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PantherVPN Review 2022 - 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.
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.
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.
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:
Country
Download Speed
Ping
My location
56.35 Mbps
15 ms
France
20.47 Mbps (63% decrease)
33 ms
Germany
44.82 Mbps (20% decrease)
46 ms
India
31.07 Mbps (44% decrease)
155 ms
Japan
30.14 Mbps (46% decrease)
247 ms
Romania
41.58 Mbps (26% decrease)
67 ms
UK
46.99 Mbps (16% decrease)
24 ms
US
61.70 Mbps (9% increase)
89 ms
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.
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.
VPN Panther states that it has 3,000 servers in 94 countries. This is a small network in comparison to others I’ve tested, like ExpressVPN.
All of the servers I tried connected within seconds, and I didn’t experience any disconnects during my tests.
The server locations are:
Europe
Germany, Finland, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, France, Norway, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Greece, UK, Russia
North America
Canada, The US
South America
Brazil, Mexico
Asia
Israel, India, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong
Oceania
Australia
Africa
South Africa
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
You get 5 simultaneous device connections with VPN Panther.
Ease of Use
5.3
Device Compatibility — Only Available on iOS and Android
VPN Panther is only available for Android and iOS. Get the app via Apple Store or the Google Play Store.
Set-Up & Installation — Quick and Easy
VPN Panther is extremely easy to install and use. I got it from the Apple Store and downloaded it onto my phone in a few seconds. Just click into the app and press the “select location” bar at the bottom of the screen. You’ll then get a list of available server locations.
The connect button is easy to use and I liked the panther motif. The panther sleeps when the VPN is inactive, and jumps up and starts running once the server is connected, so you can easily see whether the VPN is in use or not.
There is no way to manually configure any of the settings, making it extremely basic for the cost of the VPN. If you are looking for a simple VPN it may be a good choice for you, but there are other user-friendly VPNs on the market that give you more for less, such as CyberGhost (you can get 2 months’ worth of VPN use for the same price you get for one week with VPN Panther).
VPN Panther is available via the Apple or Google Play Store, so you make purchase directly using your device provider subscription method.
There are 3 pricing options, all of which are pretty expensive. I was surprised to see the costly plans on offer from VPN Panther, especially after discovering how basic it is. You can get fantastic VPNs, such as ExpressVPN or CyberGhost, for far more reasonable prices.
There is no way that VPN Panther is worth the expensive price tag. I've tried better VPNs that are way cheaper. Since VPN Panther doesn’t deliver on performance and features, it is grossly overpriced in my opinion.
Reliability & Support
3.3
The only way to contact VPN Panther is by email. There is no Live Chat option. There is a basic FAQ page within the app, but the questions are more related to what a VPN does rather than specific support. I tested the customer support by sending them an email with 3 questions in it, and received a response from Marketing66 (the VPN’s parent company) 4 days later.
The answers to my questions were of use. But if you have an emergency with your VPN there is no way to get immediate assistance, which you can get with other providers. Other VPNs with great customer support charge as much (or in many instances, way less!) than VPN Panther.
VPN Panther is hugely overpriced for what you get. The US server I tried gave me outstanding speeds, but since I couldn’t unblock Netflix or other platforms it was pretty useless. The servers in other locations didn’t have good speeds, despite being labeled as “optimized for streaming and gaming” (which all of VPN Panther’s servers inexplicably seem to be). Worst of all, its statement about its privacy policy is potentially misleading (if not an outright lie).
If you want a reliably fast service with great streaming abilities, a vast server network, for the same price or less, check out my top recommended VPNs instead.
Yes, VPN Panther slows down your speeds.I experienced extreme speed loss on most of the servers I tested. However, I did have a great experience using a US server, which actually increased my speed.
Is VPN Panther safe?
VPN Panther not safe, since it is likely to store and sell user data.It uses 256-bit encryption to keep your data protected from hackers, and its servers passed my IP and DNS leak tests. However, it lacks additional security features such as a kill switch. Its privacy policy is potentially misleading as its parent company, Marketing66, openly sells user data for profit.