If you’re looking to protect your privacy and keep your digital information away from prying eyes, a VPN is a good place to start. But do you really need to use a virtual private network with your Android smartphone or tablet? Considering how much sensitive information your device may hold, including your emails, bank account numbers, passwords and more, it’s probably a good idea. Especially if you find yourself frequently using public Wi-Fi, such as at a coffee shop or airport, which are often less secure than your home network. Adding a VPN to your Android phone or other device will offer an extra layer of security and help give you some peace of mind. And the good news is that there are a number of VPN services out there that are fast, easy to use and optimized for mobile.The mobile VPN market has been booming over the past several years. Over 480 million mobile VPN apps were downloaded around the world in just 12 months between 2019 and 2020, according to a report from research firm Top10VPN. That’s 54% more than the year before. And approximately 75% of those downloads were via an Android phone or other Android device. While free services accounted for 84% of all mobile VPN downloads, you should definitely avoid free VPN apps whenever possible and instead go with a tried-and-true paid Android VPN. That means getting your money’s worth out of a secure, glitch-free VPN app for Android. While CNET’s directory of the best VPN services ranks these apps and others by how well they held up during the testing and evaluation process, this list specifically focuses on the mobile offerings of each VPN service provider. Each Android VPN app listed here has a cost — there isn’t a free VPN service included. That just means you’re going to be paying for reliability, security and connection speed, all of which are essential on an Android smartphone, Android tablet or other mobile device. CNET regularly tests and evaluates new VPN apps, so be sure to keep checking back here as I periodically update this list. Here are the best Android VPN options CNET has tested.  Editors’ note, Feb. 9, 2022: The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past several months, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major changes in corporate ownership. In December, ExpressVPN announced that it had officially joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February, NordVPN and Surfshark announced the two companies were merging, though they’ll continue to operate autonomously. We’re in the process of re-evaluating all of our top picks in light of these changes. We will update our reviews and, if necessary, our rankings to account for this new competitive landscape.  Surfshark Intuitive app interface, with plenty of power under the hoodNumber of servers: 3,200-plusNumber of VPN server locations: 65Country/jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands$4 a month (69% discount) for the yearly planDespite its customizability and powerful performance as a VPN, Surfshark’s app for Android offers an interface that’s surprisingly intuitive for first-time users. Its four-tab design elegantly conceals a host of privacy tools and connection options, highlighting a single-click connection button on the app’s landing screen. Quickly access one of Surfshark’s multihop connection options — one of its most promising features, which jumps your connection through multiple countries to hide your trail — through its main location-selection screen, with no need to rummage through the app’s settings. Surfshark also gets bonus points for making its customer support options for the dedicated Android app readily available, including its help ticket feature and user guide library.While Surfshark’s network is smaller than some, the VPN service makes up for it in features. Surfshark and NordVPN announced a merger in February, but each VPN runs its own separate network. One of Surfshark’s other big draws is its unlimited device support. If you want to run your entire home or office on Surfshark’s VPN, you don’t have to worry about how many devices you have on or connected. It also offers anti-malware, ad-blocking and tracker-blocking as part of its software.Surfshark received generally high marks when its Chrome and Firefox extensions were audited for privacy by German security firm Cure 53 (PDF link of full report) — though that audit was commissioned by Surfshark. Its encryption is standard AES-256-GCM, and it supports Perfect Forward Secrecy, which means it frequently changes encryption keys to avoid security compromises.The company has a solid range of app support, running on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Fire TV and routers. Additional devices such as game consoles can be configured for Surfshark via DNS settings. We particularly like the security feature that allows you to whitelist certain apps and websites to automatically bypass the VPN. For some business uses, this can be critically important. Along with multihop, Surfshark also offers two more special modes designed for those who want to get around restrictions and more carefully hide their online footsteps. Camouflage Mode masks your VPN activity so your ISP doesn’t know you’re using a VPN. And NoBorders Mode “allows [you] to successfully use Surfshark in restrictive regions.” Just be careful. Doing any of those three things could be illegal in your country and could result in severe penalties. During testing, we saw no DNS or IP address leaks, and had no trouble accessing Netflix. Like an increasing number of other VPNs, Surfshark offers several different introductory pricing packages that are cheaper the longer