A nonprofit service with premium efficiency

[ad_1] Proton VPN stands out for 2 primary causes: it is one of many solely digital personal networks (VPNs) to incorporate a free plan with no information limits, and it is one of many few providers majority-owned by a nonprofit. It is one of the best VPN in each of these classes, and it makes a robust case for being one of the best general.

Even in the event you do not care in regards to the work of the Proton Basis, Proton VPN is a service price utilizing. It is simple to put in and handle, runs just like the wind and meets excessive requirements for safety and privateness. It has extra IP places in Africa than any of its rivals. It is even trying towards the long run by working towards full IPv6 help.

Briefly, Proton VPN will get our enthusiastic advice, particularly for torrenting (which it helps on virtually each server). It isn't good — the apps for Apple programs lag behind their Home windows and Android counterparts, and the free servers could be noticeably sluggish — however the cons pale compared to the professionals. We'll get into all of it under.

Editor's notice (7/25/25): We're within the technique of revamping our VPN protection to offer extra in-depth, actionable info and shopping for guides. Our suggestions, and all the data on this web page, are topic to alter because the replace continues. Try our revamped ExpressVPN evaluation and NordVPN evaluation to see the brand new route, or be taught extra about how we check VPNs.

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Proton VPN is a superlative service that is confirmed itself keen to struggle to your privateness — plus, it unblocks Netflix and retains your web quick.

Execs Retains web speeds fastPhysically secured information centersFree plan with limitless information Cons Excessive proportion of digital server locationsLive chat help just for paid customers $3 at Proton VPN Desk of contents Findings at a look The desk summarizes what we discovered whereas reviewing Proton VPN, each good and unhealthy. Maintain it open in a tab whilst you comparability store for a VPN.

Class

Notes

Set up and UI

Home windows has one of the best interface, however all apps are easy

Android customers get distinctive preset protocols

Browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox can be utilized for break up tunneling on Mac and iOS

Pace

Retains 88 % of obtain speeds and 98 % of add speeds

World latency common stays underneath 300 ms, with 52 ms on the quickest server

Safety

No DNS leaks or WebRTC leaks on any servers

Full IPv6 help is offered on Android, Linux and browser extensions; Mac, Home windows and iOS nonetheless block IPv6 to stop leaks

WireShark check confirmed lively packet encryption

Pricing

Finest plan prices $81.36 for 2 years ($3.39 monthly)

Free plan contains limitless information and significant safety features, however you may't select your server

Bundles

Proton Limitless saves cash if you'd like two or extra Proton merchandise

Privateness coverage

Common Proton coverage prevents assortment of IP addresses until a person has violated the phrases of service (equivalent to by utilizing a Proton VPN server to abuse one other web site)

No third events are allowed to deal with personally identifiable info

Confirmed by Securitum audit in 2024

Digital location change

Unblocked Netflix repeatedly in all 5 testing places, with new content material proving a profitable location change

A free server in Romania received into Netflix however had hassle loading the library

Server community

154 places in 117 international locations

Extra servers in Africa than some other VPN, plus many others throughout the globe

About two-thirds of server places are digital

Options

NetShield can block simply malware, or all malware, adverts and trackers

Kill change on all platformsSplit tunneling on Home windows, Android and browser extensions solely

Safe Core servers route VPN by two places, one in all which is bodily secured in Iceland, Sweden or Switzerland

Nearly all paid servers are P2P-enabled

Tor over VPN servers in six international locations allow you to entry darkish internet sites from any browser

Profiles saves time if you repeatedly want particular connection settings

Buyer help

Most articles within the on-line assist middle, whereas well-written, are invisible until you utilize the search operate

Dwell chat is just for paying prospects, and is unavailable from midnight to 9 AM CET

Background test

Launched in 2017 by the identical firm that developed ProtonMail

Majority owned by the Proton Basis, whose board contains the corporate founders and may resist takeover makes an attempt

Whereas ProtonMail has labored with Swiss authorities previously, Proton VPN shouldn't be ruled by the identical legal guidelines that compelled this

Claims of a vulnerability in WireGuard's reminiscence do not maintain water

Putting in, configuring and utilizing Proton VPN This part explains the way it feels to run Proton VPN on the varied platforms it helps. As a rule, it is not tough. Proton VPN has extra options than ExpressVPN, and a few them would possibly journey up new customers, however you'd have to essentially scrounge to search out an precise inconvenience to complain about.

