The developers claim that VPN 360 is one of the safest and fastest VPNs around. Great connection speed and focus on privacy sound good, especially provided by a freemium service. The question you have to ask yourself is whether VPN 360 is able to keep its promises. From this detailed review, you are going to learn whether the service is as good as it wants you to believe.
Here is a brief summary of VPN 360’s benefits and drawbacks before we go into more detail:
VPN 360 pros:
- Free plan available;
- Unlimited bandwidth;
- Decent connection speeds across the board;
- Easy-to-use apps.
VPN 360 cons:
- Only 1 and 11 servers are available with a free and premium plan respectively;
- Slow speeds on the Android app;
- No desktop clients or apps for other operating systems besides iOS and Android;
- No transparency about the company’s ownership and jurisdiction;
- Data logging is going on;
- Not clear which encryption is used with IPSec protocol;
- OpenVPN protocol is not supported;
- Can’t switch between protocols on Android app;
- Pop-up ads with a free subscription;
- Overpriced tariff plans;
- No refund policy;
- Limited payment methods;
- Doesn’t work with Netflix or other VoD services;
- Slow customer support.
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Now, let’s take a look at the service’s main features closely.
Jurisdiction
VPN 360 has been brought to us by Infinity Software, Co. On the company’s website, its location is specified as Tallahassee, the USA. However, there is no information on whether the company is actually registered in the USA or their physical headquarter is situated there. We carried out our own investigation and discovered that Infinity Software works under the Hong Kong jurisdiction. Moreover, its director and sole shareholder is Rui Zhang whose citizenship is Chinese.
Neither the USA jurisdiction nor connection with China is good for privacy. On top of that, the lack of transparency regarding ownership and confusing data on registration made us wonder if the company purposefully wants to hide something.
Privacy Policy
Unlike most companies that place privacy policy directly on the website, Infinity Software decided to put this information on a separate WordPress-powered website. Needless to say, this idea is unusual and, frankly speaking, dubious.
VPN 360 claims they are a ‘no-logs network’. However, the detailed study of their privacy policy proves it is no so. The scope of data collected for troubleshooting and service maintaining includes:
- Websites users visited;
- An original IP address;
- A VPN-assigned IP address;
- Device information (hardware model and OS details);
- Bandwidth consumed;
- Date and time of each connection.
The service doesn’t clearly specify for how long this data is stored. The only thing the privacy policy says is that they will keep it until ‘the troubleshooting is resolved’. Potentially, it means that data about your VPN sessions may be stored forever.
When it comes to VPNs, the biggest concern is not what information they retain but who they share it with. VPN 360 is willing to provide ‘non-personally identifiable visitor information’ to marketing and advertising agencies as well as other parties. At the same time, the company will submit any personal information to law enforcement agencies and government authorities at their request.
Summing it all up, VPN 360 collects enough data to track users’ activities even though the traffic is not directly recorded. If any of your activities involve law infringement (for example, watching copyrighted content), the service is not going to protect you.
Data Encryption
Once again, the service lacks transparency in terms of security features in general and encryption methods in particular. It is known that its iOS app supports two tunneling protocols – IKEv2 and IPSec (L2TP). The latter, while not being the strongest protocol, is combined with unbreakable AES 256-bit encryption. IKEv2 is a more preferable protocol for iOS devices but VPN 360 doesn’t disclose which ciphers it goes with. At least, you can manually choose between both protocols on iOS apps.
As for the Android client, the software automatically picks a protocol for you. The same as with iOS devices, only two protocols are available (IKEv2 and IPSec). Unfortunately, the service doesn’t supply industry-standard OpenVPN protocol, nor it specifies the type of encryption used in available protocols.
Security
Besides encryption, a reliable VPN must support basic security features ensuring user protection in case of connectivity issues. These include Kill Switch as well as IP and DNS leak prevention. Sadly, VPN 360 is so light on features that it has no such tools whatsoever. What’s even worse, it doesn’t own any DNS servers. The third-party involvement makes your connection less private. On top of that, you won’t be able to stay anonymous in case of any leaks.
Supported Devices and Operating Systems
VPN 360 is currently available for Android and iOS devices. You can’t install it on a computer, game console, TV box or other gadgets. If you are searching for a VPN to cover all your devices, then VPN 360 is not for you.
What’s curious is that the service’s page on Google Play Store specifies the developer as Touch VPN instead of Infinity Software. In their comment on this situation, Infinity Software stated that ‘we are not currently partnered nor we own Touch VPN’.
It seems like contradicting information regarding VPN 360’s ownership, jurisdiction, and legal liability piles up with every step of the way.
Servers and Locations
With a free subscription, you can make use of only one server in the USA. One location puts heavy restrictions on content you can watch (it can unblock only US-intended content) let alone it affects speeds for users outside North America.
If you are a premium user, you can expand the service count to mind-blowing… 11 locations! The paid subscription unlocks one more server in the USA as well as in Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Australia. No servers are available in South America or Africa.
