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Britons have been turning to VPNs in their droves to protect privacy, swerve hackers and data-miners, bypass intrusive age verification checks, and avoid snooping from Government departments and broadband suppliers.
Virtual Private Networks, more commonly known as VPNs, are extemely popular security tools that let you bypass geo-restrictions to watch services like Sky Go, BBC iPlayer, and HBO Max while abroad. Not only that, you can switch to other regions around the world to find cheaper subscriptions, flights, and hotels.
There's no shortage of companies out there promising the best VPN deals, but one of the most widely-recognised is ExpressVPN. If you’re new to the world of VPNs, you might be a bit worried about which providers to trust and which ones to go with to spend your hard-earned money. We've got all of the details about this award-winning VPN below.
VPNs work by encrypting all of your online traffic before it's sent over the internet. This prevents your ISP, advertisers, hackers, and fraudsters from tracking your online activity, stealing your personal data, or placing restrictions on you | EXPRESSVPN PRESS OFFICE What is a VPN?
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is software that protects and anonymises everything you do online.
VPNs can conceal your online activities by routing traffic through an encrypted tunnel that connects to secure servers worldwide. The most reliable VPNs use the same encryption standards as the UK Government and US government agencies, ensuring that even your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can't record the websites you visit, the duration of your sessions on each site, or your current location. This protection extends to advertisers, trackers, and hackers, preventing them from monitoring your online behaviour.
Furthermore, personal information entered into online forms and sensitive data transmitted to and from your device will be safeguarded from hackers using strong encryption provided by a VPN.
Subscribe to ExpressVPN for just £1.99 – just 6 pence a day
Protect your personal information and encrypt everything you do online for just £1.99 with the latest ExpressVPN deal. That equates to just 6p a day for military-grade encryption across 10x devices.
Unsurprisingly, this blockbuster sale trounces NordVPN, its biggest competitor.
ExpressVPN boasts apps for iPhone, Android, Linux, Windows, Mac, Fire TV, and dozens more, to secure your internet traffic from prying eyes, advertisers, and governments. We praised its speed and reliability in our ExpressVPN review. For a limited time, you'll benefit from an extra 4 months free with a two-year plan
Get 80% off ExpressVPN Basic
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$1.99
Is ExpressVPN safe and secure?
As noted in our ExpressVPN review, this award-winning provider is one of the most safe and secure VPNs on the market. The brand has recieved a slew of glowing reviews over its ability to handle your personal information with care, without compromising performance.
ExpressVPN relies on something called 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard, which security experts worldwide trust to protect sensitive information. That's the same standard used by governments and the military to secure top-secret digital assets, thanks to the vast 2^256 key space, which makes this standard (practically) unbreakable with current technology.
With the encryption up and running, your provider sees nothing but gibberish — an unreadable jumble of text that mixes letters, numbers, and symbols. This security feature covers everything, from the sites you visit to how long you spend on each one.
It hides what you download, the games you play, and the streaming services you use.
ExpressVPN is available across a wide variety of devices, from desktop apps to smartphones | EXPRESSVPN PRESS OFFICEAll ExpressVPN’s servers run on volatile RAM (Random Access Memory) instead of hard drives. This ensures all data is wiped with every reboot, so no persistent user information can ever be stored on the servers.
ExpressVPN also has a built-in kill switch called Network Lock so if anything ever goes wrong, the kill switch will stop any of your internet data from leaking out.
Aside from the security benefits, there are additional perks.
Some internet providers might slow your connection speed when certain network-intensive activities are detected, like streaming or playing online games at peak times. With a VPN masking your activity, they can't use content-based throttling against you anymore — something that can be a particular issue on Wi-Fi networks on University campuses, coffee shops, and more.
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A VPN doesn't protect you from everything, though. If you're logged into Google while searching, Google can still link your searches to your account even through a VPN connection.
The same goes for social media. Logging into Facebook while connected to a VPN server will not stop Facebook from seeing your posts and activity. Likewise, payment details remain visible to processors as well. That means your bank or card company can still trace transactions back to you.
The key to protecting yourself is choosing a VPN service that doesn't keep logs of your activity. Some providers claim they don't collect data, but haven't proved it independently.
Look for services that have undergone proper audits from reputable firms. ExpressVPN has been examined multiple times by KPMG, which confirmed the company genuinely keeps no logs of user activity.
The service has also passed security reviews from PwC, Cure53, F-Secure, and Praetorian. These audits covered everything from privacy policies to app security.
Where is ExpressVPN based?
ExpressVPN operates from the British Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction with no data retention laws requiring companies to store user information. That matters when government agencies come asking for data.
The company publishes reports twice yearly showing how many data requests it receives and how it responds. Most come from government agencies, but ExpressVPN honours none because it genuinely has nothing to share.
Benefits of ExpressVPN, and how to buy
ExpressVPN is particularly well-suited for streaming, gaming and protecting your privacy as it boasts VPN server locations in 105 countries, providing access to global coverage.
It offers ultra-fast speeds on a 10-Gbps network, essential for high-quality streaming without buffering. With military-grade encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and features like split tunnelling and a kill switch, your online activity stays private.
Based in the British Virgin Islands — outside Five Eyes jurisdiction — it avoids mandatory data retention laws, which means that even if the company were collecting data (it's not), law enforcement from the UK and US would be unable to compel ExpressVPN to hand over any information about its subscribers.
Once installed on your device, everything you do will be routed via ExpressVPN's secure tunnel – adding military-grade encryption
| KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PRESS OFFICEExpressVPN supports a wide range of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs, and routers. There's no limit on the number of ExpressVPN apps that you can download on your devices, and with a single subscription, you can connect to the VPN on 10x gadgets at once.
It also has a dedicated team that optimises the service for major streaming platforms. Round-the-clock customer support is available if you encounter any issues during race weekend.
ExpressVPN isn't the cheapest VPN. However, its 30-day money-back guarantee makes it a risk-free choice for privacy-conscious users and frequent streamers. It should also give new customers the confidence to subscribe to one of its longer contracts, which unlock the biggest discounts.