Lantern VPN Review 2021

Based in	US [UNSAFE]
Price	$2.66/mo
Servers	2 Servers only
Logs	Keeps logs
Multi Login	3 Devices
Refund	NO
Recommended	NO
Website	GetLantern.org

Visit Lantern

Lantern ‘better than a VPN’ as it claims to be, is actually a proxy that gives access to blocked websites and apps.

Why is this VPN the worst I ever tested? It keeps your LOGS. It knows what you are doing online and will sell your data.

Its server speed is too slow, and needless to say; it doesn’t unblock Netflix.

It has a free plan, yes. But what good is a free plan if it knows what you’re doing online? Not a VPN that I would recommend to my readers.

I would rather recommend ExpressVPN or PureVPN over any other VPN provider.

Learn more about this VPN in our Lantern VPN review.

Also, have a peek at our recent VPN reviews to learn more.

My Rating Criteria

Below you will find a list of factors that I have used to perform Lantern VPN review:

1. Pricing – How much does Lantern VPN cost?
2. Security – Encryption & features
3. Jurisdiction – Is it located in a 5-eyes country?
4. Speed – How fast is Lantern VPN?
5. Streaming – Does it work with Netflix?
6. Leaks – Does it leak IP, DNS & WebRTC?
7. Trustworthiness – Logs and customer support
8. Compatibility – Apps and supported devices

Pricing – How much does Lantern VPN cost?

Lantern is a freemium VPN and has the cheapest pricing, including a free plan. Its three pricing plans are:

• Free Plan
• 1-year subscription for $32
• 2-year subscription for $48 

Its 2-year plan is the cheapest plan you can find at $48 ($2.00/month). The 1-year plan costs $32 ($2.66/month).

It is quite expensive for a proxy to charge that much for their service.

Some of the industry’s top names, such as ExpressVPN & PureVPN, offer better features at a lower price.

There’s a small motivation for Lantern VPN users, though.

Every user who gets to use its free service are given a referral code.

You get to invite friends under your referral code if they purchase a 2-year plan, then you get 3 months of Lantern free!

How’s that for an offer?

Lantern is trying to make its users its promoters and is working quite well.

With one Lantern account, you can use it on up to 3 devices. There is no refund policy.

Payment Methods

You can pay with only two options. This includes:

• Ali Pay
• Credit/Debit Cards

Security– Encryption & features

Lantern does not specify which encryption it uses. Since its a proxy, it certainly does not use the strongest encryption.

When it comes to protocols, it does not specify either. It only mentions on its FAQs page that it encrypts your data. But how? No one knows.

Jurisdiction–Is it located in a 5-eyes country?

Lantern VPN is based in Los Angeles, CA, making it a part of 5 eyes countries.

Companies that are a part of the fourteen eyes country VPN will share your data with their authorities.

I wouldn’t recommend using a VPN based in such countries because these companies are liable to share user data if a warrant is presented.

Servers

It has only 2 servers, i.e. (India and US), but these servers connect automatically.

I have to make a point here is that, according to New York Times, this VPN service does operate in China.

In the reviews section below, you will know that most users for this VPN were from China.

But we couldn’t confirm that.

It requires special obfuscated servers to bypass Chinese restrictions, which is rare and couldn’t possibly be available under a free VPN service.

Speed – How fast is Lantern VPN?

Lantern VPN speed was inferior. I tested for speed on its free service on Android phones.

When I turned the VPN on, it connected to the Indian server.

My original internet speed without a VPN is 15 Mbps using Speedtest.net. But when connected to LanternVPN, it dropped to 5.06 Mbps.

Here is the screenshot:

A decline of 64% in speed is not a very good sign, but I can manage it since it is a free VPN.

Streaming – Does it work with Netflix?

It is needless even to ask if this VPN service unblocks US Netflix. It does NOT.

Nor does it unblocks iPlayer, to say the least. But it does help you stream anonymously over Kodi.

Kodi is a media player that streams videos, including recent Movies, TV Shows, and Live TV.

To unblock geo-restricted videos and stream anonymously, you can check our complete list of Kodi VPN free.

Leaks – Does it leak IP, DNS & WebRTC?

I tested for any IP leaks with a website IP Leak.net. To my surprise, it did NOT leak IP, but it did leak DNS.

I connected to the Indian server automatically since it was their optimum server.

You can check out the results below.

IP Test

DNS Test

Virus Test

I checked if the Windows client for Lantern contains any viruses or malware with Virus Total’s help.

It could only find one error in the file, but that was clean and not a virus or any of that sort.

It is safe to assume that this app is clean from any viruses or threats that could jeopardize your online security.

Trustworthiness – Logs and customer support

Lantern VPN collects your logs. It knows what you are surfing online and may sell it to third parties.

Its privacy policy is pretty straightforward. Here is a glimpse of their statement:

Lantern collects information about you when you use our mobile applications, websites, and other online products or services.

It specifically says that these policies apply to any person living anywhere in the world.

Now the question remains, what kind of data do they collect?

Following are the information they collect:

• About pages, users access on the internet
• IP address
• Device ID or unique identifier
• Device type
• Geo-location
• Connection information
• Computer information
• Weblog data
• Ad data

This information are very CRITICAL to your online security.

If you want your identity to be tracked, then this service VPN is certainly not for you.

If you are looking for a VPN that doesn’t log users’ data, refer to our No Log VPN guide.

Transparency

In our Lantern VPN review, I tried to find its transparency report on many different platforms, but with no use.

After contacting its customer support, they informed me that their company does not reveal any such reports.

The transparency report reveals who many times the government has contacted the VPN service to share its users’ data.

VPNRanks has provided a complete list of transparent VPNs detailing which service provider.

Customer Support

If you have any queries related to their service, you can always refer to their Facebook Page or visit their User Forum.

There is no live chat support or user-generated pop-up message, which is a negative from my side.

But there’s an e-mail that helps you with your questions, but it doesn’t normally respond within 24 hours.

Compatibility – Apps and supported devices

It is compatible with the following:

• Windows
• Mac
• Ubuntu
• Android

It has yet to introduce Lantern VPN for iOS, but their customer support says it’s a matter of time.

VPN Lantern iOS app is coming soon.

Lantern VPN Download

You can download Lantern VPN from the following links for your particular device:

• Lantern VPN for PC
• Lantern VPN for Android
• Lantern VPN APK
• Lantern VPN for Mac

Unfortunately, it is not available for iOS users but is available on Mac.

How to Use Lantern VPN?

If you get Lantern VPN, here is how to use it:

• On your mobile device, open the app

• Before turning on your VPN, go to its Menu

• Then click on Settings

• Turn ON Proxy all traffic

• Go back and Turn ON your VPN

• Start browsing blocked websites

Lantern VPN Reviews on Play Store

Lantern VPN has a Google Play Store rating of 4.3 stars out of 5 with a total of 157,635 user reviews.

Here are the most recent reviews of VPN Lantern given by users:

VPN Comparison between Lantern and ExpressVPN

Here is a list of features that I have compared between the two VPN providers. Have a look at them decide which one is best:

Do I Recommend Lantern VPN?

Absolutely Not. Do not use this VPN.

I would never recommend such a VPN that collects your data, whatever you are doing online, and keeps track of your online privacy.

It leaks your IP address, has poor server speed, and even has a virus in its Windows client.

This is the worst VPN I have ever tested. Use at your own risk.