Anonine VPN is a Seychelles-based VPN provider, launched in 2009. The provider says it offers an “easy-to-use solution, always anonymous, nothing logged.”
In this article, I’ll be taking a look at whether Anonine lives up to its claims. I’ll examine their apps, which devices the apps are available for, its connection speeds, and how well the provider protects its customers’ online activities from prying eyes. And of course, I’ll tell you how well the provider unblocks popular streaming services.
I’ll also take a look at how well the provider compares to other VPN service providers, such as NordVPN.
Is Anonine VPN Right For You?
Anonine VPN offers acceptable online protection, although its connections can sometimes be “fussy,” and its connection times are many times below average.
The provider offers good access to Netflix in multiple countries, but for most other streaming services, access is a hit-and-miss proposition – mostly miss.
The provider’s apps, which are available for most popular device platforms, are easy to install and set up. All apps offer good online protection, using military grade encryption. However, some platforms are limited to a single protocol.
If you’re looking for more than just “acceptable” online protection and performance, I strongly recommend that you consider NordVPN.
NordVPN offers fast, well-protected connections, provided by a combination of a large worldwide server network and extensive app selection.
NordVPN offers you a lengthy 30-day, no-risk money-back guarantee, compared to Anonine’s limited 7-day trial period.
My Verdict
Anonine VPN is at best an average VPN service.
While the service offers good online protection for their customers, users looking for optimal online protection, super fast connection speeds, and reliable access to geo-blocked content around the globe should look at other providers, such as my #1 VPN provider, NordVPN.
| OVERALL RANK: | 3.5/5 |
| Speed: | 3/5 |
| Tested Speed: | 85.0 Mbps average download speed (independently tested) |
| Streaming Support: | HD & 4K |
| Streaming Score: | 3.5/5 |
| Unblocks Netflix?: | Yes – for multiple countries |
| U.S. Streaming Services Supported: | Netflix, Hulu |
| U.K. Streaming Services Supported: | Netflix |
| Security Score: | 4.5/5 |
| Privacy Rating: | 4.5/5 |
| Supports Torrenting: | Yes, but not on all servers |
| Value for the Money: | 3.5/5 |
| Money-Back Guarantee: | 7 days |
| Website: | www.anonine.com |
Pros:
- Connections are 4K and HD video-capable
- Unblocks Netflix in many countries
- Comprehensive security and privacy policy
Cons:
- Unblocking other streaming sites is hit-and-miss
- Connection speeds slower than many competitors
- Had issues connecting to many Asian servers
Features
Anonine VPN provides protection for the usual gang of popular devices. App options for the Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android device platforms are all present and accounted for. An extension for the Chrome browser platform is available. Unfortunately, Firefox users are left out in the cold.
Up to 5 devices can simultaneously connect to Anonine servers using the same set of login credentials.
If you’d like to protect all of your connected devices through a single point of access, you’re in luck if you have an Asus router or a router running on DD-WRT or Tomato firmware.
Don’t expect a lot of advanced options in the Anonine apps. I tested the Windows 10, macOS and iOS apps, and in most cases, the only options were the protocols to use, and whether or not the kill switch protection was enabled. I say in most cases, as the iOS app didn’t offer any options, other than which server to connect to.
The provider offers something I haven’t seen with too many VPN providers, and that’s a feature that provides a public IP address located in Sweden, which can improve your experience in some cases with online gaming, P2P connections or exposing other services to the internet.
The provider offers a definitely low number of servers and locations, with a mere 150+ VPN servers in over 34 countries. This is quite low, especially when compared to providers such as NordVPN, which has thousands of servers located in 59 countries.
Anonine offers support for Peer-to-Peer file sharing, but limits it to only certain servers.
The provider offers a form of support chat (it’s not technically “live,” as a reply can take up to 15 minutes), and support is limited to a support ticket system and a searchable support library.
Streaming Content
If you subscribe to a VPN, there’s a better than good chance that you use it to access geo-blocked content, like streaming services. Once upon a time, any VPN service could unblock Netflix and other streaming services.
However, the streamers got hip to the VPN trick and began blocking VPN users from accessing their libraries.
While many VPN providers have given up on providing access to Netflix, Amazon Prime and its brethren, there are still providers – like NordVPN and Surfshark – that provide and even brag about their access to geo-blocked streaming content services.
Is Anonine VPN the former or the latter? Let’s take a look.
Anonine, while not mentioning access to streaming services on their website, does offer servers designated for accessing Netflix in the U.S. and BBC iPlayer in the U.K.
