Getting a VPN service for your iPhone and/or iPad shouldn’t be hard. And you should demand only the best — after all, those will be your web whereabouts that could be screened by prying eyes. So you don’t want to save on a service that keeps you and your privacy protected.
All services in our list of best 5 VPNs for iPhone and iPad have millions of users and you can hardly go wrong by picking any one of them. But for the best overall experience, get the top service and forget about it. Let it do its magic in the background while you safely and securely browse the web, access streaming services, download files and so on.
So without further ado, here are the best 5 VPNs for iOS you can buy today:
Pros
Cons
- 5,000+ servers in the network
- Easy to use - install it and forget it
- One license is good for up to 6 devices
- Strict zero-logs policy
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Chrome extension is just a proxy
Summary
The company's iOS app is easy to use, delivering one of the fastest download rates on the market. Once started — you won't even notice that NordVPN is running on your iPhone (or iPad). What is lacking though, is the ability to select a VPN protocol — which is something advanced users would appreciate.
Also working in NordVPN's favor are its zero-logs policy and protection against WebRTC leaks, as well as advanced privacy features that put you, the user, in control — rather than major tech giants like Google and Facebook.
Pros
Cons
- Feature-rich yet easy to use
- One of the best VPNs around
- Strong no-logging policy
- Reliable support you can reach 24/7
- Limited number of servers in Africa and the Middle East
- Kinda pricey
Summary
On the downside though, ExpressVPN for iPhone doesn't have all security features found on desktop apps, such as a kill switch. Something's gotta give on the small screen, I guess.
Nonetheless, we still highly recommend ExpressVPN for iPhone users.
Pros
Cons
- It's super fast!
- Works with Netflix, BBC and others
- Easy to use apps, browser extensions
- You can try it for free!
- Some advanced features are not configurable
- Not the best for high-censorship countries
Summary
Your privacy is equally well protected, with the software only collecting some anonymized that to continually improve its service.
There is one caveat though - it won't work that good in high-censorship countries like China. If you don't need that in the first place, we can highly recommend Hotspot Shield to you.
As that's typically the case with most VPN services out there, the longer you commit - the better deal you get. However, what makes Hotspot Shield even better is the fact that it offers a 7-day free trial of its service. A few other top VPN providers do the same. Plus, its money-back guarantee lasts for 45 days, making for a risk-free purchase. Cause, you can always get your money back. Sweet and just the way we like it.
Pros
Cons
- Reliable download and upload speeds
- Works with Netflix and BBC iPlayer
- Strict zero-logs policy
- Lets you use it on unlimited number of devices
- Low number of servers in Africa and Australia
Summary
You can rely on it for streaming and torrenting, with included extra features like CleanWeb and MultiHop, delivering a that much better — and more secure — experience.
Surfshark, the company, is based in the British Virgin Islands and with its zero-logs policy makes for a powerful combo to anyone looking to keep its web whereabouts under the radar.
The service is easy to use and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros
Cons
- One the best VPNs for torrenting
- Works well with Netflix
- Simple setup on all popular devices
- Strict zero-logs policy
- Doesn't work with BBC iPlayer
- Doesn't work in China
Summary
Also, chances are you are not using a VPN service exclusively on your iPhone and/or iPad, so we need to look at the bigger picture. IPVanish will keep your identity protected no matter which device you use, offering fast download and upload speeds, dedicated P2P resources and so much more.
It works with Netflix though there are better options out there. However, when it comes to torrenting - only a few services come close to what IPVanish is offering.
iOS 101
Formerly known as iPhone OS, iOS is a proprietary mobile operating system created and developed by Apple exclusively for its hardware – namely iPhone and iPod Touch. It also powered the iPad until the introduction of iPadOS, a derivative of iOS, in 2019.
iOS is the world’s second-most widely installed mobile operating system, after Android. It is also the basis for three other operating systems made by Apple: mentioned iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.
When the original iPhone was unveiled in 2007, iOS didn’t support third-party applications. As of March 2018, Apple’s App Store contains more than 2.1 million iOS apps, 1 million of which are native for iPads. These mobile apps have collectively been downloaded more than 130 billion times.
Major versions of iOS are released annually.
Key dates in iOS’ development
There are a few dates worth knowing:
- iOS (then known as iPhone OS) was announced alongside the first iPhone at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 9, 2007, and released in June of that year.
- In September 2007, Apple announced the iPod Touch, a redesigned iPod based on the iPhone form factor and powered by iOS.
- On March 6, 2008, Apple announced the iPhone SDK opening the floodgate for iOS mobile app development.
- On July 10, 2008, the iOS App Store was opened with an initial 500 applications available. This quickly grew to 3,000 in September 2008; 15,000 in January 2009; 100,000 in November 2009, 250,000 in August 2010, 650,000 in July 2012, 1 million in October 2013, and 2 million apps in June 2016.
- On January 27, 2010, Apple introduced their much-anticipated media tablet, the iPad, running iOS.
- In June 2010, Apple rebranded iPhone OS as “iOS”. The trademark “IOS” had been used by Cisco for over a decade for its operating system for routers – IOS. To avoid any potential lawsuit, Apple licensed the “IOS” trademark from Cisco.
- The Apple Watch smartwatch was announced by Tim Cook on September 9, 2014 as a product with health and fitness-tracking. It was released on April 24, 2015. It uses an iOS-based operating system called watchOS.
- On June 3, 2019, iPadOS was announced.
Why use a VPN with iOS?
We kinda trust Apple for not tracking us online as Google does. Nevertheless, with a VPN, you get another layer of privacy and security — the latter being particularly important when connecting to public Wi-Fi hotspots.
In addition, beyond keeping your whereabouts under the radar – a VPN has more use cases. For start, it helps you bypass various restrictions that may be imposed at your workplace, school, university and so on. And let’s not forget high-censorship countries where access to such common sites and services as Facebook, YouTube and Skype can be blocked. You don’t have to deal with any of that with a VPN — which can run on your iPhone and iPad.
Something similar happens when you travel to other countries and would like to watch your favorite Netflix series – it could be blocked. Again, a VPN could help, letting you connect to a server in your home country to trick geo-filters of Netflix (and other video streaming services for that matter). This has little to do with Netflix and everything to do with the way content rights are traded on the global market these days.
And that’s just a tip of the iceberg. The main point is – you should get a VPN for your iOS device(s) but also…
Get a VPN for everything!
You (all of us, really) need a VPN for many things, not just our iPhones and iPads. A good VPN will:
- Protect your privacy from the government and big corporations
- Bypass restrictions imposed by the government or various organizations
- Change your IP address so you get unrestricted access to Netflix, Disney+, iPlayer, HULU, and other video streaming services
- Encrypt and protect private data from cybercriminals
- Download files with BitTorrent anonymously
The top contenders that check all these boxes — while also working on iOS devices — include the following:
