MacSentry’s small network and performance issues hold it back from competing with the top VPNs.
As you’ll probably guess from the name, MacSentry is a VPN targeted very much at Mac, iPhone and iPad users. But that’s not as restrictive as it seems, because the service has an app for Windows, and there are manual instructions covering Linux, Android, Fire TV Stick and more.
MacSentry’s network is relatively small, with 4 locations in the US, and 27 spread around the globe. Most are in Europe, but there are also servers in Australia, Dubai, Hong Kong, Japan and South Africa.
The core MacSentry service includes most of the features you’d expect. There’s support for up to five simultaneous connections, P2P is permitted on all servers, and a network lock and Mac-only kill switch aim to stop data leaks.
There’s no ExpressVPN-like speedy live chat, but the company does offer 24/7 email support if you have problems.
Mac users also get a bonus in the shape of three bundled system tools: a network connection monitor, drive clean-up tool and battery status app.
Prices are very reasonable. Monthly billing can be yours for $9.99, this drops to $4.99 over six months, and only $3.58 over a year. PayPal, credit cards and Bitcoin are supported for payment.
There’s no free product or trial available via the website, unfortunately, but MacSentry does offer a ‘no questions, no fuss, no fine print’ 7-day money-back guarantee. That’s not long – most providers give you 30 days at least – but if you take full advantage of it, it’s enough time to get a feel of whether the service will work for you.
MacSentry’s website has a clear « no logging » statement on its front page, but experience has taught us that you can’t always take this at face value. We decided to dig deeper.
The single-page FAQ is emphatic, but just as lacking in detail: « we do not store any logs whatsoever ».
We headed off to the brief privacy policy, which explained that some data is recorded when you connect – « username, internal IP, length of the session, and the amount of data transferred » – but adds that « this data is not retained and purged after the user disconnects as it is no longer relevant. »
MacSentry seems to be ruling out both activity and session logging, which works for us.
