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Surfshark app reviews: what users complain about
We ran AppGripe on 300 of the most recent public App Store reviews of Surfshark VPN: Fast & Private (VPN, by SURFSHARK LTD) from 2 storefronts, dated 2026-08-31 to 2026-10-22. Average rating in this sample: 3.3★. Its all-time US App Store rating is 4.7★ from 133K ratings. 138 reviews contained a complaint; the biggest theme was bugs (80%).
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Complaint categories
| Category | Reviews | Share of complaints | Avg severity (0–3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bugs | 110 | 80% | 2.5 |
| Performance | 51 | 37% | 2.6 |
| Pricing / subscription | 48 | 35% | 2.6 |
| Feature requests | 26 | 19% | 2.1 |
| Crashes / freezes | 14 | 10% | 2.8 |
| UX / design | 10 | 7% | 2.0 |
| Ads | 2 | 1% | 2.0 |
A review can count in several categories, so shares add up to more than 100%. Severity is the AI's estimate of how bad the problem is for the user.
Top issues, ranked by reviews × severity
- Justify or adjust the price: 22 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.6/3. What to do: Test a cheaper tier, annual discount or one-time purchase; show what paid users get.
“This VPN barely works 2 days a week. Singapore is practically the only server location that connects reliably, while the long list of other countries is completely useless. Most of the time, they simply refuse to connect. On the rare occasions they do work, it…” (1★, v5.0.0, US) - Speed up loading: 17 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.5/3. What to do: Profile cold start and the slowest screens on older devices; cache content.
“I have recently changed from Nord VPN to Surfshark. I wish you use it on my Mac, iPad and iPhone. It seems to be ok on Mac. But on iOS it is not good. After a few days, I could not use my safari browser at all, unless I disconnected VPN. When I try to use it…” (3★, v4.9.1, GB) - Answer support requests: 16 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.6/3. What to do: Add an in-app contact option and reply to these App Store reviews; Apple lets developers respond publicly.
“I'm a UK user, i have to use a vpn to access some content. Last year, i bought a 1 year SurfShark subscription — everything went perfectly at first, fast connections, no issues with the app on either of my devices, I was quite pleased. However, nearing the end…” (2★, v4.9.1, GB) - Fix login / account access: 9 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.4/3. What to do: Audit the sign-in flow (SSO, password reset, verification emails) on the latest version; add clear error messages.
“I’m tired of going in circles. I’m tired of getting codes emailed only to have another code needing to be emailed only to be told i can’t log in to my vpn because I’ve tried too many times. Everytime i get one device logged in, it locks me out on the other. I’…” (2★, v4.8.0, US) - Soften the redesign backlash: 8 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.2/3. What to do: Explain the change in-app, restore the most-missed option, or offer a setting for the old behaviour.
“Not liking this iOS update lost a star poor layout and lost another as android device has the old layout iOS had. Don’t fix what isn’t broken only update the bugs.” (3★, v4.7.0, GB) - Fix in-use crashes and freezes: 6 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.9/3. What to do: Match quoted actions to crash reports; ship a hotfix for the top stack trace.
“I signed up for Surfshark and Incogni on the package offer several months ago. Surfshark has not functioned properly even once. The connection gets to 97% then hangs up. Even after an hour, it still hasn’t connected. During that time, I am unable to connect to…” (1★, v4.9.1, US)
Rating by app version (newest first)
| Version | Reviews | Avg stars | Share with a complaint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0.1 | 20 | 2.8 | 50% |
| 5.0.0 | 10 | 2.2 | 80% |
| 4.9.1 | 113 | 3.4 | 45% |
| 4.9.0 | 6 | 3.0 | 50% |
| 4.8.1 | 18 | 3.1 | 61% |
| 4.8.0 | 61 | 3.7 | 33% |
Versions with fewer than 3 reviews in the sample are left out.
FAQ
What do users complain about most in Surfshark?
In 300 recent App Store reviews (2026-08-31 to 2026-10-22), the most common complaint theme was bugs (80% of complaining reviews), and the top specific issue was “justify or adjust the price” (22 reviews).
How many Surfshark reviews are negative?
138 of 300 recent reviews (46%) contained a complaint. Average rating in this sample: 3.3★. Its all-time US App Store rating is 4.7★ from 133K ratings.
Can I get the same report for my own app?
Yes. Paste your App Store or Google Play link at revunda.xyz/apps/ and you get the full PDF (up to 300 recent reviews, 7 categories, 18 specific issues, version trend, 10 ranked fixes) within 24–48 hours. A free mini check shows the top 3 themes in seconds.
How to read this
Apple's public feed only shows recent reviews, so this is a snapshot of the last weeks or months, not the app's full history. Popular apps attract complaints in proportion to their size; the useful part is which issues repeat. Generated 22 October 2026. We have no relationship with SURFSHARK LTD.
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