Hotspot Shield Testing Report

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 ElementsCheckedPoint Weight
Kill Switch4/4
Outside 14 Eyes0/4
No Logs4/4
OpenVPN Protocol0/4
AES-2564/4
Double VPN Servers Routing0/4
Private DNS0/4
No Bandwidth Limit3/3
P2P Function3/3
Public Wifi Protection4/4
Own Server Farm0/4
Google Play Review1,468,5295/5
App Store Review129,8935/5
Download Speed Reduction1/4
Upload Speed Reduction1/4
Latency/Ping4/4
Ad-Blocker0/2
Unlimited Devices0/2
Obfuscation/Camouflage Mode0/3
DNS Leak Test4/4
WebRTC Leak Test4/4
IPV6 Leak Test4/4
Auto Connect4/4
GPS Spoofing0/4
Secure Hotspot3/3
Auto Cookies Deletion0/2
Ddos Protection2/2
Scan Downloaded File0/2

Ranked 10th among all the best VPNs tested.


  1. 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


  1. Speed Test
TypeWithout Hotspot ShieldWith Hotspot ShieldDifference in %
Download32Mbps25Mbps-21.87%
Upload23Mbps19Mbps-17.39%
speed test without hotspot shield
Without Hotspot Shield
speed test with hotspot shield
With Hotspot Shield

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


  1. Latency / Ping Test
LocationsWithout Hotspot ShieldWith Hotspot ShieldDifference
Washington320 ms276 ms-44 ms
San Francisco205 ms206 ms+1 ms
Sao Paulo– ms– ms– ms
Hong Kong66 ms65 ms-1 ms
Amsterdam192 ms193 ms+1 ms
Moscow278 ms254 ms-24 ms
Average212 ms199 ms-13 ms
ping test without hotspot shield
Without Hotspot Shield
ping test with hotspot shield
With Hotspot Shield

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


  1. DNS Leak Test
dns leak test with hotspot shield

I am connecting to a Singapore server. So, it was as expected. No DNS leak from Hotspot Shield VPN.


  1. WebRTC Test
webRTC leak test with hotspot shield

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.


  1. IPV6 Leak Test
ipv6 leak test with hotspot shield

Passed.


  1. 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 ExpressVPNSurfshark, 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.