TechRadar Verdict
FoxyProxy certainly has its perks, especially in the form of unblocking geo-restricted video content, supporting torrenting, and wide server coverage, but is way too expensive considering its service is highly limiting, there are some inconsistencies, and its speeds are average at best.
Pros
- +
Unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer
- +
Wide server coverage
- +
Allows torrenting
- +
Supports all sorts of platforms
Cons
- -
Expensive
- -
Mediocre speeds at best
- -
Would only connect via OpenVPN GUI
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Active since 2006, FoxyProxy is an American corporation offering two types of services together - a proxy and a VPN service, each with its own perks, but which are not to be used at the same time, as this may affect their performance.
Price
FoxyProxy’s proxy and VPN service are available under three subscription lengths - 1 month at $9.99/month, 6 months at $8.33/month (billed every 6 months, with 17% discount), and 12 months at $7.49/month (billed every 12 months, 25% discount). These prices place it among the most expensive products on the market, but at least the provider allows you to choose whether or not you want the payments to be recurring.
Custom plans are also available, accompanied by a free trial, volume discounts, lenient refund policy, and add-on options such as dedicated IP addresses, city-level server selection, 99% uptime service-level agreements, and custom DNS names.
The provider doesn’t limit the number of simultaneous VPN connections, “as long as you do not abuse the server”. Accepted payment methods include debit/credit cards, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and Apple Pay.
You are entitled to a refund “for most any reason” within 7 days after the purchase, but refunds are issued at FoxyProxy’s sole discretion. This isn’t in line with the statement “Get your money back, no questions asked” on the pricing page, but it could be old information since it also says it has servers in “60+ countries”.
In addition to access to its proxy and VPN servers, FoxyProxy sells four models of WiFi routers that are pre-configured for its paid service, allowing you to cover all of your services with a VPN.
Alternatives
Although FoxyProxy isn’t all that bad, its many flaws prove you’d be better off simply choosing a VPN with a more sounding name, such as ExpressVPN, even though it is more expensive. There are, of course, other options if you don’t want to pay a lot of money for a quality VPN service. They include CyberGhost, NordVPN, and the exceptionally affordable Surfshark.
Streaming
This VPN vendor will provide you with access to various popular streaming services whose content may be blocked in certain regions. These include BBC iPlayer, Netflix, ITV, Sky, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and DisneyPlus. However, you may only get access to those available in the country you chose when signing up. For instance, if you chose the UK, you won’t be able to access Amazon US Prime Video. If you chose the US, you won’t get access to BBC iPlayer, and so on.
About the company
FoxyProxy is an American corporation but claims this doesn’t mean anything in terms of privacy of your information. In 2017, the company got a US Secret Service subpoena with which it wasn’t able to comply as it had no information to share. It uses this situation as an example that the privacy of its clients is its ultimate priority.
The vendor offers access to servers in over 125 countries, including in Egypt, Pakistan, Bermuda, Libya, Gambia, Cayman Islands, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Mozambique, Qatar, Tonga, Zimbabwe, and many, many more.
However, you can choose only one and each account provides you with one IP address in one country. If you need access to servers in two or more countries at the same time, you must purchase another account. Discounts are available.
Privacy and encryption
Highly unusual for an American VPN, FoxyProxy doesn’t forbid torrenting or P2P traffic. Its VPN servers work with OpenVPN, IPSec, and PPTP protocols, while its proxy servers work with HTTP, HTTPS/SSL, and SOCKS 5, each on multiple ports. The last one - SOCKS5 is the best choice for torrenting.
For the super-strong encryption, this provider utilizes the AES-256 GCM with 128-bit ICV for the cipher, SHA2 512 HMAC, SHA2 512 PRF, and Curve 25519 for the Diffie-Hellman parameters.
FoxyProxy’s Privacy Policy reads that it only logs the “amount of bandwidth you use, not URLs, content, or anything else about how you use your accounts.” Further on, it adds that this company is “committed to collecting no information, or the minimum information necessary for operation, and handling responsibly any information and data we do collect, whether personal information or non-personal browsing and site usage data.”
We are also told that “except as required by United States court order”, it will not “track, store or transmit to any server or third party, information regarding users’ data (including web browsing activity and behavioral data), (...) store user’s passwords and login credentials except those issued by FoxyProxy VPN/proxy services.”
So, there you have it - you can rest assured your information isn’t stored or transferred unless demanded by United States court order. We aren’t sure whether this is worrying or consoling.
Support
FoxyProxy has native VPN apps for Windows, Android, and Amazon Kindle, in addition to supporting iOS, Mac, AppleTV, Smart TVs, Chromecast Roku, Xbox, PlayStation 4, Linux, ChromeOS, and WiFi routers with manual installation and configuration files. Manual installation is also available for Windows and Android.
The provider’s VPN Android app has a rating of 3.8 (out of 5), as decided by 113 users (out of 10,000+ who downloaded it). It was last updated on July 21, 2016, with some small bug fixes, as well as TLS updates, and an interface color change.
As for its proxy service, it has two Firefox add-ons (Basic and Standard) and two Chrome extensions (GeoShift and Proxy SwitchyOmega). Other browsers (Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, and Vivaldi), can also be manually equipped with this proxy service.
FoxyProxy has 24/7 customer support, with trained IT professionals on three continents who speak English, Chinese, and Russian language, and are available via email, telephone, web form, or support ticket system. There’s no live chat.
Installation manuals, troubleshooting, etc. can be found in the help section on the website, divided into two sections - proxy service and VPN service. A great deal of interesting and useful information can also be found on the company’s blog.
Speed and experience
Our experience with FoxyProxy’s Windows VPN service was next-to-terrible. Its app wouldn’t connect, its manual PPTP connection also failed, and we only managed to connect when we installed the OpenVPN GUI and downloaded the configuration file.
When we finally managed to connect, we tested the provider’s download speeds on its server in the UK, and only got 8.52Mbps on a 48Mbps testing connection. While this isn’t super-slow, it’s still slower than many other VPNs on the market, and hardly justifies its high price.
Verdict
FoxyProxy is a mediocre VPN platform. Most of our positive points go to its support for torrenting and the capability to unblock the geo-restricted content on today’s popular streaming services, even if only from one specific country.
However, it’s expensive, its speeds are unimpressive, and due to not achieving a connection using two different methods, we got an impression of a clumsy provider that has a long way to becoming one of today’s most revered VPN services, such as ExpressVPN.
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