A nonprofit service with premium performance

Proton VPN stands out for 2 important causes: it is one of many solely digital non-public networks (VPNs) to incorporate a free plan with no knowledge limits, and it is one of many few companies majority-owned by a nonprofit. It is the very best VPN in each of these classes, and it makes a robust case for being the very best total.Even should you do not care concerning the work of the Proton Basis, Proton VPN is a service value 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 longer term by working towards full IPv6 assist.Briefly, Proton VPN will get our enthusiastic suggestion, particularly for torrenting (which it helps on nearly each server). It is not excellent — the apps for Apple techniques lag behind their Home windows and Android counterparts, and the free servers may be noticeably sluggish — however the cons pale compared to the professionals. We’ll get into all of it under.Editor’s be aware (7/25/25): We’re within the strategy of revamping our VPN protection to offer extra in-depth, actionable info and shopping for guides. Our suggestions, and all the information on this web page, are topic to vary because the replace continues. Take a look at our revamped ExpressVPN evaluation and NordVPN evaluation to see the brand new course, or be taught extra about how we take a look at VPNs.ProtonProton VPN is a superlative service that is confirmed itself keen to combat to your privateness — plus, it unblocks Netflix and retains your web quick. ProsKeeps web speeds fastPhysically secured knowledge centersFree plan with limitless dataConsHigh proportion of digital server locationsLive chat assist just for paid customers$3 at Proton VPNTable of contentsFindings at a glanceThe desk summarizes what we discovered whereas reviewing Proton VPN, each good and unhealthy. Maintain it open in a tab when you comparability store for a VPN.CategoryNotesInstallation and UIWindows has the very best interface, however all apps are smoothAndroid customers get distinctive preset protocolsBrowser extensions for Chrome and Firefox can be utilized for break up tunneling on Mac and iOSSpeedRetains 88 p.c of obtain speeds and 98 p.c of add speedsGlobal latency common stays beneath 300 ms, with 52 ms on the quickest serverSecurityNo DNS leaks or WebRTC leaks on any serversFull IPv6 assist is on the market on Android, Linux and browser extensions; Mac, Home windows and iOS nonetheless block IPv6 to forestall leaksWireShark take a look at confirmed energetic packet encryptionPricingBest plan prices $81.36 for 2 years ($3.39 per thirty days)Free plan consists of limitless knowledge and significant safety features, however you possibly can’t select your serverBundlesProton Limitless saves cash if you’d like two or extra Proton productsPrivacy policyGeneral Proton coverage prevents assortment of IP addresses until a consumer has violated the phrases of service (equivalent to by utilizing a Proton VPN server to abuse one other website)No third events are allowed to deal with personally identifiable informationConfirmed by Securitum audit in 2024Virtual location changeUnblocked Netflix repeatedly in all 5 testing places, with new content material proving a profitable location changeA free server in Romania acquired into Netflix however had hassle loading the libraryServer network154 places in 117 countriesMore servers in Africa than another VPN, plus many others throughout the globeAbout two-thirds of server places are virtualFeaturesNetShield can block simply malware, or all malware, adverts and trackersKill swap on all platformsSplit tunneling on Home windows, Android and browser extensions onlySecure Core servers route VPN by two places, one in all which is bodily secured in Iceland, Sweden or SwitzerlandAlmost all paid servers are P2P-enabledTor over VPN servers in six nations allow you to entry darkish websites from any browserProfiles saves time once you repeatedly want particular connection settingsCustomer supportMost articles within the on-line assist heart, whereas well-written, are invisible until you utilize the search functionLive chat is just for paying clients, and is unavailable from midnight to 9 AM CETBackground checkLaunched in 2017 by the identical firm that developed ProtonMailMajority owned by the Proton Basis, whose board consists of the corporate founders and might resist takeover attemptsWhile ProtonMail has labored with Swiss authorities up to now, Proton VPN is just not ruled by the identical legal guidelines that compelled thisClaims of a vulnerability in WireGuard’s reminiscence do not maintain waterInstalling, configuring and utilizing Proton VPNThis part explains the way it feels to run Proton VPN on the varied platforms it helps. As a rule, it isn’t troublesome. Proton VPN has extra options than ExpressVPN, and a few them may journey up new customers, however you’d have to actually scrounge to search out an precise inconvenience to complain about.WindowsProton 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 among the best interfaces we have tried on a VPN. The server community is instantly seen as each an inventory and map, and the situation search bar, join button and main options are all laid out across the similar window.Proton VPN’s app for Home windows. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)It is truthfully wonderful how a lot you possibly can 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 primary VPN app and a separate preferences panel can get annoying. Our solely actual gripe is that there must be a better approach to regulate the dimensions of the map.MacThe desktop app for Mac is not fairly as deftly laid out because the Home windows app. You possibly can attain a lot of the essential options from the primary window, together with Profiles, NetShield, Safe Core servers and the kill swap. Nevertheless, there is no longer a approach to filter out an inventory of the P2P or Tor servers, besides by digging by the Profile controls. On the plus aspect, you possibly can regulate the dimensions of the map, so it is now a viable different to the server record.