Home windows Proton VPN installs simply on Home windows — you will must grant it permission to make adjustments, however that is it. As soon as you have signed in on the app, you will attain the most effective interfaces we have tried on a VPN. The server community is straight away seen as each a listing and map, and the situation search bar, join button and main options are all laid out across the identical window.

Proton VPN's app for Home windows. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

It is actually wonderful how a lot you may attain from the launch window with out something feeling cluttered. They even squeezed in keyboard shortcuts for the search discipline. We additionally love that settings open in the identical window, since coping with each the principle VPN app and a separate preferences panel can get annoying. Our solely actual gripe is that there must be a better solution to regulate the scale of the map.

Mac The desktop app for Mac is not fairly as deftly laid out because the Home windows app. You possibly can attain many of the vital options from the principle window, together with Profiles, NetShield, Safe Core servers and the kill change. Nevertheless, there is no longer a solution to filter out a listing of the P2P or Tor servers, besides by digging by the Profile controls. On the plus facet, you may regulate the scale of the map, so it is now a viable various to the server listing.

Proton VPN's darkish mode interface on macOS. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

The opposite preferences are hidden within the menu bar — go to Proton VPN > Settings to achieve them. They're specified by 4 tabs, and should not take greater than a minute to undergo at setup.

Android The Android app takes the identical design cues because the Home windows app, and works as effectively. 4 tabs alongside the underside change between the house display screen, the nation listing, Profiles and all different settings. You possibly can search the listing of nations by tapping the magnifying glass on the top-right. In one other good contact, tapping the dots by any digital location will inform you the place the server is bodily positioned.

Proton VPN's Android consumer. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

Android customers get some nifty unique Profiles, together with "anti-censorship," which robotically connects to the quickest nation apart from the one you are in. The Settings tab is a single menu with subheadings and no pointless complication.

iOS Proton VPN for iPhone and iPad appears virtually the identical because it does on Home windows and Android, however with a number of the identical drawbacks discovered on Mac. The server listing is extra cluttered, and as soon as once more there is no simple solution to sift out the P2P and Tor places.

Proton VPN's app for iPhone and iPad. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

The Settings tab places all of the characteristic descriptions within the open, which makes it look denser than it's. However these are minor quibbles — that is nonetheless a VPN that is very simple to activate and overlook about.

Browser extensions Proton VPN has browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. These function de facto break up tunneling, as connecting by the extension protects solely browser site visitors; all the pieces else goes unprotected. You possibly can break up the tunnel additional by setting the VPN to not work on sure URLs (not like the opposite apps, you needn't know the IPs of these websites).

Proton VPN pace check: Impacts of VPN Accelerator We used Ookla's Speedtest app to find out how a lot Proton VPN drags on a person's latency, measured in milliseconds (ms), and obtain and add speeds, measured in megabits per second (Mbps). Collectively, these three stats present whether or not a VPN will noticeably decelerate your web, particularly throughout demanding duties.

We had excessive hopes for Proton right here due to its VPN Accelerator expertise, which runs VPN communications throughout a number of parallel tracks to course of all the pieces sooner. It did not disappoint — for essentially the most half. Though obtain speeds did not attain the heights we noticed from ExpressVPN, Proton VPN's searching efficiency nonetheless appears wonderful almost throughout the board.

