Private Tunnel Review

UPDATED Mar. 2024
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The story of Private Tunnel starts with James Yohan and Francis Dinha, the founders of OpenVPN Technologies Inc. They achieved massive success with their award-winning OpenVPN project in 2002 and launched their company to enrich its further development.
We look at Private Tunnel more like an online privacy initiative rather than your ordinary VPN provider. The tried and true team behind it incorporated enhanced software and networking, with state-of-the-art technology and unique features.

Private Tunnel was created to provide its users with optimized security, protected communication services, and reliable connectivity. We’ve put the service under heavy scrutiny and will relay the complete results in this dedicated Private Tunnel review.

Private Tunnel Review homepage

Interface

Private Tunnel interfacePrivate Tunnel’s client is very clean and functional but it leaves much to be desired in the aesthetics department. The overall appearance just looks dated and the color scheme is somewhat unpleasant to look at. You cannot customize the client, which further adds to the already underwhelming experience. Luckily, once you get past the appearance, you can see a very streamlined and easy-to-use VPN client. It works really well, especially if you just want a quick server connection.

The main screen will inform you of your current profile, the region you’re connected to, and your acquired IP address. The bottom part of the screen features a prominent Connect button and the top right corner holds the settings menu.

Performance and Reliability

We connected to numerous random servers throughout our testing circuit and can report mediocre results. The speeds were generally inconsistent between different servers, with the US server offering somewhat better results than all the others.

We experienced constant disconnects when trying to connect to the UK server and weren’t able to get satisfying results due to persisting connection interruptions. Servers in Germany and Hong Kong also showed underwhelming results compared to our initial expectations.

All in all, our speed-testing phase yielded poor to mediocre results when it comes to average server speed. We would definitely like to hear more opinions, so you’re more than welcome to contact us and relay your experiences as well.

Multi-Platform

Private Tunnel supports Windows, Mac, Android 4.0+, and iOS 6.1+. It can also work on Linux, but this requires prior knowledge and experience with the command line interface.

You can also make Private Tunnel work on a variety of different operating systems and devices by downloading configuration files and doing some extra work.

While researching for this Private Tunnel review, we tested the VPN on our PC and Android smartphone and the installation was done in just a few minutes without any difficulties in the process.

The following devices are incompatible with Private Tunnel due to their limited support for the OpenVPN driver:

  • USB TV sticks
  • Set-top TV boxes
  • Specialty tablets

Some years ago, there were mentions of implementing support for Blackberry and Windows Phone, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Private Tunnel multiplatform

Features

Private Tunnel offers only a handful of server locations, including the US, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden, Canada, Japan, etc. This isn’t enough for a worldwide coverage, so you may not be able to connect from your geographic location, depending on where you are located.

You won’t be able to access Private Tunnel from the following countries due to their censorship rules:

  • China
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Oman
  • Iran
  • Turkmenistan

Private Tunnel doesn’t offer service in the following countries:

  • Ghana
  • Nigeria
  • Ivory Coast

We also weren’t able to access Netflix using Private Tunnel, so you should probably look for alternatives if streaming is your main reason for purchasing a VPN.

If you decide to go premium, you’ll have unlimited data access and keep 3 or 4 simultaneous connections. The service also comes with unlimited server speed.

Security and Privacy

Private Tunnel uses the OpenVPN protocol exclusively. This means you won’t have the option of connecting with PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, and SSTP. This is not a downside in our opinion since we always recommend using OpenVPN.

The service is located in the US, which can be a deal-breaker for some VPN users. Although the US doesn’t have any mandatory data retention laws, it is home to the CIA and NSA, which are notorious for their warrants and gag orders. In other words, the US is definitely not a friendly place for VPN services.

Private Tunnel uses AES-GCM cipher with 128-bit keys, which is rather weak according to modern standards. AES-256 is considered to be the strongest cipher currently on the market as it still remains “uncracked” by the authorities.
You can visit the site anonymously, but if you decide to register, you’ll be prompted to provide your name, email, phone number, and payment details. Private Tunnel will collect this information and record it into its database. The recorded data is protected via SSL technology, but we would be much happier if the company didn’t record any logs in the first place.

Private Tunnel’s Privacy Policy states that the collected info will be used only to improve the service and monitor performance. This is a very nice touch, but it can’t beat a completely log-free VPN.

Support

You can contact Private Tunnel’s support staff via email or live chat, which is a decent set of options. User support business hours are Monday-Friday 9-5 PST.

The FAQ on the official site is rather small and doesn’t offer much, to be honest. The answers are usually very vague and generic without going into many details.

The support staff is very quick with answers, but those staff members we talked to while doing research for our Private Tunnel review wasn’t all that knowledgeable when it comes to the topics we wanted to discuss.

Pricing Options

1 Month
3 Months
6 Months
1 Year
2 Years

1 Month
$6.00
3 Months
/
6 Months
/
1 Year
$2.92
2 Years
/

Private Tunnel features two different subscription plans:

  • Fixed (6$ monthly; 35$ yearly) – Unlimited data access; up to 3 simultaneous connections.
  • Flexible (6$ monthly; 35$ yearly + fees for additional devices)  Unlimited data access; 4th connection available for an additional fee.
Private Tunnel pricing

As a new user, you can subscribe to one of the offered plans and receive a 7-day trial period. After the trial period is over, you will be billed automatically. Note that you can always cancel the service before that happens if you don’t find it to your liking.

