
So, what’s the catch? As stated on their website:
#Hola vpn safe free#
The reason why many of you are reading this right now is likely to be the free version of Hola’s service. Everything else, though, is locked behind a paywall. It does let users choose which country they’d like to connect from. The UX of its app, however, makes it a lot more enjoyable to use than other clunky alternatives like BTGuard.

With the free version of Hola VPN, you get pretty standard features as seen below. No independent audit to verify “no-logs” policy claims.Questionable privacy policy on free tier.Browser version tier is not really a VPN if there are no privacy/security features.Your connection is used by Bright Data (formerly Luminati Networks) for commercial purposes.While short and sweet, this list of cons (primarily for the free tier) should make you pause for a second.
#Hola vpn safe install#
Pros & Consīefore you rush off to install the software, be sure to consider the main pros and cons we found while using the Hola VPN service. So, the decision to use the free version is yours. Free is nice, but it wouldn’t keep the lights on at the Hola headquarters, that’s for sure. We believe this is a fair trade in return for providing a free VPN.” For mobile users, it is around 3MB per day. In terms of the data they use in the present day, Hola states, “For desktop users, we use less than 100MB per day. They now make their relationship with Luminati clear upon signup. They charged $20 per gigabyte for bandwidth sapped from users of the HolaVPN service, unbeknownst to the average customer. Proving to be extremely popular, they quietly began selling access to their userbase as exit nodes in 2014, under the name Luminati. Unlike the majority of providers who use physical VPN servers, the free version of Hola uses a peer-to-peer (P2P) system that allows people to unblock websites and services by redirecting and connecting via a local users’ device. Headquartered in Israel, Hola Networks Limited first launched in 2012. This Hola VPN review helps explain what we found. We took Hola through the same tests as other top-rated VPNs we review to find out what actually makes it tick. Because of this, we recommend looking into Hola’s premium plan over its free plan if you’re at all serious about your VPN service. Of course, there are a number of limitations in place, in terms of the amount of time it can be used for, as well as overall privacy and security. On site, it boasts a massive base of over 227 million members. OverviewĪs a P2P proxy service, Hola has carved out a massive user base due to the lack of a price tag for the freemium tier, along with its ability to unblock websites and services. However, nothing in life is truly free, so we’ve taken the time to examine the unique business model of Hola VPN, as well as checking out what their premium service has to offer.

And the transparency is a breath of fresh air compared to some VPN providers on the market. They’re open and honest about their business model, showing the following message during sign-up:įor some users, it’s better than paying an unaffordable fee. Its free plan can be used by anyone “in exchange for using some of your device’s resources (WiFi and very limited cellular data), and only when you are not using your device.” They’re happy to let you connect to anywhere in the world with their “free” service, although most of their notable features are locked behind a paywall. Disclaimer: Partnerships & affiliate links help us create better content.
