Private Internet Access (PIA) is an industry-leading VPN provider founded in 2010. It offers very strong encryption, plenty of servers to choose from, a good privacy policy, and reasonable pricing plans. The only segment where PIA starts lacking is customer support, so we wouldn’t recommend it to absolute VPN beginners who can’t find their way around without professional help. Other than that, PIA is a very easy VPN service to use.
However, we’ll still inspect the overall security features offered by the company. Keep scrolling down to learn how PIA VPN keeps you safe online.
Logging Policy
PIA VPN is based in Denver, which is far from ideal when it comes to privacy and online security. The US is well-known for imposing gag orders and warrants on VPN providers. It is also the home of the CIA and NSA, as well as a part of the Five Eyes surveillance agreement.
PIA has a strict no-logging policy, which is a reassuring fact to a certain extent. However, it can be served a warrant anytime and we wouldn’t even know about it. This is a large concern when it comes to US-based VPN providers. It’s one of the reasons we highly value better locations for VPN services.
PIA, as far as we know, has never disclosed any information to the authorities. Therefore, the vast majority of users will be completely safe using this service, as long as they don’t give cause for concern to the authorities.
Encryption
PIA supports OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP/IPSec protocols. Always make sure to use OpenVPN since we can’t stress enough its superiority over the other two protocols.
PIA utilizes AES-256 cipher with solid SHA-256 authorization and RSA-4096 handshake. This is an amazing configuration and you can even lower the handshake and still remain completely secure. This is particularly recommended if you intend to stream with your VPN.
Having numerous features and options is definitely a plus, but it can be a bit overwhelming for beginners. With subpar user support, it can quickly lead to literal despair, so we recommend consulting the “Customer Care” page on the official website before subscribing to PIA.
P2P
PIA is a very torrent-friendly VPN. It allows P2P traffic and never limits torrenting to specific locations or servers. It also has a pretty unique practice of rerouting torrenting activity to countries that are more torrent-friendly. PIA also features a built-in SOCKS5 proxy.
DNS Leaks
We didn’t catch any DNA leaks during our tests, but some people have reported WebRTC leaks. This problem can reveal your location, so it’s best that you handle it yourself by disabling WebRTC in your chosen browser. We didn’t experience any WebRTC leaks, though, but you can also do these tests for yourself online and see whether you’re in danger of giving away your true location. PIA also features an automatic kill switch.