Hotspot Shield Review – Speed, Security & Value in 2024?

So, you’ve run into Hotspot Shield—it’s been around for quite a while. I’m also always on the hunt for solid ways to keep my personal data safe online, so I figured it was about time I gave this service a try. In the following review, I’ll walk you through my hands-on impressions and help you see if Hotspot Shield is a good fit for your everyday online security.

In this thorough Hotspot Shield review, you'll learn:

• How Hotspot Shield performs in terms of speed and security
• Its effectiveness in bypassing geo-restrictions for streaming
• The ease of installation and use across different devices
• Whether it's a good choice for gaming and torrenting
• If Hotspot Shield is truly as trustworthy as it claims to be

So, let's examine and see what Hotspot Shield has to offer!

In a Hurry? Here's a Quick Summary

If you're short on time, here's a quick overview of what I found during my Hotspot Shield review:

What You'll Like:

• User-friendly interface: The app is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
• Impressive speeds: Hotspot Shield offers fast connections, especially with its proprietary Hydra protocol.
• Streaming capabilities: It effectively unblocks US Netflix and other popular streaming platforms.
• Gaming servers: Dedicated servers for gaming provide low latency for a smooth experience.
• Strong security features: AES-256 encryption and a reliable kill switch keep your data safe.

What You May Not Like:

• Limited customization: The app doesn't offer many options for personalizing your experience.
• US jurisdiction: Being based in the US might be a concern for privacy-conscious users.
• No anonymous payment options: Lack of cryptocurrency payment methods.
• Basic ad and tracker blocker: These blocking feature scould use some improvements.

What Makes This Hotspot Shield Review Different?

You might be thinking, "Oh great, another VPN review." But hold on! I approach these reviews a bit differently. Instead of just repeating information from the company's website, I actually use the VPN extensively on my own devices. For this review, I tested Hotspot Shield on my trusty Dell XPS laptop running Windows 11, as well as on a MacBook Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.

I spent about two weeks putting Hotspot Shield through its paces, testing everything from its streaming capabilities to its performance in online gaming. I've captured numerous screenshots along the way to give you a real, unbiased look at what you can expect.

My goal is to provide you with an honest, thorough Hotspot Shield review based on real-world usage. I'm not here to embellish things or skip over potential issues. Instead, I want to give you all the information you need to make an informed decision about whether Hotspot Shield is the right VPN for you.

Buying Hotspot Shield

When it comes to purchasing Hotspot Shield, the process is pretty simple. They offer a monthly and a yearly premium subscription plan. If you're looking to save some money, the yearly plan comes with a nice 38% discount compared to the monthly option.

One thing I really appreciate is their generous 45-day money-back guarantee. This is significantly longer than the industry-standard 30 days, giving you plenty of time to test out the service and decide if it's right for you.

Hotspot Shield also offers a 7-day free trial of their premium version. However, you'll need to enter your payment information, and you'll be charged after the trial period unless you cancel. Just remember to set a reminder if you don't want to continue with the paid service!

When I went to make my purchase, I ran into a bit of a problem. My credit card was refused because the system didn't recognize my postal code, even though it was correct. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I switched to PayPal, and the transaction went through smoothly. It's worth noting that Hotspot Shield doesn't offer cryptocurrency payment options, which might be a downside for some users.

After completing my purchase, I received two emails: a welcome email with download links and another to activate my account. The whole process was pretty simple, despite the initial payment issue.

Installation

Getting Hotspot Shield up and running on my Windows machine was a breeze. I clicked the download link for Windows in the welcome email, and the installation process began. It took just under a minute to complete, which is pretty quick.

Note is that you'll need to create an account to use the app. This is done during the purchase process or when signing up for the free trial, so you'll already have your login details ready.

The installation itself was straightforward, with no choices to make along the way. Once installed, the app launched automatically, presenting me with a quick guide and a window to log in. Overall, the installation process was smooth and user-friendly, perfect for those who might not be tech-savvy.

Interface

When you first open Hotspot Shield, you're greeted with a clean and intuitive interface. Let's take a closer look at what you'll see:

Hotspot Shield's main interface includes a minimap for server detection.

