HideMyAss Review
We initially found HideMyAss to be a serviceable VPN provider. The app is easy to set up and use, letting you connect quickly.
HideMyAss Review Summary
We tested HideMyAss’ service and found the connection speeds decent. We also like the app’s user-friendliness. On the other hand, we found the provider’s security policies contentious, especially in the use of log files and storage of user information.
Customer support also turned out unreliable, with them not responding to our questions in a thorough manner. Because of these issues, we would suggest you either use HideMyAss at your own risk, or find a better alternative by click the button below.
HideMyAss VPN Features
One of HideMyAss’ main draws is its easy-to-use client app. The app has the Instant Connection button displayed prominently on the home screen. There is also a Location Mode tab where you can select the country and server to connect to. This tab also displays the servers available for streaming and torrenting.
Another notable feature of the app is the Freedom Mode, which HideMyAss claims will help people go around a country’s censorship. The provider explains that when you use this mode your traffic is directed to the closest country that doesn’t have strict censorship.
The app also has a simplified Preferences section, where you can make adjustments like:
Start the VPN client when your computer starts
Show your recent connections
Shuffle your IP addresses
Toggle the kill switch on and off
The section’s layout makes it intuitive to use, but it noticeably lacks some of the finer control options, like Load Balancing and Secure IP Bind, that were previously present.
User experience
With such a complex network, you’d expect Hide My Ass to have VPN software that’s just as complex to use. This isn’t the case. They’ve taken the essentials that the average user needs and placed them right in the easiest place to find them – the ‘Dashboard’ tab.
From the Dashboard you can quickly change which country your server is in from the ‘Quick VPN Country Change” menu:
This really plays to Hide My Ass’ strength as a tool for defeating geoblocking. You can enjoy their software entirely from the Dashboard tab and never have to stray. This is what the average user will do.
For users with more advanced needs, you’ll find it’s simple to customize your experience. The country selection tab easily lets you navigate their worldwide network via a text based listing of all their servers grouped by country, or the world map we prefer:
Advanced users can simply keep on looking down through the tabs to find their:
- Simple IP address settings tool.
- Secure IP Bind, more often known as a VPN kill switch.
- Speed Guide for the fastest servers near you (Ping tested)
- Choosing between a direct connection, HTTPS proxy, or SOCKS proxy.
Each tab down from the top has a more complicated feature. This is great for user experience as the most useful features for the largest number of users is closest to the top. There’s no digging into the more complicated stuff if you don’t want to.
Streaming and P2P
HideMyAss offers Netflix unblocking services, which can be accessed in the Location tab. The company gives you access to both the US and UK servers, as well as the BBC iPlayer. It also offers unblocking services for Amazon Prime Video, but this is not as reliable as the Netflix services.
The available peer-to-peer servers are also displayed in the Location tab. Some users have noted that they have difficulty transferring files through the servers or that these are inaccessible. HideMyAss recommends you make some adjustments to your Preferences, like only using TCP, to resolve the issues.
User interface
It seems like more VPN providers are moving towards a layout much like Hide My Ass’ layout. In the early days of VPNs, the interface left much to the imagination. Today, Hide My Ass are leading the way with an interface that is always looking better, working better, and helping users secure their connection faster.
The software has a very simple and clean look. It’s a little bit blander than the yellow and black software of theirs from years ago, but the VPN world is maturing so it’s only right:
Features
Perhaps the greatest strength of Hide My Ass over the years has been the cutting edge features they’ve built right into their software. To start with the most basic stuff, you can use their software to:
- Launch when the system starts.
- Auto Path for OpenVPN problems where it automatically tries to solve issues.
- Use load balancing that switches you to a less busy server within the same city. You can choose how ‘crowded’ the server is by percentage.
These three are all designed to help you get connected quickly, and to maintain a fast connection with no effort on your part. You can find them on your Dashboard tab under ‘Settings’:
Their next best feature is their IP address switching tool. You can choose to simply change your IP at the touch of a button, labelled ‘Change IP’, for complete control when you need it. You can use it when you’re about to visit a different website and want a different IP address displayed to it.
Or you can schedule an IP address change for a certain time. It will be done for you automatically. Both IP address changing tools make it very difficult for someone to track you.
