AdGuard VPN

An ad blocker's VPN, sold as a download

AdGuard VPN is the VPN from AdGuard, the company behind the AdGuard Ad Blocker. The site's menus place the VPN beside AdGuard Ad Blocker, AdGuard DNS, AdGuard Mail, Temp Mail and AdGuard Wallet, so the VPN is one product in a wider suite rather than the whole business. The footer reads "Adguard Software Limited", and the refund terms name AdGuard Software Ltd as the party that decides late refund requests. There are two ways in: a free version, promoted with "3 GB of free VPN traffic monthly", and a paid subscription. On who can buy or download it, the homepage links the Google Play store and a direct APK download for Android, the App Store for iOS, direct downloads for Windows, Mac and Linux, and browser extensions for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera. The site is offered in more than two dozen interface languages, from Danish and Polish to Persian, Tamil, Japanese and Korean. The site's product and FAQ pages do not show prices, and it does not say which currencies it charges in, which payment methods it accepts, or whether any country is excluded from the store. A "Purchase" link leads to a payment page whose plans are not described beyond their lengths.

What the site says about logs, ownership and audits

The site does not name an independent audit of its logging policy. Its footer links a "Transparency report", but the site does not say on its VPN pages what that report contains or who prepared it, and nothing on them refers to an outside firm examining the no-logs claim. The logging statements are therefore the provider's own. The FAQ says "We do not store activity or connection logs of our users" and adds that AdGuard VPN "collects minimal information about the use of our services to identify and resolve technical issues", which it says cannot be used to link a user to specific activity. The homepage says the company follows "the Ninja Code, our Privacy Policy, and the EU law" and that "We do not record, collect, or share your data with third parties." The server locations page says it has "a strict no-logging policy" in accordance with EU privacy regulations. Those references to EU rules are the provider's framing; none of the pages says in which country Adguard Software Limited is registered or where it is based, so the site does not say where the company is based. No parent company or outside owner is named. The FAQ leans on the company's history, saying its privacy record rests on "17 years of impeccable reputation", and the footer's copyright line runs from 2009. A press section on the homepage reproduces news coverage of AdGuard's research into hidden cryptocurrency miners on websites, which is about the ad-blocking business rather than the VPN.

Apps, protocol and network

The platform list is long. Besides the desktop, mobile and browser versions, the homepage has sections for Android TV, Apple TV, Xbox, PS4/PS5, Chromecast and routers. Several of these carry the note "This option is only available with an AdGuard VPN subscription": routers, Apple TV, Xbox and PlayStation all say so. For Chromecast, the site says Google TV (Chromecast Gen 4) can run the app, while Chromecast Gen 3 has to be covered through a router and needs a subscription. The router page says users can decide which devices on the network to protect and when.

On protocol, the site says it uses its own: "We use our own proprietary protocol: It disguises VPN traffic as regular web traffic, so it's harder to detect and block your traffic." The homepage calls it "the unique AdGuard VPN protocol" and says it helps "Avoid VPN blocks". It does not name WireGuard, OpenVPN or IKEv2 anywhere on the site, and it does not publish the protocol's design. For encryption, the FAQ says the service uses AES-256, and the UK page says it "supports both AES-128 and AES-256". Other features named on the site include a Kill Switch that disconnects the device from the internet if the VPN drops, DNS leak protection (mentioned on the Linux section), and exclusions: the VPN can run everywhere except listed sites and apps, or only for listed ones, which is AdGuard's version of split tunneling. The apps show ping rates so users can pick a faster server.

The server locations page lists "62 countries" and "75+ locations", adding that it regularly adds locations. The list runs from Dubai and Buenos Aires to Tokyo, Seoul, Johannesburg and Mexico City, with 12 US cities including Boston, Las Vegas, Seattle, Dallas, Silicon Valley, New York and Miami, and a handful marked "Coming soon", among them Tirana, Quito, Kuala Lumpur, Karachi and Riyadh. The page also says "Unlimited speed" and "No speed restrictions". Those are the provider's figures and descriptions, not a measurement.

Ad blocking, streaming and torrenting claims

For a listing in an ad and tracker blocking category, the FAQ is careful about what the VPN itself does. Asked whether AdGuard VPN can block ads, it answers "Yes! With the help of a DNS server": the app lets users pick a DNS server, and the company recommends its own AdGuard DNS, which it says blocks ads and trackers. It then adds that the VPN "cannot guarantee the same level of filtering as a full-fledged ad blocker", and that AdGuard Ad Blocker, a separate product, can run alongside the VPN. So ad blocking in the VPN is DNS filtering, not the full blocker.

On streaming, the UAE location page names Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, Disney Plus and YouTube as services on which a user appears to be in the chosen server's country. The iOS section invites users to "enjoy your favorite movies and shows", and the Android TV and Apple TV sections talk about streaming. These are the provider's claims, and the site does not say when they were last tested. The site says nothing specific about torrenting or P2P beyond the FAQ's general line that a VPN helps users "Stream and download anything securely and anonymously".

Plans, limits and refunds

The FAQ says there are "1-month, 1-year, and 2-year subscription options", billed automatically once a month, once a year or every two years. It adds a line worth noting: "Discounts applied to initial purchases do not apply to their renewals." The site does not state what the first term costs or what it renews at.

The differences between the tiers are spelled out. The FAQ says the paid subscription "allows 10 simultaneous device connections, while the free version allows only 2", that paid users get more server locations, and that paid traffic is unlimited against 3 GB per month on the free version. The UAE page, for example, says that location requires AdGuard VPN Unlimited. The free allowance can grow "if you take part in our activities", and the footer links an "AdGuard promo activities" page, but the site does not say on its VPN pages what those activities are or how much extra traffic they give.

Refunds come with a "30-day money-back guarantee" that covers only 1-year and 2-year subscriptions bought on adguard-vpn.com; monthly plans are not included, and purchases through other resellers follow the reseller's policy. After 30 days, requests are assessed individually. The FAQ says processing "usually" takes 5 to 10 business days, depending on the payment method. The server locations page says support is "available around the clock".

The homepage shows a "4.7/5" app rating and "9,332 user reviews" marked "Excellent!", and says there are more than 9,000 app reviews; it does not say which store or platform those ratings come from.

What stays open

Several things the site leaves unsettled. Its product and FAQ pages publish no prices and name no currencies or payment methods, so the real cost and renewal rate have to be checked on the payment page. It names Adguard Software Limited but not where the company is registered or who owns it. It does not name an independent audit of its logging policy, and the transparency report it links is not described. The proprietary protocol is described only in marketing terms. The streaming list is undated.

AdGuard VPN suits people who already use AdGuard's blocker or DNS and want a VPN from the same company, people with many device types (consoles and TVs included, on a paid plan), and anyone who wants to try a free tier with a clear monthly cap and a 2-device limit before paying. Buyers who want an outside audit, a named legal home, or published prices before signing up will find those questions unanswered on the site.