Android Best VPN Apps for privacy and security in 2023

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If you’re looking for the best VPN apps, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled a list of the best VPN apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, and Mac. Whether you’re looking for a free VPN or a paid one, we’ve got you covered.

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a vital tool for many modern internet users. A VPN allows you to change your IP address and browse the internet anonymously. A VPN can also help you access blocked websites and content. There are many different VPN apps available, and they vary in terms of features and price. In this article, we will take a look at the best VPN apps for different needs.

You can turn your Android device into a place that is completely private if you turn to a reliable VPN. Your privacy concerns won’t disappear, however. Nevertheless, the very best Android VPN will protect your privacy from other people and keep your location unknown to Google at all times. Your Internet service provider can’t apprehend what your program is doing or which websites you visit, so your different programs do not get to know what you do outside of their apps. You can feel secure from would-be cyberthieves because of this sort of protection.

The most recent trend reports show that Android-specific virtual private network (VPN) downloads accounted for about seventy-five years of the recent worldwide surge of mobile VPN apps. More than 480 million mobile VPN apps were downloaded around the world between 2022 and 2023, according to research firm Top10VPN.

If you’re on a budget or just looking to experiment with a VPN addon, we recommend contacting ExpressVPN about trying it risk-free with its free 30-day money-back guarantee. Not the same as a permanently free VPN, but free VPN providers are generally willing to at least provide a free trial so that you can test things out.

what is a VPN and why use one?

If you’re not already using a VPN, you should. A VPN is a tool that encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a server in another location, making it appear as if your traffic is coming from the VPN server rather than your actual device. This has several benefits:

  • It can help you bypass geographic restrictions. If you’re trying to access content that’s only available in certain countries, a VPN can help you “trick” websites into thinking you’re accessing from an allowed location.
  • It can keep your browsing activity private. By routing your traffic through a VPN server, your ISP (internet service provider) will only see that you’re connecting to the VPN server, not the individual websites you visit.

The best free VPN apps

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a tool that helps to keep your data and online activity private. When you connect to the internet, your data is sent through your ISP (Internet Service Provider). However, with a VPN, your data is instead sent through a secure tunnel to a server controlled by the VPN provider. This means that your ISP cannot see what you are doing online, and neither can anyone else.

ExpressVPN

Best VPN for privacy protection and speed.

Surfshark

Cheap VPN

NordVPN

Best Android VPN

IPVanish

Best For Beginners

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

We’re thrilled to announce that ExpressVPN has won our Editor’s Choice Award for best VPN in 2023!

This is a huge accomplishment, and we couldn’t be more proud of the hard work our team has put in to make ExpressVPN the best it can be.

We believe that ExpressVPN is the best VPN on the market, and this award is a testament to that. Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way!

ExpressVPN increased its independent third-party auditor count and published details on its TrustedServer deployment process during the year. It joined the i2Coalition to issue calls for increased VPN industry ethics and released an open-source Lightway encryption software it was the first time it did. VPN services unblock photos and videos from Netflix and other streaming services more rapidly than others and perform flawlessly when unblocking websites or arguing that you’re from a different region.

Lightway’s extensive options integrate flawlessly with many typical network connections, from both TCP and UDP protocols. As a robust alternative, it’s a great fit for Androids, as it’s highly configurable and available regardless of whether a network connection is strong or weak.

Our top-performing VPNs have broad compatibility across all OSs and platforms, but ExpressVPN’s collection of setup guides, detailed FAQs and troubleshooting articles give it a clear lead when it comes to customer service. For its 24-hour customer service and satisfaction guaranteed, ExpressVPN is as good as it gets.

While ExpressVPN can provide to get a cheaper month-to-dollar value for money compared to its two-year subscription, we do not advise anyone purchase any extra two-year VPN subscriptions at this time due to their overall market volatility. ExpressVPN’s most cost-effective bundle provides five simultaneous connections for $100 a year (which consists of three more months, for a limited time offering 15 months of service).

Surfshark

Surfshark

Surfshark is one of the fastest-growing VPN providers and offers great value for its features and price. Surfshark provides a fast, secure, and reliable connection with military-grade encryption. It also offers a wide range of servers in over 50 countries. You can connect to any of these servers and enjoy streaming, gaming, and browsing with complete peace of mind.

Surfshark provides an impressive array of security features, unlimited simultaneous connections, an intuitive user interface and a broad global network. It’s significantly more affordable than its peers is the reason Surfshark rakes up in CNET’s Editors’ Choice for Best Value VPN from 2022.

Along with standard VPN features such as a super kill switch and DNS leak protection, some of the greater Surfshark features sets consist of camouflage mode (which conceals the fact that you’re using a VPN), Split Tunneling, NoBorders mode (which allows you to utilize Surfshark in markets where VPNs are prohibited) and multihop VPN connection capabilities. You’ll also get access to Surfshark’s CleanWeb technology, which blocks ads and malware and helps you avoid phishing attacks. 

