If you are a hardcore user of the internet, you would know that in various countries, a lot of content and websites are either blocked or inaccessible for users. This happens due to various censorship laws that do not allow these sites to be accessible to users residing in different countries. For example, a site like Funimation, a popular anime-streaming platform, is only available in a handful of countries, Netflix does not offer all of its libraries to every country but rather its content is limited in different places, and the same goes for sites like Crunchyroll, Hulu, Amazon Prime., etc.
However, these days it is very easy to bypass this limitation by simply installing a VPN service on your device. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network that extends a private network to a public network and makes it possible for users to send and receive data across various shared or public networks making it seem as if their devices were directly connected to the private network itself. In simple terms, a VPN enables a user to access servers in various countries and use that particular server to access content that is limited to the geographical peripheries of that country only. For example, you can access all the content of Netflix USA by connecting to a server in the US through a VPN.
Nowadays, there are various handy VPN services that are available for you to install and access. Although most of the good ones are paid, some of them are free as well. The free ones come with a few limitations but you can use them as a go-to VPN service on your device. In this article, I will be taking you through some of the best free VPNs for iOS that you can install on all iOS platforms like Macbook, iPhone, and iPad.
Contents
Best Free VPN for iOS Devices
Free VPN for iPhone
Proton VPN
This is a free VPN for iOS that you can access easily on your iPhone. It is quite easy to use and very reliable at the same time. It is safe for use and has garnered the trust of thousands of users over the years. You can use this VPN on an unlimited basis.
Features:
- You can connect to servers from various countries like the Netherlands, Japan, USA, etc.
- It unblocks a number of sites like Netflix, iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.
- You can use it to bypass censorship
- It has a kill-switch and OpenVPN encryption.
- It also has a no-logs policy when it comes to privacy.
Pros:
✅ It lets you browse safely and privately on your iPhone
✅ It is quite smooth for a free VPN
✅ It also gives you high speed to avoid congestion
Cons:
❌ It can be used only on one device
❌ You have to pay to access Netflix US
❌ It can be a bit slow
Review: ProtonVPN is a great basic VPN for your iPhone that gives you maximum security and lets you unlock various websites which would otherwise be restricted in various countries. Although a bit slow when it comes to speed with this VPN, accessing content from locked websites and platforms becomes an easy-peasy task. I would highly recommend all iPhone users to check it out.
Rating: 8/10
Windscribe VPN
This is another free VPN for iOS that you can install on your iPhone to access locked sited safely and securely. It can be your go-to VP for your iOS device and has made sure to give you every reason to make it so. It provides the highest level of security and is a pretty good VPN service given the fact that it is free.
Features:
- It uses double-hop encryption which means that your data is encrypted twice
- It offers a kill-switch
- It also offers split-tunneling which lets you use both private and public networks at the same time.
- It uses SHA512 encryption to secure all of your data
- It is protected from WebRTC leaks and DNS leaks
Pros:
✅ You get 10GB of monthly data with the free version
✅ It has a strict no-log policy
✅ It supports P2P servers and torrenting
Cons:
❌ It is based in Canada
❌ It shares your data with the Canadian government
❌ It shares personal information like the amount of data you use every month and timestamps for your activity
Review: Windscribe VPN is quite a useful VPN for your iPhone if you are willing to have your personal data shared with the government. Other than that one drawback, it is probably the best free VPN for iOS in my opinion.
Rating: 9/10
Free VPN for iPad
TunnelBear
TunnelBear is one of the most popular free VPN for iOS. You can easily connect to a VPN using this app and use it to browse safely from various locations. You can either manually select which country’s server you want to use or let the app decide for itself.
Features:
- It offers upto 500MB of data per month
- It provides AES-256 bit encryption
- It has strong servers in more than 22 countries including the UK, Canada, USA, France and a few more
- It provides maximum amount of security while browsing
Pros:
✅ It has a neat user interface
✅ It provides the necessary security for personal data
✅ The AES-256 bit encryption works wonders when it comes to security and privacy
Cons:
❌ The free version only gives you 500MB of data per month which is too less
❌ The servers are limited to only 22 countries
Review: TunnelBear is a useful VPN service that you can check out if you want to access sites that are unavailable in your country. The free VPN app works on various iOS devices like Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, iPad, iPhone, etc., and can be installed easily. Although it could do a lot better when it comes to using data, it is comparatively a much better option than many other free VPN for iOS out there.
