Free is obviously preferred but from what little I’ve read it seems like the free services that show ads are selling your browsing history to generate revenue, which seems to defeat the purpose (unless you’re just using a VPN to access blocked sites).
I am currently testing VPN Master and Cloak. Any thoughts specifically on these? The free version of VPN Master shows ads. I am however open to all suggestions.
I’ve used VPNs previously for school and work and understand what they are at a high level but am unsure how to judge how secure an iOS VPN app is.
The connection is secure between the client and VPN server. For this reason it makes sense for companies to use own VPN servers so company data stays secure for those traveling with laptops accessing corporate intranet, email and data servers. End-to-end security.
For private use the secure connection would be between your computer and the VPN service provider. So the data is more secure for your internet (E.g., coffee shop wifi) connection to your VPN provider but after the data leaves your VPN provider it is no more secure than without VPN. I imagine the initial connection to the internet is the most vulnerable and the VPN covers that connection but it is not an end-to-end solution as used by corporations.
I want to reiterate what you said: avoid free VPN’s like the plague! Don’t bother using them at all. For anything.
I personally use Private Internet Access. It’s $40 a year if you purchase it in yearly instalments. That works out to $3.33 a month which is pretty good. What I love about PIA is they don’t log anything. A lot of paid VPN’s keep logs, so it’s best to do your research before hand. Another plus for PIA is they have quite a few servers all over the world. Canada, USA, Sweden, Netherlands, etc. You can pick your server.
PIA was also involved in some FBI cases and even though they received pressure for a year, they didn’t give out any user data (They don’t even have such data in the first place). That’s the one I recommend for all platforms. If you want one just for iOS, then TunnelBear is great.