VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) have become the go-to solution for bypassing geographic or content restrictions. They are also used for maintaining privacy and encrypting data transferred over the internet. This privacy and security is especially important when connecting to public WiFi networks to prevent third-parties from potentially hacking your computer.
VPNs function by transmitting your data to private servers spread out across the globe and then connecting you to your destination. This masks your IP address so you cannot be detected since you’re functioning through an intermediary.
A lot of people seem to believe that VPNs are extremely expensive. However, that is not true. In addition to some very reasonable VPN services, you also have access to a number of free VPNs in Australia.
In this article, we’ll explore the benefits and drawbacks of using free VPNs and the best free VPNs to be used in Australia.
Overview of Free VPNs in Australia
FreeVPNs come in many forms. Some VPNs are free in their entirety. And some free VPNs are only free provisionally. For instance, some VPNs might be free when used for a single device or for a limited time period. Some VPNs are completely free, but they lack certain features available in paid VPNs. The following are some of the main advantages and disadvantages of free VPNs.
Advantages
- They’re free!
- They require minimal setup. You can simply launch and use them, no purchases, no provision of information.
Disadvantages
- Lack Security: VPNs are meant to protect your privacy and prevent hackers from getting you. However, a number of free VPNs can put you at greater risk of being hacked. This is because free VPNs rely extensively on pop-up advertisements for their revenue. And many of these ads carry malware that can infect your device. If you’re not VERY careful while selecting a free VPN, your device can be hacked.
- Invasion of Privacy: VPNs are meant to keep your activities anonymous. Paid VPN services often maintain a strict No Logging policy and can be held accountable. However, there’s no accountability with free VPNs. They have to make their money somehow. So they embed the VPN with third-party trackers that collect your information and sell it off to bidders.
- Inability to Bypass Geographic Restrictions: Most free VPNs are fairly basic. They don’t have the tools to successfully change your IP address and are unable to unblock Netflix or other similar services.
- Slow Speed: Using free VPNs can drastically slow down your internet connection. Even paid VPNs slow down your speed, but only negligibly. But with free VPNs, you might as well be using a dial-up connection.
- Advertisements: Free VPNs bombard you with so many ads on every screen that you will inadvertently end up clicking on several of them. Not only is this annoying, but many of them — as already mentioned — carry malicious malware.
- Lack of Crucial Features: Paid VPNs come with several crucial features to protect your privacy and anonymity. One such feature is Kill Switch. If you’re accessing a site that your government doesn’t permit, this feature can be extremely useful. If your VPN connection is lost for some reason, this feature can immediately shut down all your pages, protecting your privacy. However, with free VPNs, you don’t get access to this feature. As such, if the VPN should suddenly shut down, your activity — at that moment — will become completely visible.
- Sale of Bandwidth: Various free VPNs drain their free users’ bandwidth and they divert it to their paying customers.
All of the aforementioned drawbacks render free VPNs to be quite harmful if you’re not careful. As such, if you need to use VPNs on an extremely infrequent basis, you can use them. However, if you use VPNs with any degree of frequency, you should get a paid VPN service, especially since there are a lot of cheap options out there. Most VPN providers also offer a money back guarantee.
Top 3 Free VPNs in Australia
Now that you’ve been warned about the drawbacks of free VPNs, the following are the 3 best free VPNs in Australia. We’ve vetted them to make sure that they don’t carry malware or other malicious intent.
1. Hotspot Shield – Visit HotSpotShield.com
Update: As checked on 17 July 2019, Hotspot Shield has made it a little bit trickier to use the free version. Read our guide below to use Hotspot Shied for free.
Hotspot Shield is one of the most popular free VPNs with servers in Australia. They are a legit VPN service with a paid version, but the free version also grants users limited access.
The free version of this VPN can grant users up to 500MBs per day. That’s not enough for streaming, but it’s enough for casual browsing or bypassing specific site restrictions. In addition to space limitation, the free version can only be used on one device. Another limitation, which was the most troublesome in our testing was that you can only connect to their US server meaning relatively low speeds. In our speed testing carried out on a connection in Perth we saw a 40% decrease in speed when connecting to the US based Hotspot Shield Server.
Despite the limitations, it is still highly recommended because they have great data encryption and are fast. As such, they don’t compromise security, even in the free version.
How to use Hotspot Shield Free Version
- Go to www.hotspotshield.com/free-download and download their software for free. This step is easy.
- Follow setup instructions on your device.
- On computers you will see the below screen presented with different plans which gives the impression that there is no free plan. The trick is to click the little left arrow button in the top left corner (highlighted below)
2. TunnelBear
Update: As checked on 17 July 2019, TunnelBear is now only giving 500mb free data per month. This is almost not worth it so we recommend you sign up with HotSpot shield instead who are providing 500mb per day. Of course you can use them in combination.
TunnelBear is an extremely basic free VPN with no additional feature besides simply hiding your IP.
They have been bought by McAfee so you know they can be trusted. They currently have around 1,000 servers spread out across 20 server locations, including Australia. Furthermore, they take privacy and security very seriously. As such, they don’t even collect first names when signing up.
The free version of this VPN limits you to 500MBs per day,per month and that’s the only drawback here, other than the limited suite of features. If you choose to upgrade to a paid plan, you can get it for as little as $4.99 a month.
3. Hide.me
Hide.me is a Malaysia-based VPN service available in over 50 geographic locations, including Australia. They have a monthly limit of only 2GB, which is hardly enough to stream a single movie on Netflix. The connection speed isn’t great either. However, they have zero ads, they follow a strict no logging policy, and they offer full customer support even to free users.
So now you know all about the best free VPNs on the market. As already mentioned, you should be extremely cautious while using free VPNs. The ones we’ve mentioned are generally considered to be safe, but there are a lot of malicious free VPNs out there as well.
Other Paid Options
Currently, our top-rated VPN provider is NordVPN who provide top-notch security at an excellent price. Through this link, you will receive up to 75% off the plan cost.
