VPNs have become a vital tool in the fight for online safety. Torrent users in particular have begun taking advantage of VPNs for their ability to keep users’ identities hidden online. With all that in mind, is Avast VPN a good choice for torrenting?
While Avast VPN offers a decent selection of features, it is not the best choice for torrent users due to its logging policy, its sluggish download speeds, and its history of being cavalier with user privacy. Here’s our rundown on Avast VPN and whether it’s a good VPN for torrenting.
Avast VPN’s Features and Benefits
Compared to other VPNs such as NordVPN or Hide.me, Avast VPN offers a relatively basic feature set. That said, it does offer some necessary protections that torrent users need in order to browse the Internet safely.
For example, Avast VPN includes kill switch functionality, which is key when torrenting since a kill switch will automatically turn off a device’s Internet connection if the VPN connection is disrupted. This prevents a user’s real IP address from leaking to the wider Web.
Avast VPN also offers industry-standard encryption features, such as 256-bit encryption. However, it lacks more advanced security options that torrent users need. For example, the OpenVPN protocol, the most secure VPN protocol, is not available for Avast VPN users on Apple devices.
Another issue with Avast VPN is its lack of servers and server locations. It only has eight servers that are capable of handling peer-to-peer traffic. This means that users have far less choice compared to other VPN services and it is far more likely they’ll experience slowdowns due to excess traffic.
Finally, Avast VPN’s speeds are considerably slower than other VPN services, as much as 50 percent slower in some instances. While Avast VPN is fast enough for basic Internet activity and even streaming, it’s too sluggish for torrenting in most cases.
While Avast VPN might be suitable for users engaging in basic Internet browsing, its slow speeds and relative lack of advanced security features make it inadequate for the needs of torrent users.
Privacy Concerns with Avast VPN
The biggest reason we don’t recommend Avast VPN for torrenting is due to the company’s ambiguous privacy policy, historical privacy abuses towards its customers, and its location in a jurisdiction known for restriction data retention laws.
When it comes to torrenting, the best VPN is one that maintains a no-logs policy. However, Avast VPN logs what many would consider being an excessive amount of information about its users, including their usernames, emails, connection timestamps, the amount of data they transmit during sessions, and more.
While Avast VPN does not log browsing history or real IP addresses, all of the other information it logs is retained for up to 35 days, or up to two years in the case of account details. This is far more information retention then many torrent users would be comfortable with.
Another significant problem with Avast VPN is that its privacy policy makes it likely that the company would hand over information on its users to a government agency if ordered. This is another red flag for torrent users.
Some of the problems with Avast VPN’s privacy policy come from its location. Avast is located in the Czech Republic, meaning it is subject to European Union data retention laws. The Czech Republic also has intelligence-sharing agreements with the U.S. and other non-E.U. states that take a dim view of some torrenting activities.
Ideally, when selecting a VPN service, you should choose one headquartered in a country that has user-friendly data-retention laws and strong protections for online privacy. Unfortunately, Avast does not fill the bill in this regard.
Finally, Avast has been caught violating its customers’ privacy via its other products. In 2019, it was discovered that the Avast Online Security browser extension was transmitting users’ browsing history and behavior to Avast servers without their consent. The scandal led to the browser extension being removed from Mozilla and Opera’s online stores.
Privacy is important to anyone who relies on a VPN, but it’s especially important for torrent users. Avast VPN has shown repeatedly that it is at best unreliable when it comes to safeguarding its users’ anonymity. This means we don’t recommend it for torrenting.
Avast VPN and Torrents: The Bottom Line
VPNs are important when it comes to online privacy, particularly when it comes to torrenting. As such, if you plan to download torrents online, you need a VPN service that not only provides fast connection speeds, but prioritizes your security and safety.
Unfortunately, Avast VPN is not that service. It offers a poorer selection of servers and server locations compared to other leading VPNs, and its connection speeds are inferior as well, meaning you’ll spend more time waiting for torrents to download and less time enjoying content.
More seriously, Avast VPN is not a secure or safe VPN. It logs an excessive amount of information about its users that it retains for long periods of time, information that it will freely give over to government agencies. It is headquartered in a jurisdiction with restrictive data retention laws, giving it little leeway when it comes to this policy.
Finally, Avast has been caught being invasive with users’ personal information before, meaning there is little reason to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their ambiguously-worded privacy policy.
While it’s ultimately up to you which VPN you go with, we cannot recommend Avast VPN for torrenting due to these concerns. Avast VPN’s inferior server selection and connection speeds combined with its invasive logging policy and well-established disregard for users’ privacy make it a poor choice for torrent users.
