Hotspot Shield is a fast and user-friendly VPN, known for its Catapult Hydra protocol, which boosts speed and performance. It offers 1,800+ servers in 80+ countries, making it a solid choice for streaming, gaming, and browsing. The free plan is useful but comes with ads and limited data. While it has strong encryption and a no-logs policy, privacy concerns have been raised in the past. If you need a fast VPN for streaming, it’s a good option, but privacy-focused users may prefer alternatives.
Hotspot Shield
Hotspot Shield is a fast and secure VPN known for its Catapult Hydra protocol, which ensures high-speed connections. It offers AES-256 encryption, a no-logs policy, a kill switch, and malware protection for enhanced security. With 1,800+ servers in 80+ countries, it provides reliable global access and supports Netflix, Hulu, and torrenting. Hotspot Shield allows five simultaneous connections and is compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and routers. With unlimited bandwidth and 24/7 customer support, it’s a great choice for speed and privacy.
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Hotspot Shield review: key takeaways
Hotspot Shield stands out in the 2025 VPN market with its strong security features and easy-to-use interface. It’s designed for beginners and experienced users, offering powerful protection like advanced encryption and anti-phishing. Hotspot Shield has a large network of servers, 3200 in over 85 countries, providing fast and reliable connections for streaming, browsing, and more.
Here’s a brief overview of our Hotspot Shield review and the main points:
- Security and privacy. Hotspot Shield ensures robust security with 128-bit AES encryption as its standard encryption type. It also supports 256-bit AES encryption and has a reliable kill switch. Hotspot Shield maintains a strict no-logs policy to protect user privacy. Additionally, it offers malware protection, utilizing a database of 3.5 million known and suspected web domains to defend users against malware, phishing sites, infected sites, and spam.
- Servers and locations. With over 3200 servers in over 85 countries, Hotspot Shield provides extensive global coverage, supporting consistent performance and accessibility worldwide.
- Pricing. Hotspot Shield starts at a competitive price of $2.99/month for up to 10 simultaneous connections. A free version is also available, which is useful for basic protection but includes ads and supports only one device. The service provides a generous 45-day money-back guarantee on premium plans, letting users try it risk-free.
- Speed performance. Generally, Hotspot Shield offers fast connection speeds suitable for streaming, gaming, and extensive downloading activities. It also features specific modes optimized for streaming and gaming.
- Ease of use and apps. The applications are straightforward and easy to navigate, making Hotspot Shield accessible for users of all experience levels.
- Streaming and torrenting. Hotspot Shield efficiently unblocks popular streaming platforms and supports secure P2P connections, ideal for users interested in entertainment and content sharing.
- Customer support. Hotspot Shield service provides comprehensive support through 24/7 live chat and email.
Hotspot Shield Subscription
So now that you know what Hotspot Shield Premium has to offer, the real question is… what’s it gonna cost you?
| Pricing details | Basic | Premium | Premium Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly plan cost | $0 | $12.99 | $19.99 |
| Yearly plan cost | $0 | $95.99 | $143.99 |
| Number of users per subscription | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Number of devices per user | 1 | 10 | 5 |
| Total number of devices | 1 | 10 | 25 |
| Maximum connection speed | 1 Gbps | 1 Gbps | 1 Gbps |
| Server locations | 1 (U.S.A.) | 115+ | 115+ |
| Streaming access | No | Yes | Yes |
| Data limit per day | 500 MB (watch ads to increase) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Hotspot Shield offers three different subscription options: Basic, Premium, and Premium Family. Premium and Premium Family share the same VPN features.
However, Premium only gets you one VPN account which can support up to five devices. Premium Family, on the other hand, gets you five VPN accounts that you can share with family members. Each member gets the same features as Premium: A VPN they can use on five devices. So if we do the math, that’s like having five Premium subscriptions for $19.99 per month, only $7 more expensive than the Premium individual plan. That’s a pretty nice deal, and it’s perfect not only for families, but even a group of friends or roommates.
You can choose to pay for Hotspot Shield every month or every year. Like with most VPN services, the monthly price gets lower as your commitment increases. If for some reason, you don’t like Hotspot Shield Premium, you can get a refund using the company’s 45-day money-back guarantee.
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Is Hotspot Shield safe?
