hide.me VPN

hide.me VPN from eVenture has been on the App Store since 2015 and still pulls a solid 4.52 from roughly 7,000 ratings. At 166 MB it is not a featherweight install, but the app does offer a genuine free tier, a one-tap connection flow, and a multihop option that most free VPN competitors simply skip. Version 6.1.4, updated as recently as June 2026, suggests the developer is still actively maintaining the product rather than coasting on an old codebase.

Where it earns its keep

The free plan is real, not a 24-hour trial with a credit card wall behind it. Auto server selection takes the guesswork out of picking a location, which matters for users who just want a working tunnel without reading a geography lesson. The multihop double VPN feature stands out at this price point, routing traffic through two server locations for an extra layer of obfuscation that paid-only rivals often gate behind premium tiers.

What holds it back

At 166 MB the download footprint is noticeably heavier than leaner competitors in the same category. The app sits in the Productivity genre on the store, which feels like a mismatch for a security tool and may affect discoverability for people searching specifically for privacy apps. Free-tier users should also expect the usual trade-offs: server selection is likely limited, and in-app purchase prompts for a paid plan are almost certainly part of the experience.

Who should consider it

Casual users who hop between coffee shop Wi-Fi networks and want basic IP masking without paying anything will find the onboarding genuinely simple, three steps from download to connected. Power users interested in multihop routing get a concrete reason to upgrade. Anyone already committed to a competitor with a smaller install size and a broader verified no-log track record may not find enough here to switch.