We’re looking forward to seeing how Surfshark deploys its new nexus network over the next year, as it connects the entire network of VPN’s servers together and lets you select multiple servers to send your information through. The functionality is a bit like Tor, but the VPN company maintains it’s faster. The Dynamic MultiHop, IP Randomizer, and IP Rotator features of Nexus can invisibly add an extra layer of protection while you use a VPN service, which can be particularly beneficial to individuals with important privacy needs.

Surfshark says it’s unable to document that it preserves no individual activity. And claim that no logging is absolutely unattainable even with all the proof in the world, German cybersecurity organization Cure53 lauded Surfshark’s protection as “solid” in its 2021 cybersecurity inspection of the VPN. Surfshark declares that its next cybersecurity assessment will happen by the start of next year.

Surfshark has confirmed that it adheres to the terms of both its privacy and terms of service. As of February 2022, Surfshark and NordVPN are subsidiaries of the same corporation (Tesonet). Either document showed that Surfshark had no legal obligation to share user data with its parent company or its sibling companies, including NordVPN.

Surfshark offers fast and reliable internet download speeds, which is why we were excited to see what kind of issues we would run into as we used it to test its speed. However, our biggest issue with Surfshark came in our assessment of its speed, given that we were deterred by inconsistent speeds from certain locations. Speeds to Europe and Singapore were unreliable (dipping as low as 9Mbps to Singapore), while speeds to New York were slower than speeds to the UK and even Australia. Surfhark is currently in the process of significantly expanding its server network, today offering more than 3,200 servers in 99 countries.

In all our tests, Surfshark had no problems accessing Netflix and Amazon Prime Video content, but we were not able to watch Disney Plus. We observed many different Disney Plus servers located throughout the world and compared them with servers from US regions in which you can access the Disney Plus channel. We were ultimately able to access the content once our devices connected to a server in Boston. You need to verify various servers to connect to Disney Plus content with Surfshark.

Surfshark essentially offers less expensive introductory rates that jump after the first service term. Even so, Surfshark continues to offer lower prices than most other VPNs, penetrating CNET’s Editors’ Choice for Best Value for its yearly plan that cost only $48 for the first year. The $60 charge for the following year follows. If you opt to pay $60 for two years upfront, you’ll pay an additional $60 every year after that. The subscription rate for Surfshark’s monthly plan remains constant at $13 a month. If you are not happy with Surfshark for any reason, you can cancel and receive a 30-day money-back guarantee.

NordVPN

NordVPN

NordVPN is one of the most recognized brands in the VPN field. The company has been in business for over 10 years and has a strong reputation for providing quality service. NordVPN offers a wide range of features and is one of the few VPN providers that offer a money-back guarantee.

NordVPN is a great choice for those looking for a reliable VPN provider. The company offers a wide range of features and is one of the few VPN providers that offer a money-back guarantee. NordVPN is a great choice for those who want to protect their online privacy and security. Part of Nord’s reputation as a premium service provider stems from the simplicity of its design. Nord’s mobile app is just as easy to use as its desktop software, with a similar layout. It automatically elicits little resistance for any first-time user seeking to switch to mobile.

users can choose between the country, the fastest server or the P2P server that works best for them from the common blue-scale landing-screen map displayed when using a Nord desktop client. Nord gets bonus points for using split-tunneling to prevent you from running other, unsecure applications through your VPN.

As an alternative to NordVPN, many other VPN service providers offer an ample simultaneous connection count, with six connections allowable through their network. NordVPN also supplies a dedicated IP option, enabling those looking for a slightly different VPN to connect to its network. NordVPN incorporates a kill-switch function and the capability to VPN into Tor. We discovered no significant security issues with our tests, and it experienced consistently fast speeds.

Surfshark offers basic and pricing plans similar to those of NordVPN, but NordVPN’s plans tend to become much more expensive in the long term. A two-year plan is an introductory price of approximately $79, but increases slightly to about $99 for each subsequent year. We believe that you should select a single VPN service provider for a prolonged amount of time rather than committing for a longer period of time. Regardless of whether you select the yearly subscription or the month-to-month alternative, you’ll end up paying about $60 per year during the initial year, and around $100 per year for each subsequent one. NordVPN’s monthly subscription price is a dollar less than that of Surfshark’s, however, it is priced at $12 per month. Like most other VPN services, NordVPN provides a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not pleased with their service.

NordVPN was originally featured on our leading VPNs list, but it was moved to the penalty box in October 2019 after the continuing usage of a VPN-rented server that was accessed unlawfully in 2018. For example, in addition to applying multiple antivirus solutions on three servers, Nord also fortified the servers through a subscription to a K-9 information security program and a novel server architecture.