Proton VPN barely makes a dent in your obtain speeds. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

To decide on our places for the check, we checked Proton VPN's listing of good routing servers, which use servers in a single nation to simulate IP addresses in one other. Nearly all of the good routing servers are based mostly in 5 cities: Miami, London, Marseille, Bucharest and Singapore. We ran these checks on a Mac utilizing the automated protocol setting.

Server Location

Latency (ms)

Enhance issue

Obtain pace (Mbps)

Proportion drop

Add pace (Mbps)

Proportion drop

Portland, OR, USA (unprotected)

16

--

58.93

--

5.82

--

San Jose, CA, USA (greatest server)

52

3.3x

55.82

5

5.58

4

Miami, FL, USA

160

10x

54.33

8

5.49

6

London, UK

332

20.8x

52.55

11

5.72

2

Marseille, France

309

19.3x

45.42

23

5.59

4

Bucharest, Romania

408

25.5x

52.51

11

5.57

4

Singapore, Singapore

394

24.6x

52.26

11

5.50

5

Common

276

17.3x

52.15

12

5.58

4

Proton VPN appears superb in that desk. Its common obtain pace was 88 % of our unprotected speeds. To place that in perspective, in the event you began with 30 Mbps down (about half what we get) and linked to any Proton VPN server, you'd virtually definitely nonetheless have a quick sufficient connection to stream in 4K.

Word the "virtually" — Proton VPN did drop noticeably on its French server in Marseille. It isn't unusual for one in all a VPN's information facilities to have hassle whereas the others work high quality, and you may normally repair the issue by simply disconnecting and reconnecting. Simply notice that whereas drops to about 75 % of your obtain pace are uncommon, they don't seem to be inconceivable.

Proton VPN safety check: Watertight protocols Once we discuss VPN safety, we're actually speaking about reliability. Can this VPN set up an encrypted tunnel and transmit all of your info by it, each time, with out leaks or failures? With Proton VPN, we're comfortable to say the reply is sure; we probed its safety and located no cracks to talk of. Learn the part under for specifics.

Proton VPN protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 and Stealth Proton VPN makes use of 4 VPN protocols to speak between your units, its servers and the web. Three of them (WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2) are widespread decisions with no critical flaws so long as they're carried out thoughtfully. The fourth, Stealth, is an obfuscation protocol it is best to solely use if the opposite three are blocked.

The protocol choice display screen on Proton VPN's Android app. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

OpenVPN is essentially the most safe possibility. With out getting too technical, OpenVPN encrypts its backend capabilities in addition to the information itself, which leaves it with no apparent vulnerabilities. It could actually additionally talk utilizing the identical ports as widespread HTTPS site visitors, so it is exhausting to dam.

WireGuard is extra environment friendly than OpenVPN, each in its supply code and the cryptography it makes use of. It usually requires an change of mounted IP addresses, however the Proton VPN implementation overwrites these IPs with randomized addresses, reducing the safety danger.

IKEv2 is a protected selection that is often sooner than both OpenVPN or WireGuard. You most likely will not use it until it occurs to come back up whilst you've set the protocol to Good. As such, it is on the way in which to being phased out of Proton VPN.

Stealth is exclusive to Proton VPN, although its operate shouldn't be. It is received the identical structure as WireGuard, however provides one other TLS tunnel to evade community blocks that catch VPN site visitors. That additional encryption slows it down, so we do not suggest utilizing it until the opposite three protocols do not work.

The primary possibility on the app, referred to as "Good," shouldn't be a protocol — it means your VPN consumer selects the protocol that provides you with one of the best speeds in your present server. Since all 4 protocols are protected, there is no draw back to utilizing the Good setting more often than not.

Leak check We used AirVPN's IP leak instrument to test all 4 of Proton VPN's protocols for DNS and WebRTC leaks. Proton VPN makes use of its personal DNS servers to cut back the chance of sending unencrypted requests, however since leaks are nonetheless doable, we examined utilizing a easy methodology: checking our seen IP tackle earlier than and after connecting to the VPN.

