Speed
|
8.0 / 10 |
Servers
|
1.0 / 10 |
User Experience
|
1.0 / 10 |
Support
|
0.0 / 10 |
Pricing
|
1.0 / 10 |
BlackVPN Review 2024: Before You Buy, Is It Worth It?
Reading time: 11 min
Updated on Nov 7, 2024
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Written By Eric Raue Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
BlackVPN Overview
“2024 UPDATE! Unfortunately, BlackVPN is no longer available. Why not check out our list of the best VPNs in 2024 or find out more about our top recommendation, ExpressVPN.”
Editor's Note: Transparency is one of our core values at WizCase, so you should know we are in the same ownership group as ExpressVPN. However, this does not affect our review process, as we adhere to a strict testing methodology.
BlackVPN is a small, lesser-known provider, so I didn’t expect it to be especially powerful. It doesn’t work in China and isn’t secure enough for torrenting, but that’s not all. With a non-functioning native app, servers that don’t work, restrictive subscriptions, poor security, and slow customer service, it has a really long way to go before I’d consider it worth anyone’s money — especially since there are much more reliable and powerful VPNs with very affordable prices.
Don’t Have Time? Here’s a 1-Minute Summary
- Unblocks Netflix US, Hulu, and Disney+ though half of its streaming servers didn’t work at all. Check out my streaming results.
- Really fast speeds on servers that work — but few do. Although BlackVPN’s few working servers gave me impressive speeds, most of them wouldn’t connect at all. Jump to my speed tests.
- BlackVPN gave me a new IP address, but didn’t protect my private data. Since it failed in my DNS tests, data like my real location leaked while I was connected. See how its security features work.
- Claims no-logs, but its privacy policy implies otherwise. BlackVPN’s policy says it will comply with government data requests if “forced” to do so. Review the privacy policy.
- The native app doesn’t work and the setup with OpenVPN is clunky. To make matters worse, the VPN servers don’t work as they should. Read about my user experience.
- Pricing structure is confusing and plans are overpriced. Considering how unreliable this VPN is, it wouldn’t be a good value even for a much lower price. See pricing and packages.
BlackVPN Unblocks Netflix US, HBO NOW, and Disney+ (When Servers Actually Work)
Since BlackVPN’s native app didn’t work, I had to use the open-source OpenVPN client to log in and connect. While testing BlackVPN’s US Central and US East streaming servers via OpenVPN, I was able to unblock Netflix US, HBO NOW, and Disney+ except connections weren’t reliable on these 2 servers. I couldn’t get the USA West or UK streaming servers to work at all. I had no way of finding out if the UK streaming server actually unblocked BBC iPlayer or other UK-based streaming content.
Since so few of the streaming servers worked, I decided to test some of the standard privacy servers and see if they could unblock anything — however, none of these would connect either!
Netflix US, HBO NOW, and Disney+: Unblocked
BlackVPN’s US Central and US East streaming servers unblocked Netflix instantly. I was able to watch The Good Place in HD with just a couple of seconds of delay at the beginning. Then I had no further lag or reductions in video quality. At the end of an episode, the next one started up instantly with no buffering pauses.
I was impressed that BlackVPN can bypass Netflix’s proxy IP error, so I also tested it with other streaming services. The 2 servers that worked with Netflix easily unblocked HBO NOW and Disney+ as well. After just about 2 seconds of buffering when I started watching Aladdin in HD, I never got any lag during the rest of the stream.
Amazon Prime Video and Hulu: Blocked
Despite having servers optimized specifically for streaming, BlackVPN couldn’t unblock Amazon Prime Video or Hulu. If I tried to watch any TV shows or movies on either platform, I’d get their proxy IP errors no matter which BlackVPN’s streaming servers I tried.
Speed
- 8.0
/ 10
Solid Speeds (When I Was Actually Able to Connect)
On the few servers that worked, BlackVPN gave me pretty fast speeds. However, I could only get 2 out of 20 servers (USA East and USA Central) to connect at all! You won’t get much value for your money with BlackVPN if the few working servers might be slower from being overcrowded.
