There have been a few third-party PIA affiliates reporting that the VPN provider will be doubling their rates on March 18th, 2019. I never place too much faith in these reports, as the reporting party has something to gain by encouraging people to buy (as I would as an affiliate). The only official response I could find from PIA is a response to a tweet about the price increase:
"If you have an active subscription, your price will NEVER go up, you will be able to renew at the same price for as long as you have an active subscription"
https://twitter.com/buyvpnservice/status/1105216571843248129
I have been using Private Internet Access (PIA) as my primary Virtual Private Network (VPN), and ProtonVPN as my secondary option, for several years (long before I became an affiliate). Overall, I always suggest that everyone use a VPN at all times in order to protect the security of their internet connection, and the privacy of their internet browsing. There are many VPN's to choose from, and I am often asked why I use PIA. No VPN is perfect, but here are my reasons:
1) COST: PIA is still under $40 a year with access on up to five devices. This is much lower than other reputable VPNs. While cost should never be a deciding factor when it comes to privacy and security, the low price helps me convince others to use a VPN at all times. If you lock in that rate now, you will avoid the price increase.
2) SPEED: Many VPNs (especially free versions-never advised) will drag down your internet speed to a point of misery. With 100mb download speed at my home, I consistently receive 98-99mb while using PIA.
3) UNOFFICIAL AUDITS: Reputable VPNs claim that they do not log users' IP addresses. This is an industry standard. How do we know that this is true? We place a lot of trust in our VPN providers, and they rarely provide any proof to their anonymity claims. In 2016, search warrants issued by the FBI to PIA became public record, and were blasted to the internet. Basically, criminals were hiding behind PIA IP addresses, and the FBI came knocking to identify the suspects. While PIA cooperated, they simply had no data to offer. They did not have any logs that would identify the culprits. While I do not like that criminals escaped prosecution, it provides more confidence in my usage of the VPN service. I will always evaluate techniques used by criminals in order to provide my own personal protection while online.
4) ROUTER USAGE: I protect my entire home network with a firewall running pfSense. I program PIA as the VPN on this device, and I no longer worry about VPN apps crashing. I now know that every device in my home has a VPN by default. PIA is the only VPN that I tested (out of five) that maintained constant access for weeks straight. Others refused to re-connect after a couple of days, and left me exposed.
5) AFFILIATE PROGRAM: Most VPN companies offer some type of affiliate program, and PIA is not unique. I only bring this up because it is irresponsible to not disclose that I get a few bucks if you purchase service through one of my links. Unlike other VPNs, PIA does not share any purchase details or information about you to me.
No VPN is 100% bulletproof. With PIA protecting my entire network, and the Tor browser or ProtonVPN on standby when I need some extra protection, I believe I have a secure and private solution for my daily internet usage. You can always find the best deal on PIA at https://privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn/crimeinfo.