{"eid":"github-pia-foss","name":"Private Internet Access","domain":"github.com","resolved_by":"platform","topics":["egress"],"n_records":1,"best_vorder":3,"review":null,"aliases":["Private Internet Access","github.com"],"records":[{"rid":"egress/private-internet-access","card":{"rid":"egress/private-internet-access","eid":"github-pia-foss","topic":"egress","slug":"private-internet-access","provider":"Private Internet Access","url":"https://github.com/pia-foss/manual-connections","domain":"github.com","category":"vpn port forward","tier":"paid","verdict":"paid-only","vorder":3,"grp":"paid","self_hosted":0,"confidence":"documented","binding":"retention-clamped","identity_kind":"email","identity_basis":"stated","needs_card":0,"needs_phone":0,"needs_id":0,"needs_institution":0,"country":null,"crypto":null,"interfaces":"cli,rest","egress_metered":0,"per_object_bytes":null,"retention_days":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-04T10:29:23.996Z","verified_basis":"live","checked_on":"2026-11-04","stale_on":"2026-12-05","n_evidence":11,"usd_month":2.03,"usd_per_tb_month":null,"summary":"No free tier. Buy page 2026-11-04: 1 Month $11.95 per month; 1 Year $3.99 per month billed at $47.88 first year, then renews annually at $47.88; 3 Years + 4 ...","duplicate_of":null,"n_unknown":2,"free_unit":"none"},"record":{"topic":"egress","slug":"private-internet-access","provider":"Private Internet Access","url":"https://github.com/pia-foss/manual-connections","category":"vpn port forward","tier":"paid","free_tier":{"stated":"No free tier. Buy page 2026-11-04: 1 Month $11.95 per month; 1 Year $3.99 per month billed at $47.88 first year, then renews annually at $47.88; 3 Years + 4 Months $2.03 per month, autorenews at $81.20 every 3 years.","unit":"none","metered_on":"none","source_url":"https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/buy-vpn-online","read_on":"2026-10-23","notes":""},"per_object_cap":{"stated":"not applicable","bytes":null,"source_url":"https://github.com/pia-foss/manual-connections","notes":""},"retention":{"stated":"not applicable","days":null,"source_url":"https://github.com/pia-foss/manual-connections","notes":""},"egress":{"terms":"unverified for a byte figure: the buy page states Unlimited Device Security but no page read states a traffic allowance. PIA is widely described as unmetered, which did not confirm from a vendor sentence.; ingress: tcp+udp","metered":false,"free_allowance":"none published","price_per_tb":null,"source_url":"https://github.com/pia-foss/manual-connections"},"interface":["cli","rest"],"interface_detail":"Token and port are HTTP calls to the connected gateway on port 19999 (/getSignature, /bindPort); the scripts wrap them.","tooling":"pia-foss manual-connections scripts with wg-quick and curl/jq, or the official app. Protocols: WireGuard and OpenVPN with UDP or TCP transport, or Automatic. A SOCKS5 proxy with separate credentials and a Shadowsocks proxy (obfuscation) are offered through the Multi-Hop setting. P2P traffic is supported on all server locations.","chaining":"A token endpoint plus a bind loop is a five-line cron job on a free VM; the VM then holds a stable public UDP endpoint for the life of the signature.","limits":[{"kind":"retention-clamped","value":"a bound port is deleted if the bind is not renewed: Call /bindPort every 15 minutes, or the port will be deleted. The port signature is valid for two months: All ports currently expire after 2 months.","source":"https://github.com/pia-foss/manual-connections"},{"kind":"write-gated","value":"port forwarding is disabled server side in the United States: Port Forwarding is disabled on server-side in the United States.","source":"https://github.com/pia-foss/manual-connections"}],"limits_note":"","binding":"retention-clamped","binding_note":"No byte cap is stated, so the binding constraint is the 15-minute bind renewal: the port exists only while a loop keeps re-signing it. That is the same class of failure as Proton's lease but with a 900-second period instead of 60.","identity_cost":{"kind":"email","detail":"An account with credentials used by the scripts as PIA_USER and PIA_PASS; payment by card or PayPal.","country":"None"},"reliability_note":"Losing the 15-minute renewal loop silently drops the port mapping while the tunnel stays up. United States servers cannot forward at all.","confidence":"documented","confidence_note":"Measured would need a token, a bound port, a live UDP request through it and a byte count. The 15-minute and 2-month sentences are in the vendor's own repository README, read.","evidence":[{"url":"https://github.com/pia-foss/manual-connections","date":"2026-10-23","proved":"Native WireGuard plus port forwarding from vendor scripts; port signature valid 2 months; /bindPort must be called every 15 minutes or the port is deleted; port forwarding is off in the United States."