HMA VPN Review 2023: 3 cons and 4 pros

by Vít Nováček, updated August 6, 2022

1. HMA VPN: 3 Disadvantages & 4 Advantages

   • Basic subscription includes only 5 simultaneously connected devices
   • No advanced features
   • Whitelist feature on Android only

   • Largest selection of countries among VPNs
   • Free trial (payment method required)
   • Intuitive app
   • Audit VPN

   HMA (formerly HideMyAss) is a VPN provider that is part of the domestic antivirus firm Avast.

   HMA’s VPN features a large selection of countries compared to the competition, but loses out to the best in the number of servers. The purchase price is average. Apps are offered for almost all devices. HMA offers all the basic features, intuitive and easy to use. HMA is also able to unblock streaming services.

   HMA is a good choice among VPN providers.

2. HMA VPN Subscription: Discount Code, Free Trial, Money Back Guarantee…

   • Your Price: $7.85​70% off  $2.33 /mo (5 devices)
   • Money Back Guarantee: Yes (30 days)
   • Free Trial: Yes (7 days)
   • Cryptocurrency payments:
     No

     Bitcoin :No
     Dash :No
     Ethereum :No
     Ripple :No

   Get this VPN 70% cheaper

   The subscription has three standard subscription options: monthly, annual and three-year. Subscriptions are paid in one lump sum.

   In addition to the subscription period, you also have the option to choose between a subscription for 5 or 10 devices connected to the VPN at the same time.

   In addition to the 7-day free VPN trial option, HMA offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on the subscription if you are not satisfied with the service.

   To get the 7-day trial, you must provide a credit card or PayPal account. After the trial period is over, you will be charged for the 12-month subscription. Of course, you can cancel your trial at any time.

3. HMA VPN and Supported Devices: Android, iOS, macOS…

   • Device limit: 5

   Platforms supported

   • Android:
     Yes

     Android is supported by 100 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Android TV:
     Yes

     Android TV is supported by 41 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Apple TV:
     Yes

     Apple TV is supported by 23 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Fire TV:
     Yes

     Fire TV is supported by 42 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromebook:
     No

     Chromebook is supported by 17 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromecast:
     Yes

     Chromecast is supported by 22 % of reviewed VPNs
   • iOS:
     Yes

     iOS is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Kodi:
     Yes

     Kodi is supported by 27 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Linux:
     Yes

     Linux is supported by 55 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Mac:
     Yes

     Mac is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • NAS:
     Yes

     NAS is supported by 30 % of reviewed VPNs
   • nVidia Shield:
     Yes

     nVidia Shield is supported by 26 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Playstation:
     Yes

     Playstation is supported by 28 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Raspberry Pi:
     Yes

     Raspberry Pi is supported by 21 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Roku:
     Yes

     Roku is supported by 24 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Router:
     Yes

     Router is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Windows:
     Yes

     Windows is supported by 100 % of reviewed VPNs
   • xBox:
     Yes

     xBox is supported by 28 % of reviewed VPNs

   Browser Extensions

   • Brave :
     Yes

     The Brave browser add-on is offered by 51 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Chrome :
     Yes

     The Chrome browser add-on is offered by 51 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Edge :
     No

     The Edge browser add-on is offered by 20 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Firefox :
     No

     The Firefox browser add-on is offered by 38 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Opera :
     Yes

     The Opera browser add-on is offered by 51 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Safari :
     No

     The Safari browser add-on is offered by 1 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Vivaldi :
     Yes

     The Vivaldi browser add-on is offered by 51 % of reviewed VPNs.

   HideMyAss offers a below-average number of simultaneously connectable devices compared to the competition. Competing VPNs provide up to an unlimited number of connectable devices. Since VPNs can be used on a router, you can protect all of your devices in your home under one active VPN connection.

   The HMA app is offered for all extended platforms except ChromeOS. You can also find the HMA app for Android TV. VPNs on unsupported devices can be used via a Chrome browser extension. However, this doesn’t offer all the advanced features, but only basic options to unblock sites through proxy servers in several countries and block WebRTC. The extension is offered free of charge.

