HideMyAss is popular VPN provider with the biggest network of VPN servers. Unfortunately, the app is collecting some user's logs and 30-day money back guarantee comes with restrictions.
HMA VPN also supports advanced features like Kill Switch or IP Shuffle.
- Biggest network of VPN servers
- Free Web Proxy
- Free Trial
- Fast servers
- Simple user interface
- Cool brand
- Advanced features
- Collects some user's logs
- Strict refund policy
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Price8
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User Interface9
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Server Locations10
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Performance9
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Customer Support9
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Privacy Policy6
HideMyAss, sometimes shortened to HMA, is a well-known brand and one of the pioneers among VPN services providers. Operating since 2005, along the way it was acquired by AVG Technologies company and currently is owned by Czech security company Avast Software. As for main benefits, we can definitely mention that it's the biggest VPN network (uses 840+ VPN servers in 320+ locations covering 190+ countries), has a very intuitive and friendly interface, and last but not least is a cool brand :).
HideMyAss Mascot Jack
HideMyAss VPN works on any standard device including Internet-enabled TVs and games consoles. You can connect to five devices at the same time. Another happy moment came when we tried to use HideMyAss live chat. The agent was friendly and very helpful.
On the other hand, their 30-day money back guarantee comes with restrictions such as limited bandwidth up to 10GB and a maximum of 100 available connections to the service. On the flip side they've started offering 7-day Free Trial (credit card is needed though).
Unfortunately, HideMyAss collects some users' logs.
Pricing & Discounts – How much does HideMyAss cost?
HideMyAss starts at $11.99 per month. If you are seeking an extra discount, go for 1-year protection for $83.88 that will save you $60 per year and is the highest currently available discount.
HideMyAss starts at $11.99 per month
HideMyAss Free Trial
You can easily check the service before spending any money, because HideMyAss offers 7-day Free Trial trial, although a credit card is required. Be aware that at the end of the Free Trial they will automatically start to charge you for the subscribed plan.
HideMyAss Free Trial
HideMyAss Free Web Proxy
HideMyAss offers also a great free tool called HMA! Free Web Proxy, which allows you to bypass all content restrictions and allows you to browse websites anonymously, without showing your real location (your IP address is hidden) to anyone – completely free of charge!
HideMyAss Web Free Proxy
How to use Free Web Proxy and what extra features does this tool offers you can see in our Free Proxy Guide.
Be aware that 30-day money-back guarantee comes with specific conditions such as:
- usage – less than 10GB of bandwidth and not exceeding 100 sessions
- you have not previously claimed a refund
- A complete list of refund policies
Also auto-renewal subscription is enabled by default. If you want to change it, you have to go to your online account and modify it via the control panel.
User Interface – Is HideMyAss easy to use?
Windows client has the same cartoon branding as we can see on HMA's website. Navigation is quite simple and intuitive. The application's interface is divided into three main sections. The Instant Mode, the quickest way to set up the secure connection will auto-connect you to the optimal server chosen by HMA.
HideMyAss – Instant Mode
The Location Mode allows you to choose almost any location you desire, even right down to the city.
HideMyAss – Location Mode Selector
The Freedom Mode with one click connects you to the nearest server in a country with free speech. Some users might find this feature handy, but for most of them will be obsolete and maybe in some cases not fully understood.
HideMyAss – Freedom Mode
For a long time, HideMyAss did not offer a Kill Switch feature, but that was changed with the recent version 3.5.10. This feature is accessible via settings. From May 2018, Kill Switch is available also to Windows and macOS products.
HideMyAss – Kill Switch Feature
Besides the Kill Switch HMA VPN also support IP Shuffle, another great feature which automatically changes your visible IP address by connecting to different VPN servers in the same location. IP Shuffling has been added in May 2018.
Server Locations & Countries – Where you can connect?
HideMyAss uses 840+ VPN servers and 93,000+ IP addresses in 320+ locations covering 190+ countries – and we can call those some really impressive numbers, making this service unique among the other providers.
