While the apps for Android and iOS allow you to choose from around 20 server locations, they throttle proxy speeds to just 2Mbps and only offer proxy mode. Of course, you may get better speeds if Psiphon connects you to a nearby VPN server, but this isn’t guaranteed. There are free VPNs like PrivadoVPN Free and Proton VPN Free that have recorded speeds more than 10 times faster than Psiphon in our tests. These are very slow, especially considering the price of a monthly subscription. With a speed boost, we registered speeds of around 4Mbps for uploads and 4Mbps for downloads. In our speed tests, we weren’t able to choose a country server in VPN mode. If you need a free VPN for use in a highly-censored region, we recommend Windscribe Free instead. Neither of these apps have a VPN mode instead, they both use Psiphon’s proxy service.ĭespite its reputation, Psiphon is not a tool that we’d recommend using for privacy and security reasons. There are two separate versions of the Android app on the Google Play Store: Psiphon and Psiphon Pro. This means it’s too slow to stream video, browse the web freely, or play games online – though it might be fast enough to load basic web pages in some countries. The free version of Psiphon has awful speeds that don’t even reach past 4Mbps. In contrast, Psiphon’s proxy service lets you choose from 27 countries – but it doesn’t encrypt your web traffic. You’ll be randomly assigned a server, most likely in Singapore. Psiphon’s VPN service doesn’t let you choose a server location, either.

It fails to unblock censored websites in China, leaks your DNS requests, and it doesn’t include a kill switch feature.

Our testing found Psiphon to be a terrible VPN in almost every respect. Psiphon provides two distinct services within its desktop and mobile apps: its circumvention proxy technology, and its VPN service. Psiphon is a free censorship circumvention tool that’s highly-regarded among internet freedom advocates such as Access Now.

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