When we launched Proton VPN a year ago, we did it because now more than ever, we need robust tools for defending privacy, security, and freedom online. In particular, we saw a rising risk of increased online censorship targeting secure communications systems such as Proton Mail. Unfortunately, this prediction has come to pass, so Proton VPN was launched just in time.
In the past 12 months, we have seen a number of governments and corporations take aim at encrypted services: Turkey blocked Proton Mail, Iran and Russia blocked Telegram, and Google and Amazon have enabled Iran to block Signal, to give just a few examples. Authoritarian regimes are using censorship to suppress ideas, and Internet service providers are consolidating power over the web. Our mission to make online security and privacy available to all has become more crucial.
While Proton VPN was born out of our desire to provide a trustworthy free VPN service that would help Proton Mail users access their email even under censorship, the project has now grown beyond that. Today there are many people who are using Proton VPN for more than just accessing their Proton Mail. Today, over half a million people use Proton VPN for things like accessing Wikipedia, reaching blocked news sites, or even watching Netflix or the football World Cup.
All this and more is possible thanks to the support from the Proton VPN community, which has made it possible for us to accomplish our mission faster and to continue improving the service. Here’s a look at just a few of the things you’ve helped us achieve:
- Proton VPN is now a massive community passionate about security and privacy. In addition to over 500,000 users, we have over 23,700 Twitter followers, over 7,000 followers on Facebook, and over 4,000 on Reddit.
- We have made privacy more accessible with easy-to-use native VPN apps. We’ve already launched native apps or tools for four operating systems: Android, Windows, Mac and Linux. Our iOS application is also in development and scheduled for release later this year.
- We now have over 100 servers in 15 countries. We plan to increase the number of countries to 20 by the end of this year.
- We’re breaking down Internet censorship and providing security no matter what content you choose to access. Proton VPN has several dedicated servers for streaming, from Netflix to Hulu to your favorite sporting events.
- Proton VPN is still a free VPN. We believe access to security and privacy should not be limited by someone’s ability to pay. Thanks to the support of our paid users, we have been able to stay true to our promise of providing a free VPN that does not abuse your privacy.
We’re also proud of the feedback we’ve received from users. Our social media feeds and our inboxes are full of encouragement—and constructive criticism—that we take very seriously. We’re grateful to have a community that cares so much about the product and the mission to engage with our team.
We’ve also gotten great reviews from TechRadar, and around the web, from which called Proton VPN “a smart choice for experienced VPN users,” to ghacks.net, which wrote that Proton VPN is “one of the best, if not the best free VPN options right now, hands down.” You can check a full list of Proton VPN reviews.
We set out to make the Internet a better place. Thanks to you, after just one year, we have already made a great deal of progress. Going forward, we will continue to listen to your feedback and make further improvements. If you have ideas for features you would love to see, don’t hesitate to let us know on social media. We look forward to continuing to improve Proton VPN with your support!
Best Regards,
The Proton VPN Team
You can follow us on social media to stay up to date on the latest Proton VPN releases:
To get a free Proton Mail encrypted email account, visit: proton.me/mail
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I’m not so much a VPN wiz, but I am someone who recognizes the importance of the right to privacy. That being said, the U.S. has come to recognize that PR – all PR – impresses only its ability to highlight all but what the consumer really needs to know. So, what can subscribers expect to relinquish, – either now or in the future – in exchange for this? There has to be something sacrificed in order for this to get pass the some of the biggest information-gathering hogs on the internet. Is there a setting or reconfiguring we need to look at, to make sure our OS, browsers and other software doesn’t get compromised in all this?
Congratulations! This is our 1st VPN and we love it!
Your products are very impressive. How about creating an applock to rival all? That would b great!! Angy
Greetings from Russia!
Nice work with «Apophis Squad»! The servers was down for me less that 2 hours! I think this is awesome result. Happy Birthday and thanks for REAL services! :)
Похоже школьники из “Apophis Squad” поздравили вас DDOS’ом. :)
Но честно говоря, я ожидал большего. Как-то очень быстро они слились! Многие сервера ProtonVPN подключались без особых проблем, правда несколько часов клиент под Linux не подключался вообще. Но зато клиент OpenVPN позволял подключиться и довольно стабильно держал соединение. Молодцы ProtonVPN! И поздравляю с днем рождения. Вы заслужили любовь русскоязычных пользователей!
P.S. Мне стыдно, что в Россиийском ИТ есть люди, которые поддерживают путинскую диктатуру и цензуру, и готовы бороться с компаниями, которые отстаивают и обеспечивают защищенность конфиденциальных данных, право на приватное общение и прочие конституционные права. “Apophis Squad” – вы всего-лишь шайка обычных гопников. И однажды ваша карма вас найдет. Надеюсь это будет больно. :)
Well, this is certainly one of the best freemium services amongst over two hundred comercial VPN providers. I have yet to test my traffic in minute detail using traffic analysis software applications like Wireshark, perform external penetration testing and the like, mind you. Allow me to supplement my personal opinion regarding some topics such as PR (public relations). It will always have a negative connotation in my dictionary as both a word and branch of any given service. Mostly due to the way enterprises conduct their PR strategy. I believe in educating and being straightforward to the citizenry to the superlative.
I do not know whether VPN’s are causing greater harm or good to society, being limited as they are in the full scope of their expected protective features. I am not a political person. I merely believing in providing the truth to the people and letting them decide what to do about it as they please, even if it means to face a period of provisional anarchy. Do i trust any means of anonymous communication? Absolutely not. More than money in itself, they would need the mettle and resources to face external pressure and attacks. There are only two kind of people i trust in this world: Law enforcement agents and the military. I pledge complete compliance to my sovereign nation, its allies and our commander in chief. The only reason why i use a VPN is order to increase the level of protection from black hat hackers and because i dislike private corporation like ISP’s, even though they work under close scrutiny with our judiciary branch and intelligence agencies.
I am new to Proton VPN today I joined I like the site I kinda messed up though my fault I’m not so good at this stuff, I’m hoping I can resolve it with your staff it is my fault. If you can take a look at my email I sent .But let me say I am very impressed so far but I don’t know too much so thank you as a human helping people with free VPN a very very good 1. Let me tell you something most people will do whatever it takes to get what they want . look at poachers in Africa armed robbery at a bank. But then there are nice people like your company that offer people a very needed product and give it to them BLESS YOUR ENTIRE TEAM. It is the good people that will win over the bad and the bad they also got Judgement day too deal with. Thank you. Mike
Hey Mike, thank you for the good words, we really appreciate that! I can see that you are already in touch with our support team and they will assist you.