The full list of locations includes:
- Africa – Angola; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Benin; Botswana; Congo; Central African Republic; Republic of the Congo; Cote d`Ivoire; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Republic of Djibouti; Algeria; Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Ghana; Gambia; Guinea; Equatorial Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Comoros; Liberia; Lesotho; Libya; Morocco; Madagascar; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Sudan; Saint Helena; Sierra Leone; Senegal; Somalia; Sao Tome and Principe; Swaziland; Chad; Togo; Tunisia; Tanzania; Uganda; South Africa; Zambia; Zimbabwe
- Asia Pacific – Afghanistan; Armenia; American Samoa; Australia; Azerbaijan; Bangladesh; Brunei; Bhutan; Cocos Islands; Cook Islands; China; Christmas Island; Fiji; Guam; Hong Kong; Indonesia; India; Japan; Kyrgyzstan; Cambodia; Kiribati; North Korea; South Korea; Kazakhstan; Laos; Sri Lanka; Myanmar; Mongolia; Macau; Maldives; Malaysia; New Caledonia; Norfolk Island; Nepal; Nauru; Niue; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Pakistan; Pitcairn Islands; Palau; Solomon Islands; Republic of Singapore; Thailand; Tajikistan; Tokelau; Turkmenistan; Tonga; Tuvalu; Taiwan; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Vietnam; Vanuatu; Samoa
- Europe – Andorra; Albania; Albania, Tirana; Austria; Aland Islands; Belgium; Bosnia; Bulgaria; Belarus; Switzerland; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Germany; Denmark; Estonia; Spain; Finland; Faroe Islands; France; Georgia; Gibraltar; Greece; Croatia; Hungary; Ireland; Iceland; Italy; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Latvia; Monaco; Moldova; Montenegro; Macedonia; Malta; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Serbia; Russia; Sweden; Slovenia; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Slovakia; San Marino; UK; Ukraine; Vatican
- Middle East – Bahrain; Israel; Iraq; Iran; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Oman; Palestine; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Turkey; Yemen
- North America – Antigua and Barbuda; Anguilla; Aruba; Barbados; Bermuda; Bahamas; British Virgin Islands; Canada; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Grenada; Greenland; Guadeloupe Haiti; Jamaica; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Cayman Islands; Saint Lucia; Montserrat; Mexico; Nicaragua; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Puerto Rico; Turks and Caicos Islands; USA; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- South America – Argentina; Bolivia; Belize; Brazil; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; Falkland Islands; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Panama; Peru; Paraguay; Suriname; El Salvador; Trinidad and Tobago; Uruguay; Venezuela
We think it's pretty safe to say that no other competitor can compete with HideMyAss in a number of provided locations. On the other hand, one possible improvement would be to inform users if the given location supports anonymous peer-to-peer connections.
It's also worth mentioning that from 2018, HMA servers are using so-called Full Disk Encryption. That means they are fully protected against any physical manipulation or attempts to access them. For example against physical raids by law enforcement agencies. This is very cool and not many VPN vendors do have something like this. It's like an additional assurance that any data which may be stored on the VPN server won't get into someone else hands.
Does HideMyAss Support YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO, Amazon Prime, & BBC iPlayer?
During our testing, HideMyAss worked well with YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO, Amazon Prime, Google, Facebook, and even BBC iPlayer, which is currently the only working solution out there (based on our testing). HideMyAss also recently significantly improved streaming with their new IP Stickiness feature.
See the complete guide how to watch BBC iPlayer abroad – outside UK.
Performance & Internet Connection Speed Test
Concerning performance and internet speed connection, HideMyAss is definitely among the top 10 key VPN players. Anyway, as you can see the speed when connected to one of the HideMyAss VPN servers varied quite a lot. The benchmark with no VPN used was 31.71 Mbps, and the speed differed from 4.72 Mbps download in Australia to 22.05 Mbps in Moscow.
[wp_table id=758/]For testing, we have used free web service by Ookla.Customer Support
HideMyAss Customer Support reaches a sufficient market standard. Even though there is no phone number you can call, there is still a handy live chat you can use as a regular website visitor. We did our homework, and we were positively surprised that even a technical issue we pretended to have was solved professionally and quickly.
HideMyAss Live Chat
On the other hand, we noticed quite a lot of negative reviews on other forums related to issues with canceling auto billing and strict refund policies.
On top of Live Chat, HideMyAss offers other types of support:
- Submit a Ticket to HideMyAss Supports – Form for submitting a ticket to official HideMyAss Support
- Getting Started Guide – Step-by-step instructions on basic usage (installation, activation, first use, …)
- Knowledge Base & FAQ – Instructions on advanced usage (Router configuration, Linux setup, change of protocols, … )
- HideMyAss Forum – Not very lively though
Overall we are giving 3 / 5 stars for Customer Support.
Privacy Policy & EULA – What kind of information is HideMyAss collecting?
HideMyAss collects the following types of information:
- Username – your account username
- Timestamp – when you connect and disconnect to VPN service
- Amount data transmitted (upload and download) – during each session
- IP address – used to connect to VPN and of the individual VPN server
Based on their Logging Policy, HideMyAss claims that they don't store any activity or connection logs.
Privax Ltd. is the parent company behind the HideMyAss VPN service and is based in London, England. The company was acquired by AVG and once again by Avast Software, a Czech security company with headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic. However, their CEO is from the USA.
Conclusion – Is HideMyAss VPN worth $11.52 per month?
HideMyAss is great VPN product which is easy to use and serves its purpose very well. If you are looking for a product with a wide range of available locations, high speed, and overall a cool user interface you can stop looking right now.
The monthly price $11.99 sets this product among other top VPN providers who are more expensive than rest of the brands. But given all those extra features we are confident in saying that this product is worth the money.
Unfortunately, HideMyAss collects some users' logs and 30-day money back guarantee comes with restrictions such as limited bandwidth up to 10GB and a maximum of 100 available connections to the service.