Yes, Hotspot Shield is legitimate because of its safe Hydra tunneling protocol and 256-bit AES encryption. The provider’s AES-256 encryption scrambles your online data, providing high-level protection trusted by security experts globally.
Hotspot Shield, now part of Aura, is a solid choice. Independent tests have ranked it the fastest and most secure VPN, offering reliable online privacy and security.
Encryption
Hotspot Shield uses advanced encryption technology to secure your online activities, employing the standard many top VPNs use. It protects your connection with TLS 1.2 and strong 2048-bit RSA certificates for authentication, ensuring robust security. Each session generates new encryption keys and deletes them afterward, enhancing privacy.
The service defaults to 128-bit AES encryption, which is very secure and widely used by governments and financial institutions. It would take billions of years to crack with current technology, offering a good balance of security and speed. While 256-bit AES is available for even greater security, 128-bit is sufficient for most users, providing reliable protection for your internet use.
Tunneling protocols
Hotspot Shield primarily utilizes Hydra’s proprietary protocol to optimize speed and security. Hydra stands out by being 2.4 times faster than the traditional OpenVPN protocol, especially effective over long distances. Its design mimics regular encrypted web traffic, making it challenging to detect and block.
In addition to Hydra, Hotspot Shield offers other protocol options:
- IPsec (IKEv2) is known for its high security and fast speeds, but it is easier to block.
- WireGuard, available for Android and Mac, is a newer protocol that offers a minimalistic approach to achieving fast and secure connections.
Hotspot Shield’s protocols are highly regarded for their speed and security, making them a reliable choice for VPN users. The service lets you choose the best protocol (Hydra, IKEv2, or WireGuard) for your needs, ensuring optimal performance and protection.
Kill switch
Hotspot Shield has a kill switch security feature to stop all your traffic if you suddenly disconnect from a VPN server due to poor internet connection. It isn’t toggled on by default, so you must remember to turn it on.
The kill switch worked well during my tests. When I killed the VPN connection process, the app showed that the kill switch was engaged and would start to reconnect.
When the app’s background process was killed, it detected an issue and initiated a restart, resolving your connection. So, my IP was never exposed during the test.
Hotspot Shield logging policy
Hotspot Shield’s location is one of the worst places on the planet for a privacy-focused service. The United States is a founding member of the Five Eyes alliance. This, along with the country’s powerful intelligence agencies, makes VPNs that cater to the most privacy-minded users suboptimal due to their excessive logging.
The VPN does promise no logs to your activity, but there are exceptions when using the free version. Since the free app has ads, they reserve the right to show your approximate city-level location. It also includes your device’s advertising ID, IMEI, MAC address, and even wireless carrier. In short, if you value your privacy, you shouldn’t touch their free client.
Sadly, their paid version isn’t without concerns, either. They state that they take measures to delete your IP address right after your session ends. However, if they are required by law to keep this information for a longer period, they will comply. This VPN operates because purging an IP address is a privilege that can be revoked if the need arises.
The fact that the service isn’t accepting anonymous payments makes it only worse. So, if you think paying with cryptocurrencies could act as a necessary veil of shadow, this isn’t the case.
Security and privacy audits
Hotspot Shield, now part of cybersecurity company Aura, has significantly improved its privacy practices following past challenges, such as the 2017 data retention controversy. The company has since updated its policies and continues to release annual transparency reports.
An independent test by AV-Test ranked Hotspot Shield as the fastest and most secure among leading VPNs, excelling in speed and security with no detected leaks. The backbone of its performance is the proprietary Hydra protocol, known for superior speed and security, widely adopted by major global security and telecommunications companies.
These developments affirm Hotspot Shield’s commitment to providing a secure and reliable VPN service, making it a trusted choice for users concerned about online privacy.
The Final Verdict
Hotspot Shield is a fast and secure VPN with its Catapult Hydra protocol, ensuring high-speed performance. With 1,800+ servers in 80+ countries, AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, and malware protection, it provides strong security and privacy. It excels in streaming, torrenting, and gaming, unblocking services like Netflix and Hulu. While its free plan is limited, the Premium plan offers unlimited bandwidth, 10 device connections, and 24/7 support. Overall, it’s a great VPN for speed and accessibility.
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