Snap VPN: Among the Worst VPNs We’ve Tested

Snap VPN doesn’t log enough data to identify you, but it’s still not a trustworthy service.

Its privacy policy moved to a self-hosted, secure HTTPS website in 2022 — a big improvement on what it was before. However, it’s odd that it isn’t hosted on Autumn Breeze’s own website.

Company Ownership

Snap VPN was previously owned by a company called Lemon Clove PTE Ltd., but that has since changed to Autumn Breeze. It’s unclear if Autumn Breeze is a rebrand or a new company altogether.

However, in multiple places throughout its privacy policy, Snap VPN still references Lemon Clove — this lack of attention to detail further erodes our confidence in the document and is one reason why we don’t trust Snap VPN.

The privacy policy states that Snap VPN’s Singapore jurisdiction has “no special data retention laws and no guidance pertaining to e-discovery or disclosure to foreign law enforcement agencies.” This is not true — Singapore is a member of the SIGINT data-sharing alliance, and we’d prefer a VPN not be based there if possible.

Our research into the Chinese ownership of free VPNs also shows that Snap VPN has links to mainland China, a clear drawback for privacy.

Excessive Advertising Permissions

An overabundance of in-app ads is one of our biggest complaints about Snap VPN. These ads interrupt your experience and gain access to your personal data.

Third-party ad services AdMob, Unity Ads, Vungle, and Startapp can place “their own cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies” on your device via Snap VPN and may use them to “access information about you which they may collect over time and across different online services.”

In-app ads are common with free VPNs and are one reason to consider a low-cost paid VPN instead, but Snap VPN’s permissions are still more invasive than most other free VPNs.

Snap VPN is unable to unblock most streaming services we test. We were blocked from logging into most platforms and, in some cases, couldn’t even load the login screen.

While we could unblock BBC iPlayer and ITVX, Snap VPN throttled our speeds. The stream always took at least two minutes to load and buffered constantly.

We found this frustrating and distracting, especially across multiple hours of testing.

To avoid this, use a VPN optimized for streaming that won’t throttle your connection or limit you to UK services.

Ambiguous VPN Protocols & Encryption

Snap VPN only lets you connect with a protocol labeled “IPSec.” It’s unclear whether this is the secure IKEv2 protocol or the unsafe and outdated L2TP/IPSec.

Despite previously offering it on the free tier, Snap VPN now paywalls OpenVPN as well as the Android-only protocols SSR and ISSR. It isn’t obvious you can’t use these protocols, as Snap VPN makes no effort to gray them out or mark them as unavailable.

There’s also no information given about Snap VPN’s encryption. We contacted support and were told Snap VPN uses industry-standard AES-128 and AES-256 encryption. This is reassuring, but we’d like to see it advertised on the VPN’s Google Play listing.

Passed Our Leak Tests, but Lacks a Kill Switch

We ran Snap VPN through several tests and found no IP, DNS, or WebRTC leaks.

As shown above, Snap VPN uses Google DNS, which is considered secure. However, we’d encourage Snap VPN to operate its own private DNS servers, like ExpressVPN and PIA, for greater anonymity and security.

We were unable to test Snap VPN’s kill switch because it doesn’t have one.

If the VPN connection drops, your personal data can be exposed. This omission is inexcusable and makes Snap VPN fundamentally unsafe.

Technical Features We’d Like to See Added

Aside from its recent addition of split tunneling, Snap VPN fails to provide basic technical features we expect all VPN services to have. Below is a summary of the most important ones it’s missing:

Snap VPN offers a small selection of VPN locations, which is typical for a free VPN. You can choose from servers in only six countries:

• Canada
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Singapore
• UK
• US

Snap VPN lists individual cities for its UK and Germany servers, but some options in other countries are unlabeled — the only way to discover where they are is by using an IP lookup tool.

There are more locations for paid subscribers, but it still doesn’t come close to top-tier VPNs like ExpressVPN, with servers in 109 countries.

It’s easy to get started with Snap VPN on Android — the process took less than two minutes for us. Download the app from the Play Store, agree to the prompts, and you’re done.

As a free VPN, you’re not required to provide payment details or register an account.

Android

Snap VPN uses a simple design with easy-to-read white text on a blue background. To start using the VPN, select your preferred server location from the list and tap ‘Go’ on the main screen.

In testing, it sometimes took multiple attempts to connect, with no reason provided. We also found it frustrating to decline the free trial pop-up after every connection attempt.

Although it’s easy to use, we’d like more advanced features and customization options. For a mobile VPN, we’d appreciate a light/dark mode and the ability to add trusted networks.

The worst part of Snap VPN’s user experience is its intrusive ads. They take over the whole screen and can’t be skipped until a timer runs out (usually five to ten seconds).

Previously, Snap VPN made it clear on its Play Store listing that P2P downloads were not permitted. Although this warning has been removed, you still cannot use Snap VPN for torrenting.

When we attempted to torrent a test file, it simply sat in our client and failed to download. We tried changing VPN protocols and servers, but our traffic was blocked each time.

This isn’t unusual for free VPNs, as many services ban torrenting to control bandwidth and encourage upgrades to paid plans.

That said, there are free VPNs that support torrenting and allow you to file-share safely.

Functional Split Tunneling Feature

Snap VPN includes split tunneling, which allows you to exclude specific Android apps from the VPN tunnel.

This can be useful for location-based services you don’t want to interfere with, like a weather app.

Customer Support Needs an Overhaul

Snap VPN doesn’t have a website — its only web presence is the website of its developer, Autumn Breeze. All information about the app is on its Google Play Store listing.

There is a customer support email, but replies took up to a week and were often unhelpful and unclear.

Snap VPN even told us it wouldn’t disclose any information about the VPN until we “fairly” evaluate the product.

Our most recent reply also came from the “Master VPN Customer Service Department,” which is especially confusing.

After several exchanges, we did eventually receive answers to our questions. Still, we expect more guidance and professionalism from a VPN service — free or not.