HMA VPN

HMA VPN, commonly known as Hide My Ass, is a consumer VPN that started in the UK in 2005 and is now owned by Gen Digital (parent of Avast, Norton, and Avira after the 2022 NortonLifeLock merger). The footprint is one of the widest in the category: 1,100+ servers across 290+ locations in 190+ countries, which is the hook HMA leans on versus competitors that quote raw server counts without geographic spread. Apps run on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Amazon Fire, Android TV, and routers, plus a browser extension. Features include a kill switch, split tunneling, OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols (the latter branded as Lightway in Avast-family builds), streaming-mode servers, P2P-friendly regions, and IP Shuffle, which auto-rotates the assigned IP on a schedule. Pricing is monthly around USD 12, with discounted multi-year plans often landing under USD 3 per month during sale windows, plus a 30-day refund guarantee.

HMA's audience is the mainstream consumer shopping for streaming unblocks, travel privacy, or torrenting, rather than the hard-privacy buyer. Affiliate content that performs is coupon-and-deal posts, VPN roundups, and country-unblock guides, particularly where the 290-location footprint lets HMA show a location that NordVPN, Surfshark, or ExpressVPN don't offer. The brand has a mixed privacy reputation — a 2011 Lulzsec logging incident is still cited in reviews — but current policy is audited no-logs, which is worth flagging to readers as part of honest coverage.

HMA runs its affiliate program through CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction) as the primary tracking layer, with the public entry point at hma.com/en-us/affiliate/. Publishers apply through CJ, HMA reviews the site, and approved publishers receive banners, deeplinks, and the product feed inside the CJ dashboard. HMA has historically used 2Checkout / Avangate for billing and Impact at various points, so older third-party listings may reference a different network; the current authoritative route is CJ. Creative assets and promotional codes flow through CJ, and HMA periodically pushes seasonal campaigns (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, back-to-school) with boosted short-window rates.

Commission structure pays up to 100% of the first-month subscription fee plus a 30-50% revenue-share tier based on monthly sales volume, per published HMA affiliate terms and multiple aggregator listings. Cookie duration is 30 days per the current CJ advertiser page. Payouts use CJ's standard cycle: validation on CJ's locking window, then net-20 monthly payment via direct deposit, check, Payoneer, or PayPal where supported, subject to CJ's USD 50 / USD 100 minimum thresholds. Self-referrals, coupon-site cookie stuffing, and refunded or cancelled orders are excluded. Higher rev-share tiers are negotiable for publishers hitting consistent monthly volume.