Is FastestVPN safe? Logging policy, audits and jurisdiction
Privacy and jurisdiction 5.7/10 and security 2.5/10 (segment medians 2.7 and 2.1). No red flag in our data. Independent no-logs audit: ✓ Yes.
In 10 seconds
- Independent no-logs audit: ✓ Yes
- Kill switch
- Stores session times
Privacy
- Jurisdiction
- Cayman, outside 5/9/14 Eyes
- Legal entity
- Not stated
- No-logs policy
- Yes
- Data retention
- email/billing while account active; deleted on account deletion
- Shared with third parties
- FastSpring; Tawk.To; Post Affiliate Pro; Postmark; BugSnag; Firebase; Google Analytics; Facebook pixel
- Trackers on the website
- Google Analytics; Facebook pixel; Tawk.To
What the privacy policy says is collected
Red ✕: collected. Green ✓: not collected. Grey: the policy does not say.
- Email✕ Yes
- IP at sign-upNot stated
- Connection IP✓ No
- Session times✕ Yes
- Bandwidth✕ Yes
- Device info✓ No
- App analytics✕ Yes
- Crash reports✕ Yes
Security
- Kill switch
- Yes
- DNS leak protection
- Not stated
- Encryption
- AES-256
- Security audits
- Altius IT
- Two-factor sign-in
- Not stated
What the audit confirms
FastestVPN is registered in the Cayman Islands, outside the 5/9/14 Eyes alliances, and its no-logs policy has been verified by the independent company Altius IT. The service claims it does not store connection IPs or device details, and that it has nothing to hand over to police requests because it keeps no activity logs. For privacy it scores 5.7 out of 10, with a segment median of 2.7. The service does not name its legal entity. Providers with similar verification are listed in our roundup of audited no-logs VPNs.
What the policy still collects
According to the same policy, the service records the day of connection and its duration, traffic volume, app analytics via Firebase and Google Analytics, and crash reports via BugSnag. Google Analytics, a Facebook pixel and the Tawk.To chat run on the website. There are internal contradictions too: the policy promises not to store connection IPs, but mentions IP logs on the website. The policy was last updated on August 19, 2022. The service has no transparency report and no warrant canary.
Where the weak spot is: security
FastestVPN scores 2.5 out of 10 for security. It has a kill switch, AES-256 encryption and WireGuard. The service does not say whether it has DNS leak protection, RAM-only servers, independent app audits, open-source code or two-factor login, and each of these unknowns costs it points. Outdated PPTP and L2TP/IPsec remain among the protocols, so it is best to manually select WireGuard or OpenVPN in the settings. You can compare it with others in our roundup of secure VPNs.
Can you sign up anonymously?
Only partially. An email address is required, but you can pay with cryptocurrency. Email and payment details are kept as long as the account is active, and are deleted along with it.