Ace Android apps to add functionality and security to your phone or tablet — we’ve picked out the five best Android VPNs you can download right now.
Having a VPN has become so mainstream these days that it’s no surprise that you’d want to be able to access it on your Android phone or tablet, too. Fortunately, pretty much all of the best providers out there have dedicated Android VPN apps you can install, specially designed with mobile use in mind. As well as helping use the web securely – particularly if you’re using public Wi-Fi or cellular – Android VPNs are celebrated software for their ability to help you access geographically restricted apps, stream content that might normally be blocked (from foreign Netflix catalogues to overseas sports action) and much more. The problem you’ll face is that one quick search of the Play Store reveals hundreds upon hundreds of Android VPNs vying for your attention. So how do you choose the right one? We’ll explain what features to look out for below, and then go on to tell you the five very best Android VPN apps that we’ve found from our thorough testing and reviews. Obviously, a dedicated Android app helps to make things as hassle-free as possible and so the app should be user-friendly. Ensure it supports your version of Android, with most going back at least to Pie You’re probably going to want to use your Android VPN on loads of other devices, too — so make sure you get one that also works with your computer’s operating system and has enough licences to cover all your gadgets. Other considerations are tight security — a kill switch is handy, so that you’re not left exposed if your internet connection drops — and of course a privacy policy and terms of service that make it clear what logs and details are kept by the provider. And a word of warning: make sure you avoid the dodgy ones on Google Play as quite a few free VPN players promise to provide free privacy but don’t mention the strings attached. Instead, go for one of the brilliant Android VPN apps that we’ve listed below. Today’s top 3 Android VPNs: Best Android VPN 2021 — Get 3 months free with an annual plan There are so many things to like about ExpressVPN and its Android offering. The dedicated app is extremely user-friendly and straightforward, but also offers lots of advanced options. Get started by grabbing it from the Play Store (where the user rating just keeps getting better and better) or simply via the ExpressVPN website with a dedicated setup link, QR code or APK download. Once installed, using the Express Android app is ludicrously easy to do — it’s really no different to the desktop version. So that means a nice, obvious On/Off button and an easy-to-navigate list of servers — over 3,000 in all, across 94 countries ranging from Albania to Venezuela. What’s more, the app is now available in a mix of 16 languages. The app itself has some neat options like an excellent location picker, insecure network detection, split tunneling, specialist privacy tools menu and a kill switch to improve security. Indeed, on the security front, it boasts AES 256-bit encryption, while the speeds we witnessed using the mobile VPN were consistently fast. They’ll only get faster, too, now that Express’s proprietary Lightway protocol is available.
