Private Internet Access Review

Private Internet Access is a US-based VPN that had no user logs to hand over in three court cases. Deloitte audited it in 2025. Suits budget power users.

Private Internet Access is a long-running US-based VPN that has spent the last decade building a privacy track record in public. Three federal court cases, including a 2016 FBI bomb-threat probe and the 2018 Embarcadero hacking trial, tested whether PIA could produce subscriber logs under subpoena. In each case the company handed over nothing usable, because the data does not exist on its systems.

That kind of legal proof is rarer than marketing claims suggest. The audit cadence has caught up with the courtroom record. Deloitte Romania signed off the no-logs claim in 2025, the third independent audit since 2022, and quarterly transparency reports list zero data turned over to authorities.

PIA moved to unlimited simultaneous connections in March 2023, useful for households and anyone routing multiple devices through one subscription. The fleet now runs to more than 35,000 servers across 91 countries, with at least one server in every US state. Long-term plans bottom out at $2.03 a month with a 30-day refund window.

For power users, the apps are deeper than most rivals. Per-app split tunneling, multi-hop, obfuscation, the MACE ad and tracker blocker and a multi-level kill switch are all built in. That is unusual at this price tier and is the main reason PIA keeps showing up in advanced setups.

The trade-offs are real. PIA is owned by Kape Technologies, the rebranded Crossrider, whose installers Malwarebytes once flagged as a potentially unwanted program. The privacy record since the acquisition is strong, but the ownership lineage is a persistent trust question.

US headquarters puts the company inside Five Eyes and within reach of National Security Letters and gag orders that no audit can fully neutralise. WireGuard speeds of 621 Mbps in TechRadar's 2025 tests trail NordVPN at 1,256 Mbps and Surfshark at 1,615 Mbps on the same setup; OpenVPN drops further to 244 Mbps.

Security.org recorded uploads dropping by up to 85% in some tests, which hurts cloud backups and video calls. Streaming is hit-or-miss. Comparitech and Trustpilot reviewers report inconsistent access to Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer.

Customer support is uneven too, with one TechRadar reviewer waiting a week on a connection ticket. We recommend PIA for power users on a tight budget who value its courtroom-tested privacy record and granular controls. Streaming-led shoppers and people who need fast support should look at CyberGhost, NordVPN or ExpressVPN instead.