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.AndroidThe Android app takes the identical design cues because the Home windows app, and works as effectively. 4 tabs alongside the underside swap between the house display, the nation record, Profiles and all different settings. You possibly can search the record of nations by tapping the magnifying glass on the top-right. In one other good contact, tapping the dots by any digital location will let you know the place the server is bodily positioned.Proton VPN’s Android shopper. (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.iOSProton VPN for iPhone and iPad seems to be nearly the identical because it does on Home windows and Android, however with among the similar drawbacks discovered on Mac. The server record is extra cluttered, and as soon as once more there is no simple approach 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 neglect about.Browser extensionsProton 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 things else goes unprotected. You possibly can break up the tunnel additional by setting the VPN to not work on sure URLs (in contrast to the opposite apps, you need not know the IPs of these websites).Proton VPN pace take a look at: Impacts of VPN AcceleratorWe used Ookla’s Speedtest app to find out how a lot Proton VPN drags on a consumer’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 things 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 looking efficiency nonetheless seems to be 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 take a look at, we checked Proton VPN’s record of sensible routing servers, which use servers in a single nation to simulate IP addresses in one other. Nearly all of the sensible routing servers are primarily based in 5 cities: Miami, London, Marseille, Bucharest and Singapore. We ran these exams on a Mac utilizing the automated protocol setting.Server LocationLatency (ms)Enhance factorDownload pace (Mbps)Share dropUpload pace (Mbps)Share dropPortland, OR, USA (unprotected)16–58.93–5.82–San Jose, CA, USA (finest server)523.3×55.8255.584Miami, FL, USA16010x54.3385.496London, UK33220.8×52.55115.722Marseille, France30919.3×45.42235.594Bucharest, Romania40825.5×52.51115.574Singapore, Singapore39424.6×52.26115.505Average27617.3×52.15125.584Proton VPN seems to be excellent in that desk. Its common obtain pace was 88 p.c of our unprotected speeds. To place that in perspective, should you began with 30 Mbps down (about half what we get) and related to any Proton VPN server, you’d nearly actually nonetheless have a quick sufficient connection to stream in 4K.Notice the “nearly” — Proton VPN did drop noticeably on its French server in Marseille. It is not unusual for one in all a VPN’s knowledge facilities to have hassle whereas the others work positive, and you may normally repair the issue by simply disconnecting and reconnecting. Simply be aware that whereas drops to about 75 p.c of your obtain pace are uncommon, they don’t seem to be inconceivable.Proton VPN safety take a look at: Watertight protocolsWhen 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 joyful 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 StealthProton VPN makes use of 4 VPN protocols to speak between your gadgets, its servers and the web. Three of them (WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2) are widespread selections with no severe flaws so long as they’re carried out thoughtfully. The fourth, Stealth, is an obfuscation protocol you must solely use if the opposite three are blocked.The protocol choice display 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 info itself, which leaves it with no apparent vulnerabilities. It will possibly additionally talk utilizing the identical ports as widespread HTTPS site visitors, so it is onerous 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 alternate of mounted IP addresses, however the Proton VPN implementation overwrites these IPs with randomized addresses, slicing the safety danger.IKEv2 is a protected alternative that is sometimes sooner than both OpenVPN or WireGuard. You in all probability will not use it until it occurs to return up when you’ve set the protocol to Sensible. As such, it is on the best way to being phased out of Proton VPN.Stealth is exclusive to Proton VPN, although its perform is just not. It is acquired the identical structure as WireGuard, however provides one other TLS tunnel to evade community blocks that catch VPN site visitors. That further 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, known as “Sensible,” is just not a protocol — it means your VPN shopper selects the protocol that provides you with the very best speeds in your present server. Since all 4 protocols are protected, there is no draw back to utilizing the Sensible setting more often than not.Leak testWe used AirVPN’s IP leak software 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 attainable, we examined utilizing a easy technique: checking our seen IP handle 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 handle present up on the software. This held true even outdoors the Safe Core server record, the place knowledge facilities may need been managed by third events. It is not excellent proof, but it surely’s an excellent signal that Proton VPN enforces a constant safety regime on all its servers.Proton VPN efficiently masked our actual IP handle, even on a digital location in Angola. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)We additionally used BrowserLeaks to test for WebRTC leaks. These are primarily a difficulty on the browser aspect, however a VPN is doubly essential 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 IPv6Proton 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 handle, it could possibly trigger a leak — that is why most VPNs, even the very 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.Thus far, IPv6 is robotically enabled on Proton VPN’s Linux apps and browser extensions, and may 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 testEven if a VPN’s protocol selections are stable, it is attainable 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 joyful to say we by no means noticed plaintext as soon as.How a lot does Proton VPN value?To get full entry to Proton VPN, you will want a Plus subscription, which prices $9.99 per thirty days. You possibly can knock off half that value by subscribing for a full 12 months and paying a lump sum of $59.88, figuring out to $4.99 per thirty days. A Plus account with Proton VPN additionally provides you free entry to each different Proton app.You may as well pay $107.76 prematurely to subscribe for 2 years, a median of $4.49 per thirty days — maybe extra handy, but it surely does not prevent a lot. The one-year plan is the very 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 present providing Engadget readers an unique deal that gives a 12-month plan for $47.88 ($3.99 per thirty days) and a 24-month plan for $81.36 ($3.39 per thirty days). Study extra about it right here. One ultimate possibility is the Proton Limitless subscription, mentioned within the “aspect apps and bundles” part under.”The Proton VPN free planProton VPN is among the finest free VPNs in the marketplace proper now. No different VPN backed by as a lot expertise and common sense has a free plan with no knowledge limits. As a substitute of capping how a lot knowledge you should utilize per thirty days, Proton VPN restricts which servers free customers can entry, limiting them to 5 nations: 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 variation goes together with enhancements to the choice algorithm, higher load balancing and the addition of the Poland and Romania places. It is usually attainable 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 aspect apps and bundlesProton VPN’s important bundle is Proton Limitless, which will get you all six Proton merchandise in a single bundle: VPN, Mail, Drive, Calendar, Pockets and Cross. This prices $12.99 for a month, $119.88 for a 12 months ($9.99 per thirty days) and $191.76 for 2 years ($7.99 per thirty days). We can’t be going in-depth on any of them on this evaluation, however here is a fast rundown of every.Proton Mail: An end-to-end encrypted e-mail service. Proton can nonetheless see a Mail consumer’s actual IP handle, 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 alternate.Proton Cross: A password supervisor that generates, shops and autofills passwords for on-line accounts.Even should you solely want two of the six, Proton Limitless saves you cash. Separate month-to-month subscriptions to Proton VPN and Proton Mail would value a complete of $14.98, so you have already knocked off $2 per thirty days. That will increase should you’re in a position to decide to a 12 months prematurely.Shut-reading Proton VPN’s privateness policyProton’s privateness coverage is available in two components: the final Proton coverage and the shorter coverage particular to Proton VPN. We’ll cowl them in that order.Normal Proton privateness policyProton tracks consumer exercise on its product web sites utilizing its personal advertising instruments; the info set collected doesn’t embrace IP addresses. It retains an e-mail handle related to every consumer’s account, but it surely’s not allowed to attach IP addresses (and thus identities and places) to these emails until the consumer breaches the phrases of service.It’s possible you’ll rightly ask how Proton would know a consumer is abusing one in all their companies if they do not hold exercise logs. The reply is that logs aren’t wanted; most types of abuse may 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 crew might examine that server and discover the hacker whereas the assault was nonetheless ongoing.The coverage goes on to record the 5 third-party knowledge processors Proton makes use of (Zendesk, PayPal, Chargebee, Atlassian and Stripe), none of whom are allowed to retailer buyer exercise knowledge. Proton cautions that it’ll share what knowledge it does have in response to unblockable requests from the Swiss authorities, however not “till all authorized or different treatments have been exhausted.” That is customary for a VPN that wishes to stay in enterprise, and the transparency report reveals the corporate does certainly combat court docket orders when it could possibly.Proton VPN privateness policyProton’s VPN-specific privateness coverage is kind of quick. It states that Proton can not log consumer actions or identifiable traits of gadgets related to the VPN, can not throttle web connections and should prolong full privateness and safety to free customers.In a single sense, a privateness coverage requires you to take the VPN supplier at their phrase, but it surely’s harmful for a corporation 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 due to this fact an ideal signal. It is also been confirmed a number of instances by a third-party audit, most just lately in July 2024.Can Proton VPN change your digital location?Testing a VPN’s capability to masks a consumer’s location is not complicated — all you want is a streaming subscription. We related to 5 take a look at places and tried to unblock Netflix with each. 