ChillGlobal VPN Review 2023 - Keep This in Mind Before Buying

ChillGlobal isn’t a VPN, it’s a browser extension proxy (or “smart-plugin”). That means it’s designed to hide your IP address and unblock geo-restricted content — but it doesn’t offer the additional security measures you get with reliable and safe VPNs.

The proxy claims to be focused on streaming, and says it can help you unblock 500+ online TV channels. That sounded impressive, so I took ChillGlobal for a spin to see if its performance matches its promises and if it can compete with the best VPNs.

Sadly, it’s not a very effective service. I was disappointed with most of the test results, including its speeds, unblocking abilities, customer service, and vague privacy measures. Read on to find out why I wouldn’t even use the free version of this proxy.

Streaming — Can’t Unblock Any Streaming Platforms

ChillGlobal doesn’t unblock any streaming services. I tried accessing my accounts on Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Funimation, and more, but nothing worked. This was particularly disappointing as streaming is supposed to be ChillGlobal’s main focus.

Netflix loaded with the US server, but I couldn’t actually access its US library. I tried searching for Scott Pilgrim, a Netflix US-only movie, but it wasn’t available. Plus, I couldn’t see the “Top 10 in the US” reel — meaning that ChillGlobal failed to assign me a new location.

ChillGlobal said I was connected to a US sever, but Netflix wasn’t convinced

HBO Max outright blocked me, and I got the error message saying that the service isn’t available in my country.

Again, despite being connected to a US server, HBO Max knew I wasn’t in the States

Funimation gave me the same error. It couldn't see that my location was changed, so it blocked my access immediately.

I couldn’t watch any anime on the American streaming site

I had similar experiences with all the other streaming platforms I tested, such as Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.

What’s worse is that my speeds were terrible. Even if I could access any of these platforms, I probably would have had to sit through lag and buffering.

If you need a VPN that can help you unblock content worldwide and allows you to stream in HD, take a look at these streaming services.

Speeds — Slow Across the Network

ChillGlobal dropped my speeds by 90% on some servers, making it barely even suitable for regular browsing.

My baseline speeds (before connecting) were 74.86 Mbps download and 56.61 Mbps upload, with 16 ms ping.

After connecting to the US server, my speeds dropped to 6.70 Mbps download (a 91% loss). The ping was also terrible — it increased to 312 ms. You need 5 Mbps or higher to stream in HD. Because I had a fast base connection to begin with, I just about achieved those speeds. On a regular 20 Mbps connection, even browsing would be impossible.

Most of the servers I tested weren’t even fast enough for browsing or checking my emails

It was the same with the UK and Canada servers. I got slightly better speeds with the UK location, but the Canadian server was basically unusable. My upload speed dropped to 0, meaning that I couldn’t send online messages or take part in video calls.

Here’s a rundown of my speed tests:

Overall, I can’t recommend ChillGlobal for its speeds. It’s normal to experience a drop in speed when using a VPN, but the best VPNs usually keep that decrease between 10-20%. All the ChillGlobal servers I tested slowed me down far more than that. If my base connection was any slower, the service would have been unusable.

This is peculiar as proxies are supposed to give you faster speeds. They don’t encrypt your traffic, so you shouldn’t get much slowdown at all. I can only imagine that ChillGlobal’s small network gets congested by all the people using its free service.

If you want to stream in HD, torrent, or game, I recommend you take a look at these superfast VPNs instead.

Server Network — Small and Unreliable

ChillGlobal has 40 servers in 15 countries, which is much smaller than VPNs I’ve tested like ExpressVPN or CyberGhost.

The servers are located in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.

All of the locations I tested connected instantly but gave me terrible speeds. None of them were able to help me bypass any geoblocks.

Security & Privacy — Minimal Protection, Vague Privacy Policy

Because it’s just a “smart plug-in,” ChillGlobal doesn’t offer any additional security features besides masking your IP address.

I ran a leak test to make sure the service was at least doing this correctly. I didn’t detect any IP or DNS leaks. That means my real location and online activity wasn’t exposed while using ChillGlobal.

This was reassuring, though the IP masking still wasn’t strong enough to fool the streaming services I tested

Aside from that though, ChillGlobal doesn’t provide any of the security extras you get with a VPN. There’s no encryption and no kill switch, which means your data could be at risk of being exposed if your connection goes down or you suffer a cyberattack.

ChillGlobal’s privacy offering isn’t reassuring either. The service claims it doesn’t store any logs, but I couldn’t find a privacy policy on its website. It does provide you with an article explaining why you should use a VPN for your privacy, but this is incredibly misleading as the service isn’t a VPN (it even says so in an adjacent article).

This is especially worrying as ChillGlobal is based in the heart of the 14-Eyes Alliance. The Alliance is a group of countries known for monitoring citizens online, then sharing any information they find with other Alliance members. ChillGlobal claims it has headquarters across Germany, Sweden, and Spain. Each one of these countries is in the Alliance. If the service is logging your information, there’s a risk your data could be handed over to any one of these governments.

Since it offers no security features and I can’t confirm it doesn’t log your data, I can’t recommend ChillGlobal from an online safety standpoint. If you need a service that takes your privacy seriously, I recommend trying these no-logs VPNs.

Torrenting — Doesn’t Work

As it's only a browser extension, you can’t use ChillGlobal with your torrent client.

The service only routes your browser traffic. So, if you need a VPN for torrenting, I recommend using these VPNs that are ideal for the job.

However, I and my team do not condone any illegal torrenting. Make sure to check the files you access, so you don’t accidentally download copyrighted content.

Does ChillGlobal Work in China? Probably Not

It's uncertain if ChillGlobal works in China. It does have a server in Hong Kong, but — since it couldn’t bypass streaming geoblocks — I doubt it works behind the Great Firewall.

I contacted the support team to ask, but I didn’t get an answer.

Simultaneous Device Connections — Only 1 for Paid Accounts

You can use ChillGlobal on only 1 device with its paid plans. However, the free version doesn’t require you to sign up, so you can install it on an unlimited number of browsers.