10 Best VPNs in India 2021 (ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and more)

Here is a carefully curated list of the ten best VPN service providers in the world. You will find that our list consists of the top players in the VPN industry like ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and more. Choose one that comes with the countries and features you want.

The purpose of a VPN is to provide you privacy and anonymity when you are on the internet. A VPN works by routing your internet connection through the chosen private server of the VPN service provider rather than your ISP. Following are the benefits of using a VPN:

1. Hides your IP address, location, identity, and browsing behavior from ISPs, hackers, law enforcement, and governments.
2. Encrypts your data, so any who try to snoop in will only see gibberish.
3. Allows you to access region-restricted content on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO, etc.
4. Enables access to game servers dedicated exclusively to players from specific countries.

Here is a well-researched guide on how to choose a VPN for your privacy and anonymity. Keep reading to learn about VPN protocols, encryption, leaks, and more in the sections below.

A VPN protocol is a set of instructions that determine how your internet traffic is routed through a secure tunnel. Some commonly used protocols are OpenVPN (TCP/UDP), IKEv2/IPSec, Wireguard, and PPTP. Each one of them is designed to perform optimally under specific circumstances. OpenVPN is the most commonly used protocol.

It provides a very good level of encryption and is compatible with most operating systems and devices. Wireguard is another open-source protocol that is lightweight and provides much more connection stability than OpenVPN. The level of encryption is also as good as OpenVPN. IKEv2/IPSec offers faster connection speeds compared to OpenVPN and Wireguard.

It is good for media streaming and torrenting. PPTP is one of the oldest protocols. It is as fast as IKEv2/IPSec, but the level of encryption is very poor. If you use a VPN using the PPTP protocol, you will be extremely vulnerable to hackers. We recommend finding a VPN that gives you the choice of at least two protocols, most preferably OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec.

If you want to access regional content, for example, Netflix shows available only in Bulgaria, you need a VPN that has servers in that country. The number of servers the VPN service provider has in a particular country also matters. When several users are connected to a server, it becomes overloaded, causing slow internet speed, packet loss, etc.

If the VPN has multiple servers, choose one that shows less load. If your purpose of using a VPN is just for privacy and anonymity, check the VPN's official website to find out if they have servers in countries closer to India. If you connect to a faraway country, you will experience slow speeds, since data packets take longer to travel to and from your device.

And slow speeds will result in high in-game latency, slower download speeds, video buffering issues, etc. If you are a journalist or an activist, you would want to connect to a country with no strict data retention laws. 

Some VPNs come with servers dedicated for special purposes, for example, streaming, gaming, and/or torrenting. Suppose you want to watch Netflix USA, go for a VPN that comes with a Netflix streaming server in the USA among regular servers. Dedicated servers can help reduce video loading time, in-game latency, and increase torrenting speeds.

But there is a problem. VPNs usually provide shared, dynamic IP addresses, meaning a random IP address also used by other VPN users all around the globe gets assigned to you too. Video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime know that people use VPNs to access region-specific content. They have implemented measures to find and blacklist IP addresses used by VPNs.

Even video game publishers do that to prevent you from playing on a server dedicated exclusively to a country. So VPNs offer dedicated IP addresses to users as an add-on. The IP address is assigned to your account, and only you can use it. Video game publishers and streaming service providers won't find out that the IP address you are using was provided by a VPN service provider.

 Sometimes a VPN connection can go down, exposing your IP address and location to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This is called traffic leak. If you switch from one VPN server to another, it takes some time for the connection to get established. Even during such a brief interval, packets can leak from your device and reach the ISP's server.

Connectivity issues can occur at the server level too when there is a connection overload or server crash. A VPN without a kill switch will expose your identity immediately. A kill switch is a feature that gets activated once the VPN detects that the connection to the secure server has gone down. There is a better solution to kill switch, and that's a firewall.

By the time your VPN detects that the secure connection has gone down and the kill switch gets activated, some packets of data might reach the ISP's servers. While the kill switch only kicks in when the connection drops, a firewall is like a safety net that is always there. Choose a VPN that offers the best traffic leak solution for your needs.

A VPN leak reveals your identity and browsing behavior to your ISP or a hacker snooping on your network. There are mainly four types of VPN leaks: Traffic leak, DNS leak, IPv6 leak, and WebRTC leak. We talked about traffic leaks in the previous section. A DNS leak occurs when your device communicates with your ISP's DNS server instead of the VPN's.

