The “world’s most secure VPN” launched in London last night – a milestone that, for many, would suggest that it’s ready to take the VPN world by storm. While this isn’t untrue, the reality is that you won’t be adding NymVPN to your home screen anytime soon, but you’ll need it when you do.
NymVPN’s aim has been simple from the start: to provide total online privacy and security to those who need it most. All of the best VPNs aim to match this goal, but NymVPN takes things a step further than most.
The Nym mixnet sits at the heart of this advancement. It generates noise, adding cover to your online traffic, and prevents identifiable actions. The mixnet also routes all online requests through five nodes to jumble your traffic and other users’ traffic, so your online activity can’t be directly routed back to you.
‘Fast Mode’ sits alongside the mixnet, and runs as a more traditional multi-hop WireGuard connection – but uses AmneziaWG, an effective, obfuscated, WireGuard solution, at its core.
(Image credit: NymVPN)
So, only connecting via a minimum of a standard two-node multi-hop, or, for those who need it, a fully-fledged five node mixnet. The question that day-to-day users will have is, ultimately, why bother?
NymVPN’s primary aim is to serve those in the direst of scenarios. These are people combatting internet censorship and monitoring, or whose lives, families, and homes are potentially at risk if they attempt to access geo-restricted information.
So, the technology that keeps them safe has to work and gain the unwavering trust of anyone potentially trusting it with their lives.
As put by Nym CEO Harry Halpin “secure, private and uncensored access to the internet is as essential as access to clean water”.
Necessary sacrifices
What this means is that NymVPN, while undoubtedly secure, has its limitations. From the outset, the app is by no means extensive, nor is it stuffed with explanations or nice graphics. Plus, as Halpin admitted at the launch event, the app still struggles with battery consumption.
This means that NympVPN is undoubtedly secure – but that it has its limitations, too. The app is by no means extensive. You won’t find any sleek graphics or expainers and, as Halpin admitted during the launch event, the app continues to struggle with battery consumption.
So, there are no bells and whistles, but the app gives you exactly what you need, when you need it, so you can shore up your online safety in seconds. It’s a crucial consideration for NymVPN’s target audience.
(Image credit: NymVPN)
I’ve used NymVPN over the past few days, and the sacrifices that’ve been made for the sake of security are noticeable. Still, I’m by no means part of that target audience, so it’s something I can look past for the most part.
In terms of use cases, Nym considers its ‘Anonymous Mode’, aka the mixnet, the best choice for messaging, emails, and finances.
In practice, I only found myself encountering issues with accessing financial applications over the mixnet, but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy messaging, emails, and even browsing online was using the functionality.
Pushing it further, I was able to access some social media sites, including the likes of Facebook and Flipboard, without issue, while there was some pushback accessing the likes of Instagram. Understandably, though, these apps are nice to have and not essential.
Using the WireGuard protocol made for a much smoother experience – no surprises there. I had no issues accessing any services, experienced no notable delays in performance when streaming, gaming, or browsing, and didn’t run into any hiccups when connecting.
Preparing for a bleaker future
Speeds aside, regular VPN users will know there’s more to the best VPN apps than just turning on a WireGuard connection. Extra features are what make these services more accessible – and they’re currently something NymVPN lacks.
At the time of writing, NymVPN has only announced that a kill switch and split-tunneling capabilities are on the way. So, for the time being, people experiencing issues using a VPN with Android Auto or other apps, and folks who need to know whether their VPN connection has dropped (and begun leaking identifiable data), are at risk.
The lack of a kill switch at launch is surprising for a VPN that wants to serve the most vulnerable members of the online community. NymVPN currently lacks push notifications that will alert users that their connection has unexpectedly dropped, too.
So, while NymVPN is making great strides in pushing the VPN industry forward, there are still fundamentals that can be improved upon.
Patching these problems will solidify prospective users’ willingness to trust NymVPN – though you might still wonder why you’d need to use it in the first place.
In recent weeks, decisions such as Apple’s removal of ADP from the UK , Canal+ fighting piracy via VPN companies in Europe , and the removal of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board in the US all point to one thing: a change in the scope.
Invasions of privacy were once the domain of hardened criminals and tabloid journalists, but they’ve rapidly become an everyday occurrence for the wider population. The trend doesn’t look like it’s going to lose steam anytime soon, either, so you’ll probably find that your identifiable data comes under fire from an executive decision – if it hasn’t happened already.
The VPN for the future?
The technology being implemented by NymVPN is a wakeup call to the wider VPN industry”
Taking this into account – and issues and omissions aside – one thing is clear: the technology implemented by NymVPN is a wake-up call to the wider VPN industry. It also cemented NymVPN’s role in pushing VPNs in the right direction towards a future where our online privacy is retained.
In a time of increasing internet censorship, attempts at encryption backdoors, and, most importantly, traffic monitoring in authoritarian scenarios, there’s no doubt that NymVPN’s mixnet is among the very best solutions.
What’s more, the increasing wave of anti-privacy legislation means it is more than likely that while NymVPN won’t be the VPN you want for now, it’s the VPN you’ll need if you want to safeguard your privacy over the coming years.
