However, there are a few trustworthy VPN providers out there that offer free plans, but they have quite a few limits in place. Almost all of them give you a monthly data allowance and some even automatically select the location for you. If that doesn’t bother you, a free VPN may be a great option for you.
Here are the best free VPN services for your Android phone, all of which are also available on other platforms including Windows and iOS.
Editor’s note: We will be updating this list of the best free VPN providers regularly as new ones hit the market.
TunnelBear
The TunnelBear free VPN, which is owned by McAfee, gets you 500MB of data per month. It’s super simple to use and doesn’t require a credit card to sign up. You can choose between servers in 22 countries including the U.S., Germany, Australia, India, and more.
TunnelBear has a strick no-logging policy for peace of mind and isn’t ad-supported despite being free (hooray). It offers additional free data valid for the month to those who tweet about the provider, download the TunnelBear app on their PC, or invite a friend who then signs up for the service. Unused data does not roll over to the next month.
If you need more data than 500MB per month, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan. Pricing starts at $5 per month if you prepay for the entire year.
The nitty-gritty:
Free data allowance: 500MB per month
Server selection: Manual — 22 locations available
No-logging policy: Yes
Paid plans: Start at $5 per month
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection
The free VPN by Kaspersky works like a charm but has its limitations like the rest of the services on this list. It offers 200MB of data per day or 300MB if the app is connected to a My Kaspersky account, which translates to at least 6GB per month. That’s not bad considering it’s free, but the service still isn’t suitable for power users. Unfortunately, there’s no option to score additional free data like with TunnelBear.
You don't need to make an account to use Kaspersky's free VPN.
There are a number of server locations available, but you can’t choose which ones to connect to using a free plan — the service will choose it for you automatically. The app is easy to use, allowing you to start browsing anonymously with just a simple tap. Signing up for the VPN is a breeze as well, as you don’t need to share your credit card or email address with the provider.
There are paid plans available, offering unlimited data and the chance to choose the server location. Pricing starts at around $2.5 per month if you opt for an annual plan.
The nitty-gritty:
Free data allowance: 200/300MB per day
Server selection: Automatic
No-logging policy: Yes
Paid plans: Start at $2.5 per month
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Hotspot Shield VPN
There are a few things that make Hotspot Shield one of the best free VPN services you can get. It offers 500MB of data per day or around 15GB per month. That’s not enough for heavy usage, but it is more than what you get with most other free VPN services.
It’s also super easy to get started, as you don’t have to share your email address or your credit card info with the provider. Just download the app on your device, tap “Connect”, and you’re ready to go. The major drawback is that you can’t select the server you want to connect to — the app will do that for you automatically. There are also ads present in the Android app, which is annoying.
Like the rest of the services on this list, Hotspot Shield has a no-logging policy. It also offers paid plans starting at $2 per month that get rid of the ads and the rest of the limitation.
The nitty-gritty:
Data allowance: 500MB per day
Server selection: Automatic
No-logging policy: Yes
Paid plans: Start at $2.5 per month
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Avira Phantom free VPN
Avira’s Phantom free VPN service offers a monthly data allowance of 500MB, which is less than a few other providers on this list. However, the service does allow you to connect to any of the 40 locations available, unlike some of the competition that selects the server automatically.
Read next: Best cheap VPNs — what are your options?
The sign-up process is hassle-free. Just download the app, select a location, and then turn on the VPN to start browsing anonymously — no need to share any personal data with the provider. The free version offers everything you get with a premium plan, with a couple of exceptions. There’s no kill switch available for disabling internet access if the VPN connection drops, and you don’t get any tech support.
To get rid of the limitations the free plan comes with, you’ll have to pay up. An annual plan will set you back $78, which translates to $6.5 per month.
The nitty-gritty:
Data allowance: 500MB per month
Server selection: Manual — 39 available
No-logging policy: Yes
Paid plans: Start at $6.5 per month
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Hide.me
This free VPN limits you to 2GB of data per month, which isn’t the best but it’s good enough for casual browsing every now and then. There are five server locations available to choose from — Netherlands, Canada, Singapore, and the U.S. (east and west coast).
Hide.me promises it won’t log your activities, giving you peace of mind that the provider won’t sell your data to the highest bidder. It’s easy to set up and start using, without the need to share your credit card info. All these things combined make it one of the best free VPN services to use in 2019.
If you need more data, there are a few paid plans to choose from. The cheapest one starts at $5 per month and gives you 75GB of data transfer. To go unlimited, you’ll have to dish out $10 per month.
The nitty-gritty:
Data allowance: 2GB per month
Server selection: Manual — five available
No-logging policy: Yes
Paid plans: Start at $5 per month
DOWNLOAD THE APP
ProtonVPN Free
The last provider on our best free VPN list is ProtonVPN, which stands out because it doesn’t have a data limit. You can browse anonymously online for as long as you want, but your speed will take a hit — especially when there are a lot of users online. There are three locations available which include the Netherlands, Japan, and the U.S.
EDITOR'S PICK
Setting up the VPN is easy, although you do have to make an account. But once you sign up, you get a full-featured seven-day trial for free. The Android app also doesn’t contain any ads, regardless if you’re on a free or paid plan.
ProtonVPN has a strict no-logging policy and can only be used by a single device at a time by free users. Paid plans start at $4 per month and go all the way up to $30 per month.
The nitty-gritty:
Data allowance: Unlimited
Server selection: Manual — three available
No-logging policy: Yes
Paid plans: Start at $4 per month
DOWNLOAD THE APP
There you have it for a look at the best free VPN providers, at least in our opinion. Which ones would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments!
Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/best-free-vpn-953904/