Regardless of testing a number of places over three days, we by no means noticed our actual IP tackle present up on the instrument. This held true even exterior the Safe Core server listing, the place information facilities may need been managed by third events. It isn't good proof, however it's an excellent signal that Proton VPN enforces a constant safety regime on all its servers.

Proton VPN efficiently masked our actual IP tackle, even on a digital location in Angola. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

We additionally used BrowserLeaks to test for WebRTC leaks. These are primarily a problem on the browser facet, however a VPN is doubly vital in case your browser occurs to be leaking. We enabled WebRTC on our browser and examined the identical set of Proton VPN servers with out springing any WebRTC leaks.

Proton VPN and IPv6 Proton is engaged on making its whole VPN suitable with IPv6 addresses. If a VPN that is solely configured for IPv4 has to resolve an IPv6 tackle, it might probably trigger a leak — that is why most VPNs, even one of the best ones, block IPv6 altogether. That mentioned, the entire web will run on IPv6 sooner or later, so it is good to see Proton VPN main the pack.

To this point, IPv6 is robotically enabled on Proton VPN's Linux apps and browser extensions, and could be optionally activated on its Android app. The Proton VPN apps for all different platforms nonetheless block IPv6 site visitors, however this could hopefully change quickly.

Encryption check Even when a VPN's protocol decisions are strong, it is doable for particular person implementations of these protocols to fail. We used WireShark, a packet inspector app, to check whether or not Proton VPN's encryption labored it doesn't matter what settings had been in place. We're comfortable to say we by no means noticed plaintext as soon as.

How a lot does Proton VPN price? To get full entry to Proton VPN, you will want a Plus subscription, which prices $9.99 monthly. You possibly can knock off half that value by subscribing for a full yr and paying a lump sum of $59.88, figuring out to $4.99 monthly. A Plus account with Proton VPN additionally provides you free entry to each different Proton app.

It's also possible to pay $107.76 upfront to subscribe for 2 years, a median of $4.49 monthly — maybe extra handy, however it would not prevent a lot. The one-year plan is one of the best worth, although it is also good that you do not have to pay by the nostril for just one month. There is a 30-day, money-back assure on all plans.

Proton VPN is at the moment providing Engadget readers an unique deal that provides a 12-month plan for $47.88 ($3.99 monthly) and a 24-month plan for $81.36 ($3.39 monthly). Be taught extra about it right here. One remaining possibility is the Proton Limitless subscription, mentioned within the "facet apps and bundles" part under."

The Proton VPN free plan Proton VPN is among the greatest free VPNs in the marketplace proper now. No different VPN backed by as a lot expertise and logic has a free plan with no information limits. As a substitute of capping how a lot information you should utilize monthly, Proton VPN restricts which servers free customers can entry, limiting them to 5 international locations: america, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

The irritating half is which you could't select which of those servers you utilize; Proton VPN simply auto-connects to whichever one is the least burdened. A Proton consultant advised us that this transformation goes together with enhancements to the choice algorithm, higher load balancing and the addition of the Poland and Romania places. Additionally it is doable to attempt for a greater connection by clicking "change server."

The very fact stays, although, {that a} free Proton VPN plan is ineffective for unblocking content material in particular places — however this can be by design. The free plan appears extra aimed towards privateness and anonymity than streaming, and the position of the free places close to Russia and China displays that. Free Proton VPN plans do not sacrifice any important safety features.

Proton VPN facet apps and bundles Proton VPN's primary bundle is Proton Limitless, which will get you all six Proton merchandise in a single package deal: VPN, Mail, Drive, Calendar, Pockets and Cross. This prices $12.99 for a month, $119.88 for a yr ($9.99 monthly) and $191.76 for 2 years ($7.99 monthly). We can't be going in-depth on any of them on this evaluation, however this is a fast rundown of every.

