DroidVPN Review 2024: Before You Buy, Is It Worth It?

Speeds Were Disappointingly Slow

Get ready for some disappointing news – activating DroidVPN can slow down your internet connection by a whopping 88%. My experiments revealed some shocking results – the download speeds went down by a staggering 85%, but the upload speeds remained relatively stable with only a modest drop of 20%.

In my experience, even though download speeds were lower, I was still able to stream videos on YouTube without any interruptions, as well as download torrents and browse the internet thanks to a reliable home network. However, it’s important to note that these results may differ depending on the quality of your base network.

Speed Test Results

My results showed that DroidVPN speeds were not that great, but luckily, I didn’t have any buffering or slow page loading issues. I first checked my home network in the UK, and the numbers were 154.94 Mbps for downloads, 4.27 Mbps for uploads, and a 62 ms ping time.

Then, I tried the VPN on a local UK server, and my speed took a nosedive to 17.57 Mbps. Even though I could still browse and watch YouTube, it was a huge drop from my original speed. When I switched to a US server, I was a bit puzzled to see my download speed go up a little to 26.56 Mbps. Sure, it wasn’t blazing fast, but it was weird that it was faster than the UK server that was closer to me.

I carried on with my speed test and tried a server in Luxembourg. I noticed the speed dropped to 24.88 Mbps. Finally, I gave a far-off server in Singapore a go, and to my surprise, it actually gave me faster speeds than my nearby server.

In contrast to DroidVPN, ExpressVPN consistently delivers exceptional speed performance, even when establishing connections with geographically distant servers. The experience is remarkably similar to utilizing unaltered internet speeds.

Server Network — Minimal Server Options

DroidVPN’s network currently consists of 70 servers located in 10 countries, a number that may not be particularly impressive when compared to companies like CyberGhost, which boasts more than 11,670 servers. The servers are situated in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, South Africa, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.

The distribution of servers varies across these countries, with the United States having the most at 33, followed by the Netherlands at 13, Luxembourg at 9, Singapore with 6, Spain with 3, the UK with 2, and the remaining countries hosting just one server each. DroidVPN also offers 16 torrent-friendly servers, 5 of which are located in Luxembourg and the rest in the Netherlands.

Users of the free version of DroidVPN have access to only 24 servers in the US, Singapore, and the Netherlands, while paid users can access all servers. However, it’s worth noting that more than half of the servers on the free version may require multiple attempts to establish a successful connection.

Editor's Note: Transparency is one of our core values at WizCase, so you should know we are in the same ownership group as CyberGhost VPN. However, this does not affect our review process, as we adhere to a strict testing methodology.

Security — Barebone Features

DroidVPN does not offer any specifics regarding the cipher or encryption method employed. This lack of transparency surrounding the encryption process makes it challenging to trust it for protecting sensitive personal data and vital information.

Droid VPN features 4 security protocols which include HTTP, ICMP, and OpenVPN in both UDP and TCP forms. However, it’s important not to rely on this service for robust security, as the specific encryption technique it uses remains unclear.

I checked for IP address, DNS, and WebRTC leaks to find out if my information was being shared with others. I was glad to see that there were no leaks when using the paid servers. However, when I used a free US server, my DNS address was exposed. So, be careful when using the free service if keeping your information private is important to you.

Privacy — Logs Some of Your Data

Although DroidVPN professes to maintain a rigorous no-logs policy, it does not adhere to this principle. The service is known to gather crucial information such as user IP addresses, bandwidth consumption, session durations, transfer speed details, VPN connection lengths, and the time, date, and location of connections. This is far from ideal for privacy-conscious users, as it contradicts the primary objective of VPNs—security.

Moreover, DroidVPN’s terms indicate that copyright violations are prohibited on their platform. In the event that DroidVPN receives infringement notices from copyright owners, the company may need to implement certain measures to avoid legal consequences. These measures might entail monitoring traffic to pinpoint the offending account and subsequently terminating it. If DroidVPN were genuinely a secure zero-logs VPN, copyright holders would not be able to trace infringements back to a specific account, which implies that some data logging occurs.

Compounding these concerns, DroidVPN operates out of the Philippines—a country not known for its privacy protections and one that has participated in international surveillance initiatives. Consequently, there is a potential risk of the government demanding user data, regardless of DroidVPN’s no-logging assertions.

On the other hand, ExpressVPN is based in the privacy-conscious British Virgin Islands and is renowned for its dedication to user privacy. As one of the few VPN services with a verified no-logging policy, ExpressVPN demonstrated its commitment to privacy when law enforcement officials seized the company’s servers in Turkey without obtaining any useful information.

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.

Torrenting — P2P Supportive but Not Recommended

Although DroidVPN accommodates torrenting through its 16 torrent-optimized servers, its logging policies and the absence of security features such as split tunneling and a kill switch render it both insecure and ineffective. Upon testing with qBittorrent, BitTorrent, and Vuze, the restricted speeds made it impractical for downloading sizable files.

ExpressVPN provides you with total autonomy to download torrent files without concerns of leaks or reduced speeds. It’s essential to note that my team and I do not endorse unlawful torrenting, so always verify your nation’s laws and regulations and ensure the files you obtain are not subject to copyright restrictions.

Does DroidVPN Work in China? No!

DroidVPN’s functionality in China leaves much to be desired. While I was not able to test it personally, the absence of any advanced features serves as a clear indication of its incapacity to overcome the Chinese firewall. To acquire confirmation, I attempted to reach out to its customer service team but I didn’t get any response.

If you’re going to China and want a really good VPN, ExpressVPN is the best choice. It has strong protection on all its servers. But be careful – using a VPN that China hasn’t approved could get you in trouble. However, it seems like tourists haven’t had any issues with using VPNs so far. Instead of punishing people directly, China just makes it hard for some VPNs to work there.

DroidVPN’s customer support is outdated and limited to email correspondence. Despite contacting them multiple times for technical issues and refunds through emails and support tickets, I received no replies. In case of any problems, you will have no assistance from their unresponsive customer service or receive a refund for your purchase.

The DroidVPN website features an FAQ section that provides responses to several frequently asked questions. However, it lacks pertinent solutions for the issues I encountered. Additionally, the blog section on the site is outdated with posts dating back to 2020 and irrelevant information being presented.