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Proton VPN has announced a host of new updates for its VPN app. Some features are live now, with others coming later in 2025 and into 2026.
The privacy-focused provider is one of the best VPNs out there and has released some significant updates in recent months – including a major UI redesign. You can read about these in our Proton VPN review.
Improvements to NetShield, Proton VPN's threat protection offering, are live now. Speed boosts and over 3,000 new servers are also ready to be used.
Proton VPN's summer check-in details what else users can look forward to.
What features are live?
The start of summer saw a much-needed focus on NetShield. The feature, which also prevents ads and trackers, is now said to block "almost all known phishing domains" and minimizes false positives.
Historically, NetShield hasn't been as effective as NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro. We'll see if this is still the case when we get round to testing Proton VPN's updated offering.
Proton VPN's VPN Accelerator can now detect changes to your network conditions and configurations. It will automatically reconfigure these settings to ensure you can browse without buffering.
In our latest speed testing Proton VPN recorded speeds of 950+ Mbps, making it one of the fastest VPNs. The provider claims VPN Accelerator can improve speeds by up to 400%. It's enabled by default on all premium plans and works for all VPN protocols.
Over 3,000 new servers have been added, taking Proton VPN's total to over 13,600 in 122 countries – this is the highest server count out of any leading VPNs.
Panama, Armenia, Mongolia, Laos, and Brunei are the five new countries you can now browse from. Two new US cities have also been made available, Memphis, Tennessee, and McAllen, Texas.
Battery usage has also been optimized. Proton VPN's Android and iPhone VPN apps have had their background usage minimized, helping conserve your battery life.
Proton VPN says before the update a Xiaomi 13T, with no apps running, had 70% battery remaining after 24 hours. Post-update this figure was 95%.
What features are on the horizon?
Split tunneling allows you to decide which of your apps you want to protect with a VPN and which you don't. You can set this up in-app and don't have to worry about manually turning your VPN on and off.
Due to a depreciation of Network Kernel Extension APIs, Mac data packets are harder to control. This means split tunneling on the device is hard to do, and not a feature offered by most VPNs.
However, Proton VPN says you'll soon be able to use split tunneling on Linux and Mac – the feature is commonly available on Android and Windows VPN apps.
Mac users looking to share files via P2P will also be pleased as port forwarding is coming to macOS. Connections are routed through the Proton VPN firewall and online gamers may also benefit from speed improvements as a result.
Port forwarding is enabled on Windows and Linux VPN apps and Proton VPN has said many Mac users have been asking for it.
There's more love for Apple users as Guest Mode is coming to iOS and iPadOS. Guest Mode enables users to connect to Proton VPN Free without signing up for a Proton account. It's one of Proton VPN's dedicated anti-censorship features and is currently only available for Android VPN apps.
These anti-censorship features will also receive improvements. These are a lifeline for accessing the internet in countries where internet censorship is prevalent.
Other imminent updates include:
- Additional features for Android TV
- Improved support for F1 TV
- Better VPN connection profiles on Windows and Android
- IPv6 support for more platforms
- New ways to pay for Proton VPN, including additional cryptocurrency payment options
Proton VPN has said it's working on a command-line interface (CLI) for Linux, alongside GUI improvements. Gaming optimization and new features to "combat emerging privacy threats online" are also being explored.
The provider hopes to release these updates before the end of the year but "can't promise" anything.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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