Proton Mail: An end-to-end encrypted e-mail service. Proton can nonetheless see a Mail person's actual IP tackle, however cannot learn any of their messages.

Proton Drive: Encrypted cloud storage. As with Mail, Proton can establish customers, however cannot learn any of the content material they retailer.

Proton Calendar: An encrypted scheduling app with occasions and reminders.

Proton Pockets: A self-custody pockets for storing Bitcoin unconnected to any change.

Proton Cross: A password supervisor that generates, shops and autofills passwords for on-line accounts.

Even in the event you solely want two of the six, Proton Limitless saves you cash. Separate month-to-month subscriptions to Proton VPN and Proton Mail would price a complete of $14.98, so you have already knocked off $2 monthly. That will increase in the event you're capable of decide to a yr upfront.

Shut-reading Proton VPN's privateness coverage Proton's privateness coverage is available in two components: the overall Proton coverage and the shorter coverage particular to Proton VPN. We'll cowl them in that order.

Common Proton privateness coverage Proton tracks person exercise on its product web sites utilizing its personal advertising and marketing instruments; the information set collected doesn't embody IP addresses. It retains an e-mail tackle linked to every person's account, however it's not allowed to attach IP addresses (and thus identities and places) to these emails until the person breaches the phrases of service.

Chances are you'll rightly ask how Proton would know a person is abusing one in all their providers if they do not preserve exercise logs. The reply is that logs aren't wanted; most types of abuse could be detected in different methods and noticed in actual time. For instance, if somebody used a Proton VPN server to launch a DDoS assault, the staff might examine that server and discover the hacker whereas the assault was nonetheless ongoing.

The coverage goes on to listing the 5 third-party information processors Proton makes use of (Zendesk, PayPal, Chargebee, Atlassian and Stripe), none of whom are allowed to retailer buyer exercise information. Proton cautions that it'll share what information it does have in response to unblockable requests from the Swiss authorities, however not "till all authorized or different cures have been exhausted." That is customary for a VPN that wishes to stay in enterprise, and the transparency report reveals the corporate does certainly struggle court docket orders when it might probably.

Proton VPN privateness coverage Proton's VPN-specific privateness coverage is kind of quick. It states that Proton can not log person actions or identifiable traits of units linked to the VPN, can not throttle web connections and should lengthen full privateness and safety to free customers.

In a single sense, a privateness coverage requires you to take the VPN supplier at their phrase, however it's harmful for an organization to make guarantees they do not intend to maintain. The coverage is legally binding, and breaking it's grounds for a lawsuit. Proton VPN's succinct no-logs coverage is subsequently a fantastic signal. It is also been confirmed a number of occasions by a third-party audit, most not too long ago in July 2024.

Can Proton VPN change your digital location? Testing a VPN's capability to masks a person's location is not advanced — all you want is a streaming subscription. We linked to 5 check places and tried to unblock Netflix with every one. If we managed to entry the location, and noticed completely different reveals than these on the American library, we concluded that the situation had masked us efficiently.

Server location

Unblocked Netflix?

Library modified?

Canada

Y

Romania

Y

Ghana

Y

Japan

Y

New Zealand

Y

Proton VPN handed the check each time in all 5 places. The one hiccup got here in Romania, which we selected as a result of it is one of many free places. The app linked us to a free server, which was too sluggish to load Netflix; after we selected a paid server, the issue disappeared.

Proton VPN modified our digital location so we noticed the Japanese Netflix library. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

Investigating Proton VPN's server community Proton VPN's free plan contains servers in 5 places: the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, america and Japan. Once you join as a free person, you will be robotically linked to whichever location is quickest.

A paid plan opens up the complete community of 154 servers in 117 international locations and territories. The menu contains an enormous choice of African places, greater than any VPN we have examined in a while. The Center East, together with central and southern Asia, are additionally effectively represented, and U.S. customers will discover 20 completely different places to select from.