While both U.S. Netflix servers proved to offer reliable access to the streaming service, the BBC iPlayer server failed to fool the BBC. Each time I tried, the iPlayer site detected that I was using a VPN.
While those were the only Anonine servers claiming streaming unblocking, I tried other server locations just for fun. The provider’s U.K., Canada and Italy servers unblocked Netflix in those countries, and various U.S. servers provided access to Hulu. Any country I tried Amazon Prime Video in I was turned away at the gate.
Whenever I was successful in connecting to Netflix or Hulu content, I had an enjoyable experience, with no buffering, fuzziness or pixelization.
Security and Privacy
Anonine’s online privacy protections are best termed as average. While the provider offers industry-standard protocols and encrypted protection, it doesn’t go much further.
Anonine offers the OpenVPN, IPSec IKEv2 and L2TP/IPSec protocols. The fairly new WireGuard protocol is also available for use, but requires manual setup with a third-party app. The provider uses military-grade AES-256-CBC encryption with a 2048 bit strength SSL key.
If you’re not familiar with WireGuard, the protocol is designed from the ground up to offer more performance and bandwidth than the IPsec and OpenVPN VPN protocols and software solutions. WireGuard uses high-performance cryptography algorithms, such as the Noise Protocol Framework, Curve25519, ChaCha20, Poly1305, BLAKE2, SipHash24 or HKDF.
It also contains optimizations for the MIPS processor architecture, meaning WireGuard will run well on less powerful devices, such as home routers and other embedded systems. WireGuard is available for the Linux, Android, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and Windows platforms.
“Extra” protections from Anonine are limited to a kill switch option. The provider offers no ad or tracker blocking options and no malware or phishing protection.
The provider, founded in Sweden and now a Seychelles-based company, resides outside of any regions where server logs and such are required, and keeps no connection logs or browsing histories on its servers.
While Anonine claims to accept cryptocurrency as subscription payment, all I was presented with when it was time to pay were PayPal and credit cards.
Connection Speed
The provider’s connection speeds are merely adequate. On a day when my gigabit fiber internet connection was measuring in at around 370 Mbps downstream, I averaged download speeds of just under 85 Mbps.
While those speeds are slower than they should be, I will admit they are fast enough for streaming HD and 4K video and for downloading large files.
While they are also adequate for online gaming, you may want to try the provider for gaming while still in the 7-day money-back guarantee period, as I was also not impressed with Anonine’s ping numbers.
There are no data caps or bandwidth throttling to worry about when using this VPN service.
Cost
Anonine’s pricing scheme is about average for the industry.
Its month-to-month subscription price will cost you about the same as a large cup of your favorite frothy coffee drink at Starbucks, while paying for a year at once will save you nearly half. A 2-year subscription option will save you 60% off the monthly price.
One nice “feature” of Anonine’s subscriptions is that it doesn’t automatically charge you once your subscription runs out. So, at least there won’t be any surprise subscription charges on your credit card or PayPal account a year or two down the line.
While there is nothing to really complain about here, you can do better from other providers that offer more bang for the buck.
An Alternative
If you’re familiar with the VPN industry, you know there are literally hundreds of options when it comes to VPN protection. I’ve been using VPNs for a number of years and of course have my favorites.
While Anonine VPN offers adequate VPN protection, there are better options.
My personal top choice is NordVPN. The provider offers reliable access to most streaming services around the globe via a 5,400+ strong network of servers. Fast, well-protected connections are the rule with this provider, and it offers apps for all popular devices, along with support for numerous router makes and models.
On top of all that, NordVPN comes at a very budget-friendly price.
Anonine VPN FAQ
Will Anonine VPN Sell My Data to Third Parties?
While the Anonine website does not specifically cover selling your data to third parties, it does state that it doesn’t log any of your activity on its servers, so that’s safe.
The site also mentions that the company is “under a duty to disclose users’ data in order to comply with any legal obligation,” to enforce its terms of service, or to protect the rights, property or their safety.
Is It Easy to Switch Countries With Anonine’s Mobile App?
Switching countries in the Anonine mobile app is easy. Both the Android and iOS apps allow users to switch countries with two taps of a finger.
Does Anonine VPN Have a Smart DNS Feature?
Anonine does not offer Smart DNS features. This means the only way you can use Anonine’s services to protect and enhance your Xbox One, PS4, Apple TV, Android TV or other connected devices lacking a VPN app, is to configure the service on a compatible router.
