VPN Panther Review 2023 — Keep This in Mind Before Buying

VPN Panther is an app that’s only available to iOS and Android users. I wanted to see whether it has anything different to offer than the other mobile VPNs that its parent company, Marketing66, have made available.

During my tests, I looked at speeds, server locations, and security, and I can confirm that this VPN is hit and miss, especially for its price tag. Even worse, I discovered that — like HotVPN, another Marketing66 service — it also has a pretty shady privacy policy.

Read on to find out why you may be better off if you stick with one of my recommended options instead.

Streaming — Only Unblocked One Streaming Platform

VPN Panther’s servers failed to unblock most of the streaming platforms I tried.

Unblocked: BBC iPlayer

Using VPN Panther’s UK server, I managed to get immediate access to BBC iPlayer and watched an episode of Hidden without any interruptions.

The UK server gave me decent speeds for streaming

Blocked by: Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, and Disney+

None of the other platforms I tried worked. It appeared as though I had access to Netflix using VPN Panther’s German server, but I could only watch content that was unblocked in my country to start with. Every other server I tried gave me a server warning message.

While I could get into the platform, a warning message came up each time I tried to stream

I was blocked at Hulu’s login page because it knew I wasn’t in the US.

The platform told me it could not be used with a proxy service

I tried a few different US servers, but had the same results. Hulu has strict geoblocks, so I tried HBO Max with the same servers. The platform knew I wasn’t in the US and threw me back to the app store.

The HBO login screen bounced me back to the app store

Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ also recognized that I was using a VPN and blocked my access.

Since I could only access one platform, I can’t recommend VPN Panther for streaming. Instead, I recommend you use one of my top VPNs for streaming from anywhere.

Speeds — Poor Speeds on International Servers

VPN Panther’s local server speeds impressed me, but international servers gave disappointing results.

During my speed tests which I conducted using an iPhone, I looked at:

• Download speed — this shows the amount of data you can receive from the internet to your device per second. Quick download speeds mean you have less buffering while streaming.
• Ping — how long it takes for your device’s data to reach its intended location and come back again. Unlike speed readings, the higher your ping, the worse your experience will be. Ping of under 150 ms is usually required for gaming online (though under 100 ms is preferable). Any higher and the lag makes gameplay very difficult due to lag and stutter.

Local Speeds

I got mixed results on local servers, which included the country I am located in and those that are in the same continent. My base speed was 56.35 Mbps, meaning my speed when I was connected to my home server without a VPN. My base ping was 15 ms.

The first server I tried was my local server, and I had drops of just 16%. This was a good outcome — even the fastest VPNs usually give you speed drops of between 10-20%.

I then tried the French server, which is just 1000km from my location. I had a drastically different result; my speed fell by 63%. This gave me less than the 25 Mbps I would need for 4K streaming. If I’d started with a lower base speed, my connection might not have even been fast enough for basic browsing.

France is only 1000km away from me, so this was disappointing

German servers gave better performance, with just a 20% decrease in speed. The Romania server dropped my speeds by 26% which wasn’t too bad, but still beyond the 20% maximum I would hope for.

Long Distance Speeds

Long distance speeds were also extremely varied. The most surprising result of all was the US server result. I actually had a 9% increase in speeds, so it outperformed my own server even though the country is thousands of miles away from me. The ping result was also impressive, rising to just 89ms. These were great speeds, and I could watch Ultra HD movies on this server.

The US location was faster than my home server!

I then tried locations in India and Japan, and was intrigued to find I had better download speed than the (fairly local) France server I tried. Due to proximity, this was the opposite of what I would expect. India gave me 31.07 Mbps, which was a 44% decrease, while Japan gave me 30.14 Mbps, a 46% decrease. Even though they both performed better than the France server, a 40% decrease is way too much.

Here is a rundown of all of my server tests:

I can’t recommend VPN Panther for its speeds. Though the US server gave me a fantastic result and I had a positive reading on my local server, the speed drops on servers in other countries were notable.

Instead, I suggest you try one of these superfast VPNs. These services give you reliable connections, with speeds fast enough for all online activities.

Are VPN Panther’s Speeds Fast Enough for Gaming? Depends

The US server I tried would have been great for gaming online. It gave me both fast speeds and a ping of under 100 ms, meaning I could have played without any lag. The local server in my country would have also given me fast speeds and low ping.

However, all of the other servers I tested would not have been suitable for online gaming due to drops in speed and an increase in ping rate.

If you need a good VPN for playing online, try one of these gaming VPNs, which are proven to give high speeds and low ping.

Server Network — Small, Mostly Across Europe

VPN Panther states that it has 3,000 servers in 94 countries. This is the same amount as premium VPN, ExpressVPN. However, while this is the information provided on the Apple app store, I could not confirm this on the VPN Panther website. For now, I'll take their word for it.

