are very open about their no logs approach and say they do not record browsing activity or connection data. Performance has been fine overall. It is ..."
"Why Your VPN Provider Is Probably Lying About Their "No-Log" Policy (And How to Actually Verify It) "We don't keep logs." Every VPN company says this. It's on their homepage, in their marketing, in their terms of service. It sounds good. It feels safe. It's also almost impossible to verify. And yeah, some of them are definitely lying. \*\*The Problem\*\* "No-log" doesn't mean what people think it means. It doesn't mean they can't see your traffic. It means they \*claim\* they don't store records of it. But here's the thing: you have to trust them. There's no audit, no blockchai..."
"Hello i came across a vpn thats made by the orginal owners that owned PIA vpn the actual people who went to court and proved no logs. They made a new vpn that claims they cant even log you if they wanted to. The vpn is called VP.NET"
"I have used PIA off and on and never had any surprise charges. The price was always what I expected and cancellation was straightforward when I tried it out."
"I'm not a VPN connoisseur nor do I have anything other than everyday needs for one. Having said that, I have been with PIA for years and it has been just fine. Ample POPs and decent speeds (again at least for what I ever need). Clients for everything, or configure and use your own client. The ownership change was/is reason to wonder about their commitment to privacy, but I've not seen any chatter to suggest the service isn't still doing exactly what it advertises (zero logging etc.). Billing has not been a concern. Pay once and that's it until your term is up. If you're worried about that..."