Perfect Privacy: Strong No-Logs Security, But Poor Streaming, Slow Growth, and Clunky Apps

Perfect Privacy is one of the few genuine no-logs VPNs we’ve reviewed. It doesn’t record browsing history, IP addresses, VPN connection timestamps, or individual bandwidth usage.

This claim was put to the test in 2016 when Dutch authorities seized two of Perfect Privacy’s servers in Rotterdam.

No customer data was exposed during the incident.

The only information Perfect Privacy stores is usernames, passwords, and email addresses. Almost every VPN requires this to set up accounts (Mullvad and IVPN are rare exceptions).

For transparency, the VPN publishes a monthly warrant canary stating whether it has received any court orders, warrants, or requests for backdoors.

There’s still room to improve. We’d like to see Perfect Privacy commission an independent audit to verify its no-logs policy in 2025.

Diskless Servers

We appreciate that Perfect Privacy runs an entirely diskless server network, which prevents intruders from stealing hard drives full of data.

Diskless servers don’t have their own hard drives. Instead, software and settings are loaded from another system at startup.

This design improves privacy and security because no data remains on the server when it’s powered off.

In short, if a server is seized, any data in memory is lost when the server is removed from power.

German Jurisdiction

In 2023, Perfect Privacy changed its jurisdiction from Switzerland to Germany — a shift disclosed quietly on the service’s German-language forum, with limited communication to its English-speaking users.

Outside the forum, the change appeared only in updates to the privacy policy and the company information page (the “imprint”).

From a privacy perspective, this is noteworthy. Switzerland is known for strong data protection laws and sits outside intelligence-sharing alliances like the 14 Eyes.

Germany, by contrast, is a 14 Eyes member and can coordinate on surveillance and intelligence requests.

While Germany also has robust data laws and does not mandate user data retention, Perfect Privacy could face increased pressure for data requests in the future.

Given how popular streaming is, we’re disappointed by Perfect Privacy’s poor performance.

To its credit, the VPN doesn’t claim to work with streaming services that block VPNs, such as Netflix and Disney+.

Still, over the past seven years, we’ve only seen it consistently access one service: Max — and even that was unreliable.

We also encountered more CAPTCHAs than usual on Google and Max, plus frequent connection failures.

The most frustrating moments were when a specific VPN server failed to connect and the only other server in that country was down for maintenance.

At the time of writing, 15% of Perfect Privacy’s servers were under maintenance in key regions like the US and Germany.

This wouldn’t be as serious with a large network like PIA’s, but Perfect Privacy has only 46 servers.

TrackStop (its domain filter for ads, trackers, malware, and harmful content) sometimes blocked access to BBC iPlayer’s homepage on desktop.

Overall, streaming with Perfect Privacy was frustrating. We wouldn’t choose it for this purpose.

We’d opt for a reliable service like ExpressVPN or NordVPN, which have much larger server networks and consistently work with Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+.

Perfect Privacy is one of the most configurable VPNs we’ve tested; it does the basics well and offers many advanced options for power users.

Encryption & Tunneling Protocols

Using Wireshark (a packet analyzer), we inspected Perfect Privacy’s OpenVPN traffic to assess its encryption strength. The VPN successfully obfuscated our traffic, preventing our ISP from seeing browsing activity.

By default, Perfect Privacy uses OpenVPN with AES-256 encryption, which is very secure. OpenVPN has been open-source for decades and heavily scrutinized for vulnerabilities.

You can switch to AES-128, but there’s little reason to downgrade from the default.

We’re disappointed that Perfect Privacy still hasn’t added WireGuard. It’s the fastest protocol we’ve tested and uses less data, which is helpful when roaming between networks.

Effective Kill Switch

We appreciate Perfect Privacy’s customizable kill switch, which blocks internet traffic if the VPN disconnects unexpectedly.

Most users won’t need granular control. The default Tunnel mode disables internet traffic only when the VPN has an active connection.

Program mode is active whenever the VPN app is open, even if you’re not connected. We recommend this mode, as it matches what most VPNs offer.

