Private Internet Access is a VPN provider established in 2010 and headquartered in the United States. It's owned by Kape Technologies, the parent company of ExpressVPN and CyberGhost, two other large VPN providers. Private Internet Access features open-source applications on a variety of platforms, servers in 90+ countries, obfuscation, multi-hop, and unlimited simultaneous connections.
Our Verdict
Private Internet Access is good for torrenting. It has acceptable security that keeps your IP address and DNS queries within its tunnel while using it, and it allows you to download torrents without a data limit. That said, its kill switch doesn't work properly upon rebooting your system, as some unencrypted traffic leaks past the VPN. While you can pay with cryptocurrencies for better anonymity, you need to register with an email address and password that can be linked to your identity in the event of a data breach.
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Accepts cryptocurrency.
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Proper TLS implementation doesn't leave you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.
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Doesn't leak your IP address or DNS queries.
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Kill switch leaks unencrypted traffic after system reboot.
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No anonymous registration options.
Private Internet Access has acceptable security. It doesn't leak your IP address or DNS queries while you're connected, and it has proper TLS implementation, protecting you from man-in-the-middle attacks. Unfortunately, its kill switch doesn't work as intended, as it leaks some unencrypted traffic upon restarting your system. This is a concern if you need all your traffic to be encrypted after a reboot.
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Proper TLS implementation doesn't leave you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.
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Doesn't leak your IP address or DNS queries.
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Kill switch leaks unencrypted traffic after system reboot.
Private Internet Access has poor download and upload speeds, so downloading or uploading large files takes time. However, its latency is acceptable, and delivers a usable experience for everyday browsing overall.
Changelog
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Updated Aug 11, 2025:
We've retested this VPN's Kill Switch Robustness after updating to the latest version of the software, and found that it no longer leaks after the software crashes. Unfortunately, it still leaks after a system reboot.
- Updated May 14, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 0.9.1. This redefines what we consider to be a leak.
- Updated Mar 31, 2025: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
While PIA doesn't have different tiers, they offer Antivirus and dedicated IP add-ons.
Popular VPNs Comparisons
Private Internet Access has acceptable performance that's on par with most VPN services, but like most, it fails the kill switch test. It's good enough if you're just downloading torrents and browsing the web while protected, but its speeds are mediocre, so don't expect blazing-fast downloads.
It's also owned by Kape Technologies, which privacy-minded users tend to criticize due to controversies about ad injection from its past. If that's a concern for you, consider other VPNs we've tested, but know that even VPN providers with a squeaky-clean record aren't infallible. Check out our article about VPN privacy for more details.
To see which services we recommend, check out our article on the best VPNs.
Before subscribing to a VPN service, it's important to understand its limitations and how it actually works. VPN providers often make bold claims about how their service ensures privacy, but these claims don't always tell the full story.
Test Results
You can pay for this VPN using a credit or debit card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, or Bitpay for Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin.
The kill switch doesn't work properly, as network traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel after a reboot. This is problematic if you're concerned with keeping your traffic encrypted when reconnecting to the internet after restarting your system.
Private Internet Access doesn't implement BGP properly, but this is true with almost every VPN service.
Private Internet Access has middling download speeds that are consistently slow. While downloading large files might take a while, the speeds are fine for normal internet use.
This VPN delivers consistently slow upload speeds. Uploading large files won't be the fastest, but it's okay for regular, non-intensive internet use.
This VPN delivers decent latency performance on average. It's mostly consistent despite a few occasional latency spikes that could disrupt latency-sensitive applications like video calls or online games.
This VPN's native Linux app supports Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, Fedora, and Arch. You can also configure it manually using the command line.
It's also available on various platforms, including iOS, Android, smart TVs, and as Chrome and Firefox extensions.
The IPSec with IKEv2 protocol is only supported on iOS devices.
Comments
Private Internet Access: Main Discussion
Let us know why you want us to review the product here, or encourage others to vote for this product.
- 21010
Super good article. Very interesting approach on the variables that affects the most an Air Fryer. I got interested on the way you coupled a DC motor and control the temperature. Could you share more details about the specification/components that you used for this experiment?
Hey Leo92,
I’m glad you enjoyed the article! Here are the components I used:
- Arduino Uno
- TR165 Series 231.5kΩ thermistor
- 30A relay module
- RS775 DC motor
- 24VDC, 5A power supply
- BTS7960B H-Bridge PWM motor controller
The thermistor was connected to an analog input on the Arduino to measure the cooking chamber temperature. A simple if statement was used to switch the heating element (via the 30A relay): if the temperature dropped below the setpoint (400°F in this case), the heater turned on, and vice versa. The Arduino also generated a PWM signal to control the motor speed—simple as that!
It’s important to note that, as a safety precaution, I kept the heating element’s original thermal fuse in place to protect against thermal runaway.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you need any more details.
- Tristan
- 43230
Super good article. Very interesting approach on the variables that affects the most an Air Fryer. I got interested on the way you coupled a DC motor and control the temperature. Could you share more details about the specification/components that you used for this experiment?
