iTop VPN is a VPN service that offers a free version and a paid option. Like most VPNs, there’s a lot to think about before choosing whether to use it—things like price and features are obviously important, but even more crucial is whether the service itself respects your privacy.
Using this VPN program is really easy. A big Connect button establishes a connection to a VPN server in no time, and there are few settings to pick from, so there’s nothing that could even remotely be considered confusing about the software.
Below, we’ll go over absolutely everything you need to know about this VPN provider, including how much it costs, the features you get if you pay versus if you use the free version, how private the company really is, and more.
Price | App | Privacy | Final Thoughts
iTop VPN Price
There are four plan options you can pick from when you’re ready to sign up for iTop VPN:
- 1 Month: $11.99 /month (pay monthly)
- 6 Months: $6.99 /month (pay $41.99 every six months)
- 1 Year: $2.31 /month (pay $55.44 the first 24 months)
Discount: If you use this link when you order iTop VPN, you’ll get an 80% discount.
All three of those options have the exact same features. The only difference, and the reason they’re different prices, is how much of a commitment you make from the start. For example, if you pay for a whole year at once, you pay less per month since you’re paying for a year up front. If you don’t want to lock in for that long, you could pick the month-by-month subscription, but while you have the benefit of cancelling any month, you’ll be charged more.
One thing to know about those options is that the 1-year plan comes with three extra months at no cost. This is for the first year only.
The fourth option is free. You’ll get fewer features, but you don’t have to pay anything. These are the differences in the free version versus the paid one:
- Far fewer servers.
- 700 MB of data can be used per day instead of unlimited.
- Slower connection speeds.
- No extra browser privacy.
- Special servers, like for streaming, aren’t included.
- The ad and malware blocker aren’t included.
There are three payment options: PayPal, credit/debit card, and bank transfer. Before paying, you’re also given the option to set up automatic renewal so that you won’t lose service when the subscription period ends. This is entirely optional.
Refunds
According to iTop VPN, they provide a 7-day money-back guarantee for monthly subscriptions and a 15-day money-back guarantee for 6-month and annual subscriptions. It’s important to know that if a refund request isn’t submitted within that specified period, no full refund will be issued.
There’s a lot more to read about partial refunds and cancelling in their refund policy, accessible from their website.
The iTop VPN Desktop App
The app for Windows is probably one of the most well-put-together VPNs I’ve ever used. The way the primary options are organized along the left side, and the overflow menu that holds a few more settings, is simply easy to grasp and should be no problem for anyone to use, even if you’ve never connected to a VPN before.
There are three headings along the left side of the program, and then sub-options below them:
Home provides all the servers iTop VPN supports. Unlike most VPNs that have either a map or a simple list where you pick a region of the world, this program provides several ways to choose the server: For Downloading, For WhatsApp, For Streaming, For Gaming, and All Servers.
So, if you want to a service like Twitter or Instagram, an app like Snapchat or TikTok, or a chat site like Omegle, you’d pick the WhatsApp option to find those options. You’ll get connected to a server that iTop VPN has chosen as being compatible with that particular website/app you want to use. Most VPNs make you guess which servers to use for these things, so having the service itself listed is amazing.
Of course, the same is true for the streaming, gaming, and other categories. All Servers shows, as you’d guess, all the servers you can pick from. It’s there that you’ll find a special one called Smart Location, which is different for everyone since it auto-picks the fastest server based on your real location.
Quick Access is similar. Go there to unblock Netflix, access adult sites on the VPN, watch BBC iPlayer, etc.
Finally, there’s Privacy & Security, which is a collection of other privacy-related features. One is called Browser Privacy, and will clean up privacy problems detected in your web browser. Another, Ads Block, blocks unwanted and malicious ads to help stop malware infections. There’s also a kill switch option and DNS protection, two features you should absolutely enable if you want ultimate protection.
There’s also an app for Android and iOS.
iTop VPN Privacy Commitment
We’ve established that the features and program are worth the money, especially if you consider the super cheap 80% discount you can get. The only thing left that we need to take a close look at is whether the company itself is private.
The last thing you want to do is put all your trust into a VPN company that turns out to be selling your private data or logging your private information on a server somewhere that they can turn over to a government that might request it. So how do we know if iTop VPN is doing this? Their privacy policy is the first place we’ll look.
Here’s what they make a point to call out from their long privacy policy:
We do not log your activity while you are utilizing the Services, including your browsing history, the bandwidth you used, or how long you connected to VPN servers. We do not store your original IP address or the server IP address that you connect to.
That’s the best you could ask for! Zero browsing history, and your real IP address, aren’t stored anywhere. This means that the people who work for iTop VPN can’t dig up those details and use it against you at some point in the future. Some VPNs store this data for a short time and then remove it, but according to the privacy policy here, those things aren’t even stored momentarily, which is excellent.
One thing that the best VPNs do is provide their own DNS servers. This is important so that the addresses of the sites you’re visiting while on the VPN don’t leak out, letting your real ISP, or another company, spy on your activity.
Unfortunately, iTop VPN doesn’t offer their own, but they do let you pick from a list of other well-known public DNS servers.
As for where the company is headquartered, and therefore whose jurisdiction it falls under, is this information in the Governing Law section of their privacy policy:
If you live within the United States, the terms of this Policy shall be governed by the laws of the State of California. If you live outside of the United States, the terms of this Policy shall be governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
Final Thoughts
Most people look for just a few things in a VPN service: ease of use, strong privacy features, and sturdy servers that unlock the features they want (like streaming). iTop VPN provides a good set of tools that cover all of those bases.
If you’re unsure whether to use this VPN, take advantage of the free version first. There’s an email form on their site that you can use if you have any other questions not answered here.
techy.zone 