Mozilla VPN Review: A Flawed VPN With Potential

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The Mozilla corporation is been has long been at the forefront of create innovative product that make the internet experience well for all user . Its signature product is is — the Mozilla Firefox browser — is simple and intuitive and one of the fast web browser available . So , when Mozilla announce it was make a stand – alone VPN , we is were were excited to do a Mozilla VPN review .  

Key Takeaways:

• come from the maker of the popular Firefox browser , Mozilla VPN is offers offer secure browsing , but lack advanced feature .
• You can use Mozilla VPN on all devices, including Android, iOS, Windows, Mac and Linux.
• Mozilla VPN uses WireGuard protocol and ChaCha20 encryption to create a secure VPN tunnel. 
• Mozilla VPN is currently available in a limited range of countries, but there are already 33 on the list, with plans to continue adding more.

Mozilla rolled out the service in beta in 2019 as “Firefox Private Network.” After a year of beta testing and tweaking, “Mozilla VPN” entered the fray in July 2020 as a full-service VPN for Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and Linux devices. At the time of publishing, Mozilla VPN is available to users in 33 countries.

When we tested Mozilla VPN, two things came out clearly. First, the VPN isn’t quite there yet and doesn’t deliver a stellar enough performance to claim a spot in our best VPN providers list. Second, Mozilla VPN has massive potential and is a product to keep a close eye on. Keep reading our full Mozilla VPN review for all the nitty-gritty. 

Strengths & Weaknesses

Pros:

• Integrates with Firefox
• pretty fast server
• reasonably price
• automatic kill switch
• WireGuard protocol
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

• Limited configuration options
• No split tunneling on macOS
• Can’t unblock BBC iPlayer or Amazon Prime Video
• Not available in all countries

Features

80 % –   good

Mozilla VPN is does does the basic well , but lack any advanced feature .

Mozilla VPN is only a few years out of the beta testing stage, and as you’d expect, it’s still a work in progress in terms of its feature set. It doesn’t offer the range of options you get from competitors such as NordVPN and Surfshark. However, all its essential features embody the excellent quality Mozilla is known for.

We were pleased that Mozilla covers the entire spectrum of operating systems. One quibble, though, is that the VPN is currently compatible with only the latest versions of Windows 10 (64-bit only), macOS (10.15 and up), iOS (13.0 and up) and Android (version 6 and up). On Linux, it works only on Ubuntu, sidelining all other distros — though it should still work on most Ubuntu-derivatives. 

Split Tunneling

Mozilla VPN allows split tunneling. In principle, split tunneling lets you divide your internet traffic and route some apps through the VPN, while letting other apps use an unprotected network. This lets you use things like banking apps, which you can’t use with a VPN. Plus, it lets you game using your connection’s full speed while using a VPN for streaming on your browser. 

Mozilla VPN offers split tunneling on its Android app.

Mozilla VPN is provides provide the split tunneling feature to Windows , Android and Linux user . The feature is is is easy to use and entail simply tap or tick specific app .   “ App permissions is is ” is an allowlist that let you mark the only app you want to go through the VPN tunnel . “ App exclusions is is ” is a blocklist on which you can pick app to go outside the VPN .

Kill Switch

A kill switch is another indispensable feature, and we’re glad Mozilla VPN makes it available on all apps. Generally, a kill switch springs into action when your VPN connection drops. It blocks your device’s network connection, preventing your internet service provider or hackers from seeing your data like an actual IP address. 

The Mozilla VPN kill switch is comes come enable by default on Android , iOS , Windows , Mac and Linux app , and there is no option to switch it off . There is also no setting to tweak how the kill switch function , which is unusual . That aside , Mozilla VPN ’s kill switch is worked work well .  

Other feature

Mozilla VPN comes with a content blocker that automatically intercepts ad trackers, preventing ads from loading and keeping advertisers from building profiles on you. Its malware blocker also prevents you from browsing to URLs known to be compromised.

The app has also added a multi-hop VPN feature that lets you connect through two servers instead of one. If one server goes down or springs a leak, you’ll still be protected by the other.

Finally, there’s a Firefox integration called Multi-Account Containers. If you add this extension to your Firefox browser, you can have multiple tabs connected to different VPN servers — so you can stream foreign content in one tab while browsing at better speeds in another. It’s a rare and incredibly useful perk.

