Linux pia-daemon pings every 5 minutes
I would greatly appreciate Reddit users test and feedback the new Linux PIA daemon running 24/7 every 5 minutes, regardless if the app has been launched or not. IMHO this massively increases DNS lookups so ISPs can easily find a needle in the haystack if the app dumps a ton of needles in the haystack. Am I wrong? 288 daily pings versus “as needed”? Seems suspect given V1 does the exact same thing as V2, but didn’t require mandatory background checks. The “disable background latency checks” does nothing to stop this, and was only subject to pings during use.
Manually changing DNS provider away from ISP is a solution, but not for all those that don’t know how.
I only noticed this because these URLs rose to the top of a small home network I monitor. I blocked [apiv2.privateinternetaccess.com] in pi-hole just to see how it reacts. Pissed it off and it started trying [apiv2.piaproxy.net]. Blocked it too, and now both are constantly seeking an out. Not until you kill pia-daemon does it stop.
sudo systemctl stop piavpn && sudo systemctl disable piavpn
Prior URL behavior was (and still is) are the basic URLs for the VPN to connect/work:
serverlist.piaservers.net
www.privateinternetaccess.com
api.privateinternetaccess.com
Watch your wireshark/pi-hole logs and prove me wrong, because I am up for a multi-year renewal and if they’re not going to be a bit more transparent I will go elsewhere. I relayed my DNS logic to them after reading their reason and they are ghosting me now. If more customers inquire, they might put something on their website about major changes to their product’s normal behavior. I don’t need them trading privacy for convenience...or perceived convenience. I’ve never experienced any of the the things they are attempting to fix with V2.
- Linux Mint 22.3 - Cinnamon 64-bit
- PIA Version v3.7 (build 08412)
- pia-client (runs only when app is launched – pia-daemon required*)
- pia-daemon (auto configured to restart = always)
apiv2.privateinternetaccess.com?
I reached out to support to inquire what these new changes were. Here is their response:
>Jul 24, 2026, 11:41 AM GMT+8:
>Thank you for reaching out with your inquiry about the unexpected background requests to apiv2.privateinternetaccess.com when the PIA app is not actively running.
>I’d like to explain that these periodic 5-minute requests are lightweight, background maintenance checks performed by PIA's Linux system service. They occur regardless of whether the VPN tunnel is turned OFF or ON, and whether the app window is open or closed.
>Specifically, every 300 seconds, the background engine contacts PIA's V2 API endpoint to perform three essential upkeep tasks:
- Real-Time Server Stats: It checks for live server latency (ping) and load levels to ensure that when you press "Connect," the app can immediately route you through the fastest server without delay.
- Session Keep-Alive: It refreshes your secure login token, preventing your account from timing out while idle.
- Server Updates: It syncs any dynamic server list updates, streaming-optimized routes, or port forwarding configurations.
>Please rest assured that these queries are standard HTTPS requests that only download compressed public server data. No personal data, browsing activity, or traffic logs are transmitted during this process.
>If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
>Regards,
>Private Internet Access Support