The main screen is dominated by a large connect button, making it easy to start protecting your connection with just one click. Below this, you'll find your selected server location. The interface also includes a left sifebar with access to various features and the Settings.

I particularly appreciate the tooltips that explain various features. This makes the experience more user-friendly, especially for VPN newcomers.

Hotspot Shield offers support for 10 different languages, which you can change in the general settings. This is great for non-English speakers or those who prefer to use the app in their native language.

Language options in General Settings

However, there are a few limitations to the interface. It only offers a dark theme, and the UI isn't resizable. While this might not be a deal-breaker for most users, it does limit customization options.

Overall, the interface is user-friendly and well-organized. It strikes a good balance between simplicity and functionality, making it easy for both VPN beginners and experienced users to navigate and use the service effectively.

VPN Servers

Hotspot Shield boasts an impressive network of over 3,200 servers spread across more than 80 countries. This extensive coverage includes servers in 35+ cities worldwide, providing users with a wide range of options for connecting to different locations.

Server selection UI allows you to coose a streaming server or one from the quick access.

The server selection interface is well-designed and easy to use. You can quickly find the server you want by using the search function or browsing through the list of available locations.

One thing to note is that not all of Hotspot Shield's servers are physical – some are virtual servers. This means they're configured to appear as if they're in a specific country, even if the physical server is located elsewhere. While this can help provide better coverage and performance in some cases, it's something to be aware of if you need to connect to a specific physical location.

Hotspot Shield offers specialized servers for streaming and gaming, but these are limited to US and UK locations. This is a nice feature for users who prioritize these activities, as these servers are optimized for better performance in these areas.

In my experience, connecting to servers was generally quick and stable. I didn't encounter any significant issues with dropped connections or slow speeds, even when connecting to distant servers.

Overall, Hotspot Shield's server network is robust and well-distributed, offering plenty of options for users worldwide. The inclusion of specialized streaming and gaming servers is a nice touch, even if they're limited to certain locations.

Gaming

If you're a gamer looking for a VPN, Hotspot Shield has some features that might interest you. They offer dedicated gaming servers, which are designed to provide lower latency and better performance for online gaming.

Hotspot Shield claims several advantages for gamers:

• Reduced latency by rerouting traffic to less congested networks
• The ability to access geo-restricted games or connect to different regional servers
• Protection against DDoS attacks and other online threats
• Prevention of bandwidth throttling by your ISP

During my Hotspot Shield review testing, I tried out Hotspot Shield while playing World of Warcraft and League of Legends. The gaming experience was smooth overall, with no noticeable problems or lag spikes. However, the ping wasn't the best – I was getting around 30ms, which is good but not great for competitive gaming.

It's worth noting that Hotspot Shield's gaming servers are currently only available for the US and UK. They say these servers are optimized for popular games like Fortnite and Roblox, among others.

To use the gaming servers, you simply need to select them from the list of virtual locations in the app. There's no special configuration required, which makes it easy to use but also means you don't have much control over the settings.

While Hotspot Shield's gaming features are solid, they're not necessarily a standout compared to other VPN services. If you're a casual gamer, you'll likely find the performance satisfactory. However, for serious competitive gamers who need the lowest possible ping, you might want to test it thoroughly during the trial period to see if it meets your needs.

Torrenting

Hotspot Shield supports P2P file sharing and torrenting on its network. They claim to offer protection for your torrent downloads, ensuring your privacy and security while engaging in P2P activities.

Some advantages of using Hotspot Shield for torrenting include:

• Hiding your IP address from other peers in the torrent swarm
• Encrypting your internet traffic to prevent your ISP from seeing your torrenting activity
• Potentially bypassing ISP throttling of torrent traffic

However, it's important to note that Hotspot Shield doesn't offer specialized torrenting servers like some other VPN services do. All servers support P2P traffic, which is convenient but might not provide optimized performance for torrenting.

In my testing for this Hotspot Shield review, torrenting worked well with Hotspot Shield. Download speeds were decent, and I didn't experience any connection drops or other issues. However, as always, it's crucial to remember that you should only use torrents for legal content.

