Touch VPN is a popular free VPN that supports Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Firefox, Edge, and Chrome. They offer 27 locations, which isn’t bad, mostly in Europe and North America, but there are many other options in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and more.
All apps are free to use, and registration is not required. The mobile version has ads, but you can get rid of them with an upgrade. According to the Android app, you get “faster connections,” “high-quality support,” and coverage for up to five devices. There’s nothing wrong with that, but at $12.99 per month or $6.67 per year, it seems a bit pricey.
Key Data
| Features | Key Data |
|---|---|
|
Over All Rank |
#77 |
|
Usability |
Limited Supported Devices |
|
Locations |
25 Countries, 25 Servers |
|
Support |
Email Based Customer Support |
|
Torrenting |
Not Working |
|
Netflix |
Block Netflix USA |
|
Encryption/Protocol |
SSL Encryption, OpenVPN UDP, TCP |
|
Cost |
Free |
Speed and Reliability
We ran Touch VPN as a mobile VPN in a speed test without a full desktop application.
We found that speeds varied widely. But these are the average results.
Download speed without Touch VPN: 50 Mbps.
Download speed with Touch VPN: 40 Mbit/s.
Our download speed loss while running Touch VPN: 20%.
| Connections | Ping | Download Speed | Upload Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Without VPN |
3ms |
50 Mbps |
50 Mbps |
|
With VPN |
12ms |
40 Mbps |
49 Mbps |
As you can see, TouchVPN isn’t terrible on connections in the same country.
How does it look elsewhere?
We put all of our VPN apps through a rigorous speed test to determine the average speeds in various locations around the world. These are the average speeds you can expect.
- USA: 30Mbps (download) and 28Mbps (upload)
- Germany: 3Mbps (download) and 3Mbps (upload)
While we had surprisingly poor speeds when connecting to Germany, we got pretty good results when connecting to the US. It’s hard to predict what performance the Touch VPN will have.
Pricing Options
As we have mentioned several times in this TouchVPN review, the service is completely free and does not require a paid subscription. If you try the service and like it, you can send some money to the staff to improve the service in the future.
However, if you invest in TouchVPN, you will not benefit from additional features or higher quality of service. All you get is the satisfaction of knowing you helped someone, which isn’t bad, but it won’t speed up your connection.
Refund Policy
Touch VPN is a free VPN service, therefore there is no need for a return policy. Go to their website, download the VPN, and give it a go. If you don’t like it, simply remove it. Easy!
If you purchased the ad-free upgrade, the return procedures of the different app shops may differ. You must adhere to their policies.
Server Locations
Touch VPN offers a network of 5,900 servers in over 90 countries. That’s more than enough network coverage, and part of the reason for the VPN’s popularity is the fairly reliable speed and performance it offers. Of course, it’s reliable enough to really disguise the user’s location and allow access to regionally protected services that wouldn’t normally be accessible.
Jurisdiction
If you look closely at the company’s jurisdiction, advertisers and their annoying ads are the least of your worries. The company is registered in the United States. Digging a little deeper, the Land of the Free isn’t so free after all. The country is a member of the Five Eyes Spy Convention. All companies operating in the United States must provide information about their activities upon request from the government. This information includes details about their customers. So, once you have used TouchVPN, you can be sure that everything they have learned about you has been collected and recorded, and this data is readily available to US government agencies and their pseudonyms.
Logging and Security
TouchVPN’s privacy policy, which was last updated on May 27, 2020, can be tricky. The information collected is a long list! It’s worth taking a close look at how they plan to use your data.
Before signing up for TouchVPN, please read section 4.3 “Tracking Technologies and Cookies” carefully. If you are concerned about your privacy and frustrated that some apps use your data for analytics and marketing purposes, beware of TouchVPN. Unlike what basic VPN represents, TouchVPN legally transfers your user content to third parties for analytics and marketing purposes.
Leaks Detected
Simply defined, a DNS (Domain Name System) is a reference (or, more accurately, a directory) of domain names. It is up to the servers to convert these names into IP addresses. This is how it works: everytime a user visits a certain website, the browser makes a request to a DNS server. That request contains the URL you’re attempting to visit; the server, in turn, provides the correct IP address to your browser.
By inspecting the DNS server request, the ISP may simply determine the URL you are viewing. This request is instead sent through a secure (and anonymous) server while using a VPN. However, unlike other Virtual Private Networks, Touch VPN does not ensure that there are no DNS/IP leaks along the route. Unfortunately, this VPN does not protect the user from DNS leaks, which means that your ISP may still monitor your activities even when Touch VPN is turned on.