This can happen if the VPN service providers don't have DNS servers or the technology to prevent DNS leaks. There are two types of IP addresses: IPv4 and IPv6. An IPv6 leak can happen if your VPN doesn't support IPv6. In this case, only the IPv4 traffic gets routed through the secure tunnel, exposing your IPv6 address to the website you are visiting, which can be traced back to you.

WebRTC is a tool used by browsers to facilitate voice and video chat (for example, Skype). The basic functionality of this tool involves sending your IP address to the website even if you are using a VPN. Head over to the features section of a VPN service provider's official website and find out if their app has the technology to prevent all four types of leaks.

What if you don't want your entire device to be connected to a VPN server? Suppose you are torrenting (which is illegal if the file you are downloading/uploading is copyrighted), and you are connected to a VPN server because you don't want your ISP to know that you are torrenting.

But you want to access your bank's website that is only accessible if you are in India. Split tunneling is a VPN feature that lets you choose the apps that should send traffic through the VPN server. Here are the benefits of choosing a VPN that comes with the split tunneling feature.

You can conserve bandwidth by routing only the traffic that needs to stay hidden rather than forcing the entire device to connect through a VPN server. You can still watch your Indian Netflix while you are traveling. You don't have to wait till you reach India to watch your favorite shows.

Paid VPNs usually offer unlimited bandwidth and data. There are VPN service providers that offer everything they got in every plan they offer. The only difference is the billing frequency. You may be charged monthly, annually, or even biannually. 

Others, however, create plans that offer different numbers of servers, countries, and features, so you can choose one that suits your requirements. Some VPNs offer free plans too. But you won't get the high speeds and unlimited data that comes with paid subscriptions. 

Some VPN service providers like TunnelBear give you limited data but access to all the features of the VPN. Those who want to test the app before purchasing a plan will find this useful.

We use a VPN to hide ourselves and the websites we visit from strangers' eyes. But the VPN service providers can log your IP address and the websites you visit if they want. VPNs based in countries with strict data retention laws may require doing so by law. Go for a VPN with a strict no-logs policy. But no logging doesn't mean that none of your data is collected.

VPNs may store data that will enable them to provide you better services, but nothing that can be used to identify you. Read the privacy policy of a VPN service provider before you buy their subscription. Talking about buying a subscription. The credit/debit card or the Paypal account you used to purchase a subscription can also be used to identify you.

If you have any such concerns, there are VPNs that accept payment in the form of cryptocurrency and third-party gift cards. Private Internet Access is a VPN that accepts payment in the form of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, etc., and gift cards of major brands including Starbucks, Walmart, and Best Buy.

Free VPN is a myth. You may not be paying money, but you are paying with your browsing behavior. Maintaining servers requires money. If a company is offering its services for free, it is most likely selling your data to advertisers. If you are a journalist or an activist under the radar of a government, they may even force the VPN service provider to share your browsing data.

If the service provider hardly makes any money (because they are offering their services for "free"), they will easily yield to any persuasion to avoid lawsuits. Sometimes, VPNs use fake locations, which they sugarcoat by calling them virtual servers. For example, you may choose Pakistan from the list of servers, but the actual server may be in Singapore or Malaysia.

This can be dangerous if you are trying to avoid certain countries. The internet speed can also get affected if the actual physical server is far away. Paid VPNs also do this. Check the official website of a VPN for the list of physical and virtual locations they offer. Free VPNs may also lack sufficient data encryption and leak protection. Some free VPNs are also known to contain malware.

With many of us working from home now, the need for video conferencing is even more necessary than usual. But the devices of your family may also be connected to the same router. And because of this, you are likely to experience a delay in video and audio transmission. Not to mention the forever loading times.

We got recommendations and buying guides for the best webcams and WiFi extenders in India. Now you can video chat with your colleagues and loved ones in HD and never experience slow speeds even if you are on the balcony of the first floor.

Do you want the governments to spy on your internet activity? Or advertisers to bombard you with ads? We think not. A VPN can protect you from anyone who wants to snoop on your private affairs.

A VPN is becoming a necessity these days, considering the scandals that are being unearthed. Protect yourself from hackers, ISP, and law enforcement agencies by using a VPN. As a journalist or an activist, you may not be doing anything illegal, but people in positions of power may not entertain your quest for truth and justice. Sometimes, it is easy to hide rather than fight.

Author - Arun F Xaviour