How to use Proton VPN on Android
Proton VPN is a security and privacy-focused VPN app for Android that requires Android 8.0 and above.
Get Proton VPN for free on Android(new window)
With a single tap, you can connect to thousands of VPN servers around the world, view blocked sites and content, while also hiding your IP address.
Learn more about why you need a VPN on your Android phone
This guide shows you how to use VPN on Android with the Proton VPN mobile app. It also provides an overview of the various features that are included in the Proton VPN Android app. These include:
- Kill switch(new window)
- Choose between the OpenVPN, WireGuard, and Stealth VPN protocols(new window)
- Smart protocol(new window)
- DNS leak protection(new window)
- NetShield Ad-blocker(new window)
- NAT type(new window)
- VPN Accelerator(new window)
- Alternative routing(new window)
It’s possible to manually configure OpenVPN and WireGuard on Android, but doing this means you lose all the advanced features available on the Proton app.
Our Android app can also be used to secure your Chromebook.
How to install Proton VPN on Android
1. In a browser, tap the Play Store link below.
This will open the Proton VPN download page in the Play Store app. Alternatively, you can launch the Play Store app and search for Proton VPN manually.
2. Install the app.
How to use Proton VPN on Android
Once you’ve installed the Proton VPN on Android, you’ll need to sign in and connect to a VPN server to protect your browsing.
Sign in to Proton VPN
Open the Proton VPN app and tap Sign in.
If you haven’t created a Proton VPN account yet, tap the Create an Account button or click here. Note that if you’ve signed up for any Proton service (such as Proton Mail or Proton Drive), you can use the same username and password to sign into Proton VPN.
Enter your Proton Account username and password, then tap Sign in.
Connect to the fastest country allowed by your plan
If you’re on our Free plan, select Fastest country → Connect to automatically connect to the fastest server for your location. Free servers are located in the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, and the United States.
The first time (only) that you connect to Proton VPN, you’ll be asked confirm the VPN connection request. Tap OK to continue.
If you see a screen titled Action needed to connect to VPN instead, please see this guide.
If you’re on a paid plan, select Fastest country → Connect to automatically connect to the fastest server for your location. We have Plus servers located in over 110 countries worldwide (you can also select Fastest country in the Countries tab — see below).
Connect to a specific location (if you have a paid Proton VPN plan only)
If you are on any paid Proton VPN plan, you can connect to any of our high-speed servers in over 110 countries. To connect to the fastest server in the country of your choice, open the Countries tab and tap on a country.
To connect to a specific city in a country, tap … next to the country, and select a city.
To connect to a specific server in a city, tap … next to the city, and select a server.
To connect to one of our special Secure Core, P2P, or Tor servers, tap on the relevant tab and select from the list.
To use our Secure Core double-VPN feature, tap on the Secure Core tab and select an exit country (the country you’ll appear to access the internet from). You can now select the Secure Core server location you’d like the connection to be routed through.
You can also find any country, city, or server by tapping the search icon (magnifying glass) and typing its name into the search field.
Recent and pinned countries, cities, and servers
At the bottom of the home screen, you can see a list of countries you recently connected to. Simply tap on one of these to connect to the same server as you did before (in the example, if you previously used Secure Core to connect to an exit server in Australia via Switzerland, tapping it will set up the same Secure Core connection this time).
To pin an item to the Recents list, swipe right on the location.
The Proton VPN app will now show the pinned item at the top of the Recents list with a “pin” icon next to it. This pinning feature replaces the Connection Profiles in older versions of our Android app.
Learn more about Connection Profiles and pinned items
To see details about the server you’re connected to, tap the active connection on your home screen.
You can view connection details, such as how long you’ve been connected, the IP address of the VPN server, the server load, the VPN protocol used, and more,
Proton VPN Settings
Tap on the Settings tab (gear icon) to access the Proton VPN for Android app’s more advanced settings and features.
Features
Connection
- Protocol
- VPN Accelerator
- Advanced settings (see below)
General
- Notifications – Opens Android’s notification settings for the Proton VPN app
- DNS leak protection (this setting is always enabled)
Support
- Help Center (opens the Proton VPN support pages in your browser)
- Report an Issue
- Debug logs (our customer support staff may request these to help troubleshoot problems)
Improve Proton
- Help us fight censorship
- Rate Proton VPN (open the Proton VPN web page on Google Play
Advanced settings
- Alternative routing(new window)
- LAN connections (enabling this allows you to connect to other devices on your local network (such as printers and LAN servers)
- NAT type
At the bottom of the page, you can Sign out . You can also find the version number of the Proton VPN app you’re using, which can be useful when troubleshooting.