Rating: 7/10
Hide.me VPN
Hide.me is another effective VPN service for iOS that you can install on your iPhone for safe and secure browsing. It is an extremely trustworthy service that has been providing VPN privileges to iOS users for quite a long time now. It comes absolutely for no cost and you can connect to five major servers with its help.
Features:
- You can connect to five servers in countries like East USA, West USA, Singapore, Canada and the Netherlands.
- It unblocks sites like Netflix iPlayer, Hulu and Amazon Prime
- Its free service is just as good as its paid plans
- It provides 10GB worth of usage every month
- It gives you speeds ranging upto 80Mbps
- It provides strong encryption
Pros:
✅ It provides maximum security while browsing
✅ You get to browse at high speeds
✅ You get a solid amount of usage data per month
Cons:
❌ Its services are not available outside of the five above mentioned countries
❌ The usage limit for the free plan could be better
❌ iPhone users cannot access a server in the UK or elsewhere
Review: All throughout the internet, it has garnered good reviews from dedicated users. However, sometimes users have complained about the usage limit and speed lags. Its unavailability of servers anywhere outside those 5 countries sometimes proves to be a major hindrance when you are unable to access a particular site with the servers of these countries. But otherwise, I would say it is pretty useful.
Rating: 7/10
Free VPN for Mac
Betternet
This is an easy-to-use VPN that has incorporated a basic design. However, it has high positive ratings on the Apple App Store. Although the free version comes with limited features and many unnecessary ads, you can easily overcome this by purchasing the paid version for $35.99/year.
Features:
- It provides high level encryption to protect your data from trackers
- It has a trusted no-log policy
- The logged domain names of the websites you visit are anonymized
- It has servers in many countries
Pros:
✅ It anonymizes the domains of the websites you visit so that they cannot be tracked back to you
✅ It has a highly secure no-log policy
✅ It automatically connects to the fastest VPN server
Cons:
❌ The free version has a limited no. of features and comes with ads
❌ It logs your IP address
❌ It approximates your location by tracking your IP address
Review: Betternet free version is a good starter VPN although I would highly recommend you purchase the premium version as you have way more features and better specs. Also, you can get rid of unnecessary ads that may create annoyance.
Rating: 8/10
Hotspot Shield
This is another free VPN for iOS that has gotten really good reviews and ratings on the App Store. In order to access the VPN, you have to sign up or log in after you’ve installed it. However, you can also use it without having to create an account.
Features:
- It offers some of the fastest VPN servers
- It has support for more than 70 locations
- It provides high-grade protection
- It has military-grade encryption
- It is integrated with 1Password, one of the best password managers in the world
Pros:
✅ It offers military-grade encrypted traffic
✅ It offers high protection using 1Password
✅ It offers some of the fastest VPN servers in the world
Cons:
❌ It is not very easy-to-use
❌ The pro version is costly at $7.99/month
❌ The free version comes with limited features
Review: This is a great free VPN for iOS that you can access on your Macbook. Although I feel that the design language could be a bit better, it still stands to be one of the very best VPNs in the world at the moment with its military-grade encryption and 1Password protection
Rating: 10/10
ULTRAVPN
Previously known as HexaTech, Ultra VPN is a user-friendly and easy-to-use app. You can download this free VPN’s latest iOS version from the Apple App Store. This VPN does not need registration to its platform to be accessed and connecting to it is a fairly fast and straightforward process.
Features:
- It lets you connect to over five devices at once
- It offers you military-grade encryption
- It connects you to a server based on optimum performance
- It gives you unlimited bandwidth and connection
Pros:
✅ It defends sensitive information from trackers
✅ The Premium version comes with a variety of features
✅ It has a user-friendly UI
Cons:
❌ It does not offer a full-fledged free plan
❌ The Premium version costs $12.99/month and is a bit expensive
❌ The free plan has limited features
Review: Although Ultra VPN is quite a good free VPN for all iOS versions, its lack of a free tier gives it a major disadvantage when it comes to usability. Because not a lot of people want to subscribe to a Premium plan to access their VPN service. Keeping this aside, its military-grade encryption makes it a highly secure VPN for iOS.
Rating: 8/10
Final Thoughts
Although there are quite a few free VPN for iOS, not all of them provide the same credibility or user security. Therefore, it is best to really do your research before opting for a VPN service for your iOS device. Given that iOS itself is quite a protected system, I would say that it’s best to go for a renowned premium VPN service that you can trust blindly.
Do you have a go-to free VPN service for iOS that you depend on to access otherwise locked sites? Let us know in the comments!
