Hola VPN Review
Choosing Hola VPN as your VPN provider would basically mean you’re shooting in the dark. There is no conclusive information on their website that would describe the nature of their VPN services, thus, we’re unable to give any positive recommendations.
Hola VPN Review Summary
Launched in 2012, Hola VPN is a well-known VPN provider based in Israel. Unlike most VPN providers, Hola VPN offers free services to help its loyal customers overcome Internet censorship. Having been installed over 189 million times, Hola VPN is one of the most popular Internet services for secure browsing and geo-unblocking.
Fun fact about Hola VPN – it is the first community-powered P2P VPN, where users help each other make the web accessible for all by sharing their idle resources. This unique VPN provider runs in a hybrid model – combining traditional VPN architecture and peer-to-peer technology.
What it is that makes Hola VPN that special for users to be tempted to download the app 189 million times? This Hola VPN review will look at the answers, but our ultimate conclusion is that you’re better off going with a provider from our Top 5 Cheap VPNs instead.
Hola VPN Features
Hola VPN isn’t packed with the traditional features we usually find in a VPN provider. That seems about right, given that Hola VPN is not a traditional VPN provider. Anyway, here are some of the features that Hola VPN offers:
- Connect 10 devices simultaneously.
- Browse from any country.
- Easy to install and use.
- Access to 30+ million IPs all around the world.
- Functional on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
- Supported on Apple TV, Smart TV, gaming console, and router.
Even though there are some good features, like allowing you to connect 10 devices simultaneously, Hola VPN lacks certain fundamental features. They have no kill switch feature, and there was no mention of the type of encryption method they use. Plus, they don’t support the use of torrents on their network. These are not quite the features that you would expect from a top VPN provider.
Hola VPN SERVERS & COUNTRIES
Hola VPN fails to provide any concrete information about the countries where they have servers. On their website, they don’t disclose any information about the countries from which you can connect to their VPN servers.
The only information we were able to find is that users can browse from “any country.” In their FAQ section, they explain how users can change their GPS location with Hola VPN. Of course, this is not nearly enough to provide any conclusive proof of their server network and the countries they cover.
Reliability & Speed Tests
Once again, there was very little information on their website about the speed and stability of their VPN connection. In their FAQ section, they advise users to connect to the VPN server with the closest physical connection, but apart from that, they don’t disclose any information about whether or not they limit your bandwidth and speed. That’s very disappointing.
Pricing and Payments
Hola VPN is free, but there are also paid plans. Obviously, the paid plans allow users to have access to bigger perks than the free version. There are five different pricing plans available:
- One-month: $11.95 per month.
- Six-months: $9 per month.
- One-year: $6.99 per month.
- Two-year: $3.99 per month.
- Three-year: $2.99 per month.
Their three-year plan offers the biggest savings, allowing users to save up to 75% by committing to this long-term subscription plan. That is a long commitment, especially for a VPN with their unusual business model.
Payments can be made via PayPal, Credit Cards, AliPay, GiroPay, and others.
Support
There are a couple of ways you can reach Hola VPN’s support team. Additionally, there is a wide range of useful content that is found on their website. The customer support found on Hola VPN’s website can be divided into the following categories:
- Blog
- FAQ
- Report abuse
- Press kit
- Contact us
- General troubleshooting
Unfortunately, there isn’t a live chat feature. That means that if you want to contact their support them, you’ll have to do it in an old-fashioned way, by contacting their email support. While we liked their customer support, content-wise, we can’t say the same for their accessibility, as there isn’t an easy way to contact their support team.
POLICIES & LOGGING
A top VPN provider is expected to offer iron-clad customer protection policies. Let’s see how Hola VPN protects its customers:
- Privacy policy: The company claims that it does collect personal data, including your IP address, location, name, email address, payment and billing information, and more. The company will use this information to set up your account, provide you with support, communicate with you for updates, offer marketing promotions, and conduct analytical research. They also use cookies as well as other tracking technologies like beacons and pixels to customize your use of their website.
- Security and confidentiality: Hola VPN claims to use industry-standard information, security tools, and measures, to prevent information misuse and data leakage. Their employees are supposedly subject to confidentiality obligations, meaning that the company uses measures and procedures which reduce the risk of data misuse. However, the company can’t guarantee that their systems will remain absolutely safe.
