I took a hard look at Hide.me and its claims to see how it stands up to scrutiny.
The short version is that Hide.me has a lot to offer.
It’s fast, gets through to streaming services, and does all this at a reasonable price.
There are alsobrowser extensionsforChrome,Firefox, andMicrosoft Edge, plus installations forroutersand NAS devices.
No map like withNordVPN, no tight design like withMozilla VPN, just a deeply meh color scheme.
Related:ExpressVPN Review: An Easy-to-Use and Secure VPN for Most People
However, there’s an annoyance.
It’s a little irritating, and it seems unnecessary.
Thankfully, this is a singular issue, as all other menus and screens follow more conventional wisdom.
The configs are also very flexible.
Another good example is its multi-hop feature, which lets you connect any server to any server.
I’m guessing that Hide.me is usingresidential IPsor some other kind of networking wizardry to make it work.
Whatever the case, it’s impressive.
“), which then turned into a fixture.
The main thing is that the service will cost this much in perpetuity.
It’s pretty spiffy, though I like it less thanWindscribe’s free plan.
For one, Windscribe offers more servers—10 as opposed to 8—and also better speeds.
Simply download the app, and off you go.
Alternatively, Hide.me comes with a30-day money-back guarantee.
Speed
Hide.me’s speeds are impressive.
The results speak for themselves.
This is patently false,VPNs do slow you down, it’s just a matter of how much.
It’s misleading to claim otherwise, and I’m disappointed that Hide.me resorts to this kind of thing.
Usually, it’s onlyuntrustworthy VPNsthat share messaging like this.
For example, the free German server gave me a speed of just 10Mbps.
For some reason, Hide.me makes it kind of hard to find itsprivacy policy.
Related:NordVPN Review: Truth in Advertising?
As with all VPNs, you’re taking these assurances at face value.
These transparency reports, which detail how often Hide.me received information requests, are a good thing to have.
I much prefer them overwarrant canariesor just bland assurances.
Is Hide.me’s Free VPN Safe?
Thankfully, Hide.me’s security is a lot more clear-cut: it’s solid.
While running my speed tests, I also made sure tocheck for leaksand found none.
The best way to describe my feelings aboutHide.meis “ambiguous.”
For more serious purposes, I would recommendMullvadorIVPN, instead.
