Touch VPN Review 2024 - Keep This in Mind Before Buying

Touch VPN says it protects your online data and gives you “access to any website in any country.” Those are some pretty big claims, so I had to take the service for a run and see if it lives up to its promises.

I tested every aspect of the VPN, including its unblocking abilities, speeds, security features, privacy policy, torrent support, ease-of-use, device compatibility, and customer support.

My results ranged from disappointing to downright shocking. Not only does this service fail to match up to the best VPNs currently available, there’s a very real chance it’s not safe to use at all.

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Streaming — Couldn’t Bypass Most Geo-Blocks

TouchVPN unblocked 1 of the streaming platforms I tested, and only with the paid plan. Its free version couldn't give me access to any geo-blocked websites.

First, I ran tests with the free plan, and it failed to unblock every streaming platform on my list. As this plan is very limited in terms of locations, I was unable to switch to different servers in my tests.

Next, I purchased a subscription and took its premium plan for a test drive, hoping that I’d get better results. Sadly that wasn’t the case.

Unblocked: ITV Hub

Touch VPN only unblocked ITV Hub. I managed to stream Absolutely Ascot without any major delays when connected to a UK server. It took a few seconds for the show to load, but overall, the quality was great. Given I was in Kenya when running this test, I expected some heavy buffering, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Once you connect to a server in the UK, you’ll be able to watch ITV Hub

Blocked By: Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and ESPN

Touch VPN failed to unblock every other streaming platform that I tested out. I was especially disappointed because the VPN provided me with fast speeds on most servers, so streaming in HD would have been possible.

First, it failed to get past Netflix’s tough blocks when I tried to stream Honey Girls. The platform couldn’t see that my location was changed, so it blocked my access. This was a little odd — when Netflix blocks VPNs, it usually says that it detected a proxy. In this case, it couldn’t see my new location at all.

You can’t trust Touch VPN to access Netflix during your travels

I had a similar experience when I tried to stream on BBC iPlayer when connected to a UK server. The platform knew I wasn’t in the UK, so it blocked my access.

HBO Max didn’t work either. Its geo-blocks instantly thwarted all my attempts to access the platform, even after switching servers. Like Netflix, it couldn’t see that my location was changed at all.

The service wasn’t fooled by the VPN

Hulu also detected I was outside the US or trying to use a VPN and made sure I couldn’t log in to my account.

Again, the service knew I wasn’t in the right location

I was hoping to watch The Bounty on Amazon Prime Video, but that didn’t work either. The platform immediately detected I was using a VPN and recommended I disable it.

You have to use a more powerful VPN to access Amazon Prime Video’s library

Disney+ geo-restriction technology equally frustrated all my attempts to access the platform. It could see that I wasn’t in an available region, so I couldn’t watch anything.

You can’t count on Touch VPN to watch Disney outside the US

Touch VPN offers great speeds, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you stream a lot during your travels. No matter which server I tried, the VPN failed to bypass the geo-restrictions of almost all streaming platforms I tested.

To reliably unblock the above websites and more, I’d go with these great VPNs for streaming instead.

Speeds — Fast Download Speeds, but High Ping

I found Touch VPN’s download speeds reliable — but my upload speeds and ping suffered.

In my tests, I looked at 3 metrics:

• Ping/Latency — Measured in milliseconds (ms) and indicates how long it takes data to travel from your device to a website server and back again. A low ping rate indicates a more responsive connection, which is important for lag-free online gaming.
• Download speed — The time it takes to receive data from the internet. It’s measured in Mbps, and is crucial for streaming.
• Upload speed — How fast you can send files from your device to the internet (i.e. posting on social media, sending emails, uploading files, video calling, and more). Also measured in Mbps.

Local Speeds

Touch VPN’s local speeds are impressive, but the closest server to me was in Egypt (over 3,000 km away). First, I tested my base speed without a VPN connection. Then I connected to a server in Egypt, and I was pleasantly surprised by how my speed held up. Download speed dropped by 5%, upload speed went down by 24%, and ping increased to 250 ms.

You can usually expect any VPN to decrease your speeds by roughly 10-20%, so Touch VPN performed really well. With these speeds, I could stream my favorite shows and load websites without any issues.

Local servers gave speed above 8.63 Mbps, which is a 5% drop compared to my base speed

However, it was not possible to play games with such a high ping. I tried playing Minecraft, but my connection timed out. Ping of between 50 and 100 ms is considered good for playing games without lag (anything under 50 ms is even better). When your ping goes over 100 ms, you start to experience annoying lag that makes gaming frustrating. Anything over 150 ms can make play impossible.