While Hotspot Shield does a good job with torrenting support, it doesn't particularly stand out in this area compared to other VPN services like Private Internet Access and NordVPN. If torrenting is your primary use case for a VPN, you might want to compare it with other options that offer more specialized features for P2P activities.

Streaming

One area where Hotspot Shield really shines is in its streaming capabilities. They offer dedicated streaming servers for US and UK content, which are optimized to provide better performance when accessing popular streaming platforms.

Hotspot Shield claims these servers are optimized for services like Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and more. In my tests, I found these claims to be largely accurate. Here's a breakdown of my streaming tests:

• US: The dedicated streaming server successfully unblocked US Netflix content.
• UK: The UK streaming server also worked well, unblocking UK-specific content.
• Germany: No dedicated streaming server, and it didn't work for accessing German content.
• France: Despite no dedicated server, it managed to unblock French content.
• Netherlands: No streaming server, and it failed to unblock content.
• Spain: Worked for Spanish content, even without a dedicated server.
• Italy: Failed to unblock Italian content.

I was particularly impressed with the performance of the US and UK servers. The streaming quality was excellent, with no buffering or quality drops during my viewing sessions.

Note that while Hotspot Shield performed well for streaming in some countries without dedicated servers (like France and Spain), results were inconsistent. If you're primarily interested in US or UK content, you'll likely be very satisfied. For other regions, your mileage may vary.

Overall, Hotspot Shield's streaming capabilities are a strong point, especially for accessing US and UK content. The dedicated streaming servers do seem to make a difference in performance and reliability.

VPN Speed and Performance

For my speed tests, I used a Dell XPS laptop with an Intel i7-1065G7 CPU @ 1.30GHz and 16 GB of RAM running on Windows 11. My network configuration is Wi-Fi 5 protocol with a theoretical speed of 866 MBps.

One interesting feature of Hotspot Shield is its built-in speed test. This tool logs your speed test history, which can be helpful for tracking performance over time. The results from Hotspot Shield's speed test were generally similar to those from Ookla's Speedtest.com in terms of download and upload speeds. However, Hotspot Shield consistently showed a much lower ping than other online tests.

The built-in speed test allows you to check your Internet speed without using 3rd party tools.

To get a more standardized measure of performance, I used Ookla's Speedtest.com to test various server locations. Here are my results:

• No VPN: 478 Mbps download, 454 Mbps upload, 14 ms latency
• New York, USA: 188 Mbps download, 31 Mbps upload, 137 ms latency
• Atlanta, USA: 182 Mbps download, 30 Mbps upload, 146 ms latency
• Seattle, USA: 193 Mbps download, 22 Mbps upload, 203 ms latency
• UK: 182 Mbps download, 72 Mbps upload, 68 ms latency
• Germany: 187 Mbps download, 105 Mbps upload, 43 ms latency
• France: 189 Mbps download, 71 Mbps upload, 59 ms latency
• Spain: 188 Mbps download, 62 Mbps upload, 75 ms latency
• Italy: 188 Mbps download, 85 Mbps upload, 58 ms latency
• Brazil: 177 Mbps download, 17 Mbps upload, 253 ms latency
• India: 110 Mbps download, 9 Mbps upload, 426 ms latency

It's important to note that the India server is actually a virtual location routed through Singapore, which explains the higher latency.

Overall, I found Hotspot Shield's performance to be quite impressive. The speed drops from my baseline connection were relatively minimal, especially for nearby servers. Even distant servers maintained good download speeds, although upload speeds and latency naturally increased with distance.

VPN Privacy Features

Here, we assess Hotspot Shield’s privacy offerings, analyzing its encryption, protocols, and no-logs policy, to find out if it’s a reliable option for online anonymity.

VPN Protocols

Hotspot Shield offers several VPN protocols to balance security and speed. Let's take a look at what's available:

VPN protocol selection in Hotspot Shield allows you to choose between three protocols or enable automatic selection.

• Hydra: This is Hotspot Shield's proprietary protocol. They claim it's able to conceal traffic to bypass VPN restrictions and local censorship. According to Hotspot Shield, Hydra is 2.4 times faster than OpenVPN over long distances.
• IKEv2 (IPSec): A popular protocol known for its speed and stability, especially on mobile devices.
• Wireguard: A newer protocol that's gaining popularity due to its speed and modern cryptography.

