Hotspot shield Review and feature usage for 2021

The use of the internet has increased dramatically over the past several years. With the invention of social media, streaming websites, and millions of smartphone apps, almost everybody in the world spends hours browsing the internet now. 

The internet has become the place where you can find entertainment, learn about various things, and even earn a living. But as more and more people begin to explore the online world, the rate of cybercrime also goes up in proportion. 

One of the most notorious cybercrimes is identity theft. Unfortunately, not every country has the proper law nor protection for digital privacy. We have to find ways to protect our personal information. And one of those ways is by using a Virtual Private Network, better known as VPN, whenever we access the internet. 

This article will talk about Hotspot Shield, one of the best VPN providers in the world. What is it, who made it, what are the features, and of course, what are the pros and cons of using it.

Hotspot Shield is a VPN provider that was developed by a company called AnchorFree Inc. It was started just as a personal project of its founders but soon grew larger than they could ever have expected. And since its inception in 2008, Hotspot Shield VPN has become one of the most popular VPN in the world. 

Hotspot Shield was created as a way to gain true freedom of the internet. And during the course of its life, it has managed to bring that philosophy into real life. It has been used as a means of communication by protesters of countries that heavily censor its citizens' internet access. Some of its notable involvement was during the Arab Spring protest in 2010, the Egyptian revolution in 2011, Turkey in 2013, and recently by Hong Kong protesters in 2014.

In 2020, AnchorFree Inc was acquired by a giant cybersecurity company called Aura. And since then, Hotspot Shield VPN has also become one of the VPN under Aura's cybersecurity suite. With increased funding and exposure, Hotspot Shield VPN is now becoming one of the leading VPN providers in the world.

• Absolute privacy. Hotspot Shield VPN will hide your information from any third party that might try to find out about you through your internet connection. Whether it's a hacker, your Internet Service Provider (ISP), or even a government, your privacy will be safe from any prying eyes.
• Absolute protection. Hotspot Shield VPN also enforces 256-bit AES encryption to your internet connection. It is the type of encryption that is usually used by the military and financial institutions. This means your connection will be protected from any attempt to access your personal information.
• Absolute security. To make its users even more secure, Hotspot Shield VPN also employed a kill switch protocol that could cut your internet connection in case there's a leak happening, a split-tunneling to differentiate your connection, and a DNS leaks prevention to prevent any kind of leaks in the first place.
• Global access. With VPN, the more servers it has, the more stable and faster its connection would be. Hotspot Shield VPN has more than 3200 servers in 80 countries that spread across 35+ cities. You can pick any of those servers and your connection would immediately be masked into those locations.
• Multiplatform. To make sure everybody would have access to a good VPN, Hotspot Shield VPN is available on multiple platforms. From the most common ones like Windows OS, Mac OS, Android, and iOS, to niche devices like Chrome, Smart TVs, and even routers.
• Unlimited Bandwidth. With Hotspot Shield VPN, you will be able to enjoy unlimited bandwidth. That means you could access their secured network for as long and as much as you want. You could even stream and download files without having to worry about daily or even monthly quota.
• High-Speed Connection. Hotspot Shield VPN was awarded by Ookla's speed test as the world's fastest VPN in 2019 and they have consistently kept their reputation till this day. That's why even if a VPN would usually lower your internet speed, you would still be able to enjoy a high-speed connection when you use Hotspot Shield VPN.
• Torrenting availability. Hotspot Shield VPN also allowed peer-to-peer activity, or else better known as torrenting. Not only that, but Hotspot Shield also prepares specialized servers to maximize your torrenting experience.
• Streaming mode. A VPN is also useful when you want to access geo-specific content from various streaming services. With streaming mode from Hotspot Shield VPN, you will be able to stream content from a specific region through an optimized server.
• Gaming mode. Similar to the streaming mode, gaming mode is another feature from Hotspot Shield that is geared towards a specific activity. This mode from Hotspot Shield will enable you to have an optimized online gaming experience without sacrificing your privacy, protection, and security.

• Complementary services. When you become a premium user of Hotspot Shield VPN, you will be given other services that would complement your cybersecurity experience. You would be able to use an antivirus, a spam-call blocker, and also a password manager in conjunction with their VPN.
• Free version. If you are still unsure whether or not Hotspot Shield VPN is the right choice for you, then you could use its free version instead. But keep in mind that while this version is forever free of charge, you would still be limited to one server, a 500 MB bandwidth limit, and a slower speed.
• Affordable. To be a Hotspot Shield VPN premium user, you could choose one of their affordable pricing plans. There's the premium plan with a price tag of only $7.99 per month and there's also the family plan that costs a mere $11.99 per month. The difference between the two is simply the number of devices that you could use simultaneously. And what's more, both plans also come with a 45 days money-back guarantee.

• US-based company. As a VPN provider, online privacy is the main concern over everything else and no outside entity should be able to impose any kind of request nor limitation to that policy. That's why most VPN providers choose to place their business in countries that have strict personal data laws and protection. Unfortunately, the United States is not one of those countries. Online privacy hasn't been properly protected in the US. And that's why there's a concern over any VPN providers that are based in the US. And Hotspot Shield VPN is one of them.

Hotspot Shield VPN stands out from the rest because of several reasons. First, it is equipped with tons of useful features that could help you achieve not only a secured and private internet experience, but also enjoying activities such as torrenting, streaming locked contents, etc. Second, Hotspot Shield VPN offers loads of benefits to its users beyond just a VPN.

And finally, the most important reason being the fact that Hotspot VPN has a proven reputation when it comes to protecting its users' identity and connecting people in countries where the government highly restricts their internet connection. That's why if you wish to use a VPN, you should give Hotspot Shield a try. If you don't think this is the right fit read our listings of the best VPNs we reviewed this year right here.