Below is the checklist sheet for Hotspot Shield’s score.
Same as the previous, Hotspot Shield went over 28 testing parameters.
The final score is 58 over 100!
Hotspot Shield Score Card
| Inspect Elements | Checked | Point Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Kill Switch | ✓ | 4/4 |
| Outside 14 Eyes | ✗ | 0/4 |
| No Logs | ✓ | 4/4 |
| OpenVPN Protocol | ✗ | 0/4 |
| AES-256 | ✓ | 4/4 |
| Double VPN Servers Routing | ✗ | 0/4 |
| Private DNS | ✗ | 0/4 |
| No Bandwidth Limit | ✓ | 3/3 |
| P2P Function | ✓ | 3/3 |
| Public Wifi Protection | ✓ | 4/4 |
| Own Server Farm | ✗ | 0/4 |
| Google Play Review | 1,468,529 | 5/5 |
| App Store Review | 129,893 | 5/5 |
| Download Speed Reduction | ✓ | 1/4 |
| Upload Speed Reduction | ✓ | 1/4 |
| Latency/Ping | ✓ | 4/4 |
| Ad-Blocker | ✗ | 0/2 |
| Unlimited Devices | ✗ | 0/2 |
| Obfuscation/Camouflage Mode | ✗ | 0/3 |
| DNS Leak Test | ✓ | 4/4 |
| WebRTC Leak Test | ✓ | 4/4 |
| IPV6 Leak Test | ✓ | 4/4 |
| Auto Connect | ✓ | 4/4 |
| GPS Spoofing | ✗ | 0/4 |
| Secure Hotspot | ✓ | 3/3 |
| Auto Cookies Deletion | ✗ | 0/2 |
| Ddos Protection | ✓ | 2/2 |
| Scan Downloaded File | ✗ | 0/2 |
Ranked 10th among all the best VPNs tested.
- Beta Distribution for Google Play and App Store Review
Playstore review of 4.1 stars rating from 1,468,529 individuals score is 0.82
Appstore review of 4.5 stars rating from 129,893 individuals score is 0.90
Remark:
A calculation closer to 1 is better.
1.00 < x < 0.8 – earn 5 points
0.79 < x < 0.6 – earn 4 points
0.59 < x < 0.4 – earn 3 points
0.39 < x < 0.2 – earn 2 points
0.19 < x < 0.0 – earn 1 point
- Speed Test
| Type | Without Hotspot Shield | With Hotspot Shield | Difference in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download | 32Mbps | 25Mbps | -21.87% |
| Upload | 23Mbps | 19Mbps | -17.39% |
Remark:
We are using fast.com to run the speed test for download and upload speed.
x < 5% – earn 4 points
x < 10% – earn 3 points
x < 15% – earn 2 points
x < 20% – earn 1 point
- Latency / Ping Test
| Locations | Without Hotspot Shield | With Hotspot Shield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 320 ms | 276 ms | -44 ms |
| San Francisco | 205 ms | 206 ms | +1 ms |
| Sao Paulo | – ms | – ms | – ms |
| Hong Kong | 66 ms | 65 ms | -1 ms |
| Amsterdam | 192 ms | 193 ms | +1 ms |
| Moscow | 278 ms | 254 ms | -24 ms |
| Average | 212 ms | 199 ms | -13 ms |
Remark:
The greater the measure distance, the higher the ping time will be.
x < 60 ms – earn 4 points
x < 100 ms – earn 3 points
x < 150 ms – earn 2 points
x < 200 ms – earn 1 point
- DNS Leak Test
I am connecting to a Singapore server. So, it was as expected. No DNS leak from Hotspot Shield VPN.
- WebRTC Test
Though they are showing a different location from my exact real location, the server I am connecting is not from Swiss. Anyhow, I still give them a pass on the WebRTC leak test.
- IPV6 Leak Test
Passed.
- Misc – Server
Though Hotspot Shield has over 3200 servers across 80 nations, most are not owned by them.
Final Word
There you have it, my full examination with a score for Hotspot Shield VPN.
If you put them side by side with the like of ExpressVPN, Surfshark, or NordVPN, Hotspot Shield are way below their league.
With most of my tested VPNs that fall in the range of 70 and above, Hotspot Shield is in the 50+ range score.
It certainly raises a lot of questions given the number of installations and downloads.
Nevertheless, they are offering a 7-day free trial with no commitments.
Find out more at HotspotShield.com
… or read my Hotspot Shield review here.