Total Score: 7.1 HMA VPN Review
This HideMyAss HMA VPN review provides the best information and answers to lots of your questions regarding this VPN.
We aim to give reliable and honest reviews every time.
Is HideMyAss (HMA) VPN the Best VPN?
We perform extensive tests for speed, security, unblocking skills, etc. to see the potential of HideMyAss. We also check other factors such as price, user interface, and more.
HideMyAss, also known as HMA VPN, is present in the market for about 15 years already. It continue to establish a trustworthy brand up until now. This VPN is originated and currently based in the UK.
HMA VPN has tons of great and impressive features. We will discuss each of them as we continue to review the HMA VPN.
HMA VPN Review – Pricing
HMA VPM offers great deals and discounts that vary most of the time. As of now, this the plans and prices that HMA VPN offers:
While the prices quoted above might seem on the high side, ReviewVPN always has the best offer available. Click here to see the lowest possible price for HideMyAss.
As you can see above, it is always better to purchase the 3-year plan for just only $4 per month. But the thing is, the price, plans, and subscriptions vary depending on the region, and location of the subscriber.
HideMyAss (HMA VPN) Free Trial
HMA VPN sometimes offers a 7-day free trial to let users know and evaluate their service. This is a great way to see it first before getting the bigger plans.
Other than this, HMA VPN also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
HMA VPN Review – Speed Test
Speed test is a very important factor for a VPN review. As part of this HMA VPN review, we test it out on several servers.
The results shown are not quite remarkable. It is very different compared to what is stated on their website. According to HMA VPN, it has a feature that finds the best server with the best performance, and this is in terms of speed.
We tested a server that is not that far away from us and the speed drops more than 50%. As we continue and took the furthest possible server location, results are not as promising.
It is safe to say that HMA VPN is not the best when it comes to internet speed.
Pros
- + Free 7-Day Trial
- + Compatible with many types of devices
- + Easy-to-use interface
- + Unlimited Server Switches
- + IP Shuffler
Cons
- – Subscriptions and prices vary depending on your location
- – Doesn’t Have The Largest Location Listing
- – Collects user data
- – Not available on Firestick
HMA VPN Review – User Client Interface
Privacy /Anonymity
Log Policy
To make it clear for everyone, HMA VPN let an independent company, VerSprite, audit their log policy.
They found so many areas to improve and rate the VPN as a “low-risk user privacy impact”.
Other than the basic information that most VPNs collect to create an account, HMA VPN also collects the date of connecting to the VPN, and the total amount of data transferred. This is not as private as it should be.
HMA VPN has been very vocal regarding the data they collect and the purpose why they do that. See the link below.
With all of this, we can say that HMA VPN does collect a lot of data from its users.
Mask Your IP Address
Through the use of the IP checker tool, there is no doubt that HMA VPN masks the IP address of the user.
Security
When it comes to security, we check all the VPN protocols that HMA uses. We will discuss them one by one.
As standard set to most VPNs, HMA VPN also uses AES 256-bit encryption. Plus only 2 other protocols to check out.
IKEv2
Most VPNs actually use this protocol and good thing that it is also present in HMA VPN.
IKEv2 is used for authentication and encryption. It is usually partnered with IPSec, another protocol that is present in some other VPNs.
Even if you change your wifi connection, or transfer to cellular data, IKEv2 works also by not disrupting your VPN connection.
OpenVPN
HMA VPN also uses OpenVPN. This is helpful and can make the VPN device run through any possible and available port.
Usually, OpenVPN protocols are used for faster connection speed.
Does It Work Well With Popular Streaming Apps
In this HMA VPN review, we tried using the VPN to access different streaming apps like Kodi, Netflix, and Hulu.
Kodi
Kodi is arguably one of the world’s most popular streaming platforms today. Sadly, HideMyAss doesn’t do the job here, as their service is not compatible with Kodi.
Netflix
Impressively, HMA VPN can access a lot from Netflix. It can unblock Netflix US, UK, and Germany.
So if you are located nowhere near those countries, and would love to watch content that is only available in them, HMA VPN can help you with that.
Hulu
HMA VPN can’t access Hulu. We also tested it with other streaming apps like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Peacock, BBC iPlayer, and ITV. All of which block HMA VPN to access them.
Jurisdiction
HideMyAss is owned by a UK-based firm, Privax Limited respectively.
The UK is a member of the Five Eyes Security Alliance, which makes it risky for personal data.
Moreover, there have been numerous users complaining about their accounts getting suspended due to Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) statutes, also known as copyright infringement issues (read torrenting, video-streaming, and the like).
GeoIP Unblocking
Generally speaking, most people use VPN services to mask their real IP address and thus be able to bypass various forms of censorship, like firewalls,geo-restricted content (YouTube, Netflix), and others.
HideMyAss does a really great job in this regard, as it has a large network of servers all around the globe and is easy to use the software.
Servers and Server Location
HideMyAss really shines in this regard, as it offers an impressively large network of 1040 servers in 210 locations worldwide.
Apps
HMA VPN does not have an app available in the Amazon App Store which makes it hard for it to install on Firestick.
Although it has apps for different devices such as Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux.
Kill Switch
HMA VPN has a kill switch feature available for some devices. This is helpful because it prevents you from being seen when your VPN is not functioning. Instead of giving you your local IP address, it will disconnect you from the internet. So your traffic won’t be tracked still.
Split Tunneling
HMA VPN has a reliable split tunneling feature. This will make some apps not detect that you are using a VPN on your device.
DNS Leak
We were not able to detect any DNS, WebRTC, or IP leaks while testing HMA VPN.
Torrent Policy
We can say that HMA VPN has the ability to support you with torrents. But it is not the best one for us. HideMyAss’ ToS specifically warns about using their service for illegal torrenting.
Tor Compatibility
There are no known conflicts between HideMyAss VPN and the ToR browser/Brave browser, so you can use HMA in order to prevent the entry node from seeing your ISP-assigned IP address.
Customer Support
You get 24/7/365 live chat, social media, and email customer support. Most emails are answered within a few hours, but you may have to email again if you have waited over 48 hours without a response. There’s also a ticket system in place via their website.
HMA VPN Review – Final Thoughts
HideMyAss is a top dog in the VPN industry, with a robust client base, yet despite its popularity and success, it makes for a mediocre VPN service provider. Considering the fact that HMA is managed and run in the United Kingdom and it keeps logs on its users, if you’re that kind of user who treasures privacy and anonymity (especially if you live in countries like China, Iran, or Saudi Arabia), you should look elsewhere.
