Virtual Private Networks (VPN) are on-demand these days. Their ability to protect people’s online content and data privacy are perfect to safeguard people’s systems against hackers, censorship, governmental surveillance, advertisers, and more. On top of that, they are ideal unblocking resources.
One of the most fast-growing VPNs for Android is SurfShark, which is a VPN proxy app with a native Android client. With it, users can browse the web securely and anonymously without having to worry about being spied on.
Also, Surfshark encrypts your traffic and hides your actual IP address by changing it with one of your chosen remote servers, which is a perfect scenario for unblocking streaming sites internationally.
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Pricing, plans, and payment methods
SurfShark’s monthly price is $10.95, which is a tad expensive given the rest of the market. However, people can have access to enticing discounts if they choose to sign up for longer-term plans.
For example, the half-yearly subscription costs $39.95, billed once, with a prorated payment of $6.66 per month. The best deal, though, is the annual plan, with a total amount of $47.40 charged once: the monthly equivalent checks in at $3.95!
SurfShark recently added cryptocurrency as one of the payment methods, which is a welcome addition to an otherwise acceptable service. Users can also pay with PayPal, Alipay, debit, and credit cards.
The company offers a 7-day free trial available with all VPN plans, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee. It serves as the perfect protection measure for customers, as they can test the features for up to a month before deciding on whether to keep using SurfShark or not.
Streaming and torrenting
As it turns out, SurfShark’s speeds and performance, as well as its security features, foster a perfect environment for streaming and torrenting. With it, you can enjoy series and movies in full HD / 4K.
SurfShark works like a charm with some of the most highly sought-after streaming platforms and services in the industry, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and live sporting events. Users can also play online games smoothly.
As for torrenting, the activity is fully supported by SurfShark, with more than acceptable speeds and a strong privacy policy to protect users.
Privacy settings
SurfShark comes with a firm no logging policy that they fulfill until the last consequences. They don’t monitor or record any online activity. Browsing details stay between the user and its phone.
The company makes sure to protect its users’ content with the most recent protocols and up-to-date technologies so that there are no unwanted leaks.
Protocols and encryption
As for encryption, SurfShark implements the diamond-like AES 256-bit encryption, which is arguably the most reliable that a user can found in a VPN app. Sensitive information such as passwords and usernames, banking details, and credit card numbers will stay private.
The always impressive OpenVPN is among the protocols offered to the public. It is very adept at combining safety with speed and performance. However, if you don’t like it, you can also opt to implement the Internet Key Exchange, version 2 (IKEv2) protocol.
The Android app
Surfshark has a native Android app, which doesn’t happen for other operating systems. The company says it will offer apps for Windows and iOS soon.
The Android app has a user-friendly interface and is relatively easy to install and use. It can be found on Google play here. Its performance is smooth, and so far, complaints are very few.
Compatibility and simultaneous devices
The SurfShark service has, in addition to the mentioned Android-dedicated app, browser extensions for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, which is excellent given the insecure nature of these browsers, especially the former.
The browser extensions work wonderfully, and they are very light and smooth. With SurfShark on any of those two browsers, there will be no notable breakdowns.
One of the most impressive offerings of SurfShark is its ability to let users connect an unlimited number of devices at the same time, effectively trumping the industry’s average of five.
Speed
SurfShark offers more than satisfactory speeds for browsing, streaming and playing online games with virtually no lag. It doesn’t slow down the user’s Internet connection in a significant way as other brands do.
The speeds are also good enough for fast torrent uploading and downloading, thus satisfying all the market’s needs when it comes to rates.
Features and offerings
SurfShark may not be fully-features like other top VPN apps, but it more than holds its own. For starters, it has the military-grade AES 256-bit network traffic encryption to protect the content of their clientele fiercely.
Users can also choose between the IKEv2 security protocol and the almighty OpenVPN, enjoying a full no logs policy and successful IP address masking, coupled with a zero-knowledge DNS.
With the intention of protecting the users’ security, SurfShark also offers IPv6 leak protection, as well as WebRTC protection.
Server network
For a $10.95-VPN, SurfShark’s server network is a bit lacking. In total, the enterprise offers 100 servers and 14 different countries available for connection. Here are the primary server locations:
Australia – Sydney
France – Paris
Germany – Frankfurt
Hong Kong – Hong Kong
Iceland – Reykjavik
Italy – Rome
Japan – Tokyo
Netherlands – Amsterdam
Singapore – Singapore
Spain – Madrid
Sweden – Stockholm
Switzerland – Zurich
United Kingdom – Manchester
United States – Dallas, Los Angeles and New York
As you can see, there aren’t enough servers in East Asia and Africa. As usual, the United States and Europe are well-covered, as is Japan. However, SurfShark would benefit from an improvement in its network.
5 stars customer service
One of SurfShark’s best attributes is its dependable customer service and support department. It is very responsive, and with its 24/7 live chat feature, it can quickly answer any doubts you may have regarding the service.
In conclusion, SurfShark is an up-and-coming VPN service with more than enough offerings to be considered a good VPN company. Although it has a relatively short server network, it makes that up with secure encryption, responsible privacy management, and security features.