Does Private Internet Access? 10 VPN Questions answered

Computer illustration with text Does PIA

Private Internet Access, or PIA, is one of the oldest VPN services around.

It has helped thousands of users around the world with different problems, such as battling online censorship and monitoring, streaming their favourite online content, downloading files anonymously, and more.

The service offers excellent protection, many servers spread across the world, and many other benefits.

Of course, it is possible that you still have a lot of questions about PIA, and hopefully, we can help answer them today.

With that in mind, here are answers to 10 questions about Private Internet Access that you should know if you are wondering whether this is the right service for you.

1. Does Private Internet Access work with Netflix?

Unfortunately, no. Netflix is quite strict about its decisions to provide different countries with limited access to their content, and it does not appreciate when users unlock it all through VPN.

Because of this, Netflix regularly hunts for VPN traffic, tracking it down to specific servers, and then blocking them from accessing their service again.

If you seek to unlock Netflix, PIA will not be a good service for you. While it has many other uses, accessing this particular streaming service is not among them.

Check out these five providers if you’re looking for a VPN service that works with Netflix.

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2. Does Private Internet Access work in China?

China is one of the countries where a VPN service is not only an additional tool but a necessity.

While everyone should use VPN to browse the web safely, those living in China, or those visiting the country have to use it, as the country is infamous for its Great Firewall of China.

It is also known for monitoring its citizens, which makes a VPN that much more necessary.

China Fan

Unfortunately, our tests have shown that PIA is not a good choice, despite it claiming that it does via social media. Other reports confirm it, so we advise you to try a different service for this purpose.

3. Does Private Internet Access keep logs?

Fortunately, the answer is no. PIA claims not to keep logs, meaning that it does not store information about your online activities, while protected by its app. There were multiple court cases that proved that this claim is true, so we can say with confidence that PIA is honest about this.

If you choose to use this service, you can rest easy, knowing that your online traffic will be hidden from everyone and that it won’t be monitored.

4. Does Private Internet Access work?

With all of the online dangers on the modern day web, it is more than understandable why you and many others might wonder if PIA is a legit service.

However, we can confirm that it does work and that it is entirely legitimate.

As mentioned, it is among the oldest and most respected VPN services.

It serves a vast number of users across the world, in many different countries, and under all kinds of circumstances. While it has its limitations, such as Netflix and China situations, it should work well for most other regions and services.

5. Does Private Internet Access slow speeds?

One thing you must understand is that all VPNs slow down your internet speed to some extent. To keep you safe, they have to encrypt your traffic and focus it through a secure tunnel created by their security protocols.

With that said, PIA does a better job than most, with speeds only slowing down a minimal amount, which is expected from a top VPN service.

Illustration of man using computer

Our own tests have shown that PIA is among the fastest services with top encryption, so you should not have much trouble achieving decent speeds while fully protected.

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6. Does Private Internet Access work on Firestick?

PIA does not feature a dedicated Firestick app at this time, meaning that you cannot easily use it to protect the device.

While this might change in the future, if the company ever decides to develop an app for Firestick, it currently does not offer one.

Of course, you might still manually set up if you have the proper knowledge, but the process is complicated and lengthy, and unless you are a professional, you will not have a guarantee that you did it correctly.

There are services with an app for Firestick, but PIA is not among them.

7. Does Private Internet Access use OpenVPN?

Yes, Private Internet Access uses OpenVPN protocol as a default protocol on most of its VPN apps.

It is currently the best one available, and many VPN services use it as a default. It does affect the speeds more than others, but others are not as good as OpenVPN and as we already discussed PIA suffers very little speed loss.

Also, PIA also offers some of the highest levels of encryption in the VPN industry, all to make its users as safe as possible, and help them avoid censorship, detection, or data leaks.

8. Does Private Internet Access allow torrenting?

Many people struggle to find a VPN that supports torrenting, has decent speeds and keeps no logs. Such a combination is tough to find, but PIA fulfils all requirements, including support for torrenting and other forms of P2P file sharing.

With it, you can easily hide your location, encrypt your traffic, protect it, and download whatever you desire.

With that in mind, using it for downloading copyright material is not recommended, as it is still considered illegal. However, in theory, you will be fully protected, and the service will not log your actions.

9. Does Private Internet Access work with Android?

Yes, Private Internet Access covers many different devices and systems, and while it does have some limitations, such as Firestick, it features a dedicated Android app which is easy to download, install, and use.

The app is very user-friendly and intuitive, and with only a few taps – you can browse the web with full protection.

Android phone illustration

You will also have access to many features, as well as all of the PIA-operated servers and IP addresses, making your mobile browsing just as safe as a regular computer browsing.

10. Does Private Internet Access work in the UK?

The UK is infamous for its geo-blocking, as no one outside of it can access its native websites and content.

A good VPN service is necessary to access it, but also to protect those living in the UK from online threats. With a situation like that, PIA is an excellent choice to protect yourself in the UK, or to access its content if you are located outside of the country.

Apart from the UK, PIA also works great with numerous other countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, and many, many others.

In Summary: Does Private Internet Access?

Private Internet Access is one of the most popular and well-known VPN services around.

Above we’ve answered 10 of the most commonly asked questions that users like yourself are asking and wanting to know the answers to.

If you want to know more about how Private Internet Access performs check out our recent review. Or use the link below to visit their website.

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Illustrations © Evgenii Naumov | Dreamstime.com

Author: Ali Raza

Ali is a journalist with a keen interest in VPN usage. He is an expert in the field and has been covering VPN related topics for VPNCompare and numerous well-respected publications for many years.

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