},{"url":"https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/buy-vpn-online","date":"2026-10-23","proved":"Prices: $11.95 monthly, $3.99 per month on 1 year at $47.88, $2.03 per month on 3 years at $79."},{"url":"https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/kb/articles/pdf/how-do-i-enable-port-forwarding-on-my-vpn","date":"2026-10-23","proved":"Indexed copy of the vendor article: a random port is automatically assigned, only specific locations support port forwarding, and a manual option exists for non-app clients. The live path returned 404 from the restructured helpdesk."},{"url":"https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn-online","date":"2026-11-04","proved":"the 1 Year plan is $47.88 for the first year and renews annually at $47.88","capture":"sha256:08d0cfe4336400597c8147da26998530873da130415a14e4f0f2b9b677a7e439","quote":"Billed at $47.88 first year and then autorenews annualy at $47.88"},{"url":"https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn-online","date":"2026-11-04","proved":"the 3 Years + 4 Months plan renews at $81.20 every 3 years","capture":"sha256:08d0cfe4336400597c8147da26998530873da130415a14e4f0f2b9b677a7e439","quote":"Autorenews at $81.20 every 3 years"},{"url":"https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/vpn-server","date":"2026-11-04","proved":"P2P and BitTorrent traffic is allowed on every PIA server location","capture":"sha256:dcd32689864d28a4b6b0ad9bfd18ca2442bbe9ae912868571f8c9c1861975931","quote":"PIA supports P2P traffic on all server locations."},{"url":"https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/hc/en-us/articles/46816425727259-Understanding-iOS-Settings-and-Protocols","date":"2026-11-04","proved":"the iOS app lists WireGuard and OpenVPN","capture":"sha256:31b459618a7d744c311c20e109f5329f469cfbaa873d3af17ca1024ab5042522","quote":"The PIA app supports two: WireGuard and OpenVPN."},{"url":"https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/hc/en-us/articles/46816425727259-Understanding-iOS-Settings-and-Protocols","date":"2026-11-04","proved":"the transport is selectable between UDP and TCP","capture":"sha256:31b459618a7d744c311c20e109f5329f469cfbaa873d3af17ca1024ab5042522","quote":"Choose between UDP and TCP."},{"url":"https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/hc/en-us/articles/46776477273627-Understanding-the-Multi-Hop-Feature","date":"2026-11-04","proved":"Multi-Hop offers a Shadowsocks proxy and a SOCKS5 proxy","capture":"sha256:62f6e92b793ee7e0465be763866067f27b9c28a8c07acc0c00d8afebe7bd5376","quote":"When you open the Multi-Hop tab, you see two options: Shadowsocks and SOCKS5 Proxy."},{"url":"https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/hc/en-us/articles/46776477273627-Understanding-the-Multi-Hop-Feature","date":"2026-11-04","proved":"Shadowsocks is the obfuscation option","capture":"sha256:62f6e92b793ee7e0465be763866067f27b9c28a8c07acc0c00d8afebe7bd5376","quote":"Shadowsocks is an encrypted proxy designed to disguise VPN traffic as regular internet traffic."},{"url":"https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn-online","date":"2026-11-04","proved":"the 3 Years + 4 Months plan renews at 81.20 USD every 3 years","capture":"sha256:08d0cfe4336400597c8147da26998530873da130415a14e4f0f2b9b677a7e439","quote":"Autorenews at $81.20 every 3 years"}],"verdict":"paid-only","verified_at":"2026-11-04T10:29:23.996Z","price_per_tb_month":"USD 11.95 per month; USD 3.99 per month on 1 year (USD 47.88 first year, renewing at USD 47.88); USD 2.03 per month on 3 Years + 4 Months, autorenewing at USD 81.20 every 3 years","notes":"The GitHub route was used instead. The port number itself is stable for the life of the signature, which is the property Proton lacks.","extras":{"wg_path":"registration-api","wg_detail":"Run with PIA_PF=true to bind the port on the same connection.","ingress":"tcp+udp","volume_tib_month":null,"volume_stated":"unverified for a byte figure: the buy page states Unlimited Device Security but no page read states a traffic allowance. PIA is widely described as unmetered, which did not confirm from a vendor sentence.","bytes_transit":"yes","transit_note":"Traffic crosses the PIA server a user is bound to; the port is only valid on the gateway of that server."}},"claims":[{"path":"$.free_tier","kind":"has-free-tier","num":0.0,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.free_tier.stated","kind":"free-quota","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.limits[0].value","kind":"limit:retention-clamped","num":15.0,"unit":"minutes","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.limits[1].value","kind":"limit:write-gated","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.price_per_tb_month","kind":"price","num":2.03,"unit":null,"per":"month","currency":"USD","usd":2.03,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"}],"unknown":[["$.per_object_cap.stated","not-applicable"],["$.retention.stated","not-applicable"]],"history":[],"drift":[]}]}