- Refund policy: We couldn’t find a refund policy on their website, even though they state that there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. We contacted their customer support through email to ask them about their refund policy, and 15-hours later we received a response.
Furthermore, Hola VPN states that the company may disclose your personal information to their trusted third-party service providers or partners. All in all, without a no-logging policy and with a weak privacy policy, Hola VPN can’t compete against the top No-Log VPN providers in the industry.
Expert Recommendation
Creating this Hola VPN review was tricky. We tried to give this provider leeway given their popularity, but our strict professionalism doesn’t allow us to recommend them for any kind of online activity:
- They don’t support torrenting, even though their free VPN plans work on a P2P model.
- There is a lack of fundamental information about their features, the physical location of their servers, and the speed and stability of the VPN connection that they provide.
- They don’t have a no-logging policy, and their privacy policy is filled with loopholes.
- They monitor your logs and keep your personal data with the possibility of your personal information being shared to third-parties.
In other words, choosing Hola VPN as your VPN provider would basically mean you’re shooting in the dark. There is no conclusive information on their website that would describe the nature of their VPN services, thus, we’re unable to give any positive recommendations.
Overall, Hola VPN looks average at best, and we can’t recommend their services to you. If you want to indulge in safe, anonymous, and secure online browsing, we recommend that you check out our reviews of other top VPN providers.
Hola VPN User Reviews
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not connecting. just show its working. but really it does not
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There’s a problem with YouTube and other media players. Hola makes the video pause every minute, very annoying…
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It is not working and it also using our data and selling it..it contains virus which stops veiwing any vedios at every 30 seconds
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it’s worst . I can’t access viu from phillipines vpn. it gets redirected to indian server.
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it’s amazing App really working i don’t have words about this Super VPN App but i must say only one time try this. you dont need any other VPN App
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I give this app 5 stars because of its starting of pubg mobile lite.
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I’m very disappointed.It’s the wrost VPN ever in the world.Take my advise and don’t waste your time.Tunnel bear vpn is much better than it.
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Hola is sucks. It show that we are connected to other countries through vpn but it didn’t connect to that country. Hola is just making us FOOL.
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videos are stopping in the midway,, the old version was good????????
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Huff Hola ain’t what it used to be seriously don’t waste your time people ???????? this app Ned’s some serious work
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it’s better but i am trying to working some of the location on it . such USA location . think its best vpn now by using it through mobile phone
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This is the only best… Unblock all sites.. And it is free also… Thankyou so much.
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i wish i could give 0 stars, it doesn’t work, not india, not Israel, not united States useless
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I was enjoying this app from 2 months but suddenly it seems that it is not working properly now .
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The app stops You Tube videos from playing and sometimes crashes. Please fix this problem.
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Thanks a lot i need more solution on it please dont block it please. Thanks
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best vpn I have ever used.. so easy to use.. works faster.. more countries
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what I say..it is the best & fastest VPN ever on Playstore…????????
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can be tedious finding the right combinations, love it though…!
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hello plz give me a video of vpn how its work plz i want to use 8ballpool plz give me any solution
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the moment i rated it with four valuable stars this app started decreasing my network speed back to it’s original slow speed ???? what kind of a app is this.. fix my problem developers please try to make it work as it says and stop being hypocrite.
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I Loved It. One of the Best VPN’s on Android.
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Unable to Manage Bookmarks, History, Cach memory ; also the browsing experience is very bad Image doesn’t load properly and sometimes VPN doesn’t work for Chrome Browser.
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very good app, it works very nicely and i can browse anything without any money, keep up the good work!
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Impressive HI everyone this app is the best iam in france but i can see the channel of every were America España… PERFECT ????
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it dose not work with Samsung Galaxy note 3. And i tried it many times. other vpn work’s but not this one, not this one… hope you fix it soon.
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this did work for me to get on site but it only works through my home wifi it dosnt work through my mobile data network or other wifis also cant upliad photos on places. But did help get me on a few places I wanted
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Used melon before but didn’t work this time. Hola logged on to the website straightaway. Used it on the desktop as well and always gets on without any problems.
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Excellent without any virus or aids. *Too Good!!!!!*
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Excellent app I am using the free version and it’s working great.
