Mullvad VPN

This review has been updated to reflect the current state of the service and app. Firstly, thank you Mullvad for adding servers in Kuala Lumpur. Multihop is now a practical solution for me using an Entry-MY/SG-Exit setup which barely brings any additional latency. Sadly, the opposite Entry-SG/MY-Exit combo isn’t quite as performant with higher than expected ping and jitter. This is likely due to dodgy peering and not Mullvad’s fault, but still a tad unfortunate. The iOS/iPadOS app needs more love. For starters, it’s been 4+ months (as of time of this review) since iOS 18 was released and Mullvad has yet to release an update with dedicated dark and tinted icons. A widget showing connection info is also overdue. iPad version in particular needs work. There’s so much wasted space in full screen mode. More glaringly, on my iPad mini while in Slide-over mode, some of the text on top gets cut off due to lack of space. Making a simple layout change where the time left is given its own dedicated line below the device name would sort the issue nicely. Minor gripes aside, I’m still loving the service. Been using Mullvad on my Linux machines since the early days of WireGuard. No other VPN service is as robust in terms of connection uptime and stability. I just wish Apple actually backed up their privacy marketing by fixing the various well documented bugs in their tunnelling APIs.

No complaints with the service. Mullvad is probably the most robust of any commercial VPN when it comes to connection robustness. I do wish they had more nodes in Southeast Asia though (Malaysia especially), to make multi-hop more feasible for people in this part of the world. Oh, and they should ditch their Singapore M247 servers for another provider. M247’s peering is garbage. Maybe give Zen Layer (same provider for Indonesia and Thailand) a try? The Singapore DataPacket servers are great though. The app also needs more love. For starters, Mullvad needs to get with the times and release an update with a dedicated dark icon for iOS/iPadOS 18. A widget would also be highly appreciated. iPad version particularly needs work. There’s so much wasted space in full screen mode, and on my iPad mini, in Slide-over mode, some of the text (particularly the “Time Remaining” days) gets cut off. Lastly, I’d prefer if the DAITA options were at the bottom of the settings list, at least until all servers get that functionality.

Mullvad has always been great at privacy and security, but their iOS/iPadOS app feels like an afterthought. No multi-hop on their mobile apps, weak DNS filterlists, no option for DoH/DoT in the app’s custom DNS setting. Worst of all is their use of Electron.

Smooth,Fast,Good&Secure

if you like extremely slow but private, this is for you.

I won’t talk about legalities or how that affects the tech side of things (because, frankly, it’s headache inducing and requires in-depth reading to feel comfortable. You won’t get that in an App Store Review.) Use WireGuard as an alternative. Available for iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android (Samsung, LG, and generally other non-Apple products.) As well as Windows, MacOS, and Linux of course. The official website looks intimidating, because what you’re seeing are commands for terminals and you may be used to GUI (Graphical User Interfaces) over Text-Based User Interfaces. But don’t concern yourself with that if downloading on your smartphone, seek step-by-step guides if need be.

Very fast internet. Recommended

Edit: Can’t connect using wifi. I think it was an iPhone update that broke it, so I will try to figure out what setting is messing up my wifi.

Going on 5 years. The vpn business is full of shady people but these guys are the real deal. No extra nonsense installed on your computer running in background and hard to beat the price. I wish more IP’s were used/changed more often but for the price, safety and speed this is as good as it gets. I continue to test flavor of the months and am amazed. When a vpn installs a ton of bloatware and hidden files running in the background (surf shark/nord) or makes it a challenge to cancel (surf shark) those are the ones you want to steer clear of.

I swapped over to Mullad after the VPN service I had been using for years continually upped their monthly service subscription. I’m not impressed with Mullad over than the price point. The VPN consistently does not work on majority of WiFi networks. I can almost never stream or be online unless I turn it off. Most general website browser apps (iOS) block my traffic when I’m on VPN, forcing me to do multiple CAPTCHAs or just straight up deny me. I’ve tried a few different troubleshooting techniques with little resolve.