ExpressVPN - 1 Trusted VPN - Secure Private Fast bills itself as the fastest VPN service on the market and helps speed up downloads. The app lets you send and receive data without being tracked or intercepted by routing your traffic through another server that conceals your actual location. It is available with a monthly or yearly subscription, although it is about double the price of similar services. 

How it works

ExpressVPN chooses the best protocol for you, but you can also manually connect with OpenVPN instead of L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, SSTP, and TDP. To make it as easy to use as possible, there are fewer configurable features than those offered by other competitors. At the same time, security is solid, and users are unable to change encryption levels to speed up connections. If the VPN connection stops, all internet traffic is locked to avoid DNS leaks. All DNS requests are also over a secure IPv4 protocol. 

The app offers a VPN service with 160 server locations across 94 countries, providing a diverse distribution of servers. It focuses on OpenVPN and its proprietary Lightway protocol, which has been positively audited by third parties. The company has over 3,000 servers and a strong commitment to privacy and security. It has a no-logs policy and is based in the British Virgin Islands, which has no data retention laws. ExpressVPN is transparent about its use of virtual servers and has a good track record of protecting customer privacy.

In-app speed test and flexible timing feature

ExpressVPN has rolled out a couple of handy built-in updates designed to make managing your daily privacy a lot smoother. First up is an integrated Speed Test tab right inside the interface. Instead of closing the app and hunting down a third-party website to check your network performance, you can run a quick manual test directly from your dashboard. It immediately measures your current server's download and upload speeds, along with technical stats like latency and jitter.

If you aren't sure which server to connect to in the first place, the app handles the guesswork for you using its Smart Location feature. This system looks at distance and real-time network conditions to automatically pair you with the fastest destination for your physical location. From there, switching things up is easy. If you ever need to hop over to a completely different region, a couple of taps from the main navigation screen will instantly route your traffic to a new global server.

Another practical addition is the Pause feature. There are plenty of times throughout the day when you might need to temporarily step away from your encrypted tunnel. Normally, turning off a VPN means risking forgetting to turn it back on, leaving your data exposed. Now, you can just tap the small stopwatch icon on the home screen to halt the secure tunnel for a set amount of time. The app keeps track with a live countdown timer and automatically flips your privacy shield right back on the moment your time is up.

How it compares

While not the fastest VPN service, ExpressVPN does deliver relatively high-speed downloads when using some international connections. It also ensures your data is protected and offers superior security over its rivals. Along with allowing BitTorrent and P2P, the app is also one of the few of its kind that works with Netflix. With an intuitive interface, it also features an attractive and simple design that is easy to use.