VPN connection profiles

Reading: 0 mins
Category: Proton VPN apps

If you regularly use the same custom connection settings, you can save them as a VPN connection profile to make it easy to connect again using those settings. With a connection profile you can define:

The country, specific city, or server to connect to
The VPN connection type (Standard, Secure Core, P2P(new window), or Gateway)
The VPN protocol(new window) used
Whether to use our Secure Core(new window) double-VPN feature
Whether to use NetShield Ad-blocker, our DNS filtering feature that can also block trackers and malware
Whether to use Moderate NAT
Whether to automatically open a website upon connection

Note that currently, not all our apps support all these options. VPN connection profiles are currently available on:

Windows
macOS
Android
iOS / iPadOS

In some apps, in addition to your custom profiles, we’ve predefined a couple of profiles for you to choose from. Unlike the custom profiles that you create, these cannot be deleted or edited.

Fastest — This is the same as using our Quick Connect button. It will connect you to the fastest server for your location.
Random — This will connect you to a random Proton VPN server, which could be located anywhere in the world we run servers.

Windows

How to create a connection profile

1. Open the app and go to the Profiles tab → Create Profile.

2. Select the type of connection you want (Standard, Secure Core, P2P, or Tor), give it a Name, and choose a Color to help identify it.

You can then select your preferred connection options. For a Standard connection, these are:

Protocol — Smart (protocol)(new window), OpenVPN (UDP), OpenVPN (TCP), or WireGuard
Country — Choice of more than 110 countries
Server — Fastest, Random, or a particular server in the chosen country

For Secure Core, you need to select a (Secure Core) Server and an Exit country. For P2P and Tor, you can specify a country in the dropdown Server list.

Click Save when you’re done. You can create multiple profiles.

How to use connection profiles

Simply go to the Profiles tab and click on a profile you have created. Proton VPN will then connect using the parameters you defined for it.

How to manage connection profiles

To manage your connection profiles, Profiles tab → Manage Profiles.

From here you can launch profiles (power button), edit profiles, or delete profiles.

Profiles can no longer be synced across your devices, as we are working on a more user-friendly recent connections feature that offers similar functionality.

Click Close when you’re done.

macOS

How to create a connection profile

1. Open the app and go to the Profiles tab → Create Profile.

2. Give your connection a Name and choose a Color to help identify it. Using the dropdown lists, select your preferred connection options:

Select the type of connection you want (Standard, Secure Core, P2P, or Tor, give it a Name, and choose a Color to help identify it.

Feature — Standard, Secure Core, P2P, or Tor
Country — Choice of more than 110 countries.
Server — Fastest, Random, or a particular server in the chosen country
Protocol — Smart (protocol)(new window), IKEv2, OpenVPN (TCP), OpenVPN (UDP), or WireGuard

For Secure Core, Country selects the location for the exit server, while Server selects the Secure Core server your connection is routed through.

