AirVPN: Excellent Privacy and P2P Performance, but Clunky Apps and Poor Streaming Support

As shown above, AirVPN does not collect any identifying user data. It only temporarily logs your VPN server location, which is deleted once the VPN session ends. This is far less intrusive than the logging policies of most VPN services.

Plus, AirVPN’s diskless server network makes it impossible for the VPN to log any activity data beyond the end of the session.

It also supports anonymous payment methods, including Bitcoin, when signing up.

AirVPN Needs Third-Party Verification

AirVPN’s logging policy is vague and lacks detail, so we contacted customer support for clarification.

We were told it only collects “technical data” for server maintenance, and that you can request deletion of this data at any time.

We currently can’t substantiate this claim, as AirVPN has not provided real-world evidence of its no-logs policy.

Going forward, we’d like to see AirVPN undergo an independent audit of its logging practices by a cybersecurity firm. This would provide third-party verification and substantially improve AirVPN’s privacy rating.

Implementing a regularly updated warrant canary and publishing any law enforcement requests would also improve AirVPN’s transparency.

Trustworthy Ownership, but Troubling EU Jurisdiction

AirVPN has been around for over eleven years. It was formed in Italy in 2010 by a small group of activists and hackers, with help from two lawyers. In that time it has never faced any security scandals or been bought by a larger company.

Originally it was operated by Iridium, a satellite communications company, but AirVPN took over in November 2012. Paolo Brini is listed as the current owner of AirVPN, which is operated from Perugia, Italy.

Even today, AirVPN is operated exclusively by activists and “security issues aware persons.” It’s still based in Italy, putting it within reach of EU data retention laws.

Its EU jurisdiction is particularly troubling and underscores the need for third-party verification of AirVPN’s logging practices.

While fast enough for buffer-free Full HD streaming, AirVPN doesn’t work with either Netflix or BBC iPlayer.

Because there are no AirVPN servers optimized for streaming sites, it’s a matter of trial and error. We haven’t been able to unblock US Netflix for several months.

It’s the same story with BBC iPlayer, which has always been inaccessible via AirVPN’s UK-based servers. These VPNs will stream BBC iPlayer, though.

Surprisingly, given the difficulty we’ve had with BBC iPlayer and Netflix, AirVPN was one of the few providers to work with Disney+ at launch, which is great to see.

Thankfully, AirVPN’s website includes a list of blocked websites that users can check to see if the situation with these streaming services changes.

AirVPN is a fantastic choice if pure privacy is your priority. Encryption uses the top cipher AES-256, and the software runs on OpenVPN or WireGuard, which offer the best balance between security and performance.

The VPN kill switch is essential to protect you in case of connection drops, and AirVPN also operates its own DNS servers, keeping your personal information confidential.

AirVPN’s protection against DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks was also 100% effective in our latest tests.

AirVPN offers one of the smallest server networks we’ve seen from a premium VPN service.

AirVPN provides only 200 individual VPN servers, which could lead to congestion at busy times. Thankfully, the “server load” section in the app makes it easy to see which locations are approaching capacity.

AirVPN has 37 US VPN servers across 10 cities. Users in the US can choose from servers in:

• Atlanta (5)
• Chicago (3)
• Dallas (10)
• Fremont (3)
• Jacksonville (1)
• Los Angeles (3)
• Miami (3)
• New York City (3)
• Pennsylvania (1)
• Phoenix (5)

AirVPN also has three city-level UK servers (London, Maidenhead, and Manchester) and three Canadian servers (Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver). Other countries with city-specific choices include Germany, Spain, and Sweden.

Europe has the best coverage, with 153 servers across 15 countries, while Asia is limited to Japan and Singapore.

AirVPN used to maintain a Hong Kong server, but this was removed in July 2020 following the escalation of China’s digital surveillance in the region.

South America is covered only by Brazil, while Africa is not covered at all.

The Eddie client is one of the least accessible we’ve reviewed.

AirVPN’s settings are separated into tabs, each with many options. This can be confusing for less experienced users, so we appreciate the option to reset all settings to default.

VPN server selection is more difficult than it needs to be — the list is long and there’s no search feature. Even worse, each server is named after a star, which becomes frustrating when all you want to do is choose a city and connect.

AirVPN offers a native app for Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. It can also be used with a range of consoles and streaming devices by connecting them to a configured router or sharing the VPN connection from another device running the software.

There are no manual setup or troubleshooting guides for many of these devices, but you can find useful tips in AirVPN’s online forums.

There is an AirVPN setup guide for iOS; however, it requires installing third-party OpenVPN software. We advise iOS users to choose VPNs with custom iPhone or iPad apps instead.

AirVPN is also supported on DD-WRT, pfSense, Tomato, and AsusWRT routers, but it must be manually installed and configured. This means AirVPN isn’t a great choice if you want a plug-and-play VPN service.

You can have up to five simultaneous connections. Other providers offer more, but this should cover most people’s devices.

Browser Extensions

AirVPN unfortunately doesn’t offer any browser extensions for Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, which isn’t surprising given its lack of native apps for a broader range of devices. Some rivals, such as ExpressVPN, offer full-featured extensions for popular browsers.

Split Tunnelling Works but Is Difficult to Set Up

AirVPN’s desktop and mobile apps support split tunneling, which lets you route specific traffic through the VPN tunnel.

That said, we found it harder to set up split tunneling on AirVPN than on other VPNs. We had to input specific IP addresses to tunnel, whereas most VPNs simply let you choose apps.

On Android, at least, AirVPN allows app-based split tunneling.

Tor Over VPN

You can use AirVPN with the Tor browser, giving you an extra layer of encryption if you need it.

Works in China but Needs Manual Configuration

Currently, the only way to connect to a VPN server in China is to use the OpenVPN protocol over SSL, which encrypts your OpenVPN fingerprint to make it undetectable. This is simple enough on desktop but more complex on mobile.

If you want to connect out from China on mobile devices using AirVPN, you’ll have to install OpenVPN files and do some manual configuration — step-by-step guides on the website walk you through the process.