4. HMA VPN App: User-friendliness, whitelist, server selection…

   • Traffic limit: Unlimited
   • App Languages: 🇺🇸 English +26 more🇪🇸 Spanish 🇷🇺 Russian 🇩🇪 German 🇹🇷 Turkish 🇫🇷 French 🇮🇹 Italian 🇳🇱 Dutch 🇨🇳 Chinese 🇵🇱 Polish 🇸🇪 Swedish 🇵🇹 Portuguese 🇦🇪 Arabic 🇯🇵 Japanese 🇰🇷 Korean 🇨🇿 Czech 🇳🇴 Bokmal 🇩🇰 Danish 🇹🇭 Thai 🇫🇮 Finnish 🇭🇺 Hungarian 🇬🇷 Greek 🇸🇰 Slovak 🇻🇳 Vietnamese 🇧🇬 Bulgarian 🏴  Catalan 🇺🇦 Ukrainian
   • Whitelisting:
     Yes

     Whitelisting is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs

   The app is available in 28 languages including French, Italian, Czech and Greek, which is a very wide range compared to the competition.

   HMA offers automatic connection to VPNs on selected, public, or all networks. Unfortunately, you can only find whitelisting in the mobile app; on the desktop version, you can replace the whitelisting feature by blocking only selected apps.

   Overall, the app is intuitive and easy to use.

5. HMA VPN Connection Speed: Upload, Download & Latency

   Download speed

   Higher is better. The average download of all tested VPNs is 90 MB/s.

   Upload speed

   Higher is better. The average upload of all tested VPNs is 59 MB/s.

   Server latency

   A lower value is better. The average response rate of all tested VPNs is 66 ms.

   HMA offers unlimited data transfers over a VPN connection. Connection speeds were slower than the fastest competing VPNs, but overall they were average. The VPN on our test device could handle watching 4K video. Once connected to servers in the US, we got the speed to play FullHD video.

   So the connection speed is sufficient.

6. HMA VPN Server Locations

   • Number of servers:
     1,050

     The average number of servers for the reviewed VPNs is 1540.
   • Number of countries:
     218

     The average number of countries available for the reviewed VPNs is 39.

