Psiphon VPN Ratings

Overall Score 3.9
2.5

Security

1.0

Speed

7.0

Servers

5.1

Support

General overview

Psiphon is a Canadian open-source censorship circumvention tool designed to access content in restricted countries. Although it effectively works as a proxy, it isn’t up to mark, considering it a standard VPN. The VPN logs approximately every activity of the users and provides outdated L2TP/IPSec protocol. Also, it lacks a Kill switch and leaks WebTRC data. Psiphon’s speed is comparatively slow; it limits its speed to just 2Mbps which is far from acceptable for all activities.

Moreover, the service isn’t designed for streaming. It doesn’t unblock any major streaming platform except for BBC iPlayer and All 4. Surprisingly, Psiphon is fast for torrenting. You may download the file quickly, but its dangerous logging policy and lack of features are red flags for users. Psiphon has Windows, Apple Silicon Macs, iOS, and Android apps. Once installed, the apps are simple, easy to use, and don’t require registration or an email address

Score 2.5

Security

Psiphon isn’t ideal for security or privacy-related activities. It uses the outdated L2TP/IPSec protocol instead the industry-standard OpenVPN or WireGuard. The service also lacks the essential kill switch and other critical advanced features like Port-forwarding, Ad-blocker and more. However, it is backed by strong AES-256 encryption.

In recent years, Psiphon has also undergone security audits by 7ASecurity and Cure53. Reports have revealed that the service doesn’t leak any critical user data. However, the VPN leaks some WebTRC that affects both the VPN and proxy service of the Psiphon.

Psiphon is not a privacy-friendly VPN; it logs user data and lacks significant security features and protocols. Thus, far more free VPNs provide more robust security policies to their customers.

Score 1.0

Speed

Psiphon’s speeds are dilatory, and it doesn’t provide more than 2mbps speed which isn’t even reliable for almost all web activities. The Windows app doesn’t let you select the server of your choice; You might experience slower speeds using Windows than any other platform. While Android and IOS throttle the download and upload speeds by more than 94%.

Moreover, Psiphon isn’t intended to perform streaming, gaming or torrenting. The VPN can easily circumvent censored sites. Thus, slow speeds shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

 

Score 7.0

Servers

Despite being a free VPN service, Psiphon has many server locations. Android and IOS users can select up to 20 server locations, while there is no server selection for Windows. Most of the servers are available in Europe, the US, and Asia and users in Africa, Central or South America, and Oceania are given no options at all.

Psiphon can’t access any streaming site except for BBC iPlayer and All 4. Although it isn’t fully designed for streaming purposes, delivering small content, Psiphon shouldn’t be criticised.

Furthermore, Psiphon is fast enough for torrenting, and you can quickly download files. But due to its intrusive logging policy and lack of advanced features, It isn’t a feasible tool for torrenting.

Score 5.1

Support

The VPN has its own website where you can find the main medium for customer support. You can get help through FAQs, User Guide, and Psiphon Guide. Psiphon’s customer support is average.

There is no live chat support; email is the only way to contact Psiphon’s support team. Their technical staff is very knowledgeable and always responds in a comprehensive manner. FAQs cover fundamental troubleshooting issues, while the User Guide provides detailed knowledge on how to use the Windows and Android apps.

Company Information

  • Company name: Psiphon
  • Company incorporation country: Canada
  • Years in market: 14
  • No-logs: Yes

Overview - Conclusion

Psiphon is transparent to the market. It marks itself as a circumvention tool only. It can’t be used for streaming, gaming or torrenting. The service is insecure and slow and logs very much user activity.