If you’re ever in doubt about where you IP address is, and how websites see it, you can click on their ‘Verify IP address’ button on the bottom. It will take you to this website where you’ll be shown what other websites are seeing:
Next, you can change your Secure IP bind, or VPN kill switch, settings. This will disconnect the connection of certain apps you choose. For example, if your connection to a VPN server drops, and you’re doing a secure file transfer with your legal team, the software will stop the connection for that transfer so your information remains safe. Being able to select only certain apps is a feature completely unique to HMA Pro.
The Speed Guide feature is incredibly useful with their huge network of servers. They automatically display the 10 closest VPN servers. You can then check more servers to test Ping rates, and other server tests.
The last feature, Proxy Settings, is really only for advanced users.
Reliability
You need not worry about your software crashing with Hide My Ass. After months of testing, lots of playing around, and an attempt at getting it to crash, it stood up to our abuse. This is a good thing as a complex network with a bad piece of software can be a frustrating experience. No such problems here.
Fair warning: If you choose to check the Ping rates of a lot of servers, and they have a lot of servers to check, you can have a longer wait time. The point of their Speed Guide is to lower the wait time for users who want to get server information. If you abuse it you will have a slower experience.
Platforms and Compatibility
Hide My Ass have VPN software for the following platforms:
- Windows
- Mac
- iOS
- Android
Along with instructions to set it up on a router, or manually. This is a shorter list of platforms compared to others, such as IPVanish, but it does cover the vast majority of users.
CPU load
Hide My Ass’ software is slightly larger than some we’ve tested in terms of file size, but it will not take up very much space on your hard drive at all:
Given the size of their network, you’ll be surprised to find that it only uses around 48.8MB of active memory. For a modern laptop or desktop computer, you’ll be able to run your torrent client, browse around the Internet, listen to music, and play around in a graphics editing program while Hide My Ass is open with no problem. We know this because we tested it!
Overall, Hide My Ass has one of top VPN software tools we’ve used. The interface is clean and easy to understand. You can use their more advanced features with limited knowledge. Navigating their large and complex network is made simple through how they designed they designed this excellent piece of software.
HideMyAss SERVERS & COUNTRIES
HideMyAss operates 880 servers spread across 190 countries and territories, including:
- Denmark
- France
- Puerto Rico
- Brazil
- Hong Kong
- Australia
While HideMyAss has a large number of servers, there are other providers (like IPVanish) that have bigger networks. The servers are also distributed unevenly, with most locations having only two servers available.
Reliability & Speed Tests
Speed wise, Hide My Ass was found to feel the same when you’re using it as any other top 5 VPNs tested. Streaming video speed is normal, and everything else loads as quickly as you’d expect. Here is how the connection was performing on the day of testing without a VPN connected: Our Speeds Without HideMyAss 
When using HMA, you find that they have virtual servers for clients who want a connection in the USA, but who are far outside of the USA. When tested, the closest virtual USA server was in France: 
Our Speeds On a HideMyAss Server Located In France: To compare, here are the results with a server in Manhattan, NYC: 
You get a quicker ping rate with the physically closer virtual server, and roughly the same download speed with either one. When using the connection to surf around the web, the virtual server feels quicker. A UK connection had similar results, showing that all connections would operate at nearly exactly the same speed: Our Speeds On a HideMyAss Server Located In the United Kingdom 
After three entire days of testing, HMA did not once drop a connection. Every connection felt exactly the same as the next, regardless of whether the VPN server was 100 miles away, or 10,000 miles away. Of particular note is HMA’s dedication to monitoring their servers. Out of the 900+ servers that were online when we tested, only 5 were found to be offline, and those servers were in remote locations. Best of all, HMA has been found to work perfectly fine with all geo-blocked content providers – including Hulu. Some IP addresses are blocked by Hulu, simply switching to another US based or virtual server can unlock it for you.
Pricing and Payments
HideMyAss offers three different plans for its VPN service:
- One-month plan: $11.99
- 12-month plan: $6.99
- 24-month plan: $4.99
All these plans let you access the entire HideMyAss network, and there are no restrictions on the number of downloads. You can pay either through PayPal or credit cards The sizes of the plans will not be to everyone’s liking, as there are no intermediate monthly packages. This makes them more suitable for long-term users rather than casual ones. All the plans are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. To receive the refund, you need to send HideMyAss’ support staff a cancelation request.
