By: Tamara | Last updated February 15, 2019 
Virtual private networks are one of the most important inventions since internet. Next to antivirus programs, VPNs represent a great Internet security tool and they come with plenty other benefits, too.
Why you should use a VPN
There are several reasons why VPNs are useful. Their number one benefit is the fact that they protect your privacy and keep you secure on the internet, by encrypting your traffic. That is a very important thing especially when you are using public networks, such as those in airports, restaurants, cafes and so on.
VPNs are also a great way for you to keep anonymous when you download torrents, because we all know torrenting is not exactly legal. When you connect through a VPN, your IP address changes depending on the server you are connecting to, so you can appear as if you are logging from a different location than in reality. You can be located in Russia and appear as if you are from Japan, for instance.
Censorship is an annoying thing, especially when it comes to streaming services such as Netflix and so on. There are a lot of websites that are geo-restricted and you can’t access them unless you live in a certain area (your location can be figured out by identifying your IP address). A VPN can help you in that matter, too, by letting you connect to servers from anywhere in the world, depending on the VPN service provider and its coverage.
Here are some things to consider when choosing a VPN provider.
Zero VPN – what is it?
While the benefits of using a VPN on your desktop computer or laptop are indisputable, smartphone users should also consider using one. Nowadays, our smartphones are our most indispensable gadgets. We use them to connect to the internet even more than we use our computers and we are online from our phones almost on a 24/7 basis. We stream our favorite shows from our phones, we go on social media, we shop and we pay bills from our phones.
That means we have to pay just as much attention to staying secure online and VPNs are just as useful on our smartphones, as they are on our desktops.
Zero VPN was developed by a company based in Hong Kong and it is a VPN specifically designed for Android devices. So, unfortunately, if you are an iPhone/iOS user, this product is not for you.
Setting up Zero VPN
Zero VPN is a free app and you can download it from Google Play. It doesn’t require you to register, sign up for a certain period and it won’t cost you any money. All you have to do is log into your Google account, open your Play Store, download the Zero VPN app and install it on your phone. You choose a server, connect, and that’s it.
There is also a useful feature that allows you to choose other apps on your phone to use through Zero VPN.
The app is not large, so it won’t take up a lot of space on your device, as it only has 4.5 MB.
Features of Zero VPN
Even though Zero VPN is a free app, it has a decent coverage when it comes to servers. Zero VPN has servers in US, Canada, Europe (UK, France, Netherlands, Germany), Japan, Singapore and Korea and their number is steadily increasing.
One of Zero VPN’s biggest strengths is the fact that it doesn’t have any traffic limits, which is impressive for a free app. Free VPNs usually come with annoying restrictions in terms of bandwidth, available servers and more. You usually get a monthly ratio or with some providers, even a daily one, and if you exceed your traffic limit for that month/day, you have to wait for the next one.
Read more about free VPNs vs. paid VPNs.
With Zero VPN there are no bandwidth limits and this VPN is free to use for as long as you want. There is no free trial that expires in a certain number of days, Zero VPN is always free.
Zero VPN uses the OpenVPN protocol, which is an industry standard, so it is a good idea to use this VPN when you are using public WiFi for instance, because that is when your identity is the most exposed and vulnerable.
Zero VPN is also useful if you want to access restricted games and apps such as Facebook, YouTube, Pandora, Skype and so on.
For a free app, Zero VPN is quite reliable and also fast. Most users are pleased with its performance and there are no general complaints regarding speed.
You might also be pleased to know that despite the fact that Zero VPN was developed for Android devices, it can also be used with Windows PCs as well. In order to install it on your PC, you have to use an Android emulator, in order to trick your PC into supporting software that is normally developed for a different operating system. One of the best Android emulators you can use is BlueStacks, because it is very user-friendly. Once you download it and install it, you type Zero VPN into the search bar and download that one, too. Then the rest is the same as with your Android smartphone.
And now on the drawbacks of Zero VPN, you should know that this app can be a bit of a battery drainer, so if you notice you tend to run out of juice on your phone faster than you used to, Zero VPN might be the culprit.
Also, an unclear aspect is that of user logs and whether ZeroVPN keeps any or not. Free VPN providers usually keep traffic logs on their users and some of them even sell user information to third-parties, for advertising purposes. While we have no clear evidence of that happening in the case of ZeroVPN, we have no insurance of the opposite, either.
And of course, the biggest disadvantage is the fact that Zero VPN only works on Android.
All in all though, Zero VPN is a good VPN to run on your Android device. It is free, it doesn’t require any registration, it doesn’t have bandwidth limitations and it is fast.