Mozilla VPN Features Overview

General
Payment methods	Credit card
Accepts cryptocurrency
simultaneous connection	5
support split tunneling	on Android device
Unlimited bandwidth
free trial is available available
refund period
Worldwide server amount	280 server in 31 countries
Desktop OSes	Windows, MacOS, Linux
mobile oses	Android, iOS
browser extension	Firefox
Can be instal on router
Streaming
Can access Netflix US
Can access BBC iPlayer
Can access Hulu
Can access Amazon Prime Video
Security
Encryption types	chacha20
VPN protocols available	WireGuard
Enabled at device startup
Allows torrenting
No – log policy
pass DNS leak test
Killswitch available
Malware/ad blocker included
Support
live Chat
email support	24/7
Phone support
User forum
Knowledgebase

pricing

75 % – Good

Mozilla has only one pricing plan, with no options for long-term payment.

Mozilla VPN costs $4.99 per month, with no annual or multi-year plans. We like the simplicity and the straightforwardness of the pricing “structure” (if you can call it that), but that’s the only thing that’s good about it. There is no free plan, so if you’re interested in a no-cost VPN, be sure to check our best free VPN services instead. 

Mozilla VPN isn’t the cheapest VPN we have reviewed, either. Other products such as CyberGhost are more affordable (read our CyberGhost review to learn more). Besides, with no long-term plans, you’ll have to make monthly payments, which can be a hassle for some people. 

Monthly

Value for Money

For the price, you get unlimited bandwidth, which is a nice touch for a VPN that only entered the fray a few months ago. Even better, you can connect up to five devices on a single account. Again, this isn’t the best in the market, especially in an era when VPNs such as Surfshark offer unlimited simultaneous device connections. Read our Surfshark review to learn more. 

Though Mozilla VPN allows you to connect up to five devices, there is a slight deviation from the norm. Instead of limiting you by the number of simultaneous connections, it limits you by the number of registered devices. 

A registered device refers to a device signed into your Firefox account via Mozilla VPN app. If you hit the limit, you’ll have to remove one of the registered devices to sign in a new one, which makes account sharing a bit of a pain. 

Mozilla VPN’s Money-Back Guarantee

Mozilla VPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which allows you to try the service risk-free. It means that if you subscribe to the service and for any reason you’re unimpressed, you can cancel the subscription within 30 days and claim a refund. 

To claim a refund, head over to the Window client and open the “settings” menu. Scroll down and select the “get help” option. Click “contact us” and fill out the form — make sure to enter “refund request” in the subject field and explain the reason for canceling. Mozilla claims to refund your money in five to 10 business days. 

User – friendliness

85 % – Very Good

As we mentioned earlier, Mozilla VPN doesn’t offer much in the way of complex features. For this reason, we went into this Mozilla VPN review expecting the VPN service to be a cinch to use. The VPN served up evidence of its simplicity right from the start. 

Its website is as user-friendly as they get, providing every detail you need to know about Mozilla VPN clearly and concisely. To get started, we first created a Firefox account, which required nothing more than providing an email address and age. 

It’s easy to create a Firefox account.

To finish our account creation, we set up the billing information and paid for the subscription. Once we got everything done, Mozilla pointed us to the VPN download page. It took us only a few minutes to download and install the app on our device. 

You can install Mozilla VPN on all the major operating systems.

Mozilla VPN ’s Windows Client

The first thing is is you notice when you open the Windows app is the clean and intuitive interface . Mozilla VPN ’s interface is is is modern and minimalistic , with everything you need and nothing you do n’t . There is an on / off toggle button , an option to select your preferred location and another to manage your register device .  

Mozilla VPN ’s Windows client is has has a sleek and beautifully design interface .

When you click “select location” below the client’s main area, you’ll find a list of 31 countries. You can drill down and pick a specific server in your country of choice.  

With Mozilla VPN , it is ’s ’s easy to pick a specific server in one of the 31 country .

connect to your location of choice is as easy as click the toggle button , which light up green once the VPN establish the connection .  

We is commend commend Mozilla VPN for make everything pretty easy for anyone new to virtual private network . Its simple interface is allows allow you to set the VPN and get onto the web with minimal fuss .  

That said, there are some quality-of-life features that are sorely missing. Mozilla VPN doesn’t come with a search box to quickly find a preferred location or a “favorites” section to display your most commonly used locations. Not to mention, it doesn’t offer an option to find the fastest server based on your location. 