your contract runs, but that get more expensive after the first term of your subscription plan. One of your options is to lock in 26 months of service for about $60 — which Surfshark frames as “24 months plus two free” for $2.30 a month. It’s a decent intro deal, but the plan then recurs at $96 annually. For the standard yearly subscription plan, you’ll pay about $48 initially for the first year of service, then $96 per year for any additional years of service.Surfshark’s regular monthly plan offers no discounts and is available for $13 a month. If you’re not satisfied with the service, Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our Surfshark VPN review. ExpressVPN Simple, fast, effective appNumber of servers: 3,000-plusNumber of VPN server locations: 160 in 94 countriesCountry/jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands$6.67 per month for the first 15 months of serviceJust as ExpressVPN consistently tops the list as the fastest VPN on the market, its app for Android is designed with a streamlined approach aimed at connecting fast without a fuss. A prominent button on its landing screen directs an Android user to connect quickly, with an accompanying location selector below with your fastest nearby city selected by default. ExpressVPN’s other options — its security and privacy tools, account and settings options, and support page — are all placed unobtrusively at the bottom of the screen. And they’re worth checking into. ExpressVPN has included an onboard IP address checker, along with two leak testers and a password generator.ExpressVPN has one of the world’s largest RAM-disk server networks, running on TrustedServer technology, which the company built to reduce any likelihood of user activity logging. In the privacy world, ExpressVPN has a strong track record, having experienced a server seizure by authorities which proved its zero-log policy true at the time, has routinely published transparency tools and participates in organizations like the i2Coalition, which aim to boost industry service standards. We also like the number of server location options, the quality of the VPN’s setup guides and the detailed information in its FAQ.Like the rest of the top-five VPN services I’ve reviewed, ExpressVPN offers a useful VPN kill-switch feature, which prevents network data from leaking outside of its secure VPN tunnel in the event the VPN connection fails. The provider gained points for being an early adopter in accepting Bitcoin as a payment method — something not all VPNs offer, but which adds an additional layer of privacy during checkout.In business since 2009, ExpressVPN’s substantial network is spread across 94 countries. This is the best VPN for protecting your online privacy, has best-in-class encryption and provides unlimited bandwidth. Its best plan is priced at $100 a year for the annual package, which includes three months free. You can also get a biannual plan for $60 every six months or a monthly plan for $13 a month. ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not happy with the service for any reason. Read our ExpressVPN review. NordVPN An easy-to-use, reliable appNumber of servers: 5,400-plusNumber of VPN server locations: 83 in 60 countriesCountry/jurisdiction: Panama$5 a month for the yearly planNordVPN is one of the most recognized brands in the VPN field. Part of that brand recognition is based on its straightforward design. Nord’s app for Android is just as easy to interact with as its desktop VPN client, with a similar design. It poses no learning difficulties for a first-time user looking to move from desktop to mobile.Just as the desktop client does, Nord’s app opens to a familiar blue-scale landing-screen map where users can opt to either select a country, connect to the fastest server automatically or browse specialty servers like Onion over VPN, Double VPN or those optimized for P2P. Nord gets bonus points for its split-tunneling feature, which allows you to select other apps that you don’t want to run through your encrypted VPN connection.The VPN service provider offers a generous simultaneous connection count, with six connections allowed through its network — nearly all other providers offer five or fewer. NordVPN also offers a dedicated IP option, for those looking for a different level of VPN connection. NordVPN offers a kill-switch feature and the ability to VPN into Tor. We detected no privacy leaks during tests, and found its speeds to be reliably fast. NordVPN’s pricing structure is similar to that of its sister company Surfshark, but more expensive. A two-year plan carries an introductory price of about $79, but that price increases to a little under $100 annually for each subsequent year of service. If you opt for the yearly plan, you’ll pay $60 for the first year of service, then just shy of $100 per year for any additional years. NordVPN’s monthly plan is a dollar cheaper than Surfshark’s, though, at $12 a month. And like most other VPN services, NordVPN offers a full 30-day money-back guarantee in case you’re not satisfied with the service. While NordVPN has lived on our top VPNs list for a long time, we moved it to the penalty box in October 2019 to re-evaluate the recommendation after a report emerged that one of its rented servers was accessed without authorization in 2018. Nord’s actions following the discovery included — eventually — multiple security audits, a bug bounty program and heavier investments in server security. While we would have preferred if Nord had self-disclosed the issue much earlier, the fact that the breach was limited in nature and involved no user-identifying information served to further