Hideman is a
We did find this provider easy to use in our Hideman review. Its app lets you connect quickly, without having to worry much about the settings. We also liked the fact that you can run P2P connections without any issue. The free
One main weakness of Hideman is that it lacks advanced features. This might not be to the liking of users who want more
Features
Hideman is a basic
- 256-bit encryption
- Multiple protocol support
- Client apps for different platforms
- P2P support
- Site unblocking functions
- Four simultaneous connections
With these features, you can use this
The service also has an easy-to-use app for managing your connections. It lets you tweak some basic settings like port forwarding and proxy settings.
You also get a Help tab where you can send support tickets, and read tips on running your
Hideman is one of a few
- No IP switching
- Two GB bandwidth limit per month
- 512 Kbps speed limit
- One protocol
- One country available
New users get seven-hour free access first then a daily free allotment of one hour after that. The free mode is still a nice option to test them, but is not really useful for much else.
Servers and countries
Hideman’s network covers nine countries, including:
- Spain
- Turkey
- Russia
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- USA
- UK
- Germany
- Switzerland
The network is mostly concentrated in the Americas and Europe, which is quite limited. They claim to be able to connect you to 13 more countries if you contact support, but that is just plain odd. No other
Note that the company does not disclose the actual number of its servers. If you want to get the full list, it will direct you to create an account first. We find this cumbersome and makes things hard for new customers to gauge the reach of Hideman’s network.
This is also in stark contrast to more established providers, like StrongVPN, which openly declare the number of servers and their full reach. We suspect that they do these because they rent server space when they need it rather than spending the money to buy their own.
Speed and reliability
Hideman does not provide any speed data on its site, which will make things hard for new customers to determine what speeds they should expect from Hideman’s servers. On the other hand, Hideman provides a network status page that lists server uptimes and their current load.
This is a great tool as it allows anyone to see how loaded their servers are, how often they go down for maintenance, and any other bugs.
Hideman allows P2P downloading, even claiming that you can download without any restrictions. It adds that you can also access onion and I2P sites without having to reconfigure your
Pricing and payments
Hideman offers three subscription plans: Mobile, Ultimate, and Private. The first two can be bought either as monthly or yearly plans with the prices shown below.
The Private
Aside from PayPal and credit cards, Hideman accepts alternative payment methods like:
- Bitcoin
- OKPAY
- Yandex.Money
- Qiwi
These options give you extra flexibility when placing your order. To purchase, you need to provide your email address or create an account.
Support
In case of issues regarding subscriptions, or if you have questions, you can reach Hideman through the following channels:
- Email: support@hideman.net
- Skype: hideman.help
- Jabber: support@hideman.net
- Online contact form
Note that you might experience slower response times with some of these options, so you need to decide which one is suitable for the urgency of your concern. Try Skype first for urgent issues, it’s their version of live chat.
The site provides a simple FAQ section for common concerns and detailed instruction guides for setting up connections on different platforms. There is a forum page, but it seems to be not that active.
Logging and policies
Hideman states that it doesn’t monitor or save access logs of paying users. It’s a different matter for free mode users—the site says Hideman saves transfer logs for up to 14 days after a session. While you probably won’t use the free service that often, you should still be aware of this issue.
The company explicitly states in its privacy policy that it does collect some personally-identifiable information when you register for an account. It says that it might share that information with third parties under certain circumstances. If you are worried about such clauses, you should choose a better option from our no-logs VPN list.
Hideman also offers refunds for new users. You need to send an email to its customer support, detailing why you’re requesting a refund. The site says that Hideman will return your funds within 21 days after receiving your request.
Expert recommendations
One thing that we liked with Hideman is the simplicity of its service. You don’t need to set up anything aside from the simple app that will run your connections. The free
Our Hideman review showed that simplicity could also be a negative factor. The site does not offer any advanced functions, limiting its capability as compared to other providers. You might also have some problems with the lack of proper declaration about certain aspects, like the actual network size. If you want a more reliable service that offers greater functionality, we suggest that you read our top 10 VPN provider reviews.