At a glimpse
Expert’s Ranking
Execs
- Correct speeds
- A entire lot servers and nation alternatives
Cons
- Privacy policy is smooth now not up to supreme
- No longer powerful within the fashion of extra parts or customization
Our Verdict
HMA affords solid VPN speeds, a pleasant change of nation choices, and a loopy amount of servers. Its privacy policy has also improved, but it indubitably smooth logs more knowledge than privacy-awake kinds would delight in with. Overall, our recommendation hasn’t modified. HMA is lawful for traditional uses, but whenever you occur to’re trying to be as anonymous as imaginable online this VPN is now not supreme.
HMA Pro briefly:
- P2P allowed: Toddle
- Alternate plot: Czech Republic
- Sequence of servers: 1,080+
- Sequence of nation areas: 210+*
- Rate: $59.88 per year
- VPN Protocol: OpenVPN (Dwelling windows)
- Records encryption: AES-256
- Records authentication: AES-256-GCM or SHA1
- Handshake: 2048-bit TLS and SHA-256
If there’s one bellow that you just can bid about HMA (Masks My Ass), it doesn’t sit smooth very customarily. Since closing we regarded, the famed Avast-owned VPN service launched a novel version of its app, and it’s time to kick it round somewhat and be taught about what’s unique. The unique be taught about is moderately assorted from that smartphone-fashion app that we regarded at in 2019, and overall it’s a pretty lawful unique fashion.
Whereas you occur to first commence HMA it has two foremost columns. On the left is one thing somewhat more smartphone-love with a mammoth on/off slider, a pleasant tile at the bottom with your chosen VPN plot, and in between those two parts, your plot IP—whenever you connect, it also adds your VPN server’s IP address. This default glimpse has an inviting version of the HMA donkey mascot, Jack. Whereas you occur to advised the VPN, Jack places on a diversity of disguises to display you’re on the VPN. Most incessantly those disguises are humorous, while other time he appears love a total jack… effectively, you know.
Exhibit: This review is portion of our most efficient VPNs roundup. Jog there for details about competing merchandise and the design we examined them.

HMA Pro 5 with an vigorous connection.
IDG
On the rightmost panel are plenty of smaller boxes that can either expose knowledge or provide quick links to utilize actions similar to opening preferences, activating auto-connect, or staring at your present bandwidth utilization. This living doesn’t seem to be customizable, even though that you just can push aside boxes that aren’t essential.
To earn into the settings, click on the cog icon within the upper-left corner. This opens a 2d window with plenty of moderately traditional alternatives. What’s good is that plenty of parts aren’t activated by default, giving users the design to turn them on, such because the web abolish switch, an app-explicit abolish switch, and auto-connect.
Below Settings > Connection HMA has a extraordinarily easy-to-spend technique to manipulate your PC’s saved Wi-Fi networks. By default HMA received’t try to assign, and even inquire to assign, whenever you’re on a internal most community similar to your plot community. Altering a Wi-Fi community from internal most to public or vice versa is as easy as tapping a slider subsequent to each and each community’s name.
There isn’t one thing within the fashion of energy-user parts. No multi-hop, no VPN protocol alternatives, or one thing love that. Whilst you wish each and every person in every of these parts then HMA is now not the easiest option.

IDG
One essential bellow with HMA is its nation change alternatives. HMA affords greater than 200 nation alternatives with multiple areas within the greater worldwide locations. If all you care about is getting a connection for that nation then correct steal out the nation you desire, and HMA will utilize care of the leisure.
On the change hand for some worldwide locations, in conjunction with the United States, there are virtual plot servers. So in preference to a U.S. server primarily being within the United States it pretends to be there, but the bodily machine is customarily in, bid, Brazil or Singapore. Whilst you don’t love using virtual plot servers that aren’t primarily where they’re speculated to be, then try choosing a explicit plot manually from right in the course of the app.
You’re going to be ready to also be taught about which servers are meant for P2P and that are for streaming by clicking the P2P and Streaming menu objects right in the course of the nation areas window.
Overall, HMA is moderately easy to make spend of, even though virtualized nation areas might complicate it for some.
Efficiency
HMA has continuously been a high performer and that continues this time round. It has dropped somewhat, but is smooth internal our high 10 VPNs for gallop (at this writing). HMA retained 36.21 percent of the circulation obtain gallop all over 5 areas and multiple checking out days. That must be greater than ample for most uses.

IDG
Privacy, anonymity, and believe
HMA requires an email and password to be half of for an memoir, which is traditional for VPN providers. As for payments, HMA accepts credit ranking and debit playing cards, as well to PayPal and PayNearMe. There are no cryptocurrency alternatives as of yet, and HMA would not earn money by process of PayNearMe.
As for the privacy policy, HMA says it’s now a no-logs VPN, and an audit by Versprite verified that. The company says it doesn’t log originating IPs, DNS queries, shopping history, or the direct of knowledge that runs through its community.
On the server aspect, HMA does log the day you closing connected to its servers but now not the time of day, and it logs bandwidth utilization in expose to “idea for price unique community ability and server improvements.” All of this knowledge is saved for 35 days.
From the VPN clients, HMA logs connection occasions similar to a connection, disconnection, failed connection, and plenty others. This knowledge is now not tied to user knowledge. HMA also logs “software occasions,” which customarily system the fashion you express the app similar to using a novel characteristic, uninstalling, and plenty others. It also logs shatter reviews which will be sent and generated by users. All of this knowledge is saved for 2 years and then deleted on a rolling foundation.
That’s an okay privacy policy but there are more minimal insurance policies available within the market that salvage even much less knowledge, and plenty VPNs aren’t collecting knowledge about how folks spend the app. That said, for most folks this characteristic must be comely. But whenever you occur to’re extra eager in privacy, then I’d bid HMA is now not for you.
Bottom line
HMA has quite a entire lot of things folks desire: hundreds servers, heaps of nation connection alternatives, fast service, and a pretty easy-to-spend app. It’s also readily accessible at a lawful tag. It doesn’t have loads to provide of us that desire extra parts or customization, or those having a be taught about to maximizing privacy. But when all you wish is one thing to earn Netflix out of the country or a easy app for connecting while on public Wi-Fi, HMA can earn the job done.
*HMA uses virtual servers that system about a of its nation areas are now not bodily positioned where they seem to be.
Editor’s present: On memoir of online providers are customarily iterative, gaining unique parts and performance improvements over time, this review is self-discipline to trade in expose to precisely think the present converse of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict shall be famed at the tip of this article.
Exhibit: Whereas you occur to steal one thing after clicking links in our articles, shall we accomplish a small payment. Read our affiliate link policy for more details.
Ian is an just author based utterly in Israel who has by no system met a tech self-discipline he didn’t love. He primarily covers Dwelling windows, PC and gaming hardware, video and track streaming providers, social networks, and browsers. When he’s now not defending the news he’s working on how-to pointers for PC users, or tuning his eGPU setup.