Expressvpn opinion: a strong outsider, but doubt remains

It's been more than 10 years since ExpressVPN has existed and it is now part of this caste of private virtual network services that have taken comfort in a market that has become ultra competitive.Over time, its performances have improved largely and its interface has rebuilt a beauty to better suit the standards of current simplifications.But his very recent takeover may sign the end of the festivities or in any case could taint his good reputation.

Expressvpn characteristics

Who is ExpressVPN?

Expressvpn is one of the oldest services in our comparator.Its creation dates back to 2009 under the leadership of two American entrepreneurs.For more than 10 years, the VPN was very successful because of its performance and its ease of use.He also makes it a point of honor to respect the privacy of his users via a strict confidentiality policy and regularly calling on audit firms specializing in computer security to test his ambitions.

Its best advertising (and undoubtedly the most controversial) intervenes in December 2017 just after the assassination of a senior Russian official in Turkey who led to the entry of a brand server used to delete Gmail account informationand Facebook.Of the latter, no information (logs, historical, connections, etc..) could not be recovered, proof of the effectiveness of the VPN in terms of user data security.A free communication operation, but to say the least effective.To complete the table, ExpressVPN is based on the British virgin islands, which gives it (in addition to a drastic tax reduction) a non-compliance with keeping the data of its users, wanted by international treaties.

This reputation may however be undermined via the recent buyout of ExpressVPN by Kape Technologies.An acquisition that is controversial, because the company is a specialist in advertising software publishing, a sector that Combat ExpressVPN since its beginnings.

Today, ExpressVPN is counting on 3 million users around the world and has announced that there would remain a separate service of KAPE activities.

Interface / handling

The design of the ExpressVPN application has been visibly thought out to be the simplest and most ergonomic possible.Disgraphous point of windows or filling with checking options, it goes straight to the basics with a reception window that allows you to connect to a remote server in one click.

Everything is translated into impeccable French, which is a significant contribution, even today, compared to many competitors.We would still have liked the contribution of a dark mode or even a card for the choice of the server.The advantage of this aesthetic choice is to strictly offer the same interface on PC and mobile and thus create global consistency in the application ecosystem of VPN, especially when you are used to using your VPN on severaldevices at the same time.

The application also includes some very practical accessory options, such as the possibility of checking your IP address to ensure that you are well located in a country different from its connection, or DNS or webrtc leak tests.The latter are however accessible in the "Help and support" tab, which is a bit disturbing.

The application also offers the direct installation of Chrome and Firefox extensions, the latter to secure its browser session without overlooking the overall connection of your computer.The only mobile exclusivity, the password generator is very practical, although we would have liked something more ambitious as a Dashlane type aggregator or 1Password.

Too bad finally that certain advanced options, such as the possibility of having a fixed IP address or using a double VPN do not exist.We still note the presence of more conventional options for a VPN such as the Split Tunneling, the discovery of peripherals in a local network even connected or the equivalent of a Kill Switch to cut the connection in the event of dysfunction.

Servers and performance

In 2020, ExpressVPN offers more than 3000 servers in 160 locations distributed in 94 countries.From Bangladesh to the United States via Algeria, there is plenty of doing things.Some countries also benefit from several servers.This is the case of the United States, for example, where you can find a dozen different locations allowing you to connect both to the east coast and the west coast.

Unlike its competitors, ExpressVPN does not offer "specialized servers" in a certain type of domain.This is actually a promise of ExpressVPN: whatever the server you log in and whatever use you want to make of it, this overall meets performance requirements.For having tested the expressvpn servers for download (live or peer to peer), to access the American catalog of Netflix or simply protect its connection, we have never encountered any problem or DNS leakage via theSet of servers tested.

Promise therefore held since in general, expressvpn servers display very good flow rates, often superior to what we find in many other VPNs.Here are some flow tests that we have carried out on a PC with a Parisian wired fiber connection and via the NPERF platform.

Whatever server we connected, the flows have always remained close to 200 Mb/s in Download.The slightly more distant servers, on the other hand, have more harm with in particular a ping rise exceeding 200, or even 300 ms in the majority of cases.

These good performances are undoubtedly highlighted by the contribution of the Lightway protocol.It is a house network protocol developed by ExpressVPN based on performance, reliability and flexibility.A way for the service to put aside openvpn, the universal protocol used by many VPNs, but whose seniority and complexity are no longer suitable for current standards.

Privacy Policy

Like most VPNs (in any case paid), ExpressVPN claims total confidentiality concerning sensitive information from its users.This goes through the logs during its use, historical and even the horoditing of its users' sessions.For once, even if it is a habit in most VPNs, the communication of the service has always been honest on this.

ExpressVPN has already proven its good faith in the past via the certification of its privacy policy by the independent audit company Price Waterhouse Coopers.Later, it was Cure53, another independent security audit company, which was responsible for validating the protocols used.ExpressVPN is also a member of the TRUST Initiative VPN, a consumer online security defense group and, until then, the service has not been the subject of any leaks or hacking of data.

However, until very recently, Express VPN was an independent service.However, he has just been bought for $ 936 million by Kape Technology, September 13, 2021.How is this a problem in this case?You should know that this company specializing in advertising software has been the subject of numerous controversies for years and its activities are against what the VPN has been promoting since its creation.It has already acquired many other companies specializing in cybersecurity and in particular VPN as private internet access, Zenmate or ... Cyberghost VPN.If ExpressVPN claims its independence from its new parent company, doubt is already allowed for the future of the service of service of the service.To be continued.

Customer service

This is a point on which Expressvpn is very competent.Its customer service is responsive and you quickly access an online advisor via the cat on the official website.In addition, it has recently had an automatic translation module allowing to converse with a connected agent without fear of being misunderstood.

We also appreciate the presence of many tutorials and guides in French accessible from the page of the support of VPN sometimes very useful to avoid going through the online chat.

Expressvpn prices

ExpressVPN is undoubtedly one of the most expensive VPN suppliers on the market.It offers 3 subscription formulas, the most popular of which is a one -year subscription currently at 7.56 euros per month, or 90.86 euros per year.It is almost twice as expensive as the annual subscription at NordVPN or that of 2 years at Cyberghost.To see if the prices will be led to evolve over time, especially since the change of owner.

As it stands, it is complicated to determine if it remains a good deal despite the qualities of the service.In all cases, the first 30 days may give rise to a total reimbursement in the event of a non-satisive.