- 32120
Excellent article. As I read each section, I thought: “Well, what about … . ” And then you covered that topic in the following sections. Except for - how does the shape of the air fryer affect its performance. Some have a smooth circular shape which I suspect is better than the rectangular ones. However, the almost infinite variations in shape would be time consuming to test and would probably involve complicated aerodynamics. I suspect the middle 85% of designs would perform so similarly that consumers would find other features more important (e.g., how does it look on my counter, was it discounted). We are still counting on you to identify extreme examples of poor design that overwhelm the positive features. Please resolve the debate about preheating air fryers. Some say preheating is important. Others say don’t bother. It is obvious that pulling out the drawer to load food at the end of the preheat phase greatly offsets the benefit of preheating. Your graphs above show that temperature recovery can take a long time. Should we just load all food at the start? Or should we preheat only when food crispiness is essential - like french fries?
Hi RocketSurgeon,
Thanks for your insightful reply. I’m glad you found the article informative!
Air fryers use a centrifugal style fan, pulling air through the center and expelling it radially and down towards the food. The desired air pattern is a vortex that is constantly circulating and heating the air as it passes through the heater (you may have seen marketing graphics showing this airflow). I agree that simulating or even just trying to record the airflow is a complex task. In theory, I also agree that a circular basket shape would promote this airflow pattern. In practice however, the food inside the basket creates so much obstruction that it’s hard to imagine anything other than a very turbulent flow. Manufacturers are more frequently choosing a square basket shape to maximize the surface area available - as opposed to growing the basket in height to save counterspace. A good example of a bad design would be the Dash 2qt Air Fryer; while it’s small capacity warrants a small surface area, the surface area could have been maximized instead of having a taller, narrower basket (it also has a circular basket shape and has some of the worst air frying performance we’ve tested).
As for preheating, I think it depends on preference. We tested our air fryers this way because during our research, we found that the majority of users do tend to preheat. The large drop you see in the temperature stability graph is partially due to the thermal mass of the air leaving the system upon opening, but it’s mostly due to adding the frozen food. If you didn’t add the food before reinserting the basket, the temperature recovery time would be a fraction of what it is. In addition, the metal basket and cooking tray are what retain most of the energy from the preheat. Notably, food sizzles immediately once it’s added to a preheated basket, which could produce crispier results by immediately transferring energy to the surface of the food, instead of gradually bringing the chamber and food up to temperature together.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Thanks! Tristan
- 43230
Excellent article. As I read each section, I thought: “Well, what about … . ” And then you covered that topic in the following sections.
Except for - how does the shape of the air fryer affect its performance. Some have a smooth circular shape which I suspect is better than the rectangular ones. However, the almost infinite variations in shape would be time consuming to test and would probably involve complicated aerodynamics. I suspect the middle 85% of designs would perform so similarly that consumers would find other features more important (e.g., how does it look on my counter, was it discounted). We are still counting on you to identify extreme examples of poor design that overwhelm the positive features.
Please resolve the debate about preheating air fryers. Some say preheating is important. Others say don’t bother. It is obvious that pulling out the drawer to load food at the end of the preheat phase greatly offsets the benefit of preheating. Your graphs above show that temperature recovery can take a long time. Should we just load all food at the start? Or should we preheat only when food crispiness is essential - like french fries?
- 32120
Yes, we once had a TO with convection, and as an experiment I bought a basket for it. Reheating results did improve when air could get all around the food, but nothing like the 451. But other new air-fryer/ovens seem to also produce fine results when air frying, according to the avalanche of recent reviews, and that’s why I hope for some actual objective lab tests that focus on actual comparison of the two types of appliance on this one specific task.
- 21010
Hi rdclark,
Thanks for your insightful comment. You’ve highlighted an important point: toaster oven / air fryer combos are becoming very popular as the do-it-all countertop appliance. It raises a valid question about the necessity of a dedicated appliance when multifunctional ones are available.
The Ninja DCT-451 is especially interesting as, in its lower chamber, it houses a heating element right next to its fan - like an air fryer. Many toasters ovens simply add a fan to circulate air inside the cooking chamber, which is more akin to a conventional convection oven than an air fryer.
We’re also curious about their air frying performance, and diving into these products and questions would certainly be interesting and relevant for many people.
Thanks! -Tristan
- 43230
I hope you will find a way to fit air-fryer/toaster ovens into your testing. Many publications review them simply as toaster ovens, never answering the critical question: how do they perform as air fryers when compared to dedicated ones? For example, we’ve been using a Ninja DCT-451, whose performance as an air fryer and as a toaster oven have been excellent. But would we be even happier with a dedicated air fryer for those specific foods that most benefit from this method?
- 43230
I just got the George Foreman beyond grill and think it is pretty awesome. Able to do up to seven different cooking styles and I like the grilling feature as well as air frying. For $100 I think it’s a pretty good value I got it on sale and through eBay but I’m sure ninja makes a better air fryer / indoor grill. The unit is really basic you pick the style of cooking the time and the temperature and that’s it, your good to go. I like the deep non-stick basket which features a grill plate that’s removable and it’s just really nice instead of the air fryer / oven I had previously that was hard to keep clean. A real roach magnet. Bella makes a similar type but with a pull out drawer which is pretty cool that was my other option. I was able to air fry the normal fries and nugget type things but also able to cook a pork roast, grill hamburgers and I could fry in it basically all my breakfast and dinner was done in the George Foreman.