DECEMBER 2019 MACWORLD 105mmmh
Private Internet
Access
PROS- Has a history of protecting
user privacy. - Power users can customize
protocol and encryption.
CONS - Price isn’t as cheap as it
used to be. - Doesn’t work with Netflix.
PRICE
$71.88
COMPANY
London Media Trust
PIA’s protocol settings.significant user logs. The
most recent case was in
2018, as reported by
TorrentFreak (go.macworld.
com/tfrk).
PIA supports apps for
Windows, macOS, Linux,
Android, and iOS.
During speed tests, we
saw some pretty good
results. They weren’t always
jaw dropping, but they were
decent overall. Speeds were
particularly good in the U.S.,
UK, and Germany.
PIA PRICING
PIA has three pricing tiers. A
one-year subscription will set you
back $72 per year, which is a little on the
high side, but it does let you
connect up to 10 devices at
once, which makes the higher
price more palatable. If you want
to make a two-year commitment
it will cost $84 (about $42 per
year), and a month-to-month
commitment is $10 per month.
The month-to-month option is
typically high among VPNs to
encourage users to choose a
one- or two-year commitment.
If you’re really intent on a
month-to-month optio, I
recommend looking at Mullvad (go.
macworld.com/mulv), which is $6 per
month as of this writing.BOTTOM LINE
PIA is a great service, with a
more generous simultaneous
device allotment than most
services. It also has a good
number of country options, a
very large server count, and a
tested reputation for protecting
user privacy. If you need a
simple, no-nonsense VPN option
PIA is a great choice for both
novices and power users. ■