   Europe	🇧🇪 Belgium 🇦🇽 Åland 🇦🇱 Albania 🇦🇩 Andorra 🇧🇾 Belarus 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇲🇪 Montenegro 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇴 Faroe Islands 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇬🇮 Gibraltar 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇲🇹 Malta 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇲🇨 Monaco 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇦🇹 Austria 🇷🇴 Romania 🇬🇷 Greece 🇸🇲 San Marino 🇲🇰 Northern Macedonia 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇯 Svalbard and Jan Mayen 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇹🇷 Turkey 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇻🇦 Vatican City
   North America	🇧🇸 Bahamas 🇦🇮 Anguilla 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇼 Aruba 🇧🇧 Barbados 🇧🇿 Belize 🇧🇲 Bermuda 🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands 🇩🇲 Dominica 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 🇬🇩 Grenada 🇬🇱 Greenland 🇬🇵 Guadeloupe 🇬🇹 Guatemala 🇭🇹 Haiti 🇭🇳 Honduras 🇯🇲 Jamaica 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇨🇺 Cuba 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇲🇸 Montserrat 🇳🇮 Nicaragua 🇵🇦 Panama 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 🇵🇲 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 🇸🇻 El Salvador 🇺🇸 USA 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos Islands
   South America	🇧🇴 Bolivia 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇦🇷 Argentina 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇫🇰 Falkland Islands (Malvinas) 🇬🇾 Guyana 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇵🇾 Paraguay 🇵🇪 Peru 🇸🇷 Suriname 🇺🇾 Uruguay 🇻🇪 Venezuela
   Asia	🇦🇫 Afghanistan 🇦🇲 Armenia 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 🇧🇭 Bahrain 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 🇧🇹 Bhutan 🇧🇳 Brunei 🇨🇳 China 🇵🇭 Philippines 🇬🇪 Georgia 🇮🇳 India 🇮🇩 Indonesia 🇮🇶 Iraq 🇮🇷 Iran 🇮🇱 Israel 🇯🇵 Japan 🇾🇪 Yemen 🇰🇷 South Korea 🇯🇴 Jordan 🇰🇭 Cambodia 🇶🇦 Qatar 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 🇰🇼 Kuwait 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan 🇱🇦 Laos 🇱🇧 Lebanon 🇲🇴 Macao 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇲🇻 Maldives 🇲🇳 Mongolia 🇲🇲 Myanmar 🇳🇵 Nepal 🇴🇲 Oman 🇵🇰 Pakistan 🇵🇸 Palestinian Authority 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 🇰🇵 North Korea 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 🇸🇾 Syria 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 🇹🇭 Thailand 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 🇻🇳 Vietnam
   Africa	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 🇩🇿 Algeria 🇦🇴 Angola 🇧🇯 Benin 🇧🇼 Botswana 🇧🇮 Burundi 🇹🇩 Chad 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo 🇩🇯 Djibouti 🇪🇬 Egypt 🇪🇷 Eritrea 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 🇬🇦 Gabon 🇬🇲 Gambia 🇬🇭 Ghana 🇬🇳 Guinea 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇨🇲 Cameroon 🇨🇻 Cape Verde 🇰🇪 Kenya 🇰🇲 Comoros 🇨🇬 Congo 🇱🇸 Lesotho 🇱🇷 Liberia 🇱🇾 Libya 🇲🇬 Madagascar 🇲🇼 Malawi 🇲🇱 Mali 🇲🇦 Morocco 🇲🇺 Mauritius 🇲🇷 Mauritania 🇲🇿 Mozambique 🇳🇦 Namibia 🇳🇪 Niger 🇳🇬 Nigeria 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire 🇷🇼 Rwanda 🇸🇳 Senegal 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 🇸🇴 Somalia 🇨🇫 Central African Republic 🇸🇩 Sudan 🇸🇭 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe 🇸🇿 Swaziland 🇹🇿 Tanzania 🇹🇬 Togo 🇹🇳 Tunisia 🇺🇬 Uganda 🇿🇲 Zambia 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
   Oceania	🇦🇸 American Samoa 🇦🇺 Australia 🇨🇰 Cook Islands 🇫🇯 Fiji 🇬🇺 Guam 🇰🇮 Kiribati 🇨🇨 Cocos Islands 🇳🇷 Nauru 🇳🇺 Niue 🇳🇫 Norfolk 🇳🇨 New Caledonia 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇵🇼 Palau 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 🇵🇳 Pitcairn Islands 🇼🇸 Samoa 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands 🇹🇰 Tokelau 🇹🇴 Tonga 🇹🇻 Tuvalu 🇨🇽 Christmas Island 🇻🇺 Vanuatu

   HMA offers an unrivalled number of 218 countries and 298 locations. Some locations are only virtual and the servers are actually located elsewhere. Connecting through a virtual server should be the same as connecting through a server at that location, because you are connecting through an IP address that belongs to the virtual location. This can also provide a faster connection speed.

   The 1,050 servers that HMA provides for VPN connections are sufficient. However, providers like Surfshark or Private Internet Access offer even more.

7. HMA VPN Security Features: DNS Leak Protection, Kill Switch…

   • DNS leak protection :
     Yes

     DNS leak protection is offered by 96% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Kill Switch:
     Yes

     Kill Switch is supported by 82% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Tor:
     No

     Tor support is offered by 12 % of the reviewed VPNs.

   VPN connections through HMA servers provide DNS protection. The app also offers a kill switch for individual apps as well as the entire device on desktop and mobile. HMA has built-in DDoS protection on the servers to protect the VPN connection.

   Other advanced features (such as malware blocking) are not currently offered by HMA.

