IceVPN Review

A VPN kill switch monitors your connection to the VPN server. If the connection drops, the kill switch also cuts your internet connection. IceVPN doesn’t make it clear which apps have the kill switch, but for now it appears to exist only on the Windows app. All you can do is turn it on and off — there’s no app-level kill switch or strong kill switch like with Proton VPN.

Split tunneling lets you protect some apps within the VPN tunnel while the rest of your internet traffic goes unprotected as normal. Once you toggle split tunneling on in the settings window, only the apps you list will use the VPN. Everything else goes unencrypted. (Note that this is unclear from the app and website; we found it in the FAQ.)

IceVPN outright claims split tunneling can be used on every device, but we’ve seen it only on Windows so far. If you’re on macOS, it’s safer not to expect any features until IceVPN gets its communication ironed out.

The one somewhat unique feature of IceVPN is not in the VPN app itself, but in the account dashboard. After logging in to the IceVPN website, you’ll see a tab called “cybersecurity tools” in the left-hand column. Clicking on it opens a list of informational tools you can use online.

• The data breach checker searches for any data leaks that include your email address, username and password.
• Malicious website lookup can check whether any URL is associated with fraud or malware.
• The email reputation tool can see if a certain email address is a known phishing account.
• IP geolocation lookup tells you where any IP address is located.
• IP reputation lookup checks whether an IP address is associated with a VPN, proxy server, Tor server or any recent abuse, as well as its location.
• The report history tool lets you review any of your previous reports.
• Beware that these tools cost extra, even if you’ve got a premium plan. Each report costs one credit. Accounts start with 20 credits; once you’ve used them up, you’ll have to pay for more. Prices start at $4.99 for 10 credits.

Start the installation process by visiting icevpn.com in your web browser.

1. Sign Up for an IceVPN Plan.

   On Icevpn.com, click the large yellow “get started” button at the top right. This will take you to the pricing plan options. Choose one by clicking “buy now,” or scroll down and click “get free.” On the next screen, enter a username and password, then enter a payment method to finish creating your account.

   

2. Download an IceVPN Client App

   Once you’ve created your account and paid, go to the “apps” tab on your account dashboard. Find the operating system you plan to use IceVPN on and click “download.” You can do the same thing on the main website by hovering the mouse over “apps” in the upper bar.

   

3. Open the Downloaded File and Log In

   Follow your browser and system instructions to download the IceVPN DMG file. Find where your system saved the file, open it, then open the IceVPN app within it. Enter your username and password from step one to begin using the app.

   

After you’ve logged in for the first time, it takes very little work to set up IceVPN.

1. Toggle the App Settings.

   Click the gear icon on the left-hand side to open the settings panel. Here, you’ll see all the basic settings, along with explanations of what they do. Click the switch by each one to turn it on (right) or off (left). If you’re forgetful, we recommend turning on the “auto connect” and “launch app on system start” settings.

   

2. Activate the Kill Switch

   Still in the settings panel, find the words “internet kill-switch.” Find the switch in that row and toggle it on (right). Note that it’s currently available on Windows only.

   

3. Configure Split Tunneling.

   In the “split tunneling” section of the settings panel, find the switch next to “enabled” and turn it on. Click the “add application” button right below and add apps to the VPN’s allowlist. When split tunneling is active, only these apps will use the VPN tunnel. Note that it’s currently available on Windows only.

   

4. Connect to a Server

   Pick a server by clicking its location on the map or finding its name on the server list. In the window that appears, click “connect.” You should now be able to get online with your real IP address hidden.

   

IceVPN’s Windows and macOS apps consist of six circular buttons on the left, each of which pulls up a different interface. The top three are about connecting to servers. The globe opens a click-and-drag server map, the lightning bolt connects you to the fastest server and the three-line symbol takes you to a searchable server list.

Each of these comes with several poor choices. Instead of connecting you automatically, the “quick connect” feature opens a translucent window where you have to click a second button. The server list doesn’t connect you when you click on a location — you have to click the much smaller button to the right.

The map isn’t labeled at all unless you hover the mouse over a location. Unless you’ve brushed up on your European geography, it’s easier to use the list. The list search function works well, but you can’t favorite locations. In addition, the magnifying glass symbol is floating an inch out of place — not a big deal, but another indication of general sloppiness.

The UI problems keep coming in the “account” and “settings” control panels. Fonts are difficult to read, especially for users with dyslexia or eye troubles, and an omnipresent lens flare effect often swallows the text. The help panel — the lifesaver icon at the bottom — doesn’t get its own tab, but instead opens another difficult, translucent window.

Minor headaches like these can start to add up, resulting in an unacceptably difficult experience for a premium VPN. If this puts you off IceVPN, check out our ExpressVPN review for an example of super-simple UI done right.

At the time of writing, IceVPN’s iOS and Android apps are not yet available for download. Once they are, we’ll update this section with our thoughts.

At the moment, IceVPN is compatible with only four platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. The website doesn’t indicate any plans to expand to Linux, smart TVs, browser extensions or routers. Each account comes with five simultaneous connections — see our article on the best VPN for multiple devices if you need more than that.

One month of IceVPN will cost you $8.99. A 12-month plan goes for $4.99 per month ($59.88 total), and 24 months will cost $3.99 per month ($95.76 total). This seems like a good deal until you remember that Surfshark, a superior product, offers a two-year plan that works out to $2.19 per month; Learn more in our Surfshark review.

