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Features
Server locations
39
Total servers
44
Simultaneous connections
5
Routers supported
Unlocator comes with the choice of Smart DNS and VPN services, and these can be used simultaneously to stream content in one country and VPN to another.
The Unlocator VPN is available for all popular platforms and has apps that provide OpenVPN encryption (iOS only provides L2TP/IPSec and IKEv2, which is pretty standard fare). The Unlocator VPN apps have a killswitch and a "shield" feature that stops you from connecting to the internet unless the VPN is enabled. However, the killswitch is for desktops only.
Unlocator has servers in 36 countries, which is a large selection of nations for unblocking content. BitTorrenting is permitted and the firm does not specify specific servers for P2P, which means that you are free to use any.
Speed and Performance
Unlocator VPN didn't impair speeds to any meaningful extent when we were connected to its servers. That means this VPN should be fine for performing data-intensive tasks such as streaming and gaming. This makes sense because the VPN markets itself as good for unblocking content such as Netflix.
Netflix
Unlocator is a service that can provide access to US Netflix. Users can unblock Netflix either using the Smart DNS servers or with the VPN. The service also unblocks a lot of other popular services such as BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and many more.
Leak tests
ProPrivacy.com SpeedTest (average)
49.2
Speed
62
We tested this VPN for leaks on an IPv4 connection and found it to suffer no IP leaks, DNS leaks or WebRTC leaks. This means it will protect your privacy effectively.
However, we do recommend that you head over to IPLeak.net yourself to check for leaks, particularly if you have an IPv6 connection (we could not test for IPv6 because our ISP did not provide it in our location at the time of the review). If you do get a WebRTC or DNS leak on IPv6 we recommend that you disable IPv6 completely on your computer.
Test Your VPN for IP Leaks
Since reviewing this VPN service, we have created our own VPN IP leak testing tool. It is easy to use and 100% reliable.
Price
Unlocator is a pretty pricey VPN service when compared to the average prices of premium VPNs these days. If you subscribe for a year you will pay $98.75 (including VAT) which is the equivalent of $8.30 per month. We find the fact that it quotes a price without VAT a little misleading.
A one month plan costs $12.49. These are top-end prices that can easily be beaten. So if getting an excellent VPN that is also cheap is important to you, we recommend looking elsewhere.
All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test the service thoroughly to see if it does everything you need. This is very generous, especially because Unlocator VPN also provides a 7-day free trial that you can use to test the service. The free trial gives full access to the Unlocator services, including the VPN and the Smart DNS service.
The company accepts all major credit and debit cards, and you can also pay with Bitcoin. However, it isn't possible to pay for the service with PayPal.
Ease of use
Signing Up
The seven-day free trial should give you plenty of time to get comfortable with Unlocator and test it thoroughly. There are free trial buttons all over the site, so you shouldn't have trouble getting to the signup form.
Your email address becomes your username for the system. The company will send any password reset information to the registered email address. It is possible to use the system with a fake email address because there is no email verification step during the account activation process. However, it is better to give a real email address. Just create a new anonymous webmail account if you don't want to give Unlocator your real email address.
You will be redirected directly to your account page after completing the signup.
The Set-Up
Apps are available for all platforms, which means that you can get the VPN app up and running on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. All platforms provide OpenVPN apart from iOS, which runs on a choice of secure IKEv2 or L2TP encryption. A killswitch is available on both desktop clients but is not available on mobile apps.
We found the apps to be easy to navigate and easy to use, with nice one-click functionality for connecting to a choice of servers around the world.
Customer service
You get to the Unlocator Support Center by clicking on the Support button in the top menu of the site. If you need to ask a question from the support team, click on the "Contact Support" button in the support page. Opening a support ticket involves filling in a standard web form. A reply will go to your registered email address.
For users that prefer it, there is a 24/7 live chat service on its website. We found the support agents to be generally good. However, one exited our conversation when we still had more questions we wanted to ask, which meant we had to start another chat conversation; we suppose she had somewhere more important to be. The next gentleman was much better and attended the chat until we had finished with all our questions.
We were impressed with the level of technical knowledge they were able to deliver when pushed. We also liked the setup guides, which includes a setup guide for Windows 10 and other modern platforms. As well as guides to set up the VPN manually.
Privacy and security
Unlocator is based in Denmark which is a European country that is very strong on privacy. The nation has no logging requirements by Danish law that apply to VPNs and Denmark has some of the strongest consumer and privacy protection laws in the world.
In addition, the firm stores only aggregated statistics that cannot be linked to an IP address, and these connection logs are purged within 24 hours. This means that even if the firm is approached with a warrant it would have nothing substantial to hand over about its users.
However, it is worth noting that you do have to provide the firm with your IP address if you decide to use the Smart DNS feature.
Encryption Protocols
VPNs encrypt all the data coming and going from your devices. And Unlocator apps provide strong encryption on all platforms including OpenVPN (on every platform but iOS). We asked the firm to provide us with details of the OpenVPN implementation and they told us that it uses:
Cipher: AES-256-CBC. Handshake: RSA-2048 key. Hash authentication:
This is a very strong OpenVPN implementation that is future proof.
VPN Logging
Unlocator states that it deletes all records of activities within 24 hours of the termination of a session. In addition, it never collects any data about what users do while connected to its servers (usage logs). This is as close to a zero-logs VPN as it gets and is excellent privacy for most people's needs.
Final thoughts
Unlocator is a service that is marketed both at people who want to unblock more content online and people who desire privacy. We found the service to be good for both. However it is a bit on the pricey side and there are VPNs on the market that will give you identical features, with more server locations for around half the price. Nevertheless, this is a pretty good VPN service that is worth a test run.