One thing that sets Hotspot Shield apart is its Hydra protocol. The company states that it addresses issues of speed, security, compatibility, and ease of use that affect many widely used VPN protocols.

You can switch between protocols in the app under Settings > Protocols. There's also an Automatic selection option, which picks the fastest and most secure protocol for your network. This is the recommended setting for most users.

Strong Encryption

Hotspot Shield uses military-grade AES-256 encryption to protect your data. This level of encryption is considered virtually impenetrable with current technology, ensuring your online activities remain private and secure.

The VPN uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 for establishing secure client-server connections. It employs RSA certificates with 2048-bit keys for server authentication and the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman algorithm (ECDHE) for ephemeral key exchange.

While this level of encryption is excellent for security, it's worth noting that it's fairly standard among top-tier VPN providers. Hotspot Shield doesn't particularly stand out in this area, but it certainly meets industry standards for strong encryption.

No-Logs Policy and Transparency

Hotspot Shield has a strict no-logs policy, meaning they don't keep records of your online activities while using their service. However, they do collect some data:

• The amount of bandwidth used in a VPN session
• The VPN server locations utilized
• Some diagnostic information
• A device "hash" (a random ID) that may be used to measure individual user activity, but isn't linked to browsing activity or user identity

Hotspot Shield is based in the United States, which is part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. This might be a concern for users who are particularly privacy-conscious, as the US has some data retention laws that could potentially affect VPN providers.

On the positive side, Hotspot Shield has undergone an independent audit by AV-Test, a security and performance auditor. The audit found Hotspot Shield's technology to be the fastest and most secure among tested consumer and enterprise VPN products.

Kill Switch

Hotspot Shield includes a kill switch feature. This feature stops all internet traffic if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly, preventing your real IP address from being exposed.

You can enable the kill switch in the advanced settings.

You can find and enable this feature under Settings > Advanced > Kill Switch. In my Hotspot Shield review testing, the kill switch worked as expected, cutting off internet access when I deliberately disconnected the VPN.

While effective, Hotspot Shield's kill switch is fairly basic. It's a system-level kill switch, meaning it shuts down all internet traffic if the VPN disconnects. Some other VPNs offer more advanced options, like application-level kill switches.

DNS and IP Leak Protection

Hotspot Shield claims to offer strong protection against DNS and IP leaks. They state that they encrypt DNS requests, which prevents DNS leaks even if the requests don't go through the VPN tunnel.

To verify these claims, I conducted several leak tests:

• IP Leak Tests: Hotspot Shield passed tests on ipleak.net and perfect-privacy.com.
• DNS Leak Test: The VPN also passed the DNS leak test on dnsleaktest.com

The DNS leak test results were satisfactory.

Based on these tests, Hotspot Shield appears to provide effective protection against DNS and IP leaks. This is crucial for maintaining your privacy while using a VPN, as leaks could potentially expose your real location or browsing activity.

Wi-Fi Protection

Hotspot Shield offers automatic Wi-Fi protection, which is particularly useful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks. This feature automatically activates the VPN when you connect to an unsecured Wi-Fi network, helping to protect your data from potential eavesdroppers.

You can configure this feature in the app's settings. Under Settings > Advanced, you'll find an option to run the VPN automatically when connecting to Wi-Fi networks. This is a handy feature that ensures you don't forget to turn on your VPN when using potentially risky public Wi-Fi.

Split Tunneling

Split tunneling is a feature that allows you to choose which apps or websites use the VPN connection and which ones use your regular internet connection. Hotspot Shield offers this feature, which you can access under Settings > Split Tunneling.

Split tunneling settings include bypassing VPN and routing via VPN.

To use split tunneling, you simply add apps and sites you want to bypass the VPN. This can be useful for accessing local content while still protecting your other online activities.

In my Hotspot Shield review testing, the split tunneling feature worked as expected most of the time. However, I did notice that occasionally some apps or websites didn't go through the VPN connection as intended. While this wasn't a frequent issue, it's something to be aware of if you rely heavily on split tunneling.