Support
HideMyAss provides several means of getting customer support, namely:
- Live Chat: The agents are claimed to be available 24/7 on chat, but you won’t get detailed answers to questions since they only direct you to other pages.
- Help form: The help form is basic and doesn’t let you direct your support requests to specific departments. This might result in longer resolution times.
- Email support: You can send any email inquiries to info@hidemyass.com, but the site is again slow to respond.
- Social media: The site has both a Facebook page and a Twitter account where you can send questions.
The large variety of channels available lets you make contact anytime for inquiries or troubleshooting.
However, the quality of provided support is less than stellar. While agents respond within minutes on live chat, most of their answers just direct us to links on their site. This is the same case with the social media pages. There felt like there was no personal touch.
Users also noted that HideMyAss’ support is less responsive on non-real time channels like email and support tickets. This will be problematic to some users since they will be limited to use only these channels for sending refund requests or inquiries. We, unfortunately, personally received very poor support from HideMyAss. It is one of the major reasons why we gave HideMyAss a lower ranking.
POLICIES & LOGGING
While HideMyAss states that it does not monitor or store the details of the sites you visit, it still collects a variety of log information during your session, including:
- Your username
- Your session timestamp
- The IP address used to connect to the VPN
- The IP address of the server you are using
- The amount of data you transmit
The provider can still use these log files to trace your online activities, even without viewing your actual traffic.
The company also states that it may actively monitor your sessions for technical purposes or when detecting fraud and abusive use of the network. This will be worrisome for users since HideMyAss is based in the UK, which is known for its aggressive monitoring of citizens. In fact, HideMyAss has allowed authorities access to user information in previous cases.
Expert Recommendation
We initially found HideMyAss to be a serviceable VPN provider. The app is easy to set up and use, letting you connect quickly. The speeds are also fairly consistent and are sufficient for most online users. We did find the company’s more specialized services (like streaming and P2P) less reliable than that of other providers.
However, upon closer inspection of HideMyAss’ policies, we found some concerning issues. The most notable of them is that HideMyAss does collect a significant amount of user information. We are also concerned by the company’s track record of giving authorities access to this information too easily, wondering who else may be able to get hold of it (like the bad guys).
Customer support is another point of contention. While HideMyAss provides plenty of contact channels, the response rate is not that impressive. Because of these issues, we suggest that you be cautious about using HideMyAss. You can also check out better alternatives in our top VPN list.
HideMyAss User Reviews
not stable connection.
Where is my money lost?don’t buy this VPN, not recommend and not stable connection,I then opened a customer service ticket and also asked that my subscription be canceled and the payment refunded. totally disappoint.
Wonderful service until I paid for the…
Wonderful service until I paid for the three year offer. I feel my response time is now MUCH slower 🙁
Has a lot of servers,but sucks...
I’ve recently tried out HMA,just to troll my friends. I bought a monthly plan and connected to North Korea. After that my connection speed just decreased by a lot (understandable).After i just disconnected and was chilling on trustpilot. I found out that,though your connected to HMA’sservers,you can be hacked anyway.Thinking that this company has been acquired by Avast…
Duplicate license resolution
I started receiving notifications of license expiration and I knew that wasn’t right. Come to find out, I had purchased a second license and the original license was expiring. I sent an email to HMA VPN Customer Support requesting assistance, Branko Mitkovic responded. He reviewed my account, explained how I got to this point and offered to consolidate my licenses and adjust the expiration date to reflect the changes. You cant ask for more than that!Thank you Branko.
best option around
The vpn itself works fine, better than other vpns. The paying process is not perfect but reasonably good. Also the customer assistance works fine. For now, it’s the best option around.
Doing great
Doing great. Just renewed for the third year.
For as long.as I have been with you
For as long.as I have been with you, your service has been great! The issues l have had have always been with 2checkout. Your speeds faster than before as well as connection times are faster. I constantly recommend you to friends. You are a true 5 star provider.