VPN 360 App
The app interface for iOS and Android alike is simple and nicely designed. There are not many settings to mess with so it is a good option for beginners. If you are a free user, you need only one button tap to get started.
In the top-right corner, you can find a menu that’ll help you manage your account, get customer support, or purchase a premium subscription. There, you will also find FAQ, Privacy Policy, and ToS.
Usability
Generally, VPN 360 is very easy to use. The whole app is centered around the large on/off button, which is the only option for free users. Your current location is shown in the top left corner. Next to it, there is an arrow expanding a full server list; however, these locations are locked until you get a paid version.
While using the app, we came across occasional ‘Connection Fail’ errors. There is no automated reconnection so what you need to do is stop the current session and start a new one after a while.
Since VPN 360 is a freemium service, you’ll meet some annoying pop-up ads, which won’t go away until you pay.
VPN 360 Speed Test
Given only one server within the free plan, we didn’t keep our hopes high regarding a fast connection. Nevertheless, the service managed to surprise us with decent speeds via the iOS app. The speeds fluctuated between 45 and 62 Mbps. However, when we repeated the test on the Android client, the results were disappointing. We managed to get 7 Mbps max when connecting to the same server. The customer support promised to investigate this situation since both apps should provide the same performance.
We repeated the test after signing up for a premium account. This time we went with the iOS app only until the developer fixes the client for Android. So, we connected to the US and German servers and obtained 58 Mbps and 71 Mbps respectively. It was a massive drop from the original 140 Mbps yet these speeds are very good for a VPN.
The apps envision automated connection to the best server based on your location. If you’d like to connect manually, each server has the Fast, Medium, and Slow indicators to help you make an informed choice.
Torrenting and Streaming
The service doesn’t explicitly say whether it supports torrenting or not but premium users say it’s allowed. We don’t recommend using VPN 360 for torrenting since it collects too much data about your connections. However, if you are ready to take a risk, connect to the server in the Netherlands (or any other torrent-safe country).
As for streaming, the service is able to unblock only basic geo-restricted websites, YouTube, for example. The provider can’t handle streaming platforms that purposefully block VPN access including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, HBO, and others.
Pricing and Plans
As we’ve already emphasized, VPN 360 offers both free and premium plans. The service positions itself as a free unlimited proxy meaning there are no data caps or speed throttling. With a premium subscription, you’ll get access to:
- 10 more server locations;
- Higher connection speeds;
- Priority customer support;
- Ad-free experience.
The subscription is available for 1-month and 1-year. The 1-month plan costs $11.99. By any mean, it is not a reasonable price since many premium services ask less for more features. Moreover, if you forget to unsubscribe after the subscription runs out, VPN 360 will continue to charge you automatically.
If you are willing to go with the 12-month tariff, the service will bill you $35.99, which equals to $2.90 per month. Still, it is a lot to ask for considered how little features you will get with it.
VPN 360 offers a 7-day trial period to test the premium functionality out. However, keep in mind that if you don’t cancel it 24 hours before it is over, the service will start charging you for a 1-month subscription.
Payment Methods and Refund Policy
Since VPN 360 apps are available only through Google Play Store and Apple App Store, you can purchase a subscription via payment methods supported by these platforms. Specific payment methods depend on a country you are in but most likely, you’ll have to use your credit or debit card. Neither Google Play Store nor Apple App Store supports anonymous cryptocurrency payments although there is a gift card redemption option for some regions.
Once you’ve purchased a VPN 360 subscription, there is no way back – the service doesn’t offer any money-back guarantee. You can unsubscribe so that it doesn’t renew a subscription but, according to some clients, it is a pain in the neck to do so.
Customer Support
There is no 24/7 online support even for premium users. If you have any questions or issues, the only thing you can do is send your request by e-mail. There is a Need Help option in the menu which provides you with an e-mail address to contact the support service through. Premium users get a priority in solving their issues yet we had to wait hours before we got a reply. Thankfully, a support person provided a detailed answer to our request.
Conclusion
VPN 360 is a basic VPN for those who need a one-click-ready solution. It satisfies neither security-conscious users nor people looking for reliable and feature-packed VPN. There are some things we liked about VPN 360 but they are overshadowed by poor functionality and security issues.
2 Comments
hi, i’m not planning to carry on using this von but i have before.
this is probably in here somewhere but i’m not great at understanding this stuff.
could you tell me if the vpn is good at hiding your ip + camera? and is it good at hiding history from your isp.
thanks
Hey, that’s a good idea to stop using VPN360, just get a secure VPN such as FullVPN or NordVPN. A VPN when enabled will encrypt your network traffic and your ISP can’t see what you do online that includes your video sessions, but you choose to who and if you want to turn on your webcam or not. If you are afraid that some malware automatically turns on your webcam or that it not gets hacked, then you can place a cover over your webcam.