With the latest wave of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping madness, you might have managed to bag yourself a new gaming console at a discounted price. Or, perhaps, a shiny new PlayStation is what's waiting for you under the Christmas tree this festive season. All that's left to think now is how you're going to protect your privacy while playing your favorite games.
Cyber attacks have increasingly been spreading lately, even in the gaming world. A VPN for PlayStation is then your best weapon to secure your online privacy against hackers and cheaters. Short for virtual private network, it's security software that encrypts all the data leaving your gaming console (or any other device) while spoofing your real IP address.
The latter skill also means VPN services can even deliver better gaming performance overall. They can grant you access to region-locked games, for example, as well as help you to avoid internet throttling and experience more reliable speeds. Keep reading as I explained everything you need to know to bolster your PlayStation security and capabilities.
The best VPN for PlayStation in 2024
As mentioned, a gaming VPN is the perfect tool for enjoying better privacy and internet connection when playing online. Yet, if you choose a poor service, you risk to achieve the opposite results, including a loss of latency or speed and a false sense of security.
That's why it's important to get the right VPN for doing this delicate job. We at TechRadar have been regularly testing heaps of software for the last 15 years to recommend only the best services. Below are the three top VPN providers on the market to protect your PlayStation right now:
How to pick a VPN for your new PlayStation
It's worth mentioning that PlayStation and other gaming consoles don't natively support third-party VPN apps. One solution is installing the VPN on your home router, or sharing the connection from your computer. Therefore, my first recommendation is looking for a service offering an easy installation process.
Among the three top picks, ExpressVPN is probably the easiest in this regard as it boasts an Apple TV dedicated app as well as its very own router built-in VPN Aircove. NordVPN now has a dedicated Apple TV app, too.
Another very important factor when it comes to gaming is speed. Reliable connections mean minimal latency and stable performance while playing. Surfshark and NordVPN reached staggering peaks of 950+Mbps last time we checked with their WireGuard protocol. However, ExpressVPN's less impressive 560Mbps performance should still be good enough.
In terms of privacy and security, you should then watch out for robust encryption (I suggest at least AES-256), a strict no-logs policy, and some advanced security features. The latter include a kill switch to make sure that none of your data will leak if the VPN connection drops, and perfect forward secrecy which boosts the protection of each of your sessions.
It then goes without saying that you need a PlayStation VPN with an unlimited data bandwidth and a strategically placed server network. NordVPN Meshnet is also a nice extra for gamers, acting like a virtual Local Area Network (LAN). No matter where they are in the world, friends will be able to play multiplayer games together without needing any LAN cables.
How we test VPNs
While we all use the top VPNs every day, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the top 30 VPN services every 6 months with the help of Mike Williams and Anthony Spadafora. This allows us to keep track of who's really the best, and for which use cases.
Starting from the provider's websites and policies, we tried and tested all the aspects of any given VPN software. This includes usability across platforms, connection speeds, the effectiveness of security features, streaming unblocking, and more.
If you want to know more about our testing practices, head on the VPN testing methodology page.
Using a VPN for PlayStation FAQs
Which is the best VPN for PlayStation?
The best PlayStation VPN, and best VPN overall, right now is ExpressVPN. We especially love its great usability across many different platforms (smart TVs and routers included), stable connections and great commitment to users' privacy and security. Even better, you can try it out risk-free for 30 days so we really recommend giving it a go and see if that's the software for you.
What are DDoS attacks?
Short for distributed denial of service, DDoS attacks are used in the gaming world to slow down other players. How? By flooding their IP address with junk traffic that overwhelms the gamer's network and prevents their system from responding at normal speeds and reliability.
That's exactly where a VPN comes handy. That's because every time you connect to such a service, you send all your internet traffic through the provider's third-party IP address. This makes it extremely hard (although still not impossible) for the malicious actor to target your particular network.
How do I use a VPN on my PlayStation?
Gaming consoles, PlayStation included, don't support third-party VPN apps. This means you need to find an alternative way to use the service. The best workarounds to this issue is setting up Smart DNS on your console, by sharing your VPN connection via another device or installing the VPN on your router.
ExpressVPN, NordVPN and a few other services now have a dedicated Apple TV app as well, which might make things a bit easier for some users.
Disclaimer
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
