Frequently asked questions

Technical Information

A personal Virtual Private Network (VPN) refers to a network solution that is used to encrypt users’ Internet traffic and mask their online identity by hiding their IP address. Therefore, the main purpose of this technology is to help you stay secure and private when browsing the Internet.



A proxy server, or a “proxy,” is a device that acts as a gateway between a local network (e.g., all the computers at one company or in one building) and a larger-scale network such as the Internet. When you try to access a website or any other resource available from various servers over the Internet, your computer sends a request to the proxy server, which then processes the request and returns the result you were looking for.

Proxies are used for a number of reasons such as to filter web content, to go around restrictions such as parental blocks, to screen downloads and uploads and to provide privacy when surfing the Internet.

If you want to browse privately, using a proxy can hide your IP address. For example, if you visit a website via a proxy server, the website will see a request from the proxy IP rather than your own, which makes it difficult (but not impossible) to track you.

Virtual private network technology is based on the concept of tunneling. VPN tunneling involves generating and retaining a logical network connection (which may contain intermediate hops). In this connection, packets built in a specific VPN protocol format are encapsulated inside some other base or carrier protocol, then transmitted between server and VPN client and finally de-encapsulated on the receiving side.

For Internet-based Virtual Private Networks, packets in one of several VPN protocols are encapsulated within (IP) packets. VPN protocols also support encryption and authentication to keep the tunnels secure.

There are a number of VPN protocols which are used to secure the transferring of data traffic over a public network. Each protocol differs fractionally in the way data is kept secure. FortifyVPN uses IKEv2/IPSec as standard protocols for its mobile applications and in future will be adding support for the OpenVPN protocol.

IKEv2 is a state-of-the-art protocol option, which combines speed with stability and security. A unique aspect of IKEv2 lies in its ability to hop between connections. For example, it can automatically jump from WiFi to a cell network without losing or dropping the secure VPN connection. When combined with Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), it significantly increases security and privacy of the user by employing very strong cryptographic algorithms and keys.

OpenVPN is an open source software application that executes virtual private network (VPN) techniques for producing safe site-to-site or point-to-point connections in remote access facilities and bridged or routed configurations. OpenVPN uses a custom security protocol which utilizes TLS/SSL for key exchange. It is able to traverse firewalls and network address translators (NATs).

OpenVPN allows peers to authenticate each other using username and password, certificates, or a pre-shared secret key. When used in a multi-client server configuration, it allows the server to launch an authentication certificate for every user using certificate authority and signature. It uses the OpenSSL encryption library broadly as well as TLSv1.2/SSLv3 protocols and consists of many control and security features.

As soon as you connect to our VPN server, your device is assigned a new IP address and new DNS resolvers. All of your Internet traffic is encrypted and tunneled to our VPN server. Once there, it is decrypted and allowed to travel to its intended destination. Your local ISP will only see a single encrypted data stream between you and our VPN server. Your ISP can no longer monitor, log or control your Internet usage and you can bypass your ISP restriction

Since every computer on a network is assigned with an IP address to retrieve information, all activity performed online has an IP signature. Just like your Internet Service Provider (ISP), every webpage tracks the IP addresses of their visitors to collect user-oriented data, and this is done without the agreement of the visitors.

All kinds of user identification can be collected by tracking IP addresses. For example, a website can gather information such as user’s ISP, actual location and other data that can be stored and used at the discretion of the website owners.

At present, search engine giants such as Google use IP addresses as well to associate a search pattern and online activity with every single user. This is done to deliver more targeted ads, but with the kind of information that is being collected, it is worrying to note that Google is in a position to profile Internet users quite accurately.

Subscription and Billing Issues

Yes, we do offer a 7-day free trial. For more information please check the subscription page on our iOS app.

Connection Issues

This is a known display glitch where the WiFi symbol disappears after the VPN connection is established. In fact, you are still connected to the FortifyVPN server through the WiFi network.

In order to ensure you're still connected to WiFi, please go to your device settings and check if you're still connected to the WiFi network.

As this is an operating system issue (which occurs on all VPN apps), we do not have an effective solution. However, we suggest to try turning on and off Flight Mode and then retrying the connection to a FortifyVPN serv

Connection Issues and Troubleshooting

Here are a few quick steps that can help you troubleshoot connection issues:

  • 1. Check if you've updated FortifyVPN to the latest version. To do this, go to the App Store and tap the Updates tab at the bottom. If there is a new version of FortifyVPN available, update and retry connecting to a FortifyVPN server.
  • 2. Make sure you have an active internet connection on your device (Either Wifi or Mobile network). We suggest opening a generic website such as without VPN to ensure your connection is active.
  • 3. Try connecting to a different server location. We have multiple servers in locations around the world, so if you can't connect to one of our servers, try another and see if you can connect. If you're having persistent connection issues with a specific server location, please contact our support and our tech team will typically resolve the server issue within 24 hours.