Proton VPN lets you realize which of its places are digital. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

Needless to say about two-thirds of those server places are digital, which means they don't seem to be bodily positioned the place they declare to be. This contains all of the African servers besides South Africa and Nigeria; all of the South American servers besides Brazil, Colombia and Argentina; and all of the Center Jap servers besides Turkey, Israel and the UAE. A majority of the places in Asia are additionally digital, together with South Korea, India, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

To be clear, digital places can conceal your IP tackle simply in addition to bodily ones. It is solely an issue in the event you're anticipating the sort of efficiency, significantly by way of latency, that you just get from a close-by server. Fortunately, Proton VPN provides you quick sufficient obtain and add speeds that distance should not be an issue.

None

Nations

Digital Areas

Cities

North America

6

3

25

South America

7

4

7

Europe

42

6

51

Africa

25

23

26

Center East

13

10

14

Asia

22

16

25

Oceania

2

0

6

TOTAL

117

62

154

Options of Proton VPN Proton VPN has a lot of additional options that transcend customary VPN performance. We have already talked about the Stealth protocol and IPv6 help. On this part, we'll cowl a further 5 options that could be of curiosity.

NetShield advert blocker Proton VPN's built-in advert blocker is named NetShield. It is accessible on the principle UI web page, and has two settings: one which blocks solely malware websites, and one which blocks websites linked with malware, adverts and trackers. The stronger characteristic is on by default.

The Netshield web page on Proton VPN's iOS app. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

NetShield works by checking any DNS requests towards a database of net servers identified to host malware, inject adverts or connect cross-site trackers to your searching session. The DNS-blocking method means it is not able to blocking adverts served from the identical area that hosts them — so no blocking YouTube video adverts. On the optimistic facet, it means NetShield works throughout your whole gadget, not simply in your browser.

NetShield additionally shows a operating complete of what number of of every type of interference it is blocked. It catches most banner adverts, however since you may't customise the blocklist in any method, it is best when mixed with one other browser-level advert blocker.

Safe Core servers Here is an fascinating one. Safe Core is a type of a typical characteristic often known as double VPN or multi-hop VPN, through which a connection runs by two VPN servers earlier than being decrypted. If one server fails or will get compromised, the opposite server retains your connection personal.

Safe Core servers add a second node to your VPN connection. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

Proton VPN takes this a step additional. Once you activate Safe Core, your connection will nonetheless finish at your chosen server location — however earlier than that, it would journey by a delegated server in Iceland, Sweden or Switzerland. A couple of touches make Safe Core servers extra dependable than the typical VPN node:

All three international locations are protected jurisdictions, with consumer-friendly privateness legal guidelines and courts sympathetic to privateness claims.

Safe Core information facilities are locked down bodily; for instance, the Iceland location is a refitted navy base, and the Sweden location is actually underground.

Proton owns and operates all Safe Core places itself, with no leases or third-party managers.

Nearly no different VPNs pay as a lot consideration to bodily safety as Proton VPN does with this characteristic. The second hop makes Safe Core connections slower on common, however it's price it in case you have one thing particularly delicate to do on-line.

Kill change Proton VPN features a kill change, a regular characteristic. When lively, a kill change cuts off your web at any time when your connection to the VPN drops. This implies you are by no means at risk of leaking your actual id or location, even for a second. It additionally protects you towards the TunnelVision exploit, which requires the hacker to make a faux VPN server.

Break up tunneling Break up tunneling is included on the Home windows and Android apps, however customers on different units can entry it by the browser extension. With break up tunneling, some apps or web sites get on-line by the VPN, whereas others keep unprotected.

Break up tunneling with Proton VPN on Android. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

Proton VPN permits break up tunneling by each app and IP tackle. This grants you a exact stage of management over your break up, so long as you realize the IP of every web site you are inserting on the listing (you will discover that out utilizing DNS checker).