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better speed, no ads and easy to use – no other free vpn gives such features. Best!!!!!!!!
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I don’t know if the problem is in my phone or in your app but it didn’t worked. I’ll try again and see
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Good app, stable, although it has some issues in Russia because stupid Russian government permanently tries to block it.
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I’ve used it in Italy (orig. from US) for a couple of years now. Works great. Can watch my US & UK shows.
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This VPN steal users Bandwidth and sell it to other companies or to other people. None should use or install this ISRAELI VPN. Those who have install it must uninstall it.
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I am very disappointed. It does not change location properly. Online servers can still locate your original location. Please fix this ASAP
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been using this vpn for the past two days now, so far it’s been the best I ever used…. I love the fact that you can browse from inside the vpn,…i love it
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It did not work. I was trying to create a gaming account for a different country and this app failed to make the site think I was in a different country.
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you know full and well how most people downloaded your app are looking forward to using Netflix. this ” needs fast streaming service” thing is a huge excuse. just let us try the “regular” one for free. all and all a waste of time.
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Finally a good vpn! I’ve been looking for a vpn so that I can watch episodes on hulu. This is the only free vpn that worked like a charm with nice speed and connection. Keep up the good work!
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I uninstalled this app because it is not usefull for me. I subsribed it only for one day trail.Yet money is deducted from my account. Please unsubscribe and return my money.
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I really like this app as it is offering free service. It is very helpful for me. There are lot VPN applications out there in Google play store but I can say this is most reliable and trustworthy app unlike wonky and scrappy other VPN apps. I have recommended to many people. Desreves 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ . keep it up.
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Nice app in the world I like this app so much and it’s too good for everyone its show us everything which we couldn’t find in Google or in any another
Free to use!
A rare thing in VPN services, other than the limited free-trials. This service remains free, if you agree to act as a node for other users. If you don’t want to have to sign up to a contract, and pay monthly or yearly, this is a great alternative. It’s worth it to know your data is uncensored and secure
Free and that is it
As long as you realize that it is stealing band width and is not secure the free version is unusable. I only use it to specifically visit some sites that are blocked when I am not in the UK. NOT for banking etc but for viewing TV.
I didn't install it... Thank God!!!
I did not install Hola. However, I did sign up for a free account and have been trying to get my account cancelled. Thank you for this article. I will definitely not be using Hola! VPN service. They do not seem legit. I cannot stand sites that allow you sign up for an account but REFUSE to allow you to cancel your account. That pretty much speaks volumes.
No problems
Works great and free! I enjoy using it from time to time.I cut it off when not in use.I have not had a problem and it is very easy to use.I don’t know why it would get a low rating it is very user friendly compared to others.
Sketchy
I noticed that Hola is 68th out of the 74 VPNs you reviewed and found it strange. I don’t think anyone can get lower that them. Can you include something about the latest news regarding Hola so that your readers can see how sketchy they are? Or do you think that’s nothing to worry about?
It has many pluses as a content access tool
The review is useful but one-sided. Hola’s approach is not for those who value privacy or care about a miniscule use of bandwidth as exit nodes. But it has major pluses for someone who cares about content blocks and such: (1) Free, unlike any other VPN that actually works. (2) Universal, can emulate a specific town in a small country if necessary (no luck with traditional VPN if no server there). (3) Harder to detect as a VPN; unlike having dedicated VPN servers that can be identified as such, you masquerade as another random user with all their attributes. Try accessing ESPN3 (geoblocked + specific ISP) with a regular VPN.
I see they are now starting to require a premium subscription to access some valuable sites like the BBC, which limits their value depending on how many such sites they do this for. My rating is from before they implemented this change.
I thought I smelled a fish
I only downloaded this add-on because a particular online boutique based in the UK would give me an error message when trying to purchase items or even click on an item to check it out. I googled the issue and HOLA VPN was suggested to correct it. I downloaded it and it would work like a charm when I would receive the error message. A couple of times I actually made it to the purchasing process but noticed that no money was taken out of my account. What a bummer! I just started to feel that something was not right. Began to feel like just maybe my info was being compromised. I, like a lot of people, just wanted a fix and failed to read the fine print (privacy policy). I eventually deleted it. Thought about getting it again but I came to this article and Im glad I did. Won’t happen. Thanks. Very well written article BTW.