# IPVanish

IPVanish VPN (also known as IPVanish) is a US-based VPN service owned by Ziff Davis.

## History

IPVanish was founded in 2012 by Mudhook Media Inc, an independent subsidiary of Highwinds Network Group in Orlando, Florida.
In 2017, Highwinds Network Group was acquired by CDN company StackPath which included IPVanish as part of the acquisition.
In 2019, IPVanish was acquired by J2 Global with their NetProtect business.

### Cooperation with Homeland Security

According to a June 2018 article by TorrentFreak, court documents showed that IPVanish handed over personal information about a customer to the Department of Homeland Security (HSI) in 2016. The customer was suspected of sharing child pornography on an IRC network. The information, which allowed HSI to identify the customer, consisted of the customer's name, his email address, details of his VPN subscription, his real IP address (Comcast) "as well as dates and times [he] connected to, and disconnected from, the IRC network.” The logging of the customer's IP address and connection timestamps to the IRC service contradicts IPVanish's privacy policy, which states that "[IPVanish] will never log any traffic or usage of our VPN."
In 2017, IPVanish and its parent company were acquired by StackPath, and its founder and CEO, Lance Crosby, claims that "at the time of the acquisition, [...] no logs existed, no logging systems existed and no previous/current/future intent to save logs existed."

## Uses

IPVanish funnels the internet traffic of its users through remote servers, obscuring the user's IP address and encrypting data transmitted through the connection. Users can simultaneously connect an unlimited number of devices.
Like other VPN services, IPVanish also has the ability to bypass internet censorship in most countries. By selecting a server in a region outside of their physical position, VPN users can easily access online content which was not available in their location, or play games that are regionally-restricted due to licensing agreements.

## Technical details
### Encryption

IPVanish uses the OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec technologies in its applications, while the L2TP and PPTP connection protocols can also be configured. IPVanish supports the AES (128-bit or 256-bit) specifications, with SHA-256 for authentication and an RSA-2048 handshake.

### Servers

IPVanish owns and operates more than 2400 remote servers in over 90+ locations. The largest concentration of VPN servers is located in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. The company suspended operations in Russia as of July 2016, due to conflicts with the company's zero-log policy and local law. In July 2020, IPVanish removed its servers from Hong Kong, alleging that the Hong Kong national security law puts Hong Kong under the “same tight internet restrictions that govern mainland China.”
IPVanish is headquartered in the United States, which does not have mandatory data retention laws.

## Recognition

In 2016, Lifehacker AU rated the service as its #1 VPN. In a 2018 review highlighting IPVanish ‘zero logs’ policies and nonprofit support, CNET ranked IPVanish as one of the best VPN services of the year. The reviewer also noted that its integrated plugin for Kodi, the open-source media streaming app, was unique to the VPN industry.
TechRadar rated the service 4 out of 5 stars in their March 2018 review, commending it for its powerful features while criticizing its “lethargic support response”. An annually-updated TorrentFreak article reviewing the logging policies of VPN services lists IPVanish as an anonymous provider. Tom's Guide wrote that the lack of a kill switch on the mobile application "may be a downside for some".