Support Torrenting and Netflix
TouchVPN makes no mention of P2P on their website, yet it is supported on many of their servers.
However, considering their jurisdiction, it is not a VPN I would suggest for torrenting.
Furthermore, they lack an online kill switch, putting your identity at danger if your connection goes down.
Netflix
The VPN’s geo-unblocking skills were never in doubt, and I was able to access Netflix as expected.
You will also be able to view HD material owing to the VPN’s strong connections.
However, because they don’t have a SmartDNS proxy, you can’t watch Netflix on your TV, which is a bummer.
Apps
Touch VPN provides various programs, each of which works in a unique way, so in order to fully comprehend the service, we chose to investigate the Chrome extension, as well as the Windows and Android apps.
We installed the Chrome build, tapped the address bar icon for Touch VPN, and a basic console appeared. This program appeared to be similar to most other VPN apps, with a location list, a Connect button, and a brief menu.
The Chrome extension includes only a few places – Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom – but it has more power than you’d imagine. When you tap Connect, you’ll get a new screen with choices to block advertisements, trackers, cookies, malware, and WebRTC leaks. Touch VPN may be set to connect automatically whenever you visit certain websites, while you can designate which websites should be viewed using your regular connection.
The Android app appears to be similar, however the free version has more places (18) and more functionality than some commercial applications. There are other protocols to choose from, such as OpenVPN TCP, UDP, or Hotspot Shield’s Hydra VPN. An option to alert you if you connect to unsecure WiFi. Split tunneling allows you to automatically route certain apps’ traffic through the tunnel while others utilize your regular connection. Oh, and there are bright and gloomy themes as well.
Touch VPN’s Windows desktop program offers you access to all 27 locations, but it has no further capabilities. There is no ad or malware blocker, no autostart settings, no protocol selection, and no menu or Settings box at all.
There’s also a Windows app available in the Microsoft Store. Is it any better? No, it’s worse: it failed to connect at all.
When we returned to the desktop app, we discovered that it didn’t provide any warnings when it connected or disconnected. It didn’t detect when we disconnected, and it continued to inform us that ‘encryption is activated’ even though we weren’t protected at all.
However, connection times are short. We discovered that the software properly prevented DNS leaks, and that, despite the lack of functionality, it is simple to use.
Customer Support
Email-based support is the only support channel you can get from Touch VPN. This is the slowest form of support. A decent VPN team takes 4-5 hours on average to get a response. Unfortunately, that is not the case with this company. Our expert sent three questions and it took over 24 hours for them to respond. The phone calls did not work, which is very unfortunate.
The fastest and most personalized customer support is live chat. It allows you to contact an agent immediately and find a solution to your problem within minutes. But even then, this VPN is not available. Yes, the slow and outdated email support system is the only way to communicate with the Touch VPN team when you have a problem.
In short, customer support is one of the worst aspects of this product. With ExpressVPN, for example, you get a knowledge base, FAQ section, quick email support, and live chat. NordVPN also offers help via email, live chat, and has an extensive knowledge base to help you solve your own problems. Most of the industry-leading VPNs do the same.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The service is completely free
- Successful unblocking of websites
- Excellent speed performance
- Multiple VPN protocols to choose
- Powered by Trusted Server
- Works on multiple platforms
Cons
- Few configuration options in application menu
- No protection against DNS leaks
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Touch VPN secure?
No, Touch VPN is not secure. Touch VPN shares some user data and does not provide enough technical details about the product to be considered completely secure.
Is Touch VPN in Chinese?
No, Touch VPN is not in Chinese. Touch VPN is owned by Pango USA.
Is Touch VPN free of charge?
Touch VPN can be used for free and for an unlimited time, but there is also a premium version.
Conclusion
As a conclusion to my review of Touch VPN, I would like to share my impressions of using this VPN as a regular customer. The only version I liked was the Mac version. It’s free, fairly fast, stable, and convenient.
On all other platforms, I either had installation issues or problems after more than a few days of use. Or the ads just drove me crazy.
So, Touch VPN is a free VPN with average features and a promising owner.
- It offers an average level of privacy protection
- It is easy to use
- It has a wide selection of countries, although not all of them are real
- It may stop working on Windows
- Suitable for torrenting if your country allows it
If you have any experience with Touch VPN or have any questions about the topic of this article, feel free to leave a comment.
