


Instead it has a proprietary protocol that allows it to register super-fast speeds. Hotspot Shield doesn't support OpenVPN encryption, which is an anomaly. Overall, Hotspot Shield is a fast VPN that is considered better for unblocking than for privacy. It was, for example, the main VPN used during the Arab Spring protests. Most of those people use the free version, and there is no doubt that Hotspot Shield is an invaluable tool for people living in places that suffer from website blackouts. That is a huge user base, which says a lot about its popularity. In total, more than 600 million users around the globe have installed the VPN.

Since then, its service has been split into two products: a free service, and a premium VPN called Hotspot Shield Premium. It first released Hotspot Shield as a free Virtual Private Network (VPN) in 2008.
