Mullvad VPN Review

@mullvadnet is a virtual private network (VPN) solution created by a Swedish-based team that is available to customers throughout much of the world. The service operates multiple locations across numerous countries including the United States, Canada, Israel, Singapore, and multiple European sites. Peer-to-peer (P2P) connections are authorized through all locations, and users can maintain up the three connections simultaneously.

Functionally, users can choose desktop clients designed for Windows, Mac, or Linux, making it a strong contender for those who prefer any operating system. Additionally, the single pricing plan model makes managing the associated costs shockingly simple.

Features

Mullvad is equipped with a decent feature offering. These features include support for OpenVPN and PPTP protocols, which is not common on many VPNs. The service allows for three devices to simultaneously be connected and include port forwarding and P2P and torrenting functionality. 

There are some additional features that user may find handy, such as port forwarding management, a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and IPv6 tunneling. The Mullvad VPN service isn’t necessarily the fastest option available, so if your intent is to stream HD video you may find the performance disappointing.

Using the Service

Account creation is incredibly simple, requiring only a captcha to confirm you are a person. A unique, entirely numeric identifier is then created, and your account is set. Once that is complete, choose the client based on your operating system and initiate a download. Then, simply enter your identifier, and you are ready to go.

While the client interface is very basic, certain aspects are not very intuitive. For example, selecting a country requires going to a different tab instead of it being situated near the ‘Connect’ button, which is commonly seen in other VPN providers. You also can’t view your current country from the main connection page, so going to that tab is almost a necessity.

The three-hour free trial is extremely short and the countdown clock doesn’t update dynamically or even in useful increments. It only reflects the approximate number of hours remaining, so you are somewhat responsible for monitoring the time yourself. However, outside of the free trial, a timer is essentially unnecessary.

Reliability

In our experience the Mullvad software offered decent browsing speeds and there were no disconnects or unexpected events. One thing we really liked about Mullvad was the updates on the site. Their blog features relevant information about new version releases, server upgrades, and more.

Customer Support

Support is only available via a FAQ on the Mullvad website and through email messaging. The FAQ is pretty well-rounded and comprehensive. We sent an email to test how long the response time would be and we received a relevant response in around a half hour. Without a live chat feature, however, there was no way to tell when customer support would respond.

Security and Privacy

Some of the most distinct benefits of choosing Mullvad is their dedication to your privacy. The company doesn’t even require your name, email address, physical address, or phone number to obtain services. They also accept payment via Bitcoin for those who want true anonymity while using the service.

Another plus of the service is the lack of ads. This means there are no third-party analytics services operating in the background and lowers the number of cookies involved with the VPN service. In fact, the only cookies Mullvad uses are one for your login activity and another to ensure your preferred language is displayed.

To take privacy even further, customers have the option of emailing the company directly through an encrypted mail service that uses a public PGP key.

Additional questions about privacy are clearly explained in their policy. That means you don’t have to guess how your information is used or stored. For example, the policy asserts that no information is logged through Mullvad including IP addresses, traffic, DNS requests, connection times, bandwidth use, or even the date you choose to connect.

The only point that is recorded is the current number of connections associated with an account, and this unstored data is only to ensure that no one has more than three at a time. 

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, Mullvad may be lacking somewhat in performance, but the privacy options available and the ability to create an anonymous account is worth noting. If you aren’t sure whether it will meet your needs, you can always give the three-hour free trial a go and see if you get the results you need.