VPN Master Review (2024): Low-Tier VPN With Several Issues
Note:
VPN Master has been discontinued. If you’re looking for a good VPN, we recommend Surfshark VPN.
VPN Master is a relatively unknown VPN provider with only five thousand downloads on Google Play. There’s not much info about it going around, so we decided to get the app and test it ourselves.
After our extensive testing, we got a better view of VPN Master’s security, performance, and user-friendliness. So, does the user count match the quality of the service, or did we just stumble upon a diamond in the rough?
Read our full VPN Master review below to find out.
VPN Master Short Review
Pros
- Military-grade encryption
- Decent speeds
- Free limited version
- Works with Netflix
- Beginner-friendly app
Cons
- No protocol info
- Malfunctioning servers
- Flickering connections
- No kill switch
- Dangerous logging policy
- The website doesn't work
- Only Android app still functioning
- Expensive
- No customer support
VPN Master is a low-tier provider based in the US. Instead of mitigating its dangerous location with an ironclad logging policy, VPN Master is recording a lot of data that could put you in harm’s way.
The company provides zero information about its VPN protocols, only mentioning “military-grade encryption” here and there. We didn’t see any DNS or IP leaks during our testing. The connection is anything but stable, which is exacerbated by the absence of a kill switch.
VPN Master offers a mix of free and premium VPN servers in 30+ countries. The number of servers is unknown, but they appear to be rented from NetProtect for the most part. The speeds are decent, but nothing to write home about, especially if you’re on a slow network.
Oddly enough, VPN Master managed to unblock Netflix US for us, as well as some other restricted streaming platforms. The company doesn’t say anything about torrenting, but we’d definitely recommend against it. The customer support didn’t respond to our emails, and the prices for the premium subscription are way too high.
With all that in mind, we gave VPN Master a 3.3/10. This puts it on the lower end of the spectrum among other VPNs we wouldn’t recommend. Learn more about our testing process and individual scores in our full VPN Master review below.
| đź’µ Price | No longer available |
| 📱 Operating systems | Android |
| đź’» Connections | 1 |
| đź’ł Payment methods | Credit card |
| đź”’ Protocols | Unknown |
| đź“Ą Torrent options | Torrenting allowed |
| đź“… Money-back guarantee | None Offered |
| đź“‹ Logs | Connection Logs |
| 🎬 Works with |
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Speed – How Fast Is VPN Master?
Your VPN service should be able to secure your online traffic without causing major speed drops. The fastest VPNs manage to maintain a fine balance between online safety and performance. We gauge this balance by testing the speed of every VPN we review. Based on our speed tests, VPN Master gets a 2/10 for performance.
Here are some key points to keep in mind:
- VPN Master provided decent speeds for a low-tier VPN.
- The client kept disconnecting and reconnecting on all servers.
- The day-to-day operation was a chore due to the unstable connection.
Speed test results for VPN Master
We got our test results for this VPN Master review from our office in the Netherlands. We first measured the speed of our mobile network without a VPN and compared it to the speeds we got on VPN Master’s servers.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the actual results of our VPN Master speed test.
| Server | Download (Mbps) | Upload (Mbps) | Ping (ms) |
|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 32.4 | 28.8 | 5 |
| Netherlands (Amsterdam) | 23.6 | 19 | 11 |
| Spain (Madrid) | 27.5 | 19.7 | 46 |
| Mexico (Guadalajara) | 28.6 | 27.1 | 5 |
| France (Paris) | 16.8 | 17.9 | 25 |
| Italy (Milan) | 15.6 | 13.9 | 30 |
| The UK (London) | 17.2 | 19.9 | 17 |
| The US (Boston) | 13.1 | 13.7 | 113 |
| The US (Las Vegas) | 7.6 | 13.2 | 149 |
| Canada (Montreal) | 10.7 | 18.3 | 105 |
| Portugal (Lisbon) | 26.18 | 25 | 54 |
| Japan (Tokyo) | 25.1 | 28.2 | 272 |
| Australia (Melbourne) | 14.9 | 19.6 | 260 |
Evidently, speed is not one of VPN Master’s major problems. We got decent numbers during our test, in spite of the limited speed of our mobile network. On the closest server (Amsterdam), we retained 72.84% of our download, which is quite good. Apart from Japan and Australia, the pings were acceptable. The connection times went from three to 17 seconds.
On the other hand, we couldn’t connect to any servers in Germany, Brazil, South Africa, and Argentina. Also, VPN Master can’t pick optimal servers automatically, so you have to choose one before connecting.
Unfortunately, decent speeds were overshadowed by VPN Master’s connectivity issues. The client was disconnecting and reconnecting every few seconds. Without a kill switch, this could leak your private data and put you in harm’s way. Even with a kill switch, having internet access in three-second increments renders a VPN completely unusable.
