Private Internet Access
Shares rank 12 of 15 VPN services by recommenders
Recommended for port forwarding and reliable everyday use; the most common caveat is distrust after its Kape buyout.
Recommended for port forwarding and reliable everyday use; the most common caveat is distrust after its Kape buyout.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 46%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Supports port forwarding
“PIA is my VPN vendor. They and Proton both support port forwarding.”
Comment from 18 Jun 2026 in “US holds off blacklisting China's DeepSeek, +100 firms deemed security risks” “PIA or Proton for a port forwardable VPN.”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “The same nine streaming subscriptions cost $702/year more than in 2021” Works fine for many users
“I've never had this issue (using Private Internet Access on iOS).”
Comment from 20 Jun 2026 in “VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'” “now my browsing experience is fixed”
Comment from 6 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: How many people got VPNs in response to laws like UK Online Safety Act?” “PIA and nordvpn work fine for me.”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “SoundCloud has banned VPN access”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Distrust after Kape acquisition
“Switched off PIA when they were bought by Malware vendors Kape”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Mullvad VPN present And Then? (Chat Control is back on the menu)” “PIA is not to be trusted after their buyout”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “GotaTun – Mullvad's WireGuard Implementation in Rust” Called among least trustworthy VPNs
“if there ever was a red flag for a company NOT to use”
Comment from 6 May 2026 in “FFmpeg developer calls out OxideAV for AI license laundering of his code” “PIA it’s one of the least trustworthy VPNs”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits” Server locations questioned
“they are likely playing word games to not drive away their members”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Pornhub extorted after hackers steal Premium member activity data” “PIA's servers were in Miami for BR as well last time I checked”
Comment from 13 Dec 2025 in “VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits”
Other VPN services people recommend
The four most recommended other VPN services, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mullvad VPN | 255 | 146 | 64% | 12 | 4.5 yrs4 owners | — |
| Proton VPN | 63 | 35 | 64% | 13 | 3 yrs4 owners | — |
| iCloud Private Relay | 26 | 20 | 57% | 11 | — | — |
| Cloudflare WARP | 18 | 10 | 64% | 7 | — | — |
| Private Internet AccessThis page | 6 | 7 | 46% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
13 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“PIA or Proton for a port forwardable VPN.”
“I've never had this issue (using Private Internet Access on iOS).”
“PIA is my VPN vendor. They and Proton both support port forwarding.”
“if there ever was a red flag for a company NOT to use”
“doesn't seem to run (the window never opens)”
“the Linux solution is better and provides a stable port”
“PIA is not to be trusted after their buyout”
“they are likely playing word games to not drive away their members”
“PIA and nordvpn work fine for me.”
“PIA it’s one of the least trustworthy VPNs”
“PIA's servers were in Miami for BR as well last time I checked”
“now my browsing experience is fixed”
“Switched off PIA when they were bought by Malware vendors Kape”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.