Basically, you’ll get a 100% free 7-day trial period to determine whether Private Tunnel meets your VPN requirements.

Private Tunnel Pros & Cons

Finishing off this Private Tunnel review, here’s a quick overview of the features that wowed us and the aspects of the service that could use some improvement.

Pros
  • Excellent software
  • Team behind OpenVPN
  • Compatibility with major platforms
  • Easy-to-use client
  • Free 7-day trial period
  • Budget-friendly pricing
Cons
  • Low server count
  • Mediocre speeds
  • Suboptimal encryption
  • Poor FAQ section

User Reviews (8)

Private Tunnel customer rating based on 8 user reviews.

The Private Tunnel reviews listed below reflect the opinions and experiences of real users and are in no way influenced by the VPN provider reviewed here. Before publishing each review, our team checks whether it was submitted by an actual user in an effort to prevent false or spammy reviews.

  1. Gringo | September 23, 2021

    I have used it for a couple of years not really testing it. It is a simple to use VPN. Last year something changed. I was connected to one of my banks and they blocked me from some features stating the features were not available while I was out of the country. One thing they wouldn’t allow was their option to do online deposits via a photo of the check. I have a mail forwarding service so I can get mail wherever I happen to be. (I still don’t understand why my bank will not allow me to deposit U.S. checks no matter where I am) But still It also made me wonder how secure Private Tunnel is. After double checking myself and talking to support I was connecting correctly. I started double checking with other connections and it seems that they all could all detect I was connecting from outside the U.S. I’m a little confused and wondering what else can they detect? IF I am connecting to several different U.S. servers and every connection except one Bank that didn’t restrict me or note that I was out of the country (I have no idea if they could see I was out of U.S. or not) So 3 different Banks and 2 Credit Unions and Several Companies that I work with can detect I am not in the U.S. I have tried with 2 Tablets, 3 Cell Phones all android (utilizing Versions 9, 10 & 11) and a Windows laptop all with same results (Yes I turn off all Location/GPS etc on the devices). Last but not least Netflix, HBO/Max, Prime Video, also can tell I am not in the U.S. Sadly I should have tested everything. I will not be renewing. Another mistake was prepayment for the year. I’m reading and wondering if the reviews are legitimate. It has taught me to not just accept that just because an app has a connection doesn’t mean it’s working the way you think it is.

  2. Darion Harding | January 4, 2020

    It works great on my phone and the speed is ok. It does have difficulties connecting to some servers, I couldn’t for example connect to the german server but I didn’t have any problems with other countries. Plus you have a free week to try it out so if you don’t like it you can get your money back.

  3. Nadia Sandoval | June 20, 2019

    I sometimes use vpn for work just to have a quick look at some content which is not available in my country and Private Tunnel is perfect for that. It just 35$ for an entire year. you can’t get much cheaper than that

  4. Billy | April 1, 2019

    U had a nice fixed bandwidth package that would have lasted me for years.

    Because I accidentally signed up for a trial account, the bandwidth package was lost (they admitted this was a bug in their website).

    They won’t reinstate my bandwidth package, saying that it is impossible (really, with all the expertise they can’t edit a bandwidth counter?).

    The problem is that they don’t want to, they would rather have me sign up for an overpriced monthly subscription.

    Super customer unfriendly, would not recommend.

  5. Jason Ward | November 30, 2018

    Not the best speeds in the world, not by a long shot.

  6. iannick | July 17, 2018

    The data service itself is… OK. Sometimes was really slow, and some sites wouldn’t accept traffic from their POP’s. Was able to connect about 95% of the time. I’d say choppy/slow about 30% or so, though I’m a latenight user m’self. The real downfall, though, is the customer service. I bought a “no expiration” data plan when they first got started and haven’t finished using all my data. They changed their business model but won’t honor prior agreements. Many appeals to sales@ and support@ with requests for them to honor the agreement THAT I PAID FOR were ignored and what I got instead was “cancelled.” They cancelled my “no expiration” account while I still had data on it, and still no consideration for the fact that I bought something from them and they are refusing to deliver it. If you’re a #classaction #attorney looking for a class-action #target, may I suggest PrivateTunnel? I’d make a stink about it on principle, but honestly, my stress is worth more way more than their crappy data. I wasn’t going to renew with them anyway, but I’d still like to use what I paid for.

  7. Kyle Ellis | November 30, 2017

    I can use it on my laptop, phone and tablet at the same time and it doesn’t slow my internet speed too much.

  8. Sarah Robinson | October 13, 2017

    I like the trial thing. It’s the best way to see if somebody will like the vpn or not.

  9. Donald Phillips | September 23, 2017

    I’m not all that into the whole IT craze and couldn’t learn anything from the site. At least the support guys were quick on their feet.

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