There are loads of options for VPN
There are loads of options for VPN. This one allows hackers to use their network to attack legitimate websites. This does not need to be the case, but they allow it anyway. Further they ignore the abuse reporting system used by Ripe to report such mis-use. I support the use of VPN’s, but not when they allow hackers to use the system to avoid prosecution.Update after reply:Just because you do not store anything does not mean that you have to allow hacking traffic through your network. You are basically a paid accomplice. Also, you should still respond to abuse via the Ripe system.Update after second reply:GDPR has nothing to do with this. It is about what traffic you allow through your network. Your IP has been reported to you via the industry standard abuse system, and you have ignored it. You cannot just hide behind policy when breaking the law.Update after third reply:Request sent 5 days ago. No response at all. No response to my Ripe-Abuse, no response to my ticket #1815442
NOT for travellers and use on cellular network (phones).
Not sure where to begin, so I will keep it short:HMA does not work with streaming disney plus. I live in Denmark, where we have and pay for Disney plus. Now I am in Uganda, and HMA DOES NOT WORK for streaming Disney… not from Denmark nor any other country where Disney plus is available. Other VPN providers do work.2. HMA VPN connection going on the mobile network, is a very intermittent experience. The HMA App tries and tries and tries to go on vpn, even though automatic connect is disabled. In those 5 minutes, you have no access to the internet, until it finally times out and cannot connect. HMA works fine on my wif both laptop and phone, but not on cellular. When writing I actually downgraded HMA to 1 star. IT DOES NOT WORK, when you move between countries and not on cellular. Sucks that I payd for 3 yearsEditetd> After the response from HMA. I fully acknowledge HMA cannot assist with circumventing the regional rules of a streaming service. So, I will highlight that the problem with Cellular issue mentioned above was not present on the other VPN provider I have swithced to. No changes to my settings and cellular network. And to be sure I just switched to HMA on my phone and the problem is back. no internet connection for several minutes. Back to other provider, works immidiately. yes I did reinstall the app >/(
Happily been using HMA VPN for several years.
I’ve been using HMA VPN for a few years now, always been great, had good functionality and reliability, and good speeds. Not had not do any travel since early 2020 of course, but when I do, I’m glad I’ll still have HMA to keep my browsing secure, and not region-tied.
Where is my money?
Where is my money?? I think this website is scam
HMA VPN
Easy to set up and use. Very reliable.
Get it
This is a great way to not show your location
Easy to use
Easy to use and works on both my computer and my iPhone. I like that I can have it start automatically or wait until I want it to run. A few web sites don’t work when it is active, but most do.
HMA VPN Rocks!
Fast. Efficient. Keeps me and mine SAFE. Thanks!
I have been with HMA for several years…
I have been with HMA for several years now. Good value and even greater service and assistance. If it were not for significant slowing of downloads I would happily give 5 stars.
great prog
great prog, good value for money.
nice app ,works well constant updates…
nice app ,works well constant updates and tweaks
HMA VPN app
I’m using HMA VPN for years. It is easy to handle and it takes me to the place I want to be or need to be. Excellent app.
I've been running with HMA for many…
I’ve been running with HMA for many years… They only keep getting better and more sophisticated- especially as certain (entertainment) media providers across this planet attempt to defeat its cloaking ability. Additionally, all my internet connecting devices work flawlessly under the same plan. Definitely 5 stars!
Request for reviews of other VPN services
I really don’t have any other VPN services to compare to. The reason is I have used them. Do you have access to any comparisons?
HMA is one of the cheaper VPN…
HMA is one of the cheaper VPN subscriptions. On the plus side, there are lots of servers across many locations. On the minus side, the connection has become unreliable over the last few months and can drop out several times in one session.
Useful
Useful, but …Very useful security tool except for the fact that certain accounts that I have keep on asking for more personal information through phone or email in order to ascertain that I am who I am. They see the different IP’s that do not match their own information about me.
Thank you for providing access to…
Thank you for providing access to content we enjoy everywhere in our travels, from La Paz to Florence.
With most applications HMA really…
With most applications HMA really works. However when doing business on video it really slows up the router.
Horrible company
Horrible company. I gave them our credit card and they never sent a link or anything. Now we have to dispute with our credit card company. AVOID!!!!!
Great customer service
I subscribed to HMA when I was in the US several years ago and it was an easy process to use their VPN.After moving abroad, I contacted their customer service team (including the billing team). They quickly handled my case so I’m quite happy with the experience I have with the product and the HMA team.
