Psiphon VPN - service review, user reviews, expert opinions

Psiphon VPN is a special service that provides access to blocked social networks, news portals, online movie theaters and other foreign resources on the network. How this VPN works, what nuances may arise in the installation process and whether it is worth buying a paid version - we will talk about it in our article. 

A bit of history - the creators of Psiphon 

Developers from the University of Toronto introduced a program to bypass censorship and blocking on the Internet in 2006. The president of Psiphon Inc. was Michael Hull, who still contributes to the development of the service. Thanks to the innovations introduced, Psiphon remains quite a popular and in-demand product. 

How Psiphon works 

Psiphon is a program that gives you access to blocked resources, but it does not guarantee the security of your personal data. That is, it is a tool for bypassing blocking, but not for privacy - logs are kept. 

Once launched, the application allows its clients to access the network through a proxy in another country. About 3500 servers around the world help unblock access for users of the service. But it is quite difficult to find out which server you will be connected to - this is the essence of the reliability of using VPN.

The service is configured so that if there is a disconnection from the current server, it automatically connects to another - switching is smooth, without interruptions and the user does not feel it in any way. 

VPN Overview

First of all, download the program from the official website and run it - no installation is required, a window appears in front of you, where you will see the network parameters and possible settings of the application. You can change the country of connection on the main page. In the program settings, the connection parameters deserve attention - users can configure proxy management, ports, limits and separate tunneling for applications. The VPN starts working immediately after installation and connects to the server by itself.

On which devices it works

Psiphon VPN can be downloaded to a computer that runs Windows. The free service also has a mobile version. It is available for download on iPhone, Android and iPad. You can find the application in Google Play and App Store.

For the best connection, we recommend using the latest version of the utility, so you should not ignore installing updates. When using Psiphon Pro VPN on Android, the user is notified about available improvements to the program and can update it via Google Play. For Windows clients, there is no automatic download - you will have to download it yourself. iOS owners download updates through the App Store as they become available.

Data Transfer Speed

When starting the service, the Internet connection may slow down: the incoming speed, as a rule, does not exceed 14 Mbps when using a tariff of 100 Mbps - to get rid of the restrictions, there is an option to use the paid version.Those who preferred Psiphon VPN for iOS, can use the Pro version for free. 

Available countries for connection

The program allows you to choose your own region. It is allowed to connect to servers of 27 countries: USA, Austria, Belgium, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Singapore, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Netherlands, Italy, Japan, India, Hungary, Ireland, Great Britain, France, Spain, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Czech Republic.

Interface

After launching the service, a window divided into two parts opens in front of the user. On the left side there is a block with categories:

• connection;
• psicash (turbo speed connection);
• customization;
• Review;
• application information;
• logi (journal);
• language selection.

The program is easy to use, just click on the selected section and the necessary information will appear on the right side of the screen.

To start or disable the program, you need to click on the first category. If you are not satisfied with the connection speed, you can choose a suitable tariff in psicash to speed up your work.

When clicking on the "Settings" section, a menu with options appears on the right side. Each option has its own description, so it will not be difficult for the user to understand.

The next two sections invite you to email the company with your requests or to read information about the program.

The "Log" category contains information about user actions. In other words, these are files with system information. This section also contains changes made in the settings.

Safety of use

You can download Psiphon VPN to a flash drive - this way the utility will always be at hand and you can activate it on any computer. When the service is enabled, the data passing through the program is encrypted. But it should be taken into account that the tool is designed specifically to bypass blocking, not to hide user information. Therefore, the program saves cookies and the log of visits in the browser. The application is not suitable for anonymity on the Internet.

Technical support 

When there are problems with connecting the program, you should contact the developers by sending an email. The address can be found in the "Feedback" section. They will help to figure out why failures occur. But before that, try to fix frequent connection failures yourself:

• check the application version, install updates if necessary;
• Try restarting Psiphon Pro VPN or downloading again by uninstalling the old program first;
• make sure your internet connection is working, it might be your ISP.

Sometimes failures occur when changing connection options, most often inexperienced users encounter such failures. For such cases there is a button "Restore default settings" on the top right side. 

Netflix and torrents

Access to these resources is impossible when using Psiphon VPN, but you should still download the program to your Android device or other operating system. After all, there are many other entertainment platforms on the Internet.

Benefits of Psiphon

The secure service has many pluses that make it popular among similar programs:

• pitfall-free installation - no third-party browser will appear on your desktop;
• Registration is optional - just download Psiphon VPN and start using it immediately after unzipping the file; 
• You won't have to pay if you're happy with the limited speed;
• seamless operation - your Internet connection will not be interrupted while viewing blocked content;
• the application works with the help of 3500 servers - the client gets access to entertainment resources at any time;
• simple and user-friendly interface - a novice user will quickly master the service;
• low system requirements for installing the program - Psiphon works stably even on a computer with weak hardware.

Disadvantages of the program

The disadvantage of VPN is a decrease in connection speed immediately after the service is launched. In principle, such a problem will not prevent you from visiting websites. The disadvantages include saving the browser history and system files in the program. The application cannot unblock some entertainment sites.

Psiphon VPN tariffs

You can connect turbo speed to avoid slow loading pages. A weekly subscription costs about 250₽ and a monthly subscription costs 700₽. The tariffs may change, so we advise you to check the information about the cost of the product with the official representatives before buying.

Reviews about Psiphon VPN

The relevance of bypassing blocking is gaining popularity every day. Both ordinary users and experts share their opinions about different VPNs. We asked our colleagues and acquaintances to tell us about Psiphon:

• I decided to leave my opinion about the program. I installed it first on Android, I liked it. Now I decided to download it on Windows. Psiphon works no worse than similar applications, helps to visit blocked sites. But it is conditionally free. Egor Shchukin, web developer.
• I chose Psiphon VPN based on the reviews on the web. After downloading it, I found some problems: news automatically opens in the browser and the internet speed drops. It works almost smoothly. User Burak Ann.
• I downloaded Psiphon3 on my computer to read news on foreign resources, so far it has not failed me. I am satisfied with the speed, I am not going to pay. The service is especially relevant during the constant blocking of sites. User Alex2305.

If you understand that the main task of Psiphon VPN is to bypass blocking and not to protect personal data, the application fully copes with the stated task. If you need to keep your personal files safe or access Netflix or download files from torrents, you should consider other VPNs. Our experts have tested more than 30 VPN services and made their rating of the best ones, which you can read in our article (link).