Speed Test Results
On the 2 servers that worked, speeds averaged over 60Mbps — fast enough to stream Netflix in HD on 7 devices at once, which is the maximum number allowed per BlackVPN account. These servers were in my home country, which means they’re likely to be faster than servers far away.
Why Most Speed Tests are Pointless & How We Correctly Test VPN Speeds
Speed determines how fast content uploads, so if you're torrenting or streaming, you want the speed to be somewhat identical to your regular internet speed. Since a VPN encrypts your data, it usually takes a bit longer to send your data back and forth, which can slow down your connection. However, if your ISP deliberately slows down your connection (also known as throttling) a VPN might increase your internet speed. Testing a VPN is somewhat pointless because new servers pop up and affect speed. Your speed can also differ according to your location, so your speed test might not match ours. Having said that, we tested the speed in numerous locations to provide you with the average.
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Servers
- 1.0
/ 10
Server Network — Small and Unreliable Server Network
BlackVPN has a really small server network, with only 20 server options included in its premium subscription package. A small network means more potential for overcrowding and speed slowdowns, weaker streaming capabilities, and a higher likelihood that servers will be blocked by location-restricted sites. Unfortunately, most of the servers didn’t work even after I reinstalled the VPN and tried different settings. Out of 20 servers, 4 are streaming servers in the US and the UK, and 16 are privacy servers in other countries. Only 2 of the streaming servers worked for me — all the others failed to connect despite repeated efforts, no matter how long I waited.
Other VPN competitors have many more servers that actually work reliably. NordVPN is one example — I always had a stable connection when I tested hundreds out of [dealBlock deal-id="59" deal-post-type="Vendor" deal-label="Vendors Server Number" vendor-id="1460"][/dealBlock]+ ExpressVPN servers.
Security — Strong Encryption But My DNS Leaked (When Servers Worked at All)
I love that BlackVPN uses 256-bit military-grade encryption, which is the most secure level available. However, I couldn’t get a single “privacy” server to work, so the encryption was useless. Each server I tested would stall and attempt to reconnect, only to fail again. No matter which client I used or which VPN protocol I selected in the settings, servers just wouldn’t connect.
Worse yet — when servers could connect, my DNS leaked. This means my real location, identity, and other data were all revealed to snooping internet providers and governments.
You know your connection is not truly secure or anonymous if there are DNS leaks, so I was disappointed that BlackVPN couldn’t provide even basic VPN security.
Privacy — No-Logs Claims Doesn’t Match its Policy
BlackVPN has a no-logs policy that claims it never records any user data anywhere. This claim hasn’t been tested by an actual data request from a police force or government, but there is an alarming line in the privacy policy saying BlackVPN will comply with data requests if “forced” to do so:
There’s also a section stating that copyright infringement isn’t allowed on the platform. If BlackVPN gets infringement notices from copyright holders, it will “monitor” the VPN account. If it were truly a secure zero-logs VPN, there would be no way for copyright holders to link the infringement to your account or for BlackVPN to monitor the traffic. This means there must be some data being logged along the way.
Even more concerning, BlackVPN is based in Hong Kong. Considering Hong Kong’s national security agreements with China (an authoritarian regime), your security and privacy are huge concerns for any Hong Kong-based VPN. This is especially concerning since larger VPN providers are removing their servers there to avoid privacy violations from the Chinese government.
Server Locations
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User Experience
- 1.0
/ 10
Simultaneous Device Connections — Allows 7 Simultaneous Devices
BlackVPN allows 7 simultaneous device connections — and on the few servers that actually worked, my tests showed minimal slowdowns even while maxing out on 7 devices. I was able to watch Netflix on 3 PCs, 2 Android phones, and 2 iPhones. If you want a VPN with multiple device connections that actually works — during my tests, ExpressVPN connected smoothly on all my devices regardless of which servers I chose. That makes it a much better alternative to BlackVPN.