Hotspot Shield VPN Special Features

Hotspot Shield includes several special features designed to enhance your online security and privacy:

Special features offered by Hotspot Shield are described here, but can't be configured.

The features I like most include:

• TOR over VPN: This feature routes your traffic through the Tor network after it leaves the VPN server, adding an extra layer of anonymity.
• PKI Encryption: Public Key Infrastructure encryption for additional security.

While these features sound impressive, they work in the background and aren't configurable by the user. You can read about them in the app under Settings > VPN Special Features, but you can't adjust or customize them.

All in all, these special features are a nice addition. Yet, they might not be a significant factor for most users, especially given the lack of user control over them.

Device Compatibility

Hotspot Shield offers broad device compatibility, supporting all major platforms and devices. You can use it on:

• Windows
• Mac
• iOS
• Android
• Chrome
• Linux
• Smart TV
• Routers

One of the standout features is that Hotspot Shield allows you to connect up to 10 devices simultaneously under one account. This is quite generous compared to some other VPN services and should be sufficient for most users to protect all their devices.

Browser Extensions

Hotspot Shield offers a browser extension for Chrome. This can be a convenient option if you only want to protect your browser traffic without affecting your entire system.

Hotspot Shield's Chrome extension shows a button to connect to server, as well as other info.

The browser extension is completely free to use and doesn't include ads. It offers 250MB of free data per day, which increases to unlimited data if you have a premium subscription.

Some key features of the browser extension include:

• Access to the same virtual locations as the desktop program (although you can't choose specific servers/cities within a country)
• Quick connection and disconnection
• "Sword" feature that feeds web trackers fake web activity to protect your privacy
• Tracker blocker
• Ad blocker
• Malware blocker
• Cookie blocker
• WebRTC blocker

Additional features in the browser extension: tracker blocking, ad blocking, cookie blocking, and more.

While the browser extension offers a good set of features, it only protects your browser traffic. For full system-wide protection, use the desktop application. I also recommend using a dedicated antimalware suite, such as Bitdefender and McAfee, for extra security against threats like spyware, ransomware, and more. Take a look at our best antivirus list for more options.

Hotspot Shield Review: Conclusion

After spending considerable time crafting this Hotspot Shield review, I can say that it's a solid VPN service with some standout features, but also a few limitations to consider.

Pros:

• Fast connection speeds, especially with the proprietary Hydra protocol
• Excellent streaming capabilities, particularly for US and UK content
• User-friendly interface that's easy for beginners to navigate
• Strong encryption and security features
• Generous 45-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

• Limited server customization options
• Basic ad-blocking capabilities
• No anonymous payment options
• US jurisdiction may be a concern for some users

Overall, I'd recommend Hotspot Shield to users who want a fast, user-friendly VPN with strong streaming capabilities. It's a particularly good choice for those who primarily want to access US and UK content. However, if you're looking for the utmost in privacy protection or need very specific server locations, you might want to compare it with other options.

Exploring alternatives to Hotspot Shield? CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are strong contenders. Also, don’t miss our best VPN list for 2024.

FAQs

1. Is Hotspot Shield safe to use? Yes, Hotspot Shield uses strong AES-256 encryption and offers features like a kill switch and DNS leak protection. However, its US jurisdiction might be a concern for some users.
2. Can Hotspot Shield unblock Netflix? Yes, in my tests, Hotspot Shield successfully unblocked US Netflix content using its dedicated streaming servers.
3. Does Hotspot Shield work in China? Hotspot Shield doesn't explicitly state whether it works in China. Given the country's strong VPN blocking measures, it's best to check with Hotspot Shield directly or consider VPNs known to work in China.
4. Is Hotspot Shield free? Hotspot Shield offers a free version with limited data and features. For unlimited use and access to all features, you'll need a premium subscription.
5. How many devices can I use with Hotspot Shield? You can connect up to 10 devices simultaneously with one Hotspot Shield premium account.

Octav Fedor (Cybersecurity Editor)

Octav is a cybersecurity researcher and writer at AntivirusGuide. When he’s not publishing his honest opinions about security software online, he likes to learn about programming, watch astronomy documentaries, and participate in general knowledge competitions.