The Saily app: install steps, security tools and what Saily says about hotspot

What is the Saily app?

The Saily app is where you buy, install and manage Saily eSIMs. It is the main way into the service: you choose a destination, pick a plan, and the app walks the phone through installing the eSIM. This page covers what the Saily app does and what Saily says about hotspot. It is desk research, and Saily's site returned HTTP 403 to our page fetches on 8 October 2026, so the details below come from excerpts of its own pages and are vendor claims. For prices and the wider verdict, see the Saily eSIM review.

How do you install a plan in the Saily app?

On an iPhone, you open the app, choose a plan and tap Install eSIM at checkout, then confirm in Settings. On Android you tap Install eSIM, pick your device and let it finish without closing the app. Stay on stable Wi-Fi while it installs. If the app cannot do it, Saily describes a manual route: add an eSIM in your phone's SIM settings and enter the activation code yourself.

After that, switch on data roaming for the Saily line and select it for mobile data. Saily says the plan starts the first time the eSIM connects to a supported network in the country.

What security tools are in the Saily app?

Saily says every plan includes three:

• Virtual location. Your cellular traffic is routed through a NordVPN server in the place you pick, with more than 115 locations offered.
• Ad blocker. Ads are filtered at DNS level. Saily cites a West Coast Labs test of 22 websites that found an average 28.6% cut in data use. That is Saily's own test citation, not one we have checked.
• Web protection. Sites are checked against a threat database to block malicious pages and trackers.

Saily is open about the limits. It does not give end-to-end encryption, so it is not a replacement for a VPN. DNS filtering cannot catch threats that do not use DNS, such as a malicious attachment, and ads served from the same domain as a page still get through.

What does Saily say about Saily hotspot?

Saily says hotspot sharing is unlimited on all of its data plans, and its Japan page says the same for plans there. That is a vendor claim from marketing pages, and we found no separate Saily hotspot terms in the excerpts we saw, so check the plan details for your destination before relying on it.

One caution applies to the unlimited plans. Saily says they give a set amount of fast data a day, 5 GB in some countries and 3 GB in others, before fair-use limits apply. Its Ultra plan is described as 30 GB of high-speed data a month, then unlimited at up to 1 Mbps. Tethering a laptop eats a daily allowance quickly. We hold no prices for any unlimited plan.

How do top-ups work in the Saily app?

Saily says the app notifies you when you have used 80% of a plan. You can then top up in the app, and the new plan starts automatically once the first one is used up. Auto top-up is offered too. If you want a US phone number, there is an optional add-on for a +1 number with calls and texts.

Is the Saily app enough on its own?

It handles setup and top-ups well on paper. The weak spot is the catalogue. The plans we have checked stop at 20 GB, and Saily names no network operator. The cheapest we have seen is Austria's 1 GB at $1.99, checked 18 August 2026. If you need a bigger plan, read Saily alternatives, and compare prices on cheapest eSIM. The Saily hub has the rest, and Saily coupon code covers discounts.