FlashVPN Review 2024: Before You Buy, Is It Worth It?

Slow and Inconsistent Speeds

The results were erratic and download speeds varied greatly among servers. Considering FlashVPN has fewer servers than most VPNs, you can expect data transfer speeds to decrease considerably. In particular, I tested servers in the US, UK, France, and Singapore, and the UK server was the fastest.

Speed Test Results

I measured a staggering speed loss when connecting to nearby servers and download speed losses of over 80% when connecting to global server locations. Your internet connection speed is crucial for streaming HD content and playing games seamlessly. Hence, if you do not have fast internet connections, you should not expect to be able to stream in HD using this VPN.

I measured a download speed of 62 Mbps, an upload speed of 15 Mbps, and a ping of just 4ms as a baseline. My speeds dropped to 2.76 Mbps for downloads and 0.07 Mbps for uploads when I tested with a local US server. My download speed and upload speed both fell by more than 90%. The ping went up to 216ms, which is considerably more disappointing.

I tried connecting to a VPN server in the UK in an attempt to give the service another chance. I found this server to be among the fastest on the list. Though the results were not good, they were better than those in the US, which came even further down the list. The results showed an 82% drop in speed.

My speed decreased by 88% when I connected to a FlashVPN server in France. Upload speed also suffered a 77% decrease, while ping time increased to 40x more than my baseline. When I connected to the Singapore server, my download and upload speeds decreased to 5.15 Mbps and 1.05 Mbps, respectively. Not to mention that the ping rose to 314ms. This is a 90% drop in download and upload speeds, similar to the US server.

The lag that occurs when you connect to a VPN is not an obstacle to playing online games, but the increase in ping can lead to problems. I found FlashVPN to perform poorly in my testing, with a major increase in latency that could negatively affect your gaming experience.

Overall, FlashVPN’s performance is not up to the mark. I had slow connections in all of the locations I tested, and if my internet base speed was any lower, I wouldn’t have been able to browse the internet at all.

Server Network — Limited Server Distribution

FlashVPN’s server network only has 9 servers in 9 locations. Top VPNs offer thousands of servers in more than 50 countries, so FlashVPN’s server list is quite limited given the lack of variety of options.

Customers ideally want a VPN company with many servers in different locations. Thus, they will not have to worry about missing out on their favorite channels simply because the service is available in their region. Moreover, having many servers allows you to avoid slow speeds as additional servers can be used if a specific server becomes overloaded. This might occur with FlashVPN since it has more than 10 million users across the globe. Thus, connecting to an overburdened server is likely to occur.

With ExpressVPN you can access a much larger number of servers. On top of that, you have access to specially dedicated servers that are optimized for streaming, torrenting and absolute privacy.

Security — A Dangerous VPN With Unknown Security

FlashVPN is not exactly forthcoming about its encryption and security features. I received no reply to the request I put through to the company for details about its encryption and user protection.

None of its marketing materials contain a hint of any vital information about protocols and hardware – not even a vague guarantee of security. Security features such as a VPN kill switch are not included, nor are there any additional configuration or security tools available.

I conducted a few tests to determine if FlashVPN might leak your IP address and DNS information. In spite of the provider’s lack of security features, I found it noteworthy that there was no evidence of such leaks. All my browsing activities were completely hidden and anonymized. It may be worrying that there are possible leaks in the WebRTC test, however, there is no cause for concern.

Overall, FlashVPN is hard to recommend if you’re looking for features beyond the basic ones. Though it offers some security, the premium plan does not provide some of the basic features you would expect for its price point.

Privacy — Intrusive Logging

Sadly, FlashVPN’s privacy policy provided under its app on the Playstore is not a no-logging one. Before you proceed, be aware that the app required me to authorize GPS location for my device prior to downloading. Obviously, this means the app tracks your actual location.

FlashVPN admits it can disclose your information to law enforcement or any other party if required by law or in good faith believing that it may be necessary for such actions. This is undoubtedly alarming since it implies that some data logs may be collected – otherwise, the VPN will have nothing to submit.

In addition, the app requires a lot of permissions a VPN normally wouldn’t need, including access to your media library, information about incoming calls, which can potentially reveal your IMEI code. It’s unclear to me why it requests these permissions but it could be malicious.

It does an excellent job of masking its Hong Kong origins, adding more doubt to its credibility. However, the Google Play Store section shows that the address of the company is 128 Aberdeen. I proceeded to use Google to locate the address and I found that it was based in Hong Kong which is not a member of the 5, 9, or 14 Eyes surveillance.

Torrenting — Too Unsafe for P2P Sharing

The lack of a kill switch, the shady log policy, and the mystery surrounding encryption make FlashVPN an unreliable torrenting solution. Also, the speed test results are so poor that you would have to wait days before a large file could be downloaded.

The torrent experience on Android is similar to the desktop environment, with a number of different clients available for you to choose from. This, along with privacy concerns and questionable legalities concerning certain content, makes it essential to protect your torrent sessions with a VPN.

The good news is that there are many better alternatives to FlashVPN. ExpressVPN is a great option for P2P traffic as it boasts a high level of encryption, excellent download speeds, and unrestricted P2P bandwidth, all of which make it suitable for securely downloading torrent files.

Editors' Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.

Does FlashVPN Work in China? No!

FlashVPN lacks the tools to bypass state blocks. Even if it could somehow circumvent censorship, it would still be unsafe to use. It isn’t recommended for use in countries that restrict internet freedom.

Considering FlashVPN’s limited number of server locations, avoiding censorship will be difficult with the free version. You can’t tell if your connection has dropped while you’re streaming or torrenting, which could be dangerous based on your location, or you could get in trouble with your ISP or local law enforcement.

A Kill switch is a must for any decent VPN in the event of a worst-case scenario. For most people, it’s only an annoyance if a stream stops suddenly, but it’s something to consider if you’re looking for VPN reviews due to real censorship.

Customer support for FlashVPN users is almost nonexistent. There is no information on contacting the provider, no forum, no live chat, and certainly no possibility of direct phone assistance. Not even an FAQ is available for basic customer information. In the world of free VPNs, that’s not uncommon, but completely inadequate for a reputable provider.

FlashVPN provides support through a personal Gmail address rather than a company address and although highly unprofessional, it is in keeping with a low-quality VPN service such as this. You have no other way to reach customer support – my email didn’t even get replied to.

Basically, there is no customer service or support available for the VPN. It is your responsibility to troubleshoot any issues you encounter when using FlashVPN. While you can submit a negative review to Google Play, it’s unlikely to have any effect.