Device Compatibility — Only Works With Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux
Only the most common device types and routers work with BlackVPN. While it claims to run on all of these devices — its lack of working servers and questionable security means it won’t actually keep your devices safe.
Ease of Set-Up & Installation — Non-Working App, Technical Setup, and Non-Working Servers
BlackVPN’s native app is in beta, but I wasn’t able to get it to work at all. After opening the app and clicking “connect,” the VPN would never fully connect no matter how long I waited. A button would say “On,” but it wouldn’t make an actual VPN connection at all.
Only after configuring BlackVPN to work with the OpenVPN client, I was able to connect to the servers — and even then, only 2 out of 20 servers ever worked. I reached out to customer service multiple times for help, and not once did I get a reply.
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Support
- 0.0
/ 10
BlackVPN support is non-existent. Between technical problems and my refund, I contacted them at least 5 times each via email and support tickets, and never got a reply. Not only will you be on your own if you have issues (which you will), you’ll never get a refund for your purchase if support never replies.
How We Test Customer Support and Why Should You Care
We personally test the customer support team of every VPN we review. This means asking technical question through the live chat feature (where applicable) and measuring the response time for email questions. Whether you need to connect to a specific server, change your security protocol, or configure a VPN on your router, finding a VPN with quality customer support should be important to you.
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Pricing
- 1.0
/ 10
Unlike most providers, BlackVPN has a 3-day free trial that doesn’t require any payment information. While that is a great thing, plans are confusing and overpriced considering most servers don’t work. There is one package that includes “privacy servers,” another that provides “streaming servers,” and a third plan that has both. The “streaming” package has a subcategory that you can pick if you want access to servers in the US, the UK, or both.
In addition to confusing plans the servers themselves didn’t reliably work. I had so many problems with getting any of the servers to work consistently, I couldn’t recommend it even if it were a free product.
Payment Options
BlackVPN lets you pay with credit cards, PayPal, cryptocurrencies, bank transfer, gift cards, or e-wallets via PaymentWall. The flexibility of options is nice, but you won’t get a good value for your money since the VPN barely works.
Money-Back Guarantee
BlackVPN has a 14-day money-back guarantee, but no one answered my emails to honor it. Despite emailing support, filing help request tickets, and following up several times within the 14-day period to cancel, no one ever replied. I had to pay the full price for a month and still haven’t gotten any reply to get my money back!
BlackVPN offers the following plans
Final Verdict
BlackVPN not only can’t compete with the best VPNs for Windows, which are much more powerful — it barely even works at all. With so many problems with its servers, security, privacy policy, and interface, I wouldn’t be able to recommend it even if it were a free provider.
FAQs About BlackVPN
Is BlackVPN good value for the money?
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend it since most servers don’t work. Even if they did, its security measures and privacy policy don’t protect your private data while you use the web.
Can I use BlackVPN for free?
Yes, BlackVPN has a 3-day trial. Although you can try it for completely free, you’ll find during the trial that the VPN doesn’t work very well at all. Since there are a few decent free VPN providers that work better than BlackVPN, its 3-day trial isn’t really worth your time.
Does BlackVPN keep my data safe?
Even though BlackVPN itself is safe to use, it won’t really keep your online data safe. Since your sensitive information will leak and the company will submit to government requests, it isn’t a good VPN for keeping your devices secure. Everything including your location, IP address, and which websites you visit could be exposed while you use the web.
Will I get in trouble for using BlackVPN?
No, using BlackVPN is perfectly legal. While some countries restrict VPN use, you could only get into trouble if you use BlackVPN specifically for illegal activities. Since it’s one of the few VPNs you can try for free without providing your payment card information, so you have nothing to lose by trying it out.
Editor's Note: We value our relationship with our readers, and we strive to earn your trust through transparency and integrity. We are in the same ownership group as some of the industry-leading products reviewed on this site: ExpressVPN, Cyberghost, Private Internet Access, and Intego. However, this does not affect our review process, as we adhere to a strict testing methodology.
| Hong Kong | |
| 2009 | |
| No | |
| 3 | |
| 14 days guaranteed |