verify that NordVPN keeps no logs of user activity. As a result, Nord remains on our list as a recommended vendor. Read our NordVPN review. IPVanish Most customizable VPN app Number of servers: 2,000-plus in 75-plus locationsUnlimited simultaneous connectionsCountry/jurisdiction: US$4 per month for the first year of serviceA big win for IPVanish is its fun, configurable interface, which makes it an ideal client for those who are interested in learning how to understand what a VPN does under the hood. With its newly redesigned app for Android, IPVanish manages to pack the same extensive suite of digital knobs and dials into a refreshingly clean mobile interface to impressive effect. If you’re looking for the ability to do some precision tuning to your VPN connection, IPVanish is a solid bet. With a bevy of switches controlling things like the kill switch, split tunneling, VPN protocol and LAN connection allowance, IPVanish is an app for the methodical tech tweaker who enjoys having exact control over their mobile internet traffic. Its multiplatform flexibility is also ideal for people focused on finding a Netflix-friendly VPN. While IPVanish isn’t the fastest VPN, the 58% speed loss we measured in our most recent speed tests is about on par with most VPN providers. However, we noticed that IPVanish’s Quick Connect feature doesn’t always connect you to the best available server, so you may need to optimize your speeds by connecting manually to a server showing a lighter load. In IPVanish’s Android app, you can check the current load of each server by tapping on Locations, selecting Cities and tapping the number next to each city.When we most recently reviewed IPVanish, we also noticed that DNS leak testing sites were identifying an IPVanish host while connected to servers in several locations — even when we had the obfuscation feature enabled. Though that doesn’t constitute an actual DNS leak, it is concerning nonetheless because your VPN use could be exposed to your ISP, the websites you visit, government authorities or network administrators at work or school.   At $11 for its monthly plan, IPVanish is obviously trying to move you toward its yearly program, which costs $48 for the first year and jumps to $90 for any subsequent years of service. The provider offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, but only if you purchase the yearly plan — which could be a disappointment to anyone who purchased a monthly subscription and decided they didn’t like the service. That said, the company gets kudos for allowing unlimited simultaneous connections. We also liked its connection kill-switch feature, a must for anyone serious about remaining anonymous while surfing. Read our IPVanish review. Android VPN FAQs What’s the best Android VPN right now? Thanks to its impressive performance and unlimited device support, Surfshark is CNET’s current top pick for the best Android VPN. ExpressVPN is a close second among the Android VPN picks and offers a simple and effective app. It isn’t the cheapest, but it’s among the fastest of all the VPN options. NordVPN, the third best option, is a die-hard heavy-hitter. It costs more than Surfshark but less than Express, has an enormous network that’s constantly getting faster and more secure, and is easily the most reliable service I’ve tested. Rounding out the group, IPVanish is a solid choice for beginners. A mobile VPN is a VPN that’s optimized for use on mobile devices. The best VPN providers we’ve tested all offer excellent mobile apps that work well on Android as well as iOS devices. Using a mobile VPN can also yield faster speeds than desktop VPNs since they generally require less processing power and have a smaller memory footprint. Check out CNET’s other mobile-specific VPN guides below for more information on mobile VPNs. They’re updated regularly with new information as we continue to test VPNs, so check back often.How to set up a VPN on your iPhone or Android phone, and why you need oneBest iPhone VPNs of 2022 What’s the best free VPN? We don’t recommend using a free VPN because they’re risky to use. Free VPNs typically make money by selling user data, and some have even been found to be riddled with malware. What’s more, free VPNs are often slow, enact usage and data limits, offer a minimal selection of servers and are generally less secure than paid VPNs. Check out CNET’s list of the best cheap VPNs if you want to find a premium, budget-friendly VPN.    Can you get in trouble for using a VPN? Unless you’re in a country like China or Iran where VPN use is banned or illegal, you don’t have to worry about getting into any legal trouble just for using a VPN. In most countries, using a VPN is perfectly legal. But if you’re in a country where VPN use is restricted, you’ll need to connect to an obfuscated server. Doing so will disguise your VPN traffic as regular HTTPS internet traffic, so authorities won’t know you’re using a VPN in the first place.  What does my ISP see when I’m connected to my VPN? Your ISP will see that you’re connected to a VPN, but it will not be able to see any of your internet activity like the websites you visit or browsing history since your traffic is encrypted. It will also see things like the IP address of the VPN server you’re connecting through, the timestamps of when you’re connected and the amount of data transmitted. You can connect to an obfuscated server, if offered by your VPN, to hide your VPN usage from your ISP.  More VPN advice Best Cheap VPN 20223 Great VPNs for Xbox in 2022 Browser-Based VPNs: 3 to Try if You Want to Improve Online PrivacyBest VPN for Mac in 20225 Best VPNs for Your Smart TV