Great job
Great job for your VPN.
REVIEW STATUS
EFFICIENT, SATISFACTORY, EASY TO USE , GOOD VALUE
Awesome !
Awesome !Fast & Serious !!!
All amazing
All amazing and also the technical support
Good services
Good services, only problem HMA VPN is not working for Netflix and Amazon Prime
I have been using HMA VPN so many years…
I have been using HMA VPN for so many years so far and i can say that is one of the best VPN services out there. Unfortunately is underrated but as a matter of fact, this year i tried another, one of the most known VPNs, curious to see if it had any difference, but shortly after i switched to HMA without thinking twice.It works flawlessy especially in the Middle East and it’s full of little but helpful features that make your browsing fast and stress free, such as killswitch, quick IP change button etc.. etc..to not talk about the easy interface it has. what else can i say? I’m 100% satisfied, it’s worth every penny.
We love the services of HMA
We love the services of HMAPerhaps the payment system could be made easier
Great customer service!
Enjoyed the subscription for this software for many years and just renewed for another 3-year subscription. Upon writing to HMA support about an error which occurred (mea culpa) during the order process, the support team (Branko, to be precise) promptly responded and fixed this issue at once in a pragmatic manner. Thank you! Pascal
Excellent tres bon vpn
Excellent, très bon vpn
Watch out
I unknowingly was subscribed to HMA with not one but two subscriptions. I use Nord VPN. These did not show up in my apps. The company contacted me when they couldn’t draw another payment, and I asked if both could be refunded as they are “grey charges” ones I hadn’t agreed to, First they said no, then they said they would refund one not the other, even though I had not used it. They referred me to PayPal to dispute the charges there which they would know is misleading a run-around and would not succeed as it was a year ago they started. I wrote to ACCC who confirmed I have a legal right to a remedy and their policy doesn’t matter and I sent them that and they still don’t refund, I found them to be disingenuous and am pursuing with the ACCC.
Generally satisfied
Generally satisfied. Still frustrated by not being able to receive BBC.through the VPN system.
Good services
Good services, especially support is excellent. due to some country restriction services are not working at my side they make full refund me.
Bad product and appalling customer service
I’m sorry to say that after using ham services for 6 years they have now let me down and ignoring all attempts to make contact with customer services.I renewed my hma subscription a week ago and then attempted to log into my bbc iplayer account from Spain whilst using a Glasgow IP supplied by HMA.I got the error massage from iplayer that it is not possible to access the site from outside the UK and was thereby denied access…….(this is precisely the situation I wanted to avoid by purchasing HMA.)I then refreshed the IP a number of times as per HMA advice, but without success. I then opened a customer service ticket and also asked that my subscription be cancelled and the payment refunded.That was 5 days ago, so far NO acknowledgement or contact from HMA and NO refund…..They are behaving like scammers and I am shocked, considering their lip service to high customer service ideals. I will never use them again and will advise anyone I can to look elsewhere for their VPN.
Both the VPN and Customer Services are great!
I have been a client of HMA for several years and found the service exceptional. I had difficulty renewing my license this year so I contacted Customer Support with my concern. Igor responded right away and walked me through the process to renew and get my payment information confirmed. No only does HMA provide excellent VPN services but their customer service is superior as well.
Good
Good Good Good Good
Excellence
Good vpn services
Branko - great support person!
Hello, Branko was very helpful when I needed support. He was efficient and quick!
The sales rep delayed to reply to my…
The sales rep delayed to reply to my question for new quotation and reduce of connections and because it was urgent to renew my subscription, I renew without to have the new quotation, so I pay more than I need. Very disappointed.
The service is excellent, but...
The service is excellent, but holding back one star:1. It bothers me that the VPN ranges ALL over the world rather than just all over the US.2. A little too pricey. I would have used it on all my computers.
Good and fast service
The agent was very polite and helpful. My issue was resolved within a day.
This service WORKS
This service WORKS! and it is always available!Best VPN service I have ever used!!!
Very quick and effective response
Very quick and effective response. My contact person, Vjekoslav, was both highly professional yet friendly and reassuring. It was the first for me to contact HMA help desk and I’m very pleased with the support I received.
A really great support that helped me…
A really great support that helped me fix my issues very quickly!! Thank you again Ingvar!!!