Avira Phantom Free VPN review: December 2021 test results
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Classification of registration and jurisdiction
99.0 / 10
Nearby
We check the registry and privacy policies of each VPN. You should never sign up for a VPN:
- Your real IP address
- Contact timestamps
- DNS requests
It is preferable to have a base of operations outside the 14-eye area or EU jurisdiction.
Avira’s German jurisdiction is less than ideal for privacy, but it’s simple registration policy and solid track record make up for it.
Avira launched Avira Phantom VPN in 2016, but the company itself has been around since 2006.
Even before that, Avira antivirus was developed back in 1986 by its predecessor H + BEDV Datentechnik GmbH, so the company has been around for a long time.
Avira is currently based “on the shores of Lake Constance” in Tettnang, Germany, but also has offices in China, the Netherlands, Romania and the United States.
Usually we advise to stay away from VPN services based in Germany. It is part of the 14 Eyes data-sharing alliance, and is also subject to EU data retention laws.
Avira’s minimal registrations policy means that its jurisdiction is not an issue.
Even better, Avira states in its privacy policy that while it complies with data requests from public authorities, it cannot hand over personally identifiable data because it does not collect any of it.
We were a bit disappointed with how hard it was to find Avira Phantom’s privacy policy on their website. We finally located it after a long period of trial and error.
We found out that Avira VPN logs very little metadata for the anonymous connection.
The only information Avira Phantom Free collects is:
- The total amount of bandwidth consumed during the connection
- The amount of time a user spends on the Internet
- Whether the user account is free or premium
We really like that Avira Phantom Free does not log or monitor which websites you visit, the real IP address or the location of the VPN server you connect to.
In other words, Avira has no way of tracking your online activity back to you.
There is an optional setting that sends your diagnostic data back to Avira to help with product improvements, however, you can turn this off at any time within the VPN app.
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