The internet has definitely changed the way we run our daily lives. We spend hours daily online via different devices even without realizing it. But this is one of the places where people with malicious intent usually target unsuspecting users with the goal of stealing crucial personal information. To ensure that all your internet activities are protected, you can use VPN software for your Mac. However, sometimes paying for monthly (or annual) charges can be quite expensive. But you can still use a free VPN for mac to protect yourself. So, what are some of the best free VPNs for Mac that are found on the market? Let’s find out from the review below.
Top 5 Best Free VPNs for Mac
While Mac is one of the most efficient devices that you can use for internet access, you still need to protect yourself. Some of the best VPNs that can be used freely with Mac devices include:
1. TunnelBear
TunnelBear has quickly become one of the top free VPNs for Mac devices. Millions of people are using it currently to protect themselves from hackers while promoting data privacy.
It’s solely designed to offer data protection and there is no chance that your information will be logged, monitored, or sold based on your browsing activities. It’s worth noting that this is the only VPN software whose provider usually performs independent annual security audits.
Key Features
- Access to global content: Mac users who install and use this software have access to global content regardless of the location.
- Bypassing local censorships: there are some governments and authorities that tend to block access to certain applications and websites. Well, you can use TunnelBear to effectively bypass local censorship.
- Data protection: TunnelBear is effective in blocking data theft by hackers who normally steal passwords over unsecured public Wi-Fi.
- Complete online privacy: regardless of the type of network you use, this VPN will completely protect you. So, internet service providers, as well as network owners, can’t see what you are doing.
- Preventing IP-Based Tracking: most ad services are able to track your IP address easily based on the site you access. However, this VPN blocks IP-based tracking by assigning you a new IP value.
- Strong encryption: internet privacy, VPNs, and encryptions usually go hand-in-hand. TunnelBear relies on a powerful AES 256-bit encryption system.
- High internet speeds: this software has been uniquely engineered for speed. It has a global server network that helps to optimize internet access. As a result, you can stream content without lagging and surf quickly. There is basically no buffering or throttling
- Vigilant mode: this is an amazing feature that allows this software program to cut off any type of unsecured traffic if it’s detected at any point. The security feature helps to eliminate breaches in connection and the VPN can only work when everything has been correctly restored.
- Reliable security system: TunnelBear has everything that you need from VPN software. You can fully rely on its security system. The product owner also normally publishes their own independent security audits and this helps to guarantee users protection.
Functionality Components of TunnelBear VPN
- It’s available in 26 countries including the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, and Japan.
- The free option comes with 500 MB of data that’s renewable monthly.
- Get an additional GB of data if you refer a friend or tweet about the software.
2. Hide.me
It has earned a global reputation as the best popular VPN. Even big names love and use Hide.me for their daily activities. Its efficiency is facilitated by a combination of security, privacy, and convenience. As a result, the software is highly reliable and offers premium data protection.
Hide.me perfectly delivers great running speeds and it allows you to take back your freedom when using the internet. There are even no logs for your online activities and all you get are advanced privacy features at literally no cost at all.
Key features
- Simplicity: unlike most free VPNs for Mac, Hide.me allows you to completely feel the simplicity of using an efficient VPN. You don’t need any technical skills to use this software program. Everything has been professionally configured for you. All you have to do is to download and install it.
- Advanced privacy features: the design functionality of this software program speaks for itself. The main objective of Hide.me is to effectively secure your online privacy. The company has done a comprehensive user analysis to ensure that you get a program that suits your needs. Its features are unique to meet your specific needs.
- No log VPN: Hide.me doesn’t store any logs of your online activity. Most free VPN providers usually ignore this action and easily link your online activities back to you and they can easily pass this information to certain authorities if they are requested to do so.
- Bypass geoblocking: authorities including government can block users from accessing the internet. But with Hide.me, you can easily bypass geoblocking censorship. You can access any app or website safely by getting around limitations that restrict you from enjoying the internet.
- Digital privacy: of course, you don’t want your online activity to be noticed and traced back to you. With hide me, you are guaranteed of surfing the internet in privacy because your real IP address will be hidden. Your location will be kept safe and your internet service provider won’t be able to spy on you.