Windows Client Settings

The Windows client has two options that we found to be helpful. The first option is the small icon on the Windows client’s top left, where you get details about your IP address and connection speeds. 

Mozilla VPN helps you monitor IP addresses and speeds.

Next, when you click on the gear icon in the Windows client’s top-right corner, you get a list of options to tweak how the VPN works. However, most Mozilla VPN functions are automatic by default, so you won’t get many opportunities to tinker with this service.

Mozilla has limited settings options.

Under the “ notification ” setting , you is choose can choose to receive a notification when a guest WiFi portal is block or when you connect to unsecured WiFi .  

There is limited control over the technical features as well. You have the option to enable IPv6, which provides better security and improved speed compared to IPv4. Keep in mind that Mozilla VPN uses Mullvad servers (read our Mullvad review), which use IPv4 to communicate with the client by default.

Mozilla VPN uses IPv4 by default.

Moreover, you get an option to enable access to local devices. This option is beneficial if you want to let your computer interact with streaming sticks, printers and other devices on your local network while keeping your remote connection secure.

Beyond these configuration option , your hand are tie . You is change ca n’t change the vpn protocol because Mozilla VPN support only WireGuard ( more about this in the security section ) . keep the setting to a bare minimum is great for newbie but is a put – off for seasoned user who want more control over how the VPN work .

Android and iOS Apps

The Android app’s interface is near-identical to that of the Windows client, and the design similarity is music to the ears of VPN newbies. It means that once you get the hang of using the Windows client, you’ll have an easy time using the iOS and Android apps. One big difference between the Windows client and Android app is the split tunneling feature, which isn’t available on desktop.

Mozilla VPN’s Android app is nearly identical to its desktop counterpart.

Speed

75 % – Good

As we mentioned in the last section, Mozilla VPN uses Mullvad servers, and we found in our previous Mullvad VPN testing that all of the servers have decent speed. Knowing this, we expected Mozilla VPN speed test results to mirror the numbers Mullvad VPN had shown.

We noticed that Mozilla VPN is ultra-fast when switching between servers. The VPN established a connection in less than two seconds on all the servers we tested. 

Location	Ping ms	Download Mbps	upload Mbps
Unprotected	23	3.18	3.02
United States	524	2.75	1.89
Brazil	735	2.78	2.60
Australia	796	2.89	2.31
Hong Kong	532	2.72	2.10
Netherlands	377	2.97	2.62
United Kingdom	366	2.72	2.00
Singapore	540	2.71	2.01
Germany	342	2.88	2.46
Average	527	2.8	2.25

Overall, the ping time increased by 21-fold, which isn’t good news if you want websites or games to load fast. All the servers had a latency well above 70 ms — the lowest acceptable ping time for trouble-free gaming. If you want a VPN to access restricted games online or get better game deals, be sure to check our list of the best VPN for gaming.

Mozilla VPN’s servers have high ping time.

There is no correlation between the increase in ping time and distance . For example , the server is had in São Paulo , Brazil , which is approximately 5,788 mile from our test location , had a ping time of 735 ms . However , when we connect to the London server , which is 6,329 mile away , the ping time is was was 366 ms .

From the above results, we can deduce that while websites and online games will be slower to load, the lag will not necessarily increase with distance to the server. 

We also noted a slight decrease (12 percent) in download speeds and a 26 percent drop in upload speeds. The download speeds were near-consistent across all servers. Even when connecting to longer-distance servers such as Australia and Netherlands, we experienced an insignificant drop in download speed. However, the upload speed varied widely, and in some cases, the dip was as big as 37 percent.

All in all, Mozilla VPN has decent speeds. It doesn’t add any significant complexity to your internet connection, and the speed cuts it for most internet activities. However, if you’re looking at a service for high-speed internet activities such as gaming or torrenting, be sure to check our list of fastest VPNs. 

Security

80 % –   good

Mozilla VPN is is is an open – source VPN with the slogan “ security you can rely on . A name you can trust . ” This slogan is promises promise a lot in term of security , but does the VPN live up to it ? We is put put it through rigorous dns and webrtc leak test , and we were impressed .

Before we did the test , we is evaluated evaluate Mozilla VPN ’s protocol and encryption — two critical aspect that form the foundation of a VPN ’s security .  