Long-Distance Speeds

Touch VPN’s long-distance speeds are equally impressive. Although I noticed some inconsistency, I generally got speeds that were fast enough for streaming and regular browsing. However, I found them just as unreliable for gaming. I got a ping rate higher than 154 ms on all servers that I tested.

In my tests, upload speed and ping rate changed drastically when I connected to distant servers. I got the lowest upload speed (0.88 Mbps) when connected to a German server and the highest ping (297 ms) when connected to a US server. Download speed was steadier — I got the highest drop (8.5%) when connected to a US server.

My download speed remained good even when I connected to faraway serversOverall, Touch VPN download speed remained nearly consistent across all servers that I tested. Unfortunately, my ping and upload speeds took a hit — which makes activities like video calling or gaming impossible. If you’re concerned about gaming, these options won’t let you down.

Server Network — Small and Unsecure Servers

Touch VPN has 5,900 servers in 90 countries. Most of these locations are in North America and Europe — including Brazil, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Denmark, France, and France. The free version limits you to a few server locations; you have to upgrade to a paid version to unlock the other countries.

What surprised me is that the different native apps and browser extensions don’t display the same number of locations with the free plan either. The Chrome and Firefox extensions gave me access to 7 locations, the Edge extension gave me access to 2 locations, and the Android app had 21 locations available.

Even after upgrading to a paid plan, I noticed this inconsistency persisted. The Android app displayed more server locations than browser extensions. This forced me to switch from one browser extension to another during my tests, which was tiresome and time-consuming.

On top of that, the server information on the website was confusing. Touch VPN’s site indicates the VPN has servers in 30+ countries in bold and a large font size. Beneath this (and in a much smaller font size), it says its servers are spread across 90+ countries. All of this makes me wonder if the rest of the content on Touch VPN’s website is accurate and reliable.

Even Touch VPN doesn’t seem to know the exact number of countries it covers

I checked with the support team to see if this was an error. Astonishingly, they weren’t sure how many countries the VPN has servers in either. They promised to check into the matter and get back once they have an update. Unfortunately, I never received any further information.

Security — Lacks Essential Features

Touch VPN offers basic security features with little to no configuration. I analyzed its protocols and encryption and tested for DNS/IP leaks.

Encryption and Protocols

Touch VPN uses basic SSL to secure your connections — this is pretty subpar for a VPN.

The most powerful services I have tested (like ExpressVPN) offer military-grade AES-256 encryption, which is the strongest available and almost impossible to break. It’s the same level of technology used by governments, banks, and militaries to encrypt sensitive data.

Because of the way SSL works, your traffic needs to be decrypted and re-encrypted at the time it passes through a proxy (VPN) server. Theoretically, this means Touch VPN can see everything you do while connected to the service. In contrast, AES encrypts your data end-to-end, so even VPN staff can’t monitor your online activity.

The VPN claims this keeps you “entirely anonymous and secured,” but that’s not exactly true

My mobile app gave me the choice of 2 security protocols:

• OpenVPN — The industry standard tunneling protocol. It’s highly secure and open source, which means its code is always accessible to experts who continuously examine and improve it. It comes with 2 connection options, TCP and UDP. UDP is the faster one, so it’s a good pick for streaming. TCP is more secure and ideal when you wish to browse with increased security. However, during my tests, both TCP and UDP gave me similar speeds — so I opted to use TCP.
• Catapult HydraVPN — A proprietary protocol that’s optimized to get you excellent connection speeds, especially over long distances. It doesn’t sacrifice security but isn’t as secure as OpenVPN. I tested it with streaming platforms and watched my favorite movies with zero lags.

I installed Touch VPN on my Android phone and could easily switch from one protocol to another. What surprised me is that Touch VPN’s Windows app didn’t allow me to change the protocol. This was a little odd, as most VPNs usually offer a few to choose from depending on your needs.

Touch VPN doesn’t offer a kill switch though. This is a standard feature any reliable VPN comes with, and I expected to see it. A kill switch cuts your internet traffic if the VPN disconnects unexpectedly. This stops your traffic reverting back to your ISP, which can expose your identity and online activity to monitors and trackers. Not having one means you lack this protection while using Touch VPN.

There is also no mention of perfect forward secrecy, which plays a critical role in guaranteeing your online security. This feature changes encryption keys frequently to ensure greater protection from hackers. Even if a third party manages to get hold of one decryption key (which is very unlikely anyway), they can only access minimal amounts of data. All data encrypted by future keys remains secure. It’s another worrying security omission from Touch VPN.

