McAfee VPN Review

McAfee VPN or the McAfee Safe Connect is the latest itinerary from the eponymous, well-known computer security brand. As is evident, the company has ventured into VPNs with its very own product. However, McAfee VPN is more of an attempt, hence our desire to review it. The company wants to strive into the cutthroat competition with a traditional mindset of elitists. Not only is the product mediocre at best, but it costs more than some best VPN services out there.

However, since then, McAfee has recognized the fallacies in its strategy and no longer wants to take the whole arena into strides. With that said, they did make their VPN available for a Free trial. However, it comes with severe restrictions on the number of connections and bandwidth. Thus, today we are here to explain if the VPN is worth using and if yes, what its data limit is, among other things.

McAfee Safe Connect VPN: Overview

McAfee Inc. opened its gates for business back in the year 1987. Since then, it has grown into a multinational giant and a household name in computer security software. In 2011, owing to its success, Intel showed an interest in acquiring the company to bolster its Security Division. As a result, McAfee became a part of the aforementioned department. However, this didn’t stop the company from reaching other avenues for business. One example is its VPN.

The company launched its VPN known as the Safe Connect to enter the highly lucrative market of VPNs. Sadly, the approach adopted was futile, as the then-current market leaders spared no effort to one-up each other. The unpolished McAfee VPN failed to leave an impression. Not only was the service way costlier than top-tier VPNs, but it also didn’t offer any significant features. However, today, with the advent of smartphones and a Free version, McAfee has a semblance of presence in the VPN arena. But it is the only silver lining in a dark cloud.

Safe Connect is a subpar VPN with average reception amongst users. The lack of features is glaring. While it does offer around 2000 servers in 18 countries, people are reluctant to pay big bucks for the premium product. Moreover, even with the Free version, the restrictions make it impossible to use it effectively. Below are some noteworthy features of this VPN, alongside its pros and cons. In the end, you will find how the Free version fares. For now, McAfee VPN fails to impress us. However, the company has brand value and market recognition, so who knows what the future holds.

McAfee VPN: Features

Features	McAfee Safe Connect
Suitability	The VPN is most appropriate for smartphones. It’s very lightweight software.
Price	McAfee VPN is costly for what it offers.
Jurisdiction	McAfee Corp operates from San Jose, California, USA. The country is privacy-hostile and is a member of the Five Eyes alliance.
Speed	Mostly above-average speeds.
Data leaks	No data leaks as of yet.
VPN server	The company has a limited number of VPN servers. Furthermore, they are available in 18-23 countries.
VPN security protocol	McAfee uses the latest (and arguably one of the best) VPN security protocols, Catapult Hydra.
Logging policy	Sadly, McAfee observes one of the most intrusive logging policies in a VPN to date. It logs almost everything from your IP address, browser history, URL visited, device information, ISP to your biometrics, interest, and hobbies (cookies).
Obfuscated servers	No, the VPN doesn’t employ any stealth techniques and/or obfuscated servers.
Geo-unblocking	It claims to bypass the geo-blocks on popular streaming websites and services. However, it fails to do so.
Double VPN	McAfee doesn’t offer this feature.
Adblocker	No, McAfee doesn’t support this feature.
Multi-Hop	No, it doesn’t have the Multi-hop feature.
Split tunneling	Yes, it supports split tunneling but only on Android devices.
Kill switch	Yes, but only on Windows.
Number of simultaneous connections	It can support up to 5 devices concurrently.
Operating systems supported	McAfee VPN runs on limited platforms. At the moment it supports Android, iOS, ChromeOS, and Windows.
Browser extensions supported	It doesn’t support any browser extensions.
Customer support	It has live chat and email. However, the team is untrained.

Safe Connect VPN: Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
One of the saving grace for this VPN is its above-average speed.	The VPN is restrictive as it supports just three platforms. The lack of an app for macOS is damaging.
It is also helpful towards ISP throttling.	Not only does the client lack advanced features, but some necessities are missing.
The VPN has no leaks.	It has one of the most intrusive logging policies.
It uses one of the latest security protocols.	It operates within a privacy-hostile nation, part of the Five Eyes alliance.
The AES 256-bit encryption used is state-of-the-art.	McAfee Safe Connect is expensive compared to its value. It costs $7.99 for a monthly pack and $47.99 for an annual subscription.
It offers unlimited bandwidth for premium users.	It has fewer servers than the competition.
The app is more suitable for smartphones, as shown by user reviews on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.	McAfee Safe Connect is unable to bypass geo-blocks.
It offers a 30-days money-back guarantee.	The customer support is available 24/7 but needs further training.
It can be an affordable bundle with the latest McAfee products.	It is only suitable for light use.
It is a beginner-friendly application.
The VPN has a Free version available. However, the limit is somewhat restricted.

McAfee VPN: Pricing

Though there’s a paid version, combined with a 30-days money-back guarantee, its value simply doesn’t measure up. Reminder: you must pay $7.99 for a monthly plan and $19.99 ($47.99 regularly) for a yearly subscription. Thus, we’ll focus on the free version.

Free plan

McAfee offers a Free/Trial version of its VPN, which has a similar server network and other features as the paid one. Although, this is far from enough. The VPN offers a restrictive experience for its Free version. It limits the number of connections to a single device and lowers the cap of bandwidth to a minuscule 250 MB monthly.

Other than that, the Free version has very little to offer. As observed above, it lacks intuitive features and adopts an approach where they expect the name to sell instead of the product. The mindset is another hurdle in the path to its success. But they have started rolling out the VPN as a bundle with their popular products to secure users. It’s a plus, but the road to triumph is long for the company.

Conclusion

We conclude our McAfee VPN review by saying it’s not worth using. There are far better VPNs that offer superior pricing and/or a Free experience. For the latter, check our list of the best free VPNs. Those who want to try McAfee VPN can visit the official website and sign up for a free trial.