Proton VPN: Fast & Secure Ratings and Reviews

Read and learn what a VPN is, so you can know what preferences you are missing!

I have had Proton mail and Proton VPN for years. I read several reviews that were bad. Almost all was because the person just did not know where to look to change a preference or just does not know anything about how a VPN works. I have set up several profiles as to where I want to connect. Always use Secure Core. I like that I can change to any location, just by clicking on a profile I created. If one profile server speed is slow, I click on another. Guys, read the instructions and learn how a VPN works, it’s capabilities and how to customize it like you want it. Whatever VPN you use, make sure the servers are not in the U. S. And a country that is big on people’s right to privacy. Sad but true, the U.S is at the top of collecting, mining & spying. And I don’t support using VPN’s for criminal activities. I was an LEO for 27 yrs and I do not believe in just grabbing everyone’s metadata off their cells at a Super Bowl just because they can. Get a warrant!!

In closing, I tried dozens of VPN’s and then ran many security test over the years . Proton passes them all. The only way Proton will fail it’s customer base, is folding from political pressure. But I think these guys & girls work at Proton for a reason. And that reason is because privacy matters.

Love the app thanks you for creating it.

After last update I lost all my saved profiles. It wasn’t that big a deal because generally make another when the current one is over 50% usage. Fortunately there are lots to choose from. I love when Facebook and other platforms think I’m in a different state. I did have to explain to my bank but they understood immediately. I log into my mother’s bank using the phone and no VPN (I generally don’t use WiFi unless at home). I know that my internet provider can get my information but I’m not that paranoid yet. I love the idea that you will not sell, reveal my information. In fact I don’t think they can because the encryption is done as it should be were even they can’t get the information. It’s a comfort to not be tracked or harassed and I can say anything I want without being cancelled. Unless the person I’m talking to does so and that is between us. Thanks for a wonderful app

Do not recommend.

Under no circumstances would I purchase this product. Somehow has become less reliable after I upgraded from the free version. Of course there are multiple tiers to choose from, I apparently picked the “pay for absolutely nothing” option. I was hoping it was just me but I see many other comments with the exact same issues. Disconnects randomly, often won’t tell you, or will say it’s connected to a server but be unusable. You will spend more time staring at the ProtonVPN connect screen than you will spend using your search engine almost every time, and often through multiple server hops.

I pay for premium and still occasionally will be connected to a free server automatically, and nearly every day it will just turn off without notifying me. Best I can tell is this has something to do with the daily alarms/notifications and the DND mode that turns on when you use your phones sleep/alarm schedule. Screen time limitation options in the iPhone might also affect it, but I have it set as an exception everywhere that’s relevant. Completely turning off and not even attempting to notify or reconnect before allowing internet use seems like an absolutely critical failure for a VPN.

Hopefully it gets better and I will gladly change the rating. I want this product to work. For now, stick to the free or go elsewhere.

Developer Response ,

With regards to the connection issue, how often are you experiencing these disconnections? Are these disconnections occurring only when your device is locked/asleep, or they are occurring when actively using your device? Are you using any type of anti-virus/firewall/network monitoring applications? Have you tried disabling Smart Protocol and manually switching between IKEv2, OpenVPN (UDP), and OpenVPN (TCP) protocol within application settings and then check if the issue persists? (https://protonvpn.com/support/how-to-change-vpn-protocols/) If that doesn't help, please reach out to us via https://protonvpn.com/support-form and include the above information. We'd be happy to look into this and help you troubleshoot. If the issue's resolved, we hope you'll reconsider your review and rating.

VPN when it works…

I subscribed to the Proton Plus version of the VPN service so i could browse on US servers while traveling overseas with no issue. My friend recommended this app but i’m starting to regret making this purchase. The VPN only worked for an hour or two before disconnecting and now it won’t connect to any foreign servers whatsoever.

Toggled all of the protective settings in order to connect to VPN in the US but it still does not work. I’ve closed and rebooted the app, restarted my phone and still can’t connect. It also won’t connect to any other country outside of my current location. If i’m unable to connect to servers of my choice, this paid service is simply ineffective.