With all this in mind, we recommend going with Surfshark if raw speed is what you’re looking for.
Speed during daily use
During our testing, we tried streaming some Netflix shows, YouTube clips, and anime with VPN Master. Oddly enough, we managed to unblock a number of streaming services, but the flickering connection ruined the experience completely. Although torrenting is allowed, VPN Master can’t guarantee your safety during P2P file sharing.
We also tried playing Minecraft on some foreign servers and couldn’t even chop down a tree before the connection dropped, much like what we experienced during our OysterVPN review. If you want to stay safe while playing your favorite online titles, we recommend going with one of our fastest VPNs for gaming instead.
Regular browsing was not affected as much, but note that browsers with enhanced security can slow you down a bit more.
Safety – How Secure Is VPN Master?
Among other things, your VPN should guarantee anonymous browsing paired with bulletproof security. This means it has to encrypt your traffic, mask your real IP, and avoid aggressive logging. With all these factors in mind, VPN Master gets a 2/10 for security.
Here’s why it got such a low score:
- VPN Master doesn’t disclose its list of supported protocols.
- It keeps connection logs, which can be quite dangerous.
- VPN Master doesn’t have a kill switch.
- We saw no DNS or IP leaks during our testing.
- You can use the service without creating an account.
Protocols
VPN Master doesn’t say anything about the VPN protocols it employs. Some VPN Master reviews claim that it uses PPTP, which would be alarming, given its weak security. However, the official site boasts “military-grade encryption,” a common buzzword used to indicate the AES-256 cipher. Whether this is actually the case for VPN Master, we couldn’t confirm. However, if we assume this VPN indeed uses AES-256, they won’t be using PPTP, since that protocol doesn’t use AES-256.
In our opinion, VPN Master is most likely using OpenVPN TCP, given its geo-unblocking capabilities. IKEv2/IPsec also uses AES-256 and would be a great choice for a mobile-oriented VPN. However, IKEv2 has excellent reconnection capabilities and wouldn’t cause the aforementioned connectivity issues. Unfortunately, we can’t know for sure without official confirmation.
If you’re looking for a VPN with a solid security setup and the best protocols, we recommend going with NordVPN instead.
Logging and privacy
VPN Master Inc. is an American company, so we have to worry about the Five Eyes alliance. The US government has the ability to force this VPN provider to hand over user data and issue a gag order to keep the company quiet about it. So, VPN Master needs an airtight no-logging policy to keep its users safe and anonymous.
Unfortunately, VPN Master keeps connection logs, which makes it extremely dangerous. Among other things, they record your real IP address and connection timestamps (times and dates when your sessions started and stopped). This data can be used to positively identify you and trace your traffic back to you. In other words, using a VPN with invasive logging practices is like not using a VPN at all.
Instead of choosing VPN Master or similarly risky VPN providers like Browsec VPN or Secure VPN regarding privacy policies, we suggest picking a trusted provider from our list of zero-logging VPNs.
Kill switch
An automatic kill switch is a crucial security mechanism that cuts your connection the moment your VPN tunnel fails. This prevents your private data from leaking outside of the said tunnel. Unfortunately, VPN Master doesn’t have a kill switch. In other words, every time you connect, you’re gambling with your IP address, online traffic, and other sensitive info.
As if the lack of a kill switch wasn’t bad enough, VPN Master drops connections extremely frequently. Basically, you connect to a server, the tunnel crashes in five seconds, reconnects, crashes again, and so on. This is as far as you can possibly be from online security while using a VPN.
If you’re looking for a service with one of the most powerful kill switches out there, we recommend giving Proton VPN a try.
Does VPN Master leak your data?
We were quite surprised to see zero DNS and IP leaks during our testing. We performed dozens of independent tests from Serbia and the Netherlands, and VPN Master managed to keep us hidden every single time.
After checking the IP address of the fake Internet Service Provider, we found out that it’s a private IP owned by NetProtect. This is one of the few things that VPN Master did right, and we’re sorry to see perfect results overshadowed by invasive logging.
What information does VPN Master need?
You can use VPN Master without creating an account. If you decide to go premium, you’ll have to provide your credit card information. We advise against this since we don’t trust this company. Furthermore, you’re not getting amazing value with a premium subscription, just a few more server locations.
Important Note:
We used the free version for our tests, but could still access the premium servers. Whether it’s a bug or VPN Master abandoning its premium packages, you can get the paid service cost-free for now. We’ll monitor this situation closely and keep you up-to-date.
Usability – How User-Friendly Is VPN Master?
The best VPNs manage to provide a ton of advanced features while remaining beginner-friendly. Catering to power users is commendable, but the basic functionalities should still be fairly easy to grasp. With that in mind, VPN Master gets a 3/10 for user-friendliness.
Our thoughts on this in a nutshell:
- The official website doesn’t work anymore.