IP and DNS Leak Tests

I tested Touch VPN for IP/DNS leaks and was pleased to see all the servers I tried passed the test. This means the VPN kept my real location and identity hidden.

Your connections remain secure all the time when connected to a Touch VPN’s server

Ad and Tracker Blocker

You only get access to the ad/tracker blocker with a paid subscription. This feature helps you block trackers, malware, cookies, and annoying ads. I tested out the blocker on some ad-heavy sites like Yahoo News and it blocked them all successfully.

Ironically, the free version of the VPN actually comes with pop-up ads. These were incredibly annoying during my tests.

Overall, Touch VPN’s security offering is disappointing. It doesn’t use the strongest encryption, its protocols vary depending on your device, and it offers no additional features like a kill switch or perfect forward secrecy. If browsing and streaming with increased security is your top priority, here are some VPNs that keep your sensitive data safe.

Privacy — Logs and Stores Your Information and Activity

Touch VPN logs a lot of your data. Most of the VPNs I’ve used only keep basic information like email address, password, and billing details, which are necessary when signing up and upgrading to a paid plan.

However, this didn’t come as a surprise to me. Digging into Touch VPN’s privacy policy revealed that the service is owned by Aura and Pango, which own other VPNs that are known for logging — like Betternet and Hotspot Shield.

The service logs and stores a worrying amount of information about your usage, devices, and location

Here’s some of the information that Touch VPN logs:

• Operating system versions
• Internet service provider name
• Diagnostics information
• Approximate location
• Bandwidth usage
• Browser type
• Device identifiers

Aura claims this information is anonymized and can’t be linked back to you. This might be true if you use the free version of Touch VPN, as you don’t have to sign up. If you pay for a subscription using your name and financial information though, I’d be seriously worried about the VPN storing this much data.

Location

The VPN’s logging is especially concerning as it operates out of the US, which is a member of the 5 Eyes Alliance. 5 Eyes countries are known for online surveillance of citizens. They also freely share any collected information with other Alliance members.

The US is especially known for being one of the least privacy-friendly countries. Considering Touch VPN lacks a no-logs policy and keeps a lot of information about its users, there’s no guarantee your information won’t be handed over to US authorities if requested.

If online privacy is important to you (and it should be) then you want to consider alternative options. Thankfully, there are many truly no-logs VPNs today headquartered outside 5/9/14 Eyes countries.

Torrenting — Allowed, But Not Safe

Touch VPN’s servers support P2P torrenting. I checked with the support team and they confirmed all servers work with P2P connections.

They also recommended using Vuze and its client Azureus for torrenting with the VPN. However, that was not possible as my antivirus blocked any attempt to use Vuze’s installer after detecting malware in it.

The service recommends using Vuze but I found it to be unsafe

Nonetheless, I advise against using the service for torrenting. Firstly, it lacks robust encryption and a kill switch. This could potentially expose your identity to the P2P network, particularly if the VPN connection fails. Moreover, the VPN retains too much data to provide a safe and private environment for torrenting.

Instead, I recommend you take a look at these torrenting VPNs that keep you safe on any P2P network.

Does Touch VPN Work in China? Apparently

Touch VPN’s customer support claimed I could use the VPN in China. Since the VPN failed to bypass the geo-blocks on most streaming sites I tested, I was surprised to hear it works from behind China’s Great Firewall.

That being said, the VPN representative’s language was very vague when answering my question. All they said was “our VPN works if you want to use it to connect to different locations.” They never categorically stated it works in China.

But they used very vague language when making this claim

Even if the service does work in China, I wouldn’t recommend using it. VPNs are illegal in the country unless they comply with the country’s rules and regulations (i.e. give the government access to your data). This means that you can get in trouble if discovered using a VPN that isn’t government-approved.

Since TouchVPN doesn’t offer the strongest encryption, I’m not confident that it can keep you safe while also bypassing China’s Great Firewall. Instead, I recommend you take a look at these secure VPNs that work in China.

Simultaneous Device Connections — Unlimited

Touch VPN allows you to connect Unlimited devices under one subscription. Alternatively, you can use the free plan on as many devices as you like (because you don’t need to create an account to use it). However, the free plan then limits your servers, data, and features — so it’s not an ideal solution.

I tested the VPN on my Windows laptop, Android phone, iPad, and MacBook and didn’t experience any drop in performance. I could stream ITV on all of them buffer-free. So, you don’t have to worry about multiple connections interfering with the VPN’s performance.