Nord’s breach was limited in duration and scope, and it did not include user-identifying details. That served to confirm that NordVPN never maintains user activity logs. Because of this, the vendor in question remains in our recommended vendor listing.

IPVanish

IPVanish

IPVanish is one of the leading VPN providers in the world. It offers a wide range of features and benefits that make it a great choice for both individuals and businesses. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider using IPVanish:

-It offers fast and reliable connections with servers in over 60 countries.

-It provides strong security and privacy protection with military-grade encryption.

-It has a strict no-logs policy, ensuring that your data is never stored or monitored.

-It is easy to use with apps for all major platforms.

If you’re looking for a VPN provider that can offer high speed, security, and privacy, then IPVanish is a great option to consider.

IPVanish’s user-friendly interface with customizable knobs and dials makes it an optimal product or service for aspiring to veer into the recesses of what a VPN is. It has recently streamlined its Android app with a comprehensive new interface that is sure to impress anyone who wants to embark on learning everything a VPN can do.

IPVanish is a good choice if you want to perform a number of precision adjustments for your VPN connection. It includes a multitude of menus regulating an assortment of things like the kill switch, split tunneling, VPN protocol, and LAN connection allotment. IPVanish is a favorite program for those who are meticulous in maintaining control over their cellular traffic and precise with their internet technological adjustments.

IPVanish’s multiplatform feature set is also favorable to gaming customers looking for a job Netflix-friendly VPN. The score of its speed test is about par with those of other VPN service providers.

Nevertheless, we noted that IPVanish’s Quick Connect feature is not always reliable with regard to connecting to the best servers, so you may need to change to these manually in order to maximize your speeds. In IPVanish’s Android app, tap the icon to the right of the Places title, select Cities, and tap on the number to the right of each city.

IPVanish’s annual plan is on sale for $40 this year. The plan thereafter increases to $80 annually for any additional years of service. A quarterly plan is also available, starting out at $13 per first three-month billing period. This plan increases by $30 per three months, so the monthly fees would be $60. IPVanish’s monthly membership fee is $11 per month, which is relatively comparable to other providers’ monthly rates. It ensures users a 30-day money-back guarantee, but only if they buy a yearly account — which may be a disappointment if a client gets a monthly membership and decided to cancel. However, the company garners praise for its internet connection countdown feature, which is crucial for privacy-minded Internet users. We likewise admired its Kill Switch feature, which is essential for anyone seeking to maintain anonymity while surfing.

Android VPN FAQs

Which Android VPN is right for you? We compare the top options

As more and more people are using Android devices, the need for a good VPN service is becoming increasingly important. There are a lot of VPN providers out there, but not all of them are created equal. So, what’s the best Android VPN right now?

There are a few things to consider when choosing a VPN provider. First of all, you need to make sure that the provider has servers in locations that you need them in. Secondly, you need to make sure that the provider has a good reputation and doesn’t keep logs of your activities. Finally, you need to make sure that the provider offers good speeds and reliability.

Based on these criteria, we think that ExpressVPN is the best Android VPN right now. They have servers in over 90 countries, they don’t keep logs of your activities, and they offer great speeds and reliability.

Get the facts on mobile VPNs: what they are

A mobile VPN is a network configuration in which mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets are able to connect to a virtual private network (VPN) server. A mobile VPN provides users with a secure connection to the internet while they are on the go. Mobile VPNs can be used to protect data from being accessed by unauthorized individuals, and they can also be used to bypass internet censorship and restrictions.

What are the Best VPN Apps?

There are a lot of reasons why you might want to use a VPN or Virtual Private Network. Maybe you want to keep your online activity private from your ISP or government, or maybe you want to unblock websites or stream content that’s not available in your region. Whatever your reasons, there are a lot of great VPN apps out there to choose from.

But with so many options, it can be hard to know which one is the best for you. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the best VPN apps, based on our own personal experience and extensive research. We’ll tell you what each one is best for, and we’ll also give you our top pick overall.

The Downsides to Using a Mobile VPN

Choosing to utilize a cellular VPN has a few downsides based on a few key factors: your location, your choice of VPN vendor, the quality of your phone’s cellular service, and the sum of processing time required by your phone.

  • Mobile VPNs can be less secure than other types of VPNs. This is because they usually don’t use as strong encryption methods, and they’re also more likely to have security vulnerabilities.
  • Mobile VPNs can also be slower than other types of VPNs. This is because they often have to compress data more, and they may have to route traffic through multiple servers.
  • Finally, mobile VPNs can be more expensive than other types of VPNs. This is because they often require special hardware or software, and they may have additional fees for things like data usage.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, the best VPN apps for Android in 2023 are Surfshark, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and IPVanish. All of these VPNs offer a high level of security and privacy protection. If you are looking for a VPN to use on your Android device, then any of these four would be a good choice.