SpyOff is one of several VPN services to come with both paid-for and free versions. The company responsible for SpyOff, Sareta, is based in the microstate of San Marino. This places them outside of the major “Eyes” alliances, as San Marino falls outside of the jurisdiction of neighbouring Italy. Companies based here are further protected by special laws that restrict foreign interference.
Is SpyOff worth investing in? Let’s take a look!
Key Features
Both versions of SpyOff come with a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. It comes with a kill-switch that’ll choke your connection the moment the VPN drops out, and you’re allowed as many connections as you’d like.
Pros
Range of Protocols
As well as supporting the industry-standard OpenVPN, SpyOff allows power users to make the switch to more obscure 128-bit protocols like PPTP, which provide greater speed at the expense of security. This puts it in the same company as industry leaders like ExpressVPN.
Torrent Support
SpyOff is one of the few VPNs which integrate seamlessly with torrenting platforms.
Simple Interface
While there are plenty of options hidden under the hood, the front end of SpyOff is intuitive enough for a newbie to start using straightaway. It’ll default to the most appropriate settings, while still leaving power-users the freedom to dig deeper.
Cons
No Servers
One of the most glaring concerns with SpyOff is that Sareta doesn’t own any of its own servers, relying instead on third parties. This limits the ability to oversee its own operation, and dampens credibility. After all, a flawless data-retention policy means nothing when you don’t have any control over where and how the data is handled.
Netflix support shady
Despite several attempts, we couldn’t get SpyOff to connect to the US version of Netflix. It should be noted, however, that these things tend to change suddenly and often – you might have better luck.
Limited Speeds
All VPNs will slow you down to some extent – it’s impossible to make data take a detour without increasing the journey time. But SpyOff is definitely slower than much of the competition. Download speeds can easily drop by half – even when you’re connecting to a server in a neighbouring country. The company has taken great strides recently to improve the number of servers available – but it still has a long way to go before drawing level with industry front runners.
No Router Support
There are SpyOff applications available on a range of platforms, including MacOS, Windows and Android. But to totally secure your connection, you’ll need a VPN installed on your router – especially given the proliferation of internet-connected TVs, thermostats and fridges in the modern home.
Unfortunately, SpyOff can’t be installed on just any router – you’ll need to pay for one of their special proprietary ones, and they don’t come cheap!
Poor Customer Support
There’s no live-chat feature available, so you’ll have to rely on the dreaded contact form. Perhaps given the company’s 40-strong workforce, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that responses to these forms are very slow.
Conclusion
Despite the company’s favourable location in San Marino, the product is fundamentally flawed. It’s slow, leaky, and runs on servers owned by third-parties. In short, it falls short in not just one critical area, but several.