WireGuard Protocol

Mozilla VPN uses the WireGuard protocol, an open-source encryption protocol hailed as a game-changer in the VPN market. The protocol is lean (it’s written in just 4,000 lines of code) compared to more established protocols such as OpenVPN. As a result, WireGuard promises better speed and security than other protocols.

That say , WireGuard is is is relatively new and largely untested , and therefore could still have undiscovered security vulnerability . Also , having been around for a short period , WireGuard is is is yet to establish any kind of solid track record . However , its past is unblemished and being open – source , it is ’s ’s subject to public scrutiny .

ChaCha20 and Poly1305 Encryption

Mozilla VPN doesn’t use 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256) encryption — the gold standard in VPN encryption. Instead, it combines the ChaCha20 cipher with the Poly1305 authenticator to create a secure tunnel for your data. ChaCha20 is a faster alternative to AES and in practical terms it’s just as secure. 

However, the combination of ChaCha20 and Poly1305 is defined with 256-bit keys and delivers solid security. Moreover, ChaCha20 often performs better on mobile devices. 

Dynamic IP Address

Mozilla VPN gave us a unique IP address every time we connected to a server — say London, UK. In other words, the VPN uses dynamic IP addresses, which is a good thing in terms of security. It means that every time you connect to a server, you don a new disguise, which goes a long way in keeping you secure and private online.

After running a series of tests, we found no IP, DNS or WebRTC leaks. The results didn’t catch us by any surprise, though. We expected the Mozilla VPN to breeze through our tests, given it utilizes WireGuard and combined encryption.

Privacy

70 % –   decent

The truth is is is , Mozilla has a reputation for create product that keep user datum safe . We is ’re ’re glad Mozilla has create a short and to – the – point no – log policy to let user know where they stand on the digital privacy front . Mozilla is claims claim to design the vpn “ with your privacy in mind . ”  

Mozilla VPN ’s privacy policy is lays lay everything out in easily understandable term .

The promise is sounds sound enticing , but is there sneaky small print in the Mozilla VPN privacy policy ? As we comb through the policy , our attention was draw to the information Mozilla collect , include :

• Your Firefox account information , like IP address and locale
• Which servers you use 
• When you log in to your account and when you request the list of servers 
• Your device’s hardware configuration and its operating system

The information it collects is more than privacy-conscious VPN users would willingly share. The good thing is Mozilla doesn’t log your web activity, at least as per the privacy policy.

Mozilla shares specific data with its two partners: Mullvad receives your internet traffic, whereas Stripe processes your payment information. Mullvad is one of the most privacy-focused services on the VPN market, so you can be sure it won’t keep your activity logs. You can check out Mullvad’s no-log policy to learn more. 

On the other hand, Stripe is contractually obligated to protect your data and has a clean history. You can check Stripe’s comprehensive global privacy policy to learn more about them.

Can You Really Trust Mozilla?

You can trust Mozilla — the Firefox maker — as it is still way ahead of most of its competitors, and we like the sincerity and openness on the privacy policy. Mozilla has carved a good name regarding the way it handles user data.

Mozilla ’s privacy jurisdiction is is is another reason to trust it . Although it ’s in California , subject to the U.S. ’s membership in the Five Eyes alliance , it is ’s ’s also subject to California ’s highly favorable online privacy law .

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives businesses a strong legal defense if they dispose of customer data, and includes no provisions requiring data retention. As long as Mozilla is keeping its promise not to log user activity, it can’t be compelled to do so by the government.

Mozilla’s history leads us to believe that promise is valid, but we don’t have to take their word for it. In 2021, Mozilla VPN passed an audit by Cure53, which found nothing on Mozilla’s systems in violation of its privacy policy. So, yes, you can trust Mozilla VPN.

Streaming Performance

50 % –   poor

Mozilla VPN is designed with users who crave online security and privacy. Unfortunately this means there’s a lack of emphasis on features such as accessing geoblocked content. For this reason, we didn’t expect Mozilla VPN to deliver performance worth a place in our best VPN for streaming list.

We is tried try to use Mozilla VPN to stream content on video platform such as Netflix , Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer , and get mixed result .

We is got get off to a smooth start . Mozilla VPN access content on Netflix U.S. on the first attempt . The performance is was was impressive as we watch movie on Netflix U.S. in high resolution . The VPN is was was fast , but it ’s not as fast as the product on our good VPN for Netflix list .