Permanent mode works even when Perfect Privacy isn’t running. It’s best for users with maximum privacy needs and isn’t necessary for most people.

Leak Protection

Perfect Privacy includes DNS leak protection and supports IPv6 traffic, which is uncommon but very welcome.

Installation & Setup

Interface & Ease of Use

Day-to-Day Experience

In our P2P tests, we saw a minor drop in download speeds with Perfect Privacy. Without a VPN, a 20GB file took 32 minutes to download. On a nearby Perfect Privacy server, it took 41 minutes.

That’s a good result but not as fast as top torrenting VPNs that show little to no loss.

Torrenting isn’t allowed on all servers. To avoid DMCA requests, Perfect Privacy blocks BitTorrent traffic on servers in the US and France.

US users may see slower P2P speeds, as their closest P2P-enabled location is likely Canada.

Port Forwarding Tool

Previously, automatic port forwarding was limited to Windows. That’s now been fixed.

You can enable automatic or manual port forwarding in both desktop apps. To access it, switch to Advanced or Expert view in the top-left of the dashboard.

In testing, setup was easy and improved file-sharing speeds immediately.

We’re impressed Perfect Privacy offers this when some top VPNs, including NordVPN, still do not.

Perfect Privacy supports most popular platforms, including Windows, macOS, Android, Linux, and Fire TV.

However, it still lacks a true iOS app.

On the plus side, it supports OpenWrt, Tomato, Asus, DD-WRT, and pfSense routers, with detailed setup guides on the website.

Unlimited Simultaneous Connections

You can use Perfect Privacy on an unlimited number of devices. That’s rare — most VPNs cap connections at five or so.

Split Tunneling

Split tunneling is available on Android, though it’s not clearly labeled.

In settings, you can route all apps through the VPN, include only selected apps, or exclude selected apps.

This level of control exceeds what most VPNs offer, but we’d like to see clearer labeling and broader platform support, especially on Windows and macOS.

NeuroRouting

Perfect Privacy’s flagship “NeuroRouting” feature continually analyzes your traffic and routes it through the fastest path.

It keeps data encrypted for as long as possible by exiting at a server near your destination website. On longer routes, it may hop through multiple servers automatically.

A shorter exit path reduces exposure and makes tracking harder. It’s not designed to speed up your connection.

We can’t independently verify its inner workings, but it’s a welcome security option. It’s not ideal for torrenting or when you need a specific exit location, so disable it in those cases.

Multi-Hop VPN Servers

Perfect Privacy supports up to four hops in a single connection. You can fully customize the chain — a rare level of flexibility that only a few major VPNs (like Hide.me and Surfshark) match.

In practice, quadruple-hop was impractical. Our speeds dropped dramatically, similar to Tor’s three-hop routing.

Setting up four hops took around 3 minutes, longer than any VPN we’ve tested. For comparison, Surfshark’s double-hop takes up to 20 seconds, and Tor usually under a minute.

We also saw occasional connection failures, indicating the feature could be refined.

A basic Google search took about 2 minutes to load. Complex pages, such as IP test tools, took around 4 minutes or sometimes failed after 7 minutes.

Unlike Surfshark and Hide.me, which clearly label entry and exit nodes, Perfect Privacy simply lets you add up to four servers without indicating which provides the final IP.

In our tests, servers connected top-down, and the final IP came from the last country in the list.

To change the order, we had to remove and re-add servers. Drag-and-drop ordering would be better.

Repeatedly connecting and disconnecting multi-hop chains also caused the macOS app to stop responding during testing.

In short, a quadruple VPN sounds impressive but isn’t practical for everyday use.

Ad & Tracker Blocker

Perfect Privacy’s TrackStop blocks trackers, some malware, phishing sites, and more. You enable it from your account on the website, not in the app.

TrackStop was mixed in testing. The “fake news,” social media, and ad filters worked as intended, but the child protection filter still allowed access to several gambling sites.

The Android app lacks multi-hop and a kill switch, but TrackStop filters apply once enabled on the website.