HMA offers three plans, each of them identical in their available features. The only difference is the terms of the subscription. All plans are paid in advance for the entire term.

Kick-Ass (Monthly) - $11.52/month
Half-Ass (Semi-Annual) - $8.33/month
Smart-Ass (Annual) - $6.55/month

Customers must select automatic or manual renewal for their membership. Automatic renewal requires customers to notify HMA in order to discontinue their account while manual renewal requires the customer to manually pay their bill at the end of each term. Manual renewals expire if no payment is made.

Encryption Type

HMA offers choices to their customers of four encryption protocols. The VPN tunnels can be encrypted with OpenVPN-TCP, OpenVPN-UDP, PPTP, and L2TP. The Review Team recommends using either of the OpenVPN protocols whenever possible, as it is considered to be the protocol which is the more secure. iOS users currently cannot use OpenVPN, but L2TP is comparable to OpenVPN in security for those with an iOS device.

Speed

The Review Team found more variation in the raw independent speed test date for HMA than for any other company. As a general rule, the servers which performed the best with the highest download and upload rates were those which were located in the United States. Servers in other countries did not perform as well generally, and resulted in the overall average speed calculations being very low and well beneath many of the companies which have been reviewed by the Review Team. HMA's average download time was 6.19 Mbps and upload time was 1.89 Mbps, which is significantly below the average download and upload speed for non-VPN speed in the United States of 20.8 and 5.2 Mbps, respectively. One area which HMA sets themselves apart is that when users open their application dashboard, the current speeds of different servers is displayed, so that users can select the fastest server in their desired location. This feature addresses the complexity of VPN speeds as well as makes the company more transparent.

Customer Support

HMA offers their customer three ways to receive support. They can browse the extensive FAQ Knowledge Base which gives them access to several how-to resources. These articles are quite comprehensive and organized well. For those who want more assistance, customers can submit an email help ticket via web form. This method of contacting the company has been problematic for many customers, with long delays - sometimes going as much as days or weeks to receive an answer. Live chat is available for customers and prospective customers alike. Agents are available whenever the chat bubble is displayed at the bottom of the company's pages. Some customers report that this features is only available at times, but the Review Team checked randomly during a 24-hour period and did not see many examples of the chat feature not being available. Wait times vary, but are usually short and chat requests are answered within minutes.

Extra features

HMA has several additional features which allow users to have a superior experience while connected to their VPN. Of note are the tools which allow for users to see the current speeds of different servers to help them decide to which one they want to connect and the VPN kill switch (Secure IP Bind) which allows customers to terminate their connection with the VPN should the server go down. Users can also change their servers quickly and seamlessly, with the click of the Change IP button in their dashboard. Subscribers can also set a timeframe for automatic IP changes, which can be scheduled in advance and will occur automatically. HMA alerts users when signing into a server if it is experiencing higher traffic and recommend a comparable server with a lower current load.

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The Bad

Free trial
Money back guarantee
Transparency

Free Trial

Hide My Ass! (HMA) does not offer new customers a free membership on their website. There are reports of customers contacting the company and receiving a 48-hour free trial at their request. The company does not have an official policy on to whom they might offer a free trial and states that it is based upon manager discretion only.

Money Back Guarantee

A 30-day money back guarantee is available for new customers. In order to qualify for this guarantee, several limitations exist and many conditions must be met.

Users must be new customers - renewals are not eligible for a refund
Request for a refund must be within 30 days of the date of the order
Customer must not have exceeded 100 sessions or 10 GB of bandwidth during their first 30 days or less
Users must have fully complied with all of the company's terms and conditions
User must not have previously requested a refund with another account
Purchases made through Apple iTunes Store with OneBip are not eligible for refund
Refund requests must be initiated by emailing info@hidemyass.com, and include the VPN user name and reason for the request

There is considerable information from former HMA subscribers that the company does not always honor their customers' requests for a money-back guarantee. These limitations are vastly different from many companies in the industry who offer a full and unconditional money-back guarantee and have testimonials from customers to prove that they operate with integrity within this aspect of their business.

Transparency

As stated, HMA keeps some of their customer data for what many would consider a significant period of time. This has resulted in several complaints from customers who feel that the VPN is not fully protecting them. HMA states that they can share personal data with third parties in their privacy policy, but does not disclose the situations which may necessitate the need to share information or with whom they share customer data. The privacy policy, when compared to many other companies is rather sparse, and while it does disclose information, leaves the reader with more questions. Representatives from the company declined to answer specific questions about their policies of sharing information, beyond stating that they did that which was appropriate and within the company's and customer's best interests. There are many disgruntled former customers who claim that the company would not honor their request for a cancellation and that the billing term was difficult to change from automatic to manual renewal. Both require that customer remain proactive and communicate with the company and make certain that all requirements are met in their communication with HMA.

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The Bottom Line

HMA works well for many VPN uses, and is recommended for customers who are fully aware of the company's practice of keeping and sharing customer data. Those wanting to use a VPN for torrenting and P2P will not be able to complete these tasks using HMA's VPN tunnels. Otherwise, there are many conditions which can be difficult to find and confusing which allow the company not to fulfill their promise of money-back guarantees. Sometimes being the biggest does not automatically mean being the best. For most, this company's red tape and vague information about logging are enough to turn them another direction.

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User Reviews

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3.4

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11 Reviews

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Ian Buckler

Never advised of impending subscription renewal, took money from Paypal only advising me after it had been taken. I didn`t realise they defaulted to auto subscription (wow no crap, guess who benefits most from that!!!) Now they are refusing to give the money back, I stopped using it after 3 days the first time round and never used it after that, mind numbingly slow speeds made it a waste of time and money. To be auto billed adds insult to injury. Seeking advice after their customer service call centre told me a refund would be granted, but later received an email stating I wouldn`t be getting one....customer service????????????

10 years ago

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Unsatisfied Customer

HMA automatically renewed my subscription for one year. I have not used their service in considerable amount of time. They are refusing to provide a refund at this point which means that they took about $80 from me knowing that I am not using their service. I feel totally ripped off. I have escalated this issue and will follow up with the results.

9 years ago

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Russell

If you like to download torrents, this isn't the VPN for you. Once someone complain that you downloaded something, HMA will shut you down without a refund.

10 years ago

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Michael Persson

i could not cancel my subscription on their website, it wont let me scumbag firm

9 years ago