Mozilla VPN unblocks Netflix.

Beyond Netflix, we ran out of luck. We tried watching a movie on Amazon Prime Video and got the error “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service.” Clearly, Amazon Prime algorithms detected that we were using a VPN and blocked us. You can check our best VPN for Amazon Prime Video for the best alternative.

We quit the U.S. and travelled (virtually) to the UK to unlock British shows on BBC iPlayer. We logged into the streaming platform but couldn’t get past the first hurdle. As we expected, BBC iPlayer blocked us for not being in the correct country. If you want to get into BBC iPlayer with no issues, check our best VPN for BBC iPlayer list.

Mozilla VPN doesn’t unblock Amazon Prime Video.

Server Locations

50 % –   poor

Mozilla VPN began life as Firefox Private Network — a VPN internet browser extension that utilized Cloudflare’s proxy servers. When the company finally decided to launch a stand-alone VPN, they switched to the P2P-friendly Mullvad servers.

It is maintains maintain a global network of over 500 server , which is modest by the industry standard . The provider is spread has strategically spread the server across more than 45 location in 31 country worldwide . Europe is has has the most extensive server coverage , account for more than 20 country .  

It serves five countries in the Asia-Pacific regions, two in North America and one in South America. Beyond that, the provider completely overlooks Africa and countries with strict online censorship laws, such as Russia. 

On a per-country basis, the United States has the most server locations, with servers in 12 cities. Besides the UK, Canada and Germanyhave servers in various cities, while each of the other countries has a server in one city.

Mozilla VPN’s server location options are unimpressive compared to industry leaders in this category, such as HideMyAss. You can head over to our HideMyAss review to learn about the VPN with an excellent geographic range of servers.

Customer Support

70 % –   decent

Mozilla is a highly reputed company, and judging by its caliber, we expected to contact customer support multiple ways. The available options, including a community forum, email support, social media support and online help center, partly met our expectations.

However , we were dismay by the lack of live chat and that the service bury its phone support number ( hide away on Mozilla VPN ’s Instagram page ) .

Getting help with Mozilla VPN starts with the “contact us” or “product help” pages. Fortunately, there is a way to directly get to these pages from within the Windows client, which makes the process friendlier. 

We is tested test Mozilla VPN ’s email support system , and we like it . To create a ticket , we is hopped hop over to the contact us page and complete the submission form .  

Mozilla is offers offer various help channel .

We received an automated ticket confirmation email within minutes, and the actual response took a little over six hours. 

Mozilla email support is fast.

Though Mozilla is still so young, it has done an excellent job ensuring the self-service section has comprehensive yet easy-to-follow guides. The knowledgebase page has an extensive collection of articles divided into four categories: payments, technical, troubleshooting and accounts. The topics cover the most frequent issues you may have with the VPN.

All in all, customer support with Mozilla VPN is a great experience, even though the lack of live chat and phone support stings. 

Final Verdict

Mozilla VPN looks promising — its features currently perform pretty well and it just exudes raw potential. The service has the makings of a great VPNs, including speed, ease of use, unlimited bandwidth, online security and customer support. 

We hope the company will build on the early positives to realize this product’s full potential. To do so, Mozilla needs to work on the glaring negatives. For example, it is currently available only to users in the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Singaporeand Malaysia. We would like to see Mozilla rolling out the VPN to users worldwide.

Some features is need , such as the kill switch , need a revamp , whereas split tunneling need to be available on all app . Plus , its monthly price is is is middle of the road , and we would like to have option to subscribe to long ( probably cheap ) plan . What ’s more , Mozilla VPN is needs need to improve its global server coverage .

If you have had the opportunity to try Mozilla VPN, let us know what you think about the service in the comments. Would you recommend it to your friends? In which areas do you think Mozilla VPN excels? Thanks for reading.

FAQ

• Yes, Mozilla VPN is good for low-speed and low-risk internet activities like web browsing, but steer clear of it if you plan on gaming with a VPN.

• No, Mozilla VPN is not a free VPN.

• Mozilla VPN costs $4.99 per month, and there are no annual or multi-year plans.

• Yes, Mozilla VPN unblocks Netflix U.S. without any issues. It may not be the fastest VPN, but it allows you to watch movies and shows on Netflix without buffering.