PrivateVPN is one of our top-ranking VPNs, scoring particularly well in speed and security. However, we don’t expect you to just take our word for it. While PrivateVPN doesn’t include an official free trial as such (free trials are increasingly uncommon among top VPNs), there’s still a perfectly legitimate way for you to enjoy 30 days of use for free. What’s more, this is quick and easy to do when you follow the step-by-step instructions laid out in this post.
Instead of offering a free trial period, PrivateVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. This means that in order to gain access, you have to make an upfront payment. However, you then have a full 30 days to request a full refund if you’re at all unsatisfied. We’ve tested this for ourselves and found it to be a very reliable and risk-free way of getting what is essentially a month-long free trial account.
Below, we’ll explain how you can sign up for PrivateVPN and cancel your account before the 30-day free trial period comes to an end.
How to hack PrivateVPN’s money-back guarantee
Anyone can take advantage of PrivateVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Indeed, the process of signing up shouldn’t take more than a minute or two.
In order to get your PrivateVPN free trial, you’ll need to subscribe to PrivateVPN.
Here’s how to use the PrivateVPN free trial hack:
- Go to the PrivateVPN website and click on one of the call to action buttons such as “Get PrivateVPN” or “Buy Now 85% Discount” to see the various plans and pricing
- Select your preferred plan. PrivateVPN offers one-month, three-month, and 12-month (currently 36 months) plans, all of which include the 30-day money-back guarantee. The difference is that the longer the plan, the more you save long term. Otherwise, if you’re looking to make the lowest initial payment before canceling, you’re best off selecting the PrivateVPN 1-month plan.
- Scroll down to create your account. This requires providing your email address and a password. You can then select your preferred method of payment. PrivateVPN accepts all major credit cards as well as payments via PayPal. Want to sign up anonymously? You can always create a burner email account and pay in Bitcoin.
- Upon payment completion, you’ll receive a couple of emails, one of which is a “Welcome to PrivateVPN” and the other is your payment receipt. Your browser will automatically redirect you to your new PrivateVPN account and the VPN’s “Getting Started” page. From here, you can download and install the appropriate app for your desktop or mobile device.
- Select your preferred app version. We recommend the default option listed as “PrivateVPN App”. Click “View Guide”. You’ll then see a set of step-by-step instructions explaining how to download and install the app. These are very simple to follow. However, if you have any questions, bear in mind that PrivateVPN offers live chat and email support as well as free remote help and installation.
- You can now log in to the PrivateVPN app using the email address and password provided during signup. Note that if you’re already signed in to another VPN, you may get a “Network connection error”, in which case you should disconnect from the other VPN before attempting to log in to PrivateVPN again.
- You’re all done! You can now connect to a server and enjoy 30 days of free service with PrivateVPN. Just be sure to remember to cancel your subscription before the 30 days come to an end (we cover exactly how you can do this immediately below).
How to cancel PrivateVPN’s free trial
Changed your mind? It’s easy enough to request a full refund with PrivateVPN. Here’s how to do this:
- Contact PrivateVPN via the website’s support page and “Contact us” button (or send PrivateVPN an email to support@privateVPN.com). Important: Do not select “Cancel subscription” via the Control Panel as this only cancels your subscription and does not refund your money.
- State your wish to cancel your subscription and that you are requesting a full refund as per the 30-day money-back guarantee. You must provide a reason for requesting the refund.
- PrivateVPN’s email support is among the fastest we’ve tested, so you should receive a quick reply (likely within hours rather than days). You may be asked for additional information such as your reason for canceling.
- According to PrivateVPN’s website, your refund “will be processed within five business days from the confirmation date”.
- That’s it. Don’t worry if you don’t receive a reply from PrivateVPN’s support in time. As long as your initial request was made within the 30-day period, this should be honored by PrivateVPN.
VPN money-back guarantees
VPN money-back guarantees are a great way for you to try out the best VPNs without permanently parting with your money. As the name suggests, money-back guarantees differ from free trials in that you have to make a payment in advance before requesting a refund within an allotted time. In the case of PrivateVPN, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee which is standard for a top VPN provider.
Some VPNs like CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield offer 45-day money-back guarantees, allowing you even more time to try out their services. Unfortunately, some less reputable VPNs use money-back guarantees as a way of luring new customers and keeping the initial deposits. For example, you may find that a VPN provider is particularly difficult to contact or takes an exorbitantly long time to reply (or doesn’t even reply at all!).
The good news is that PrivateVPN’s money-back guarantee is risk free. Not only is this VPN easy to contact (it offers live chat and email support), it provides plenty of transparency regarding its refund policy. In contrast to some less reputable VPNs, it doesn’t have any hidden clauses intended to trick potential customers. As long as you are a new customer and cancel within 30 days, PrivateVPN will honor the money-back guarantee.
VPN free trials
A VPN free trial may seem more attractive because it doesn’t require you to make an advance payment. However, there are actually some downsides to free trial VPNs that you might wish to consider.
In particular, free trials tend to be significantly shorter — often just a few days. This is very little time to fully test a VPN. It can take time to get a feel of a VPN’s server speeds, overall usability, or quality of customer support, for example. In contrast, money-back guarantees (such as that of PrivateVPN) run for 30 days—plenty of time to decide if it’s right for you.
Note also that free trials are often more limited. While a money-back guarantee allows you to test out the full VPN service with absolutely no restrictions, a free trial may offer fewer server locations, throttled connections, or even limited security features. Overall, money-back guarantees provide a fair way for you to gain full and free access to a VPN, risk free.
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