What gets me is that there’s an option on the app to submit an error report. If you try to enter feedback, the error report comes back with an error of its own. It states there was an error and the request has timed out. This is a pretty subpar standard for troubleshooting and customer support. Really glad that I didn’t pay for more than the one month. I wanted to try it first and i’m glad i eased into this purchase. Back to the drawing board for a real VPN service.

Developer Response ,

That doesn’t sound right. Could you share some more details about the issue? Are you receiving any error messages? Have you tried switching protocols? Are you using any other VPNs on the same device? Are you using any firewall or antivirus? If you're having trouble contacting us through the 'Report an issue' option in the app menu, you can also reach us at https://protonvpn.com/support-form so we can assist you further.

Reliable VPN, drains battery

Update - battery drain: I want to update my review after further day-to-day use of ProtonVPN. I have noticed battery drain from the app is substantially higher than other VPN apps. I am seeing a confident 40%+ increase in drain compared to the priors two apps I used. I previously used Private Internet Access and another VPN app, all are setup to use WireGuard for connections. For Proton I use WireGuard by default but have Smart protocols enabled, which may be switching me to more inefficient protocols and therefore the drain? I am not sure what about Proton’s implementation is causing the drain to be so substantial but my ability to have a VPN enabled at all times is not possible with this app. I constantly have to disable VPN and be more conscious of battery conservation each day due to this problem. It’s still a great and robust app, but i think it needs more work on fixing this issue.
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My prior rating of this VPN was 1 star due to its initial offering having some serious gaps. I’ve now revisited the app and can say I’m impressed with the features and polish that has been introduced over time. Keep up the great work devs

Developer Response ,

Thank you for updating your review! We'd be happy to relay any additional feedback you may have about any of our services internally. We always value our community's input in shaping and improving our services going forward. Please feel to reach out to us on Twitter (@ProtonSupport) or at https://protonvpn.com/support-form. Edit: Thank you for following up with us. Could you switch to the WireGuard protocol from the settings tab as its more battery friendly and let us know if that helps improve the situation? The Smart protocol is designed to switch through different protocols depending on your connection. If the battery draining still persists, contact us through the "Report an issue" feature in the app menu so we can investigate further.

Would rate 5 stars if mine wasn’t bugged

I am on IOS, and I have used this app countless times for the past year and a half with no issues. The only reason I ever purposefully turned it off was because sometimes other apps would momentarily glitch as a result of the vpn, but this was extremely rare.

However, I recently turned it off while trying to figure out why another app wasn’t working correctly, and found that when I turned it back on, it no longer worked correctly. My phone would tell me it’s connected, but then on apps such as Reddit, I found some of my accounts were being banned due to a past IP ban, despite my phone saying the VPN was connected. I had been using the VPN to circumvent these bans previously as I don’t get out the house much currently, and life gets pretty lonely for me so it’s nice(and fun) to hop onto a platform like Reddit and engage in the civil internet discourse of comment sections.

Over all, it’s a very functional VPN, but I have to give it 4 stars because of this recent bug I’ve noticed.

Developer Response ,

Hi! Thank you for your honest feedback and review! We are sorry to hear about your situation. Could you please report this behavior to us through the "Report an issue" feature in the app menu so we can help you troubleshoot?

No Interactive Widgets

Solid VPN but the lack of interactive widgets with iOS 17 make it kind of annoying to turn on and off. Some apps won’t function with it on.

UPDATE: To clarify, the only widget on iOS currently is the Today View Widget. It only shows at the bottom of the other widgets. Thus it can’t be moved string and placed on a Home Screen. Also, it is not interactive. I’d like to see a few different options. 1) The ability to be able to have the ProtonVPN widget on my Home Screen with a simple connect/disconnect option that is interactive. 2) A larger widget option would also be nice that would allow me to connect to specific VPN profiles I’ve created. I downloaded SurfShark today just to see if it has interactive widgets that can be placed on the Home Screen and it does. I really don’t want to switch services, but this is a pretty basic feature that most apps have.