   A new feature in the Android app checks connected Wi-Fi networks to see if they are secure enough. If it detects insufficiently secure Wi-Fi, it will recommend connecting to it via a VPN.

8. HMA VPN & Streaming: Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime…

   • Amazon Prime:
     Yes

     Amazon Prime streaming is supported by 48 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Disney+:
     Yes

     Disney+ streaming is supported by 48 % of reviewed VPNs
   • HBO:
     Yes

     HBO streaming is supported by 50 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Hulu:
     Yes

     Hulu streaming is supported by 46 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Netflix:
     Yes

     Netflix streaming is supported by 62 % of reviewed VPNs
   • YouTube:
     Yes

     YouTube streaming is supported by 83 % of reviewed VPNs

   Due to the large number of servers, HMA is able to unblock websites. It has 6 optimised servers dedicated to streaming in the US, UK and Germany.

   You can also stream through the other servers offered. The speed of the foreign servers is sufficient for streaming content in Full HD and higher resolution.

   Streaming services such as Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime+ and others should be unblocked with HMA. In our test, in almost all cases, multiple IP addresses had to be tried to unblock because streaming services prohibit the use of VPNs and try to block them.

9. Features of HMA VPN: AdBlock, Static IP…

   • Blocks Ads:
     No

     Ad blocking is offered by 48 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Malware:
     No

     Malware blocking is offered by 43 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Trackers:
     No

     Trackers blocking is offered by 42 % of the VPNs reviewed.

   With HMA, you can use random IP addresses for greater privacy. The assignment of random IP addresses can be enabled in the application settings, after which it is done automatically. You can also change the IP address manually, especially when trying to unblock sites.

10. Zatížení počítače s HMA VPN

    If you use the app in the background (even with a VPN connected), HMA uses very little of the device’s power. If the app is open, it consumes an average amount of power.

    There was no noticeable device slowdown when using the VPN.

11. HMA VPN Torrenting Servers

    • Torrenting servers:
      Yes

      Torrenting support is offered by 87 % of the reviewed VPNs.

    HMA offers 8 dedicated servers for P2P torrenting. These servers can be found in the Czech Republic, Germany, France, the UK and the USA.

    Using a VPN for torrenting protects your privacy thanks to the anonymization that VPNs provide.

12. What is the country of origin of HMA VPN?

    • Country of origin: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

    HMA is headquartered in the United Kingdom, one of the so-called 5 Eyes countries. These countries are known to monitor their citizens in the interests of national security and share data with other countries’ intelligence services. However, HMA’s VPN service does not store any data that it can pass on to the authorities. The HMA services have also been certified by an independent auditor.

    The parent company of HMA is the Czech antivirus company Avast.

13. HMA VPN and Privacy: Logging Policy, Security Issues…

    • No-Logs Policy:
      Yes

      The No-Logs Policy is followed by 85% of reviewed VPNs.
    • Multi-Hop:
      No

      Multi-Hop connection is offered by 32 % of the VPNs reviewed.

    HMA VPN is certified by an independent auditor that it does not store any data about your DNS, IP address, internet activity, data volume, or time connected to the VPN.

    Only anonymous data on daily connection times (morning, afternoon) for customer support purposes and the amount of data transferred rounded to the nearest hundred megabytes for server capacity planning are stored for 35 days.

    HMA must also store your billing and login information for payment and account log-in capabilities. HMA only uses Google Analytics on its site for its own use and service improvements.

    In the application, HMA uses Google Firebase and Appsflyer, which only collect anonymous data. You can turn them off in the application settings. Google Fabric Crashlytics cannot be turned off in the app, but this tool does not collect any personal data, it is only used to troubleshoot issues with the stability and proper functioning of the app.

14. HMA VPN Support: Chat, e-mail…

    HMA offers support via email or chat. Chat can also be used to search through tutorials and troubleshoot problems. HMA also offers support from the HMA VPN user community.

    You can contact HMA support via email using the contact form. Support, including tutorials, is offered in seven languages, primarily English.