Torrenting servers and port forwarding Proton VPN is among the greatest VPNs for torrenting. It restricts torrenting to P2P servers, however almost each server on the listing is a P2P server — solely Safe Core servers and a few free servers do not allow torrenting. Mix that with the truth that it maintains 96 % of your add speeds on common, and it is best to have few issues utilizing a torrenting consumer.

Proton VPN's listing of P2P servers. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)

It additionally has some help for port forwarding, which may enhance torrenting pace. Home windows and Linux customers can allow it with a easy toggle, which gives an lively port quantity for configuring personal servers. Mac customers can arrange port forwarding by handbook OpenVPN or WireGuard configurations.

Tor over VPN A handful of Proton VPN servers route you on to the Tor community after encrypting your connection. Whereas linked to one in all these Tor over VPN servers, that are marked with TOR of their names and an onion image, you can open .onion hyperlinks on a traditional browser.

That is extra than simply handy — Tor over VPN is the most secure solution to entry the darkish net. With the VPN as an middleman, you are by no means connecting to Tor with your personal IP tackle, so malicious node operators cannot see your actual id. For max privateness, use Tor Browser to create your Proton VPN account, so that you're by no means uncovered at any level within the course of.

Proton VPN has Tor servers in six international locations (the U.S., France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany and Hong Kong). Every simply has one Tor server, besides america, which will get two. Tor over VPN is supported on all platforms, however it will not work on Mac or iOS until you've got the kill change enabled.

Profiles A "profile" on Proton VPN is a gaggle of pre-established settings you should utilize to shortly configure the VPN for a specific activity. Two profiles can be found from the beginning: Quickest, which connects to the quickest server, and Random, which at all times connects to a unique server. You possibly can create extra profiles by toggling 4 settings:

Characteristic: The kind of server used. Select from Normal, Safe Core, P2P or Tor over VPN.

Nation: The nation to which the profile connects.

Server: A server inside that nation. It's also possible to choose "quickest" or "random."

Protocol: Which VPN protocol the profile will use. "Good" could be chosen.

For example, say you wish to watch a TV collection that is solely accessible on Netflix in Canada. You would create a profile referred to as "Netflix Canada" that connects to the quickest Canadian server with only one click on. We might name profiles situationally helpful, however they will save numerous time in the event you often carry out the identical motion in your VPN.

Proton VPN buyer help choices We went to Proton VPN's FAQ pages with two questions that got here up whereas researching different sections: which of Proton VPN's servers are managed by third events, and why do sure server places (like Marseilles) run sluggish regardless of the app exhibiting a light-weight load?

You possibly can entry the assistance middle by any of Proton VPN's apps, or by going on to the web site. Articles look like organized into six classes. Oddly, clicking any class button solely reveals you a handful of the articles in that part — for instance, the Troubleshooting class appears prefer it solely has 5 articles. If you happen to kind "troubleshooting" into the search bar, although, you will see dozens pop up. There are even some sections, like Billing, that do not seem on the principle web page in any respect.

It has the texture of a web site replace that wasn't adequately introduced in keeping with the majority of the help content material. Till Proton fixes it, simply use the search bar for all the pieces. The articles themselves are well-written, give or take some stilted English.

Getting fast assist We could not discover written solutions to our questions on possession and server load, so we turned to dwell chat. Free customers ought to understand that dwell chat help is barely accessible on paid accounts, however there is a pretty lively subreddit at r/protonvpn the place Proton employees ceaselessly publish.

Dwell chat shouldn't be intuitively positioned on protonvpn.com. We lastly discovered it by scrolling all the way in which to the underside of the principle web page, solely to be advised no person was on-line to assist in the intervening time — dwell chat is barely accessible from 9 AM to midnight Central European Time (CET). We submitted our query in regards to the Marseille servers as an e-mail ticket as an alternative.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

This half was simple, at the very least, as the shape helpfully populated our system info. We additionally received a immediate response inside 24 hours. We ended the interplay there, as we weren't capable of reproduce the sluggish conduct on the French server places, however it's good to know the staff will reply shortly.

Proton VPN background test: The CERN origins of Proton AG Proton VPN launched in 2017, however its staff's expertise goes again a lot farther. The founders of its guardian firm, Proton AG, met whereas working at CERN in Switzerland, and the corporate stays underneath Swiss jurisdiction.

Their first product, Proton Mail, went dwell in 2014 after a profitable crowdfunding marketing campaign, and claims to have 100 million customers at present. Proton VPN was Proton AG's second venture. Like Proton Mail, it consists of a free plan supplemented by paid upgrades.

Since then, Proton has launched a number of extra merchandise: Proton Calendar in 2020, Proton Drive cloud storage in 2022 and the Proton Cross password supervisor in 2023, every designed round utilizing end-to-end encryption to make person information inaccessible.

The Proton Basis Proton introduced in 2024 that almost all of its shares had been acquired by the Proton Basis, a nonprofit whose solely objective is to manage Proton inventory. Amongst different advantages, this prevents it from being bought by anybody who disagrees with its mission. To promote to an objectionable guardian firm, your entire board of trustees must agree, which feels unlikely based mostly on Proton's observe report.

All through Proton's historical past, we solely discovered two incidents critical sufficient to touch upon, and solely one in all them involved Proton VPN. We'll cowl them each under.

ProtonMail regulation enforcement collaboration allegations On the web page that hosts its annual transparency report, Proton states overtly that it "could also be legally compelled to reveal sure person info to Swiss authorities" (see the Privateness Coverage part of this text for extra on exactly what info that describes). In 2021, the corporate admitted it had given Swiss police (appearing on a French warrant) a ProtonMail person's IP tackle and gadget logs. The police arrested the person, a French environmental activist.

Whereas that is unnerving for privacy-minded customers, there are some vital contextual points to think about. Most significantly, ProtonMail shouldn't be ruled by the identical coverage as Proton VPN. On the time the case unfolded, Swiss regulation obliged all e-mail firms to adjust to court docket orders from Swiss authorities handy over information. VPNs aren't topic to these retention necessities.

At this time, Swiss e-mail firms have been reclassified so that they're additionally exempt from information retention necessities, thanks partly to a coverage change Proton fought for. A consultant from Proton confirmed that "underneath Swiss regulation, we aren't obligated to save lots of any person connection logs." It is also reassuring that, regardless of complying with the subpoena, Proton wasn't capable of flip over the contents of any emails.

Alleged WireGuard reminiscence vulnerability In January 2025, researchers at Venak Safety alleged that Proton VPN lacks reminiscence safety for keys generated underneath the WireGuard protocol, which could let hackers scrape the keys and decrypt intercepted communications. Proton responded to Venak in a weblog publish, which a Proton consultant confirmed stays their official response to the allegations.

Briefly: the Venak article solely demonstrates that it is doable to view public keys, not personal ones. This is not a lot of a bombshell, provided that "public" is true there within the title. However uneven encryption — the type utilized by VPN protocols like WireGuard — requires each keys to decrypt any messages. Even when a hacker had been capable of get ahold of a personal key, they possible would not be capable to use it for something. WireGuard incorporates good ahead secrecy by default, altering session keys typically sufficient that any given secret is out of date by the point it is stolen.

Ultimate verdict Briefly, we're ready to suggest Proton VPN to virtually anyone. Whether or not you are primarily involved with safety, streaming or one thing else, chances are high good that you will be glad. The one critical downsides are that the long-term plans are overpriced and that it is exhausting to get dwell tech help in the event you dwell exterior of Europe.

It is also our unqualified decide for one of the best free VPN, however with the caveat that it is a unhealthy selection for anybody who wants to decide on particular server places. If all you care about is staying hidden out of your ISP and advertisers, Proton must be your first selection.