Hide.me

Full Hide.me Review for UK Users

Hide.me has built its reputation on a foundation of transparency and verifiable privacy claims. Based in Malaysia, the company operates outside the jurisdiction of any major intelligence-sharing alliance, and it has invested heavily in third-party audits to prove that its privacy promises are genuine.

The company's no-logs policy has been independently verified by DefenseCode, a respected security firm, making Hide.me one of the few VPN providers to have undergone a thorough code-level audit of its logging practices. This goes beyond the standard privacy policy claims that most VPN providers rely upon, providing concrete evidence that no user activity data is collected or stored.

Hide.me's free tier is one of the more generous options available. Free users receive 10GB of data per month, access to servers in eight locations, and a single simultaneous connection. Importantly, the free tier includes no advertisements and no speed throttling, making it a genuinely useful option for light VPN users.

The Stealth Guard feature is Hide.me's implementation of a VPN kill switch with added flexibility. Users can configure specific applications to only function when the VPN is active, preventing any accidental data leaks. This application-level control gives users more granularity than a simple system-wide kill switch.

Hide.me supports an impressive range of VPN protocols, including WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec, SoftEther, and SSTP. This broad protocol support ensures compatibility with virtually any device or network configuration, and gives technically inclined users the freedom to choose the protocol that best suits their needs.

The Multihop feature allows users to route their traffic through two VPN servers for enhanced privacy. Custom DNS settings enable users to specify their preferred DNS servers, providing additional control over their internet traffic.

With over 2,400 servers across 79 countries, Hide.me's network is mid-range in size. UK users have access to servers within the country, though the selection is smaller than what NordVPN or CyberGhost offer. Connection speeds are solid, particularly on nearby European servers, though they do not quite reach the levels achieved by ExpressVPN or NordVPN.

For UK streaming, Hide.me provides mixed results. It can access some platforms, but it is not as consistently reliable with BBC iPlayer or Netflix as the top-rated streaming VPNs. The service is better suited to users whose primary concern is privacy rather than entertainment.

Hide.me is a member of the VPN Trust Initiative (VTI) and the i2Coalition, demonstrating its commitment to industry best practices and ethical standards. The company publishes a transparency report and has a clear, readable privacy policy.

Pricing starts at £3.32 per month on the two-year plan, with all paid plans supporting up to 10 simultaneous connections. A 30-day money-back guarantee is included with every subscription.