IceVPN does offer a free plan, but it’s limited, and clearly meant more as a test drive than a permanent VPN solution. Additionally, it’s not accessible at the moment — clicking the button just directs you to an offer for a lifetime plan. We assume this will be fixed eventually, since we’re reviewing IceVPN before the public can access it.

Free users get 3GB of data per month, can access only four server locations in three countries, do not get the kill switch or split tunneling, and don’t appear to get IPv6 or DNS leak protection. IceVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee can also be used as a free trial.

We commend IceVPN for how fast the upload and download speeds were on the two servers we tested in North America. However, we noticed some disturbing latency jumps, which only got worse as distances increased.

Starting in Australia, we began to see wild swings in download speeds between consecutive tests, which we didn’t observe in several other VPNs we tested as a control. If you’re after a VPN for streaming, IceVPN is likely to cause lags at irregular times throughout your video.

IceVPN has a kill switch, which we discussed in the “Features” section. Other than that, its only notable security features are IPv6 and DNS leak protection. DNS leak protection usually means the VPN handles all your requests with its own private DNS. However, in IceVPN’s case, we aren’t certain this is true. 

IceVPN states the following on its website:

“One key method is routing all DNS requests through its secure VPN tunnel. This ensures that any domain name lookups are handled by IceVPN’s internal DNS servers.”

Based on this, it’s possible that IceVPN has private DNS servers, but there’s also a chance it thinks its VPN tunnel is sufficient for DNS leak protection. Unfortunately, the features FAQ is just too poorly written to say for sure.

IPv6 leak protection is even harder to quantify. IPv6 leaks occur when a VPN server tries to connect to an IPv6 address without being properly equipped to do so. IceVPN disables IPv6 by default, which is the standard procedure for any service that isn’t an IPv6 VPN. However, it says it also prevents leaks via “traffic routing.” We aren’t sure what that means.

Another wrinkle is that the leak protection features are not available on the free plan. If true, this would mean IceVPN bypasses its own private DNS for free users and allows unsecured IPv6 connections. That makes IceVPN downright unsafe for free use. Pick one of the best free VPNs instead.

When we drilled down to look at which protocols IceVPN employs, we found another problem — at least on macOS, it’s never clear which protocol it’s using. Every time you click a server location on the map or server list on the macOS app, the window displays all the protocols that location can use, but you never get to pick one yourself.

You can choose your protocol on Windows, and all of IceVPN’s protocols are considered secure. Still, not being able to choose your protocol on all apps — or even know which protocol is active — will be frustrating, especially for higher-level VPN users. More frustrating still is that IceVPN does not indicate that this feature is missing.

IceVPN’s servers use either three or four protocols. We can’t be sure of the exact number because IKEv2 and IPsec are listed separately on the server pop-up, though only IKEv2 is available in the Windows protocol selection list. We made the judgment call to treat them as the same option in the table above.

For all our quibbles, we can’t deny that IceVPN’s security appears airtight. It passed our DNS and WebRTC leak tests on several servers, never giving up our real IP address.

IceVPN promises a readable summary of its privacy policy, but annoyingly doesn’t deliver. After parsing the whole thing, we discovered that its servers automatically delete any user logs, suggesting they might be RAM-only — that is, incapable of permanently saving data. That’s good, but the privacy policy has other serious problems. 

Clause 1, which lists the information IceVPN collects, is a litany of bad decisions. Below is a representative sample:

• The whole thing is poorly written, which makes it difficult to tell what it’s actually saying. For example, we don’t know why the passage in the screenshot below states that your WiFi network name constitutes “location data.”
• IceVPN collects performance information and crash reports. You have no way to opt out of sending these. Though that information is anonymized, it limits your rights as a user.
• The policy claims that “our legitimate interest to analyze and improve the performance of our Website/services” counts as a legal basis for processing unspecified amounts and types of personal information.
• Using live chat assistance displays your IP address. This is apparently so the help desk can see whether you’re connected to an IceVPN server, but it may still display your address when you’re not protected.
• When you interact with IceVPN on social media, it will “process social media profile information” of an unspecified type and amount.
• IceVPN “may receive certain information about you from certain advertisers and advertising partners” for the purpose of targeting you with personalized ads.

Later on in Clause 3, IceVPN says that its privacy policy does not apply to any of its “third-party tools and services.” It advises readers to check the privacy policies for those services, but since it doesn’t say which tools and services it’s using, this suggestion isn’t all that helpful.

IceVPN is a new VPN provider and hasn’t had time to submit to any third-party privacy audits. When it does, its privacy score might improve if it can obtain and publish a clean bill of health.

IceVPN cannot unblock Netflix. We tried to access it through locations in several countries but hit an error each time. Sometimes, Netflix refused to accept the correct login credentials, a sure sign of a proxy error. Other times, we saw an error message asking us to turn off our VPN. Try one of our best VPN for Netflix recommendations instead.

IceVPN did manage to unblock BBC iPlayer, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video, but its other issues mean it won’t be the best option for any of those platforms. It failed outright with Hulu and Disney Plus. Check out our best VPN for Hulu and best Disney Plus VPN lists for better recommendations.

We can’t speak to the quality of IceVPN’s live chat, because we haven’t yet found it active. Allegedly, it operates on restricted hours, but when we logged on within those hours, we were greeted with a message saying that live chat had gone offline for an entire week. As it is, we don’t recommend depending on it.

In the absence of live chat, we tested the support ticket system by sending a question about when the kill switch would be available on macOS. Seven days later, a developer responded to say that all features and the mobile apps should be fully available after the wide release in the first quarter of 2025.