- The installation was quick and effortless.
- VPN Master’s app is very easy to use.
- The official prices are high for what you’re getting.
- The customer support didn’t respond to our emails.
VPN Master’s website and installation process
When we started our testing for this VPN Master review, the official site was holding on by a thread. Most of the buttons didn’t work, the info was scarce, and the pages were breaking. It basically felt abandoned and sure enough, the site stopped working a week later.
While the site was up, it was constantly getting blocked by Malwarebytes, warning us of a potential Trojan infection. We also got a slew of other warning messages, each presenting VPN Master’s website as unsafe.
VPN Master used to have a Windows VPN app, but that was abandoned when it became a mobile-only service. The iOS VPN apps were also scrapped at some point, so now we’re only left with the VPN Master app for Android. We tested VPN Master’s Android client for this review.
The installation process is quite simple:
- Go to Google Play Store and find VPN Master.
- Click “Install” and wait for the installation to finish.
- Click “Open” or tap the shortcut on your home screen.
Note that you’ll have to scroll down a bit in the Play Store since there are plenty of “VPN Masters” there, and the one we’re reviewing is not very popular. There’s no personal dashboard where you can customize your experience, and you can use VPN Master only on one device.
VPN Master’s appearance and ease-of-use
VPN Master is a bare-bones VPN without any advanced options. It doesn’t even have some standard features that are an absolute must for modern VPNs (like a kill switch, for example). As such, it might appeal to complete beginners, but power users will find nothing of use in this service.
The client features a large on/off button with a server list shortcut underneath and a hamburger menu in the top-left corner. It also offers some information about your connection (download/upload speed, your true/assigned IP, and the connection status).
The hamburger menu is rather useless since it only allows you to:
- Contact customer support (which doesn’t respond)
- Rate the app
- Share the app
- Read the privacy policy
We’ve never encountered a VPN so low on features before. When it comes to utility, you can only connect and disconnect. There are no customization options, no extra features, and no choices to be made whatsoever.
If you’re a beginner but still want a bit more out of your VPN, we recommend going with CyberGhost instead. It’s beginner-friendly, but its advanced features can keep up as you’re learning more about VPNs.
Pricing and payment methods
When it comes to pricing, VPN Master implements a freemium model with a free limited version and three premium packages. We’re not sure what’s happening with the service, but we were able to access premium servers without paying any subscription fees.
- VPN Master (Discontinued) 1 month $2mth View offer
- VPN Master (Discontinued) 3 months $1.33mth View offer
- VPN Master (Discontinued) 6 months $1.33mth View offer
At $1.33/month, VPN Master is still pretty expensive for what it offers. There are many cheaper VPNs out there that offer much more. FastestVPN, for example, is a great service that costs only $0.66/month.
At the moment, VPN Master only accepts credit cards, which is not ideal for your anonymity. We prefer buying VPNs with crypto or even cash when possible (some VPN providers like Mulvad accept anonymous cash payments).
During our VPN Master review, we discovered that this provider doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee, and it is unclear how to cancel your subscription if you don’t wish to renew it. That was one of the questions we sent to the support team, but we haven’t heard back from them. Therefore, we don’t recommend going premium even if you choose to install VPN Master.
Customer service
As already mentioned, VPN Master’s customer support is basically non-existent. Even while the site was up, it didn’t feature any meaningful FAQs, installation guides, troubleshooting manuals, or anything else that could be helpful to the end user.
The only way to get in touch with the support team is via email. We’ve sent a couple of messages packed with questions and haven’t received a single answer. We would say that VPN Master needs to work on its customer service, but it has much bigger problems than that.
Server Network – Can VPN Master Unblock the Internet?
When it comes to VPN server networks, the bigger, the better is usually the golden rule. Naturally, the quality of the servers also plays a huge role. Larger networks translate to better geo-unblocking, fewer VPN crashes, and less lag. With all that in mind, VPN Master gets a 6/10 for its current setup.
Here are the most important aspects of VPN Master’s servers:
- VPN Master operates servers in 30+ countries and 80+ locations.
- It works with Netflix and other geo-restricted streaming sites.
- Torrenting is allowed (or, at least possible) on all servers.
- You can’t buy a dedicated IP with VPN Master.
Number of servers and locations
VPN Master operates an undisclosed number of servers in 40+ countries and 80+ locations. All servers are divided into two groups: free and premium. As we already mentioned, you can access both groups without paying anything at the moment.
You can access the list of available locations by clicking a shortcut underneath the on/off button. VPN Master can’t pick servers automatically based on your location, so you’ll have to choose one manually every time.