All of the servers I tried connected within seconds, and I didn’t experience any disconnects during my tests.

The server locations are:

The only VPN Panther location that features more than one server option is the US. This means that the servers may be liable to congestion caused by overcrowding, as all of VPN Panther’s customers will be using the same servers. It could be the reason I experienced such unreliable speeds on some of the network.

There are optimized servers for streaming and gaming (allegedly). You can see which locations have this feature when you scroll through server options. However, I was intrigued to see that ALL of the available servers in every single location were marked as being “optimized for streaming and gaming”. I found this to be quite odd, as even VPN providers with thousands of servers only have a select few that are optimized in this way. The France server was marked with the “optimized for streaming and gaming” tag, which I found interesting as its performance was dreadful.

There is no way to pick a dedicated IP address either. A dedicated IP address is one that only you can use, helping to increase both security and performance, so it is something I look for in a VPN.

VPN Panther’s server network is extremely small. Instead, try one of these VPNs — all of them have thousands of locations across the globe.

Security — Keeps Your Devices Safe

VPN Panther has good security features, so it should keep you safe as you browse, game, or download files.

Encryption and Protocols

VPN Panther uses OpenVPN protocol, which is the industry standard. It's disappointing that other protocols aren't available though. My favorite VPNs offer protocols like WireGuard which is superfast, but there is no option to change your protocol with this VPN. OpenVPN is well regarded for its security, and so I have no issues using it when WireGuard isn’t an option.

Your data is protected with 256-bit encryption, which is also used by the military. This means that all of the information that passes through VPN Panther’s servers is encrypted so thoroughly that a hacker would need to dedicate a hundred years to decode it.

IP, DNS, WebRTC, and IPv6 Leaks

The servers I tested passed my DNS and IP leak tests. This means that nobody can see your real identity or online activity when you use VPN Panther.

If a server leaks your DNS and IP, it means that your ISP and cyber attackers can look at your information and see which sites you’ve accessed online. VPN Panther’s servers kept this information protected for me, which is reassuring.

My personal information was hidden by VPN Panther’s servers

There is no kill switch or split-tunneling, though. Although VPN Panther has some decent security, it falls a little short of the features I’d expect from a VPN with such an expensive price tag.

Privacy — Contradictory Information Provided

At first glance, VPN Panther looks as though it has a solid privacy policy that keeps its users’ data fully protected. Its terms and conditions state:

The VPN also suggests you head to the Privacy Policy, which is impossible to find

I searched high and low for the suggested privacy policy document using both VPN Panther’s app and Google searches, but couldn’t locate this elusive information.

Luckily, having recently researched another of Marketing66’s VPNs, I had a better idea of this company’s contradictory privacy policies.

I found this information in the privacy policy of another VPN run by the company

Since VPN Panther is owned by Marketing66, I feel it is logical to assume that this applies to all of its VPN products. Therefore, I believe that VPN Panther’s actions contradict the statement on its app about privacy, and that it stores and sells your data for profit. That said — if the company updates its page and provides users with the document it refers to in the privacy section — I will be happy to reconsider this opinion. But only if it is different to what I found in my prior research of this company and its actions.

Location

VPN Panther is owned by Marketing66, which is an Israeli company. Israel isn’t a part of the 5 Eyes Alliance, which is an agreement between countries to share data and personal information of its citizens. However, Israel does have known ties to countries within the alliance and has shared data with the US in the past.

Due to the fact that VPN Panther’s privacy policy is likely to be false, and its location, I can’t recommend VPN Panther if you value your privacy. Instead, use one of these great VPNs which are known to fully observe and respect user data.

Torrenting — Allowed on All Servers

You can torrent on VPN Panther’s servers. Customer support told me that there are no restrictions placed on what you can do with the VPN.

However, due to its uncertain privacy policy I would strongly recommend that you never use it to torrent. It is simply not safe enough to do so. Torrenting is legal in most places, but only if you’re downloading copyright fee files. My team and I don’t condone any illegal activities. I recommend you read up on your local rules and regulations and only download legal torrents.

For a reliable and secure torrenting choice, try one of my top choices for P2P sharing.

Does VPN Panther Work in China? Only on Android

Customer support told me that VPN Panther does work in China, but only if you have Android. If you’re on iOS, you won’t be able to bypass China’s Great Firewall. China has banned the VPNs it doesn’t approve of. However, the government generally focuses on banning the technology, and there have been no reports of it going after tourists for using VPNs.

iOS users won’t be able to use the VPN in China

Because of this, I can’t recommend this VPN for use in China. But you can get other VPNs that have been proven to bypass China’s blocks using all operating systems.

Simultaneous Device Connections — 5

You get 5 simultaneous device connections with VPN Panther. The VPN still worked reasonably well even with several devices connected at the same time. I connected my Windows Laptop, Android tablet, and smartphone, and I was still able to stream with minimal buffering.