Regarding, apps that don’t work with it on is because I have the ad blocker turned on. So I’d like to be able to toggle the VPN off with an interactive widget before launching those apps.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your review. Would you mind clarifying what functionalities of the Proton VPN widget you'd like to see implemented exactly? We'd be happy to document your request, however, we'd like to have a clear understanding first. On another note, regarding the issue with certain apps not working properly with Proton VPN connected, could you contact us at https://protonvpn.com/support-form with more details? We'd be happy to investigate this further. Edit: we really appreciate the additional feedback, and we have documented your requests for future consideration. Make sure to follow our blog at https://protonvpn.com/blog for any news and updates on this.

Hesitant Five Stars

If you’re a Proton user, you’ve probably done the research already. For those of you who came here unprepared, allow me to nutshell it for you: Proton is very good at VPNing and one of the few big boys who you can -objectively- trust. However, the community of users tend to be very staunch in their opinions on the services, whether they’re pleased or otherwise. And as much as you can trust the claims Proton makes, you can- almost to the same extent- trust the validity of the community’s consistent complaints (new rollouts vs improving existing products, mobile apps dropping service w/o notifications, pricing, etc) So basically; this is not a “set it and forget it” VPN app. If you know what you need and Proton fits that niche, then they should absolutely be your choice. If you need a VPN so you feel confident that Comcast/Spectrum/whatever can’t see EVERY porn you watch, every time, then I’d look elsewhere.

Could be 5 stars

Update: Aug 14, 2021 - I don’t know if it’s an iOS limitation but I always have to wait around 5-8 seconds for the VPN to connect when I unlock the phone when it’s been locked for a bit. Is the OS freezing the app in the RAM? Enabling background app refresh for this app made no difference as well.

Also I have mistakenly thought the “kill switch” on the iOS app was the “permanent kill switch” that I use on desktop. Hopefully it can be added later on.
I’ve raised the rating another star because Proton actively reads & responds to their reviews.

Quality of life wishlist:

1. Switching the quick connect button to where the Connected/Not connected top bar is and vice versa. I have to slowly and consciously avoid swiping up from the bottom middle so I don’t accidentally disconnect.

2. “Malware & ads” option for Netshield. I think blocking the tracking is breaking some of my restaurant apps since my rewards won’t load unless I do malware only.

3. Profiles also saves the selected Netshield option.

4. Option to make backup of the profiles onto local storage of device. I noticed my profiles were gone when I reinstalled because of 2.5.1 issue.

5. Search box for the server list like the desktop app. Those of us looking for a country or using a server name that starts with a letter in the second half of the alphabet need to scroll a lot more.

6. Server filters for both mobile & desktop app. (Countries, server type, high load, etc.)

Developer Response ,

Update: Please note that there is a known disconnect issue on iOS while your device is locked/sleeping, related to the OS itself, and is outside of our control. We have already reported this issue to Apple. More information can be found on the following link: https://protonvpn.com/support/sleeping-iphone-does-not-run-protonvpn/ If you have any issues with regards to the app, don't hesitate to reach out. We can help: https://protonvpn.com/support-form

Not sure how to rate have questions

To start I need answers and solution then you will get six stars and a subscription from me So I contacted Apple and they told me that I needed to contact you even though I read on the other comments stated from your end that you fixed the disconnection or that you can’t fix it you reported it and they won’t fix it they told me it’s an issue with a developer and for me to get in contact through the review section of all places I would give this thing five stars and purchase it if I knew that everything was safe when my phone disconnects from the VPN I am unsure if the apps are still working in the background and then able to track me and find out my location or anything else about me while it’s just sitting there and I’m taking a nap or a break from the phone or what not I need to know what to do so we can further in this it’s an amazing service even the free part of it is really nice but still disconnects I have the Killswitch on too but I still get messages even though it’s disconnected I’m not sure how that works

Developer Response ,

Please note that there is a known disconnect issue on iOS while your device is locked/sleeping, related to the OS itself, and is outside of our control. We have already reported this issue to Apple. Once you wake up your device (i.e., once you unlock its screen), it will immediately reconnect to the VPN. More information can be found on the following link: https://protonvpn.com/support/sleeping-iphone-does-not-run-protonvpn/
If you have any more questions or concerns please contact our support team at https://protonvpn.com/support-form and provide better clarification of your report.