The full list of VPN Master’s server countries includes:
- Americas: Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, the US
- Europe: Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK
- Asia Pacific: Australia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan
- Africa: South Africa
This is not a bad list of countries and locations, but we have no information about the number of servers. Judging by our speed test results, we would say that NetProtect’s servers can dish out good speeds. NetProtect is the owner of VPNs like IPVanish, encrypt.me, StrongVPN, and others. It also provides VPN hosting services (server infrastructure) to VPN Master. So, we can see that the unstable connectivity doesn’t stem from the servers but the VPN Master software itself.
VPN Master and streaming (Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, BBC iPlayer)
We were surprised to see during this VPN Master review that VPN Master was actually good at geo-unblocking. Since it doesn’t leak any data and uses powerful NetProtect servers, maybe this shouldn’t come off as such a surprise.
Take a look at our streaming test results:
| Platform | Can VPN Master unblock it? |
|---|---|
| Netflix | âś” |
| Disney Plus | âś” |
| Hulu | âś” |
| BBC iPlayer | âś” |
| Amazon Prime Video | âś” |
VPN Master has no dedicated streaming servers, but it was able to unblock every single site we tested. Unfortunately, the entire experience was ruined by its unstable connection. VPN Master simply can’t hold its VPN tunnel up for more than a couple of minutes, which doesn’t translate to a lot of streaming. However, it is not as bad as iProVPN where the provider’s servers did not even work for us, so we were not able to do any streaming at all.
If you want reliable access to the best streaming catalogs, we recommend picking one of the providers from our list of the best VPN services for Netflix. They should also work with any other geo-restricted website.
VPN Master and torrents
Although torrenting is allowed with VPN Master (or, at least, not explicitly forbidden), we would advise against it. Before you put your uTorrent to work, you need to make sure your VPN provides absolute anonymity. VPN Master does not! Constantly flickering in and out of the encrypted VPN tunnel will leave your data up for grabs.
If safe P2P file sharing is your main reason for getting a VPN, you’ll get much better security with one of our top VPNs for torrenting.
Dedicated IP address
Maintaining dedicated IPs is a very expensive service and shouldn’t be expected from low-tier VPNs. Although not specified, we presume that VPN Master uses NetProtect’s shared IP addresses.
Dedicated IPs have a lot of benefits, like avoiding IP blacklisting, CAPTCHA pop-ups, and suspicion from apps that handle sensitive data (secure online banking apps, for example). If you need these benefits, we recommend going with a renowned service like Private Internet Access.
Our Experience With VPN Master
During this VPN Master review, we discovered that for every single thing VPN Master did well, we had a couple of debilitating problems. Its security setup is not explained, and the absence of a kill switch is an absolute deal-breaker. It doesn’t leak data, but it logs too much information. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that we’re talking about a US-based VPN. With all that in mind, we can only recommend going with NordVPN instead.
The speeds are decent, but the VPN tunnel keeps dropping. While VPN Master is crashing and reconnecting, your private data is left hanging in the balance. VPN Master can unblock Netflix and similar sites, but that doesn’t mean much when it can’t maintain a stable VPN connection. As such, we also can’t recommend using it for torrenting, although the company doesn’t forbid it. When it comes to sheer speed, geo-unblocking, and torrenting, Surfshark still remains our #1 VPN.
VPN Master works only on Android at the moment, and the app is beginner-friendly enough. However, there is such a thing as too simple. Namely, VPN Master doesn’t even offer some standard features we came to expect from modern VPNs. As it stands, we have plenty of better VPNs for Android, and if you want a good mix of power and user-friendliness, try CyberGhost.
Last, VPN Master premium is too expensive for its underwhelming features and performance. If you’re on a budget and need a free VPN, we recommend going with the free version of Proton VPN instead. Additionally, VPN Master doesn’t offer any money-back guarantee (that we know of) and doesn’t specify how to cancel their subscription.
Even without all these problems, VPN Master would still be a low-tier service. Regarding this VPN provider, we are talking about the proverbial bottom of the VPN barrel. It’s not as bad as VPNs carrying malware, but that’s not a winning selling point. As it stands, we don’t recommend dealing with this VPN. If you want to secure your online activities while remaining completely anonymous, go with one of our best VPNs for this year.
If you want short answers to all your VPN Master-related questions, simply click on one of the FAQs below to expand the answer.
No VPN Master is not safe to use! VPN Master logs your real IP and connection timestamps. This means that your ISP, the government, or hackers can identify you and monitor what you’re doing online. If you want to guarantee your online security and anonymity, you should go with one of the best VPNs for this year instead.
VPN Master adopts a freemium model – it has a free version plus a premium version with more server locations. However, VPN Master is not a safe VPN and can’t guarantee your online anonymity. If you’re on a budget, we recommend trying one of our truly free VPNs instead.
VPN Master is a VPN service (a bad one, though). It should encrypt your connection, mask your real IP, and stay away from your private data. Unfortunately, the third must-have is missing since VPN Master logs data that could be used to find you and monitor your online traffic. You can learn all about this low-tier VPN in our full VPN Master review.
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