What is MACE from Private Internet Access?

MACE is one of Private Internet Access VPN's very best features. It's an ad blocker built straight into the PIA VPN system but it does more than just keep annoying ads off your screen. So, exactly what is MACE, how does it work and should you use it? The answers to all lie below.

The best VPNs are created with the same mission in mind: maintain user privacy and keep people safe online. However, outside of this core aim, VPNs often have other cybersecurity features for a better online experience. MACE is one of these.

We gave PIA a 4.5 rating in our Private Internet Access review. MACE played a big part of that.

Private Internet Access – a feature-packed and inexpensive VPN
Try out MACE with a subscription to PIA. Not only will it bring you a better, ad-free browsing experience but Private Internet Access is super configurable and combines military-grade encryption with an audited no-logs policy that's been proven in court twice. It has unlimited simultaneous connections, too, meaning you can cover as many devices as you want with just one subscription. Subscriptions start from $2.03 per month for a two year plan, and you even get 30 days to try it out, risk-free.

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What is MACE?

MACE is a built-in ad-blocker feature of Private Internet Access VPN. It was made, and is exclusively used, by PIA. MACE didn’t actually come along until 2016, a few years into the company’s business history.

MACE works by interfering with the communication between your browser and online ad servers. When you turn up on the page you want to visit, your browser is told that it also needs to fetch a script from a different server for the adverts. Normally that happens and you get an advert-filled experience.

With PIA installed, MACE gets in the way of these third-party requests. So, when your browser looks up the IP addresses of the ad servers in the DNS, it forces the DNS to return an IP address of “127.0.0.2” and that loops your browser back to itself and kills the advert request right there. Pretty clever. Hey presto, no ads on your page anymore.

This system works pretty well in practice too but it does have some drawbacks. Most obviously, if the ads are hosted from the same domain as the rest of the website, MACE won’t be able to block them without blocking the entire page. This is often seen on video streaming sites like YouTube.

How is MACE different to a normal ad blocker?

When a normal ad blocker is activated, it will automatically detect and hide online adverts from displaying on your device but it operates one step lower down the chain than MACE.

Instead of messing with your browser's DNS request, it waits for the third-party server's IP address to come back and then compares that to a database of known IP addresses for tracker and ad servers. It can then block any content from coming down to you from those.

According to PIA, that's a slower and less efficient process, meaning that your browsing experience is supposedly faster with MACE and less demanding of power from your device battery. That's not an easy claim to measure but we certainly find MACE to be a smooth experience when we use it.

Should you use MACE?

Yes. If you’re already using Private Internet Access, you’ll have MACE included. It comes as part of the package.

You don’t have to install any extensions or configure your browser to use MACE on PIA’s desktop or mobile apps. MACE will automatically block ads on your browser via the PIA app.

For those looking to use PIA primarily on their phone, browsing with MACE active can reduce the battery drain. That's because the internet browser doesn’t have to load and display ads, which can be intensive on your phone’s screen and processor. For same reason, you'll also use less mobile data.

In our own tests of VPNs and their ad-blockers, MACE scored an impressive 81%. Overall, using ad blocking software can enhance your browsing experience and enhance your security and privacy. Ad blockers are overall beneficial kits that you’ll find on the most secure VPNs.