
(Dedicated premium servers are quite expensive.) Second, advertising numerous server locations in a variety of countries may appeal to more people, which will sell more VPN subscriptions. Using one server to fake numerous server locations will significantly reduce costs.
How to test and find the true location of VPN serversīut before we begin, you might be asking yourself, why do VPNs even use virtual server locations?. Virtual server locations with PureVPN (5 are identified, but there are many more). Virtual server locations with ExpressVPN (11 are identified). In this article we’ll take a deep dive into the topic of fictitious VPN server locations. The point here is not to attack any one VPN provider, but instead to provide honest information and real examples in order to clarify a confusing topic. And finally, using fake (virtual) server locations raises questions about the VPN’s honesty. Third, customers aren’t getting the true server locations they paid for. (Both are real examples from below.) This is known as spoofing the true location.įirst, the performance may suffer if the actual server is significantly further away. Second, it’s bad if you are trying to avoid certain countries (such as the UK or US) where the server may be located. Or a server that should be in Saudi Arabia is actually in Los Angeles, California. In other words, a server that is allegedly in Pakistan is actually in Singapore. The true location of some VPN servers may be entirely different.
PureVPN and HideMyAss still do not publicly disclose which servers in their network are virtual and which are physical.ĭo VPNs really have all the servers they claim in exotic locations all over the world? Virtual locations comprise less than three percent of ExpressVPN’s network they also explain their reasons for using virtual locations (see their website for details). Update: Of the three VPN providers mentioned on this report, only ExpressVPN has published a complete server list documenting both physical and “virtual” server locations.