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 locationUnblocked Netflix?Library modified?CanadaYYRomaniaYYGhanaYYJapanYYNew ZealandYYProton VPN handed the take a look at 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 related 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 networkProton VPN’s free plan consists of servers in 5 places: the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, america and Japan. Once you join as a free consumer, you will be robotically related to whichever location is quickest.A paid plan opens up the total community of 154 servers in 117 nations and territories. The menu consists of 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 already know which of its places are digital. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)Remember that about two-thirds of those server places are digital, that means they don’t seem to be bodily positioned the place they declare to be. This consists of 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 cover your IP handle simply in addition to bodily ones. It is solely an issue should you’re anticipating the form of efficiency, notably by way of latency, that you simply get from a close-by server. Fortunately, Proton VPN provides you quick sufficient obtain and add speeds that distance should not be an issue.NoneCountriesVirtual LocationsCitiesNorth America6325South America747Europe42651Africa252326Middle East131014Asia221625Oceania206TOTAL11762154Features of Proton VPNProton VPN has numerous further options that transcend customary VPN performance. We have already talked about the Stealth protocol and IPv6 assist. On this part, we’ll cowl a further 5 options that could be of curiosity.NetShield advert blockerProton VPN’s built-in advert blocker is called NetShield. It is accessible on the primary UI web page, and has two settings: one which blocks solely malware websites, and one which blocks websites related 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 internet servers recognized to host malware, inject adverts or connect cross-site trackers to your looking session. The DNS-blocking strategy means it isn’t able to blocking adverts served from the identical area that hosts them — so no blocking YouTube video adverts. On the optimistic aspect, it means NetShield works throughout your whole machine, not simply in your browser.NetShield additionally shows a working whole of what number of of every type of interference it is blocked. It catches most banner adverts, however since you possibly can’t customise the blocklist in any manner, it is best when mixed with one other browser-level advert blocker.Safe Core serversHere’s an attention-grabbing one. Safe Core is a type of a standard characteristic often called 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 non-public.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’ll journey by a chosen server in Iceland, Sweden or Switzerland. A number of touches make Safe Core servers extra dependable than the typical VPN node:All three nations are protected jurisdictions, with consumer-friendly privateness legal guidelines and courts sympathetic to privateness claims.Safe Core knowledge facilities are locked down bodily; for instance, the Iceland location is a refitted army 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, but it surely’s value it when you’ve got one thing particularly delicate to do on-line.Kill switchProton VPN features a kill swap, a typical characteristic. When energetic, a kill swap 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 tunnelingSplit tunneling is included on the Home windows and Android apps, however customers on different gadgets 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 handle. This grants you a exact stage of management over your break up, so long as you already know the IP of every web site you are putting on the record (you’ll find that out utilizing DNS checker).Torrenting servers and port forwardingProton VPN is among the finest VPNs for torrenting. It restricts torrenting to P2P servers, however almost each server on the record 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 p.c of your add speeds on common, and you must have few issues utilizing a torrenting shopper.Proton VPN’s record of P2P servers. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)It additionally has some assist for port forwarding, which may enhance torrenting pace. Home windows and Linux customers can allow it with a easy toggle, which supplies an energetic port quantity for configuring non-public servers. Mac customers can arrange port forwarding by guide OpenVPN or WireGuard configurations.Tor over VPNA handful of Proton VPN servers route you on to the Tor community after encrypting your connection. Whereas related to one in all these Tor over VPN servers, that are marked with TOR of their names and an onion image, you’ll open .onion hyperlinks on a standard browser.That is extra than simply handy — Tor over VPN is the most secure approach to entry the darkish internet. With the VPN as an middleman, you are by no means connecting to Tor with your individual IP handle, so malicious node operators cannot see your actual id. For optimum 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 nations (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, but it surely will not work on Mac or iOS until you could have the kill swap enabled.ProfilesA “profile” on Proton VPN is a bunch of pre-established settings you should utilize to rapidly 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 Commonplace, Safe Core, P2P or Tor over VPN.Nation: The nation to which the profile connects.Server: A server inside that nation. You may as well choose “quickest” or “random.”Protocol: Which VPN protocol the profile will use. “Sensible” may be chosen.For instance, say you wish to watch a TV collection that is solely accessible on Netflix in Canada. You may create a profile known as “Netflix Canada” that connects to the quickest Canadian server with only one click on. We might name profiles situationally helpful, however they’ll save a number of time should you repeatedly carry out the identical motion in your VPN.Proton VPN buyer assist optionsWe 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 heart by any of Proton VPN’s apps, or by going on to the web site. Articles seem 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 seems to be 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 primary 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 assist content material. Till Proton fixes it, simply use the search bar for all the things. The articles themselves are well-written, give or take some stilted English.Getting fast helpWe could not discover written solutions to our questions on possession and server load, so we turned to stay chat. Free customers ought to remember that stay chat assist is just accessible on paid accounts, however there is a pretty energetic subreddit at r/protonvpn the place Proton employees steadily publish.Dwell chat is just not intuitively positioned on protonvpn.com. We lastly discovered it by scrolling all the best way to the underside of the primary web page, solely to be advised no person was on-line to assist in the mean time — stay chat is just accessible from 9 AM to midnight Central European Time (CET). We submitted our query concerning the Marseille servers as an e-mail ticket as an alternative. Sam Chapman for EngadgetThis half was simple, at the very least, as the shape helpfully populated our system info. We additionally acquired a immediate response inside 24 hours. We ended the interplay there, as we weren’t in a position to reproduce the sluggish conduct on the French server places, but it surely’s good to know the crew will reply rapidly.Proton VPN background test: The CERN origins of Proton AGProton VPN launched in 2017, however its crew’s expertise goes again a lot farther. The founders of its father or mother firm, Proton AG, met whereas working at CERN in Switzerland, and the corporate stays beneath Swiss jurisdiction.Their first product, Proton Mail, went stay in 2014 after a profitable crowdfunding marketing campaign, and claims to have 100 million customers at this time. Proton VPN was Proton AG’s second challenge. 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 consumer knowledge inaccessible.The Proton FoundationProton introduced in 2024 that almost all of its shares had been acquired by the Proton Basis, a nonprofit whose solely function is to regulate Proton inventory. Amongst different advantages, this prevents it from being bought by anybody who disagrees with its mission. To promote to an objectionable father or mother firm, the whole board of trustees must agree, which feels unlikely primarily based on Proton’s observe document.All through Proton’s historical past, we solely discovered two incidents severe sufficient to touch upon, and solely one in all them involved Proton VPN. We’ll cowl them each under.ProtonMail legislation enforcement collaboration allegationsOn the web page that hosts its annual transparency report, Proton states overtly that it “could also be legally compelled to reveal sure consumer 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 consumer’s IP handle and machine logs. The police arrested the consumer, a French environmental activist.Whereas that is unnerving for privacy-minded customers, there are some essential contextual points to contemplate. Most significantly, ProtonMail is just not ruled by the identical coverage as Proton VPN. On the time the case unfolded, Swiss legislation obliged all e-mail corporations to adjust to court docket orders from Swiss authorities handy over knowledge. VPNs aren’t topic to these retention necessities.Right this moment, Swiss e-mail corporations have been reclassified so that they’re additionally exempt from knowledge retention necessities, thanks partly to a coverage change Proton fought for. A consultant from Proton confirmed that “beneath Swiss legislation, we aren’t obligated to save lots of any consumer connection logs.” It is also reassuring that, regardless of complying with the subpoena, Proton wasn’t in a position to flip over the contents of any emails.Alleged WireGuard reminiscence vulnerabilityIn January 2025, researchers at Venak Safety alleged that Proton VPN lacks reminiscence safety for keys generated beneath 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 attainable to view public keys, not non-public ones. This is not a lot of a bombshell, provided that “public” is correct there within the identify. However uneven encryption — the sort utilized by VPN protocols like WireGuard — requires each keys to decrypt any messages. Even when a hacker had been in a position to get ahold of a non-public key, they possible would not be capable of use it for something. WireGuard incorporates excellent ahead secrecy by default, altering session keys typically sufficient that any given secret’s out of date by the point it is stolen.Last verdictIn quick, we’re ready to suggest Proton VPN to nearly anyone. Whether or not you are primarily involved with safety, streaming or one thing else, likelihood is good that you will be happy. The one severe downsides are that the long-term plans are overpriced and that it is onerous to get stay tech assist should you stay outdoors of Europe.It is also our unqualified decide for the very best free VPN, however with the caveat that it is a unhealthy alternative 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 alternative.