It's dangerous to connect to unsecured networks without a virtual private network, or VPN, no matter what device you use.
ExpressVPN for Android provides access to 2,000 servers spread across the globe, but it is pricey compared to competitors and doesn't include high-end features such as ad-blocking or split tunneling.
Additionally, a subscription only gets you three simultaneous connections, and the service didn't perform well in our speed tests.
ExpressVPN's Android app does its main job well, but other VPN providers simply provide Android users a better experience at a lower price.
What Is a VPN?
Public Wi-Fi networks at your favorite coffee shop or library are likely not secure.
Malicious individuals can peer in on unencrypted traffic or even trick your devices into connecting to phony networks.
Your home network is not guaranteed to be free from privacy incursions either, given that ISPs are allowed to sell your anonymized user data.
You need to use a VPN to protect yourself from these threats.
When you connect to a VPN service, the app creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a designated VPN server.
That means that anyone snooping on the Wi-Fi network you're using can't see any intelligible information.
Additionally, since your web traffic enters and exits the open internet from the VPN server, it is associated with the same IP address as that server.
Trackers embedded into advertisements and spies watching your movements online will have a much harder time keeping tabs on you.
VPN services are useful for circumventing restrictions placed on internet access.
For political activists and journalists working abroad, VPNs are a critical tool for freely accessing and relaying information.
Using VPN technology also lets you access region-locked entertainment content, such as BBC shows in the US or US-based Netflix shows from abroad.
As we discuss in a later section, however, some video streaming services block VPN traffic, so your experience may vary.
You should know that although a VPN is an excellent tool for protecting your privacy, it is not foolproof.
The first thing you should do is check whether your VPN is leaking your real IP address.
Consider using a VPN alongside other privacy tools such as Tor and Privacy Badger for greater protection.
Threats to your privacy are always evolving, so even if you decided not to use a VPN in the past, now is a great time to start.
Making yourself even a little bit more of an inconvenient target can go a long way in keeping your information secure.
Whenever we write about VPNs and the potential threats they protect you from, we usually do so with the assumption that you are using them on Wi-Fi networks you don't control.
However, cellular attacks are possible, though these are rarer.
For example, an attacker could set up a portable cell tower such as a Femtocell and then jam the LTE and 3G bands, forcing phones to connect to the phony tower with a 2G connection.
For those who are unaware, the encryption protecting 2G data has already been cracked.
With a VPN, your data has an additional layer of security even over a cellular connection.
Note that, in addition to when you're using Wi-Fi and cellular networks, it can also be a smart practice to use a VPN at home.
Pricing and Platforms
ExpressVPN's $12.95 monthly price is more than the current average of the top Android VPNs we've tested.
It's more expensive than the already-pricey NordVPN's ($3.71 Per Month for 2 Year Plan (68% Off!) at NordVPN) $11.95 monthly cost and almost double that of Private Internet Access, which runs $6.95 price per month.
Notably, ExpressVPN gives users the option to pay with Bitcoin.
As with most other VPNs, you can save money by committing to ExpressVPN for longer periods.
For example, you can pay $59.95 every six months or $99.95 every year.
You don't need to pay for a VPN, but note that many free VPNs impose significant limits on the amount of data you can use or what servers are available.
For example, ProtonVPN's free version does not impose any data limits, but it does restrict you to a single connection and a small selection of servers.
If money is tight but you want a fully functional VPN, you may want to check out our list of the best cheap VPNs.
ExpressVPN only lets you connect on three devices at once, which does not compare favorably to the competition.
For comparison, IPVanish lets users connect 10 devices simultaneously and CyberGhost allows seven.
ExpressVPN does support BitTorrent and P2P traffic, though.
On Android, ExpressVPN supports the OpenVPN protocol.
We prefer this open-source protocol, since it has been independently evaluated for vulnerabilities by the wider security community.
Notably, however, ExpressVPN is also missing malware and ad-blocking features.
In addition to Android (version 6 or newer), ExpressVPN is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Amazon Fire Devices.
Additionally, you can install ExpressVPN as a web extension on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari; select routers; media streaming devices such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV; and gaming consoles, such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Servers and Server Locations
One way we evaluate a VPN service is by checking the number of servers and server locations it offers.
The more of each the service makes available, the less of an effect using it should have on your network's performance.
In other words, you will likely get better speeds if you can access less crowded, geographically closer servers.
At the time of publishing, ExpressVPN offers around 3,000 servers.
This is a good number of servers, but it isn't the best we've seen.
For comparison, NordVPN maintains more than 5,000 servers, and Private Internet Access, TorGuard, and CyberGhost all offer over 3,000 servers.
Still, ExpressVPN's numbers are better than those of TunnelBear, ProtonVPN, and IPVanish.
ExpressVPN claims to have servers in 94 countries, which is impressive.
That's more than NordVPN (62) and KeepSolid VPN Unlimited (70).
Hide My Ass VPN and PureVPN claim to offer coverage in 190 and 140 countries, respectively.
ExpressVPN covers a wide range of geographically diverse countries, which bodes well for international users.
In addition to strong coverage in Asia, Europe, and North America, ExpressVPN offers servers for several countries in Africa, South America, and the Middle East.
Such countries include Argentina, Egypt, Israel, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, and Venezuela.
It is missing servers in countries with poor internet freedom, such as Cuba, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
That said, ExpressVPN does cover Pakistan, Russia, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
People in countries with restricted internet freedom can best address this oppression by connecting to a VPN server.
Accessing servers in a nearby country should allow access to content that would otherwise be restricted, but reaching those servers is not possible everywhere.
Thus, it is important that VPNs offer servers within the affected country as well, even if said servers may not be able to entirely circumvent a country's restrictions.
At the very least, these servers will provide an additional measure of privacy and help users hide their identity, which is still better than nothing.
You should know whether your VPN uses virtual servers.
Virtual servers are software-defined servers that appear to be in a different location than they are physically.
By spinning up multiple virtual servers on a single piece of hardware, a VPN company can claim an inflated number of servers and server locations.
More importantly, however, virtual servers introduce potential privacy concerns.
Take, for example, a scenario where someone's data travels through a server in a physical location different than the one they had selected.
That physical location may be in a country that does not have user-first privacy laws.
Furthermore, your metadata trail may be exposed in several locations.
This does not even account for the possibility that the VPN encryption fails completely during the process.
A representative from ExpressVPN noted that 97 percent of its servers are physically located in the same country of geolocation, while three percent are virtually located.
Privacy Policy and Security
ExpressVPN's privacy policy does a good job of explaining exactly what information it collects in plain language.
For example, ExpressVPN says it does not collect or log your browsing history, traffic destination, data content, or DNS queries.
It also doesn't store connection logs with data on your IP address, outgoing VPN IP address, connection timestamp, or session duration.
ExpressVPN also says that it generates all of its revenue though subscriptions.
These are good policies.
The information ExpressVPN does collect for its VPN service breaks down into three categories: personal information, aggregate VPN data, and voluntary diagnostic data.
Personal information includes your email address and payment information, neither of which ExpressVPN sells.
ExpressVPN collects aggregate VPN data to provide customer support and maintain the service.
This data includes which apps and app version you use, whether you establish a successful connection on a given day, and the amount of data you transfer over the connection period.
In other words, ExpressVPN says that it "may know that a customer has used ExpressVPN, but we never know how they have utilized our service." We would prefer that ExpressVPN not collect even this amount of information.
ExpressVPN's headquarters is located in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which is a British territory in the Caribbean.
Note that Great Britain is part of the 14 eyes alliance.
However, we are not confident enough in our understanding of this agreement to render a verdict on ExpressVPN's privacy based solely on the location of its headquarters.
ExpressVPN says that if it receives a valid legal order from the BVI Supreme Court, it cannot provide any information, since said information does not exist in the first place, because of its no-logs policy.
There is not yet a publicly available third-party audit of ExpressVPN, but a company representative said it "regularly conducts audits and penetration tests to validate security and privacy protections." The contact further noted, "Not all of the third-party testers we engage publicly publish reports, but we anticipate that we will be publishing some audit reports in the near future, including one in the coming weeks." Third-party audits are becoming increasingly common in the VPN space and we appreciate any effort a company makes to independently verify its product.
NordVPN, TunnelBear, and VyprVPN are among some of the other VPNS that have undergone this process.
Hands On With ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN recently updated its Android app with new features, which we discuss later in the section.
We installed the latest version of the app on a Google Pixel running Android 9 and did not encounter any issues when signing in or using the app.
App reliability is an important metric, since it is likely your greatest defense against privacy incursions.
A VPN that loses its connection to the server intermittently defeats the purpose of using a VPN in the first place.
The ExpressVPN app is simple and effective, which is useful for people who just want to get connected to the VPN server without any fuss.
In the middle of the screen, the app displays a large power button that you tap in order to connect.
Below that button, you select the server location you want to use.
Tap the Expand button in this field to view all the recommended and available servers.
We wish that the app included more information on each server, such as server load percentage or latency.
In the app's latest version, ExpressVPN makes it easier to access recommended and recent server locations by adding connection shortcuts to these servers on the main page.
ExpressVPN also introduced the ability to add app and browser shortcuts to the app's main page, which are only available once you enable the VPN.
In effect, this feature helps users ensure that the VPN is turned on and working, before they launch any apps.
These are both good usability features, but we still don't appreciate the persistent notification on the bottom of the main screen that highlights ExpressVPN tips and news.
You can open the settings by tapping on the overflow menu icon in the upper left-hand side of the main screen.
The settings section is pretty bare; you can select the VPN protocol and specify whether the VPN should connect on Android startup.
There is no split-tunneling option here.
ExpressVPN does include several tools in the Help & Support section, though, for checking your IP Address, testing for DNS leaks, and verifying if WebRTC is leaking your real IP address.
These resources are not built into the app, however, and redirect you to a web browser.
The app does include an option to contact ExpressVPN's support team, but the privacy policy is not linked anywhere.
How Fast Is ExpressVPN?
When you connect your device to a VPN, you will likely notice a negative effect on network performance.
The extent of this change could be due to any number of reasons, including what server you choose to connect to, your geographic location, and your device.
As previously stated, a VPN with more servers and server locations will cause less drastic changes to your network speeds.
With that in mind, we consider our tests more of a comparative snapshot of performance, rather than the final word.
Check out our roundup of the fastest VPNs in our tests.
See How We Test VPNs
To test VPN performance, we use the Ookla Speedtest.net app (Note that Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns Daxdi) and run several tests over Daxdi's FIOS Wi-Fi network.
During testing, we enable Airplane mode to control for inconsistencies in cellular network speeds.
We take the median results of several tests run with the VPN disabled and find the percent change from the same tests undertaken when the VPN is activated.
ExpressVPN turned in mixed results in our Android tests.
For instance, it performed well in our latency tests, increasing latency by only 40 percent.
However, its results fell to the bottom of the pack in our download and upload speed tests.
ExpressVPN slowed download and upload speeds by 79.1 and 73.8 percent respectively.
For comparison, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and Turbo VPN led the way in our latency tests, each...