Functionality Components of Hide.me VPN
- As a free VPN user, you get 2 GB of data monthly. However, you need to know that you can use only one device.
- Hide.me has servers in more than 50 locations including Canada and the US. It should be noted that the provider doesn’t, however, throttle internet connection speeds for users who use the VPN freely.
- Hide.me doesn’t provide data to 3rd-party applications so no one will make a profit off your data. There are also no adverts that will interrupt your internet access.
- For easier management, Hide.me offers 24/7 technical support for free users.
- Generally, its performance is very impressive even when it’s tested. Generally, the free offering provides a greater level of privacy without so many restrictions without incurring expensive costs.
3. Hotspot Shield Free VPN
Hotspot Shield is a great free VPN for streaming, browsing, and gaming. It’s a highly versatile VPN that provides users with privacy with super-fast access to websites and other applications. It’s considered one of the world’s fastest VPN that’s free to use.
Key Features
- Ultra-fast VPN: Hotspot Shield is designed with patented technology and it has been verified as one of the top VPNs that offer top speed and security according to AV-Test. the leading IT-security institute made independent tests and established its faster efficiency.
- Military-grade encryption: this software application allows you to easily get fast and secure internet connections thanks to its advanced encryption technology. With military-grade encryption, you can comfortably do online shopping and banking with security issues.
- Unrivaled performance: this application is built Hydra, Hotspot Shield’s proprietary protocol. Its VPN protocol utilizes the OpenSSL library, making it a top-performing and fastest VPN on the market. This software program is unlike the others since it doesn’t OpenVPN technology since its patented protocol has been designed to offer unrivaled performance. Generally, it ensures that users get seamless gaming and streaming experience without lagging or buffering.
- Ease of use: this software application has its own over users thanks to its ease of use. It has proved to be user-friendly. You can conveniently use it with your Mac device. The whole experience will be smooth and seamless without any hair-pulling experience that most VPN providers usually offer.
- Multiple connections: you can use Hotspot shield to connect up to five different Mac devices. Note that most VPNs for free usually allow a single connection at a time. However, this software allows to easily connect multiple devices via the same account.
- Kill switch: after connecting to a VPN, a connection issue might arise. But when your device is trying to establish a connection, an insecure connection may occur rather than the secure VPN connection that’s encrypted. However, Hotspot Shield is made with the kill switch feature. It stops all the communication between the internet and your device until a secure VPN connection has been established. This means that any internet traffic that’s required to stay private will always stay private.
Functionality Components of Hotspot Shield VPN
- Hotspot Shield Free VPN has better rankings when it comes to internet privacy and data protection.
- The free plan usually offers a limited 500 MB on daily basis. This accumulates to around 15 GB per month, a significant amount that makes it ideal for heavy internet users. While the daily amount of 500 MB appears to be restrictive, it’s actually a generous limit compared to what its closest competitors offer.
- For effectiveness and ease of use, you can anchor yourself by choosing one of the many free countries. Not that Hotspot Shield is totally free and no credit card is required.
- Your connection will always be faster because Hotspot Shield hundreds of servers all over the world.
4. ProtonVPN Free
ProtonVPN sells itself as the most secure free VPN on the market. Its security enhancer provides users with what is known as the “Secure Core”. Users don’t just connect freely but they also get secure connections. Besides that, ProtonVPN doesn’t impose throttling on its users!
Key Features
- High level of privacy: this application offers a high level of data privacy by offering private and secure internet connection freely to all. That’s why it’s the most popular free VPN that’s used by journalists and activists all over the world. Your online activities will be fully protected by Swiss privacy laws.
- Secure streaming: you can use this VPN to access any type of content you want wherever you are. The VPN software uses secure AES-256 encryption to deliver encrypted protection.
- Forward secrecy: for every connection that you make, you will receive a new encryption key. This means that even if someone was able to trace your previous activities, it would be impossible for them to use the same information in order to decrypt your latest activities.
- Secure core servers: the program effectively defends you against unwarranted network attacks. The secure core servers in addition to the secure file sharing support that allows you to safely share your files with friends and colleagues.
- Tor connection: if you use the Tor network, this is a VPN that allows you to connect it over the VPN. With just a single click and you can access the union sites in an instant.
Functionality Components of ProtonVPN
- You are only allowed to connect just one device when using ProtonVPN freely. Even though the quality of privacy and user safety are usually high, you will be limited to only three locations.
- There are no interruptive ads that most free VPNs for Mac usually come with hence you are guaranteed a seamless internet experience.
- ProtonVPN doesn’t feature any logs so, you don’t have to worry about your private information getting leaked to 3rd-parties in the future.
- Once you have downloaded and installed the free VPN, you get unlimited data allowance every month without paying. However, there is no 24/7 live chat support for those who use this VPN freely.
5. Windscribe
If you want to privately access the internet with one of the best free VPNs for Mac, then you have to try Windscribe. It’s a top-rated software application that comes with an excellent data cap per month.
Its generous data allowance has definitely attracted so many users. Besides that, this VPN runs on a versatile and reliable system that allows users to connect to multiple locations. It meets all the essential points that a Mac user who wants a free VPN would need.
Key Features
- Strongest encryption: access the internet while using the strongest encryption. Windscribe uses AES-256 cipher alongside a SHA512 auth plus a 4096-bit RSA key. There is absolutely no chance of your data or activities getting monitored or hacked.
- Excellent bandwidth traffic: free users get 10 GB of free bandwidth traffic every month. It’s a super-secure VPN with a generous data cap. So, it’s ideal for those who use their Mac devices frequently.
- Multiple remote server locations: standard users who rely on the free VPN services can conveniently choose from 10 server locations that can be accessed remotely. They include the US, Canada, Germany, UK, and Hong Kong.
- Fully private: Windscribe doesn’t keep any logs. This means that even if someone wants to identify a customer who has accessed used this software, it would be impossible since the application doesn’t store any information. All your details will be erased within three minutes of your online session ending. For efficiency, there is also a firewall and in-built adblocker to ensure that you are fully protected.
Functionality Components of Windscribe
You can integrate it with your favorite browsers as an extension
It offers an excellent level of data privacy but if you are far from the servers, then its speed may be inconsistent.
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Qualities of the Best Free VPNs for Mac
The above-reviewed free VPNs for Mac are among the best on the market. You might not spend a dime on them, but you can rely on these software programs to protect you when doing different things on the internet. Generally, the best free VPNs for Mac have the following three qualities:
Excellent Security
These programs are free and you don’t spend a single coin to use them. However, they have been designed with premium security systems that offer users the ultimate security. You can rely on these products to keep your download and browsing activities private at all times.
This is because they are made with encryption algorithms that help to keep hackers and other unwarranted users out of your activities.
High Speeds
Speed matters when it comes to choosing the best free VPN for a Mac device. No one wants to install a VPN that will slow down their internet access. The above-reviewed VPNs are generally fast. While some may have throttling effects due to the distance of the user from the server, they offer better speeds than their closest competitors.
Reliability
Lastly, it’s only worth installing a free VPN if you can rely on it. All these software applications have proved to be highly reliable. They don’t slow down and neither do they offer interrupted internet connectivity. Besides that, you won’t be forced to upgrade to a paid option if you don’t want to. You can simply work with the free VPN for as long as you want.
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Factors to Consider When Choosing a Free VPN for Mac
There are many free VPNs for Mac on the market. The fact that they are cost-effective doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be serious about your selection. You still need to choose high-quality software that will fully protect your Mac device.
The Location of the Servers
VPN servers can’t be everywhere. However, the closer they are to your location, the better their delivery. Generally, VPNs usually have servers in different continents and they help to determine how fast the service delivery will be. The closer you are to the VPN server, the faster and more stable your internet speeds will be. Note that the vice-versa is also true.
Automatic Kill Switch
Only free and premium VPNs have integrated this crucial feature. Understand that once your Mac is connected to the VPN, encryption will be established and it’s critical for it to be monitored to ensure that it’s always up. If that’s not the case, then an unsuspecting user may end up using the internet without VPN protection.
For effectiveness, the best free VPNs for Mac usually come with integrated kill switches that help to monitor the VPN connection and ensure that the internet traffic remains up. If a VPN lacks this feature, then you may be forced to download a 3rd-party application.
Monthly Data Limit
Most free VPNs come with a monthly data limit. The more the data limit, the better your internet access. Generally, most free VPNs offer very little in terms of data limit. For instance, Tunnel Bear has only a 500 MB offer per month. Windscribe on the other hand offers up to 10 GB freely per month.
There are still better options including Proton VPN and Opera Browser. Just make sure that you research extensively and choose a free VPN software that can sufficiently cater to your monthly internet needs without the need to incur costs.
Privacy Policy
The main function of a VPN is to offer safety by enhancing privacy. The top VPNs on the market usually come with their own privacy policies that can be found on their websites. These policies usually aim to clarify data logs and the period that information can be stored.
For your own good, choose a free VPN provider that discloses its privacy policy. Understand that not every VPN is ideal for use and some of these free providers aren’t transparent. You might find that they are the ones sourcing information from you rather than offering protection.
The Types of Platforms Supported
Ensure that the VPN you choose can fully support macOS devices. You don’t want to select a software program with numerous security flaws that may end up affecting your overall internet use.
Some of the most popular VPNs that are effective for use with Mac devices have integrated browser software. So, you might want to first consider them.
Support
Although it’s easy to download and install a VPN, there are some instances where you might be forced to look for support. Make sure that the VPN has a decent customer support system that can be accessed quickly.
Company Information
Although there are many VPN companies, not all of them fully offer their information. In fact, many VPN services don’t share vital information such as where the company is located and who operates the company.
It’s important that you know where the company located. How can you trust a company to protect your personal data when they don’t trust you with their basic information? A good VPN company should be transparent about its information and service on the market.
The business model: the market is filled with a wide range of VPN providers. However, not all of them are reputable. This means that it’s important that you select a VPN service that you can easily trust with your personal data. A “freemium” VPN provider should offer free services but of premium quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Are Free VPNs Safe?
High-quality free VPNs are safe for your Mac. They still offer the most secure and private VPN services. If you find good VPN software, then you can be guaranteed safety and data protection all the time.
Q. Why are More Mac Users Using VPNs?
Previously, VPNs were mostly used by people in countries with strict internet policies. This means that they couldn’t access important sites since they were blocked. However, more users, regardless of the location, are now turning to VPN. This is because VPNs help to encrypt web traffic and ensure that your personal data remains safe and private. Besides that, a VPN can help to protect your identity, especially if you are using an open internet.
Q. Are VPNs Legal?
A: In most western countries these software programs are legal. However, they might be illegal to use in countries with authoritarian regimes. This mainly includes countries in the Middle East. Some of the countries that have banned VPN include:
- Russia
- China
- North Korea
- UAE
- Uganda
- Turkey
Q. Why Does My Internet Speeds Decline When I Connect to VPN?
As a Mac user, you need to first have a stable internet connection before you consider installing a free VPN. So, it’s important that you choose an Internet Service Provider that’s reliable. But there are still other factors that may interfere with your internet connection and they include:
- The VPN servers are not near your location. Servers that are physically close to you will only result in a minor drop in speed if any.
- VPNs with encrypted connections will make your internet speeds drop because an encrypted connection usually requires more processing time and power. It should be noted that the stronger the encryption, the higher the drop of the internet speeds.
Q. Do Free VPNs for Mac Provide Full Anonymity?
All VPNs are designed to improve your security and privacy when you use the internet. However, no VPN is able to provide users with complete anonymity. Besides that, VPNs aren’t able to prevent websites that you visit from tracking your cookies and even browser fingerprinting.
But you are safe and protected when using your Mac with public Wi-Fi hotspots. This is because the free VPN is still able to encrypt the traffic that’s operating between the VPN servers and your device. This means that malicious individuals or programs won’t be able to target your data.
Q. Is it Good to Use a VPN with Mac?
VPNs are the best alternative when you want to use your Mac device safely. Generally, Mac VPNs are the best on the market since they have been designed to offer an effective layer of defense against serious internet threats such as hacking and identity theft. If you can effectively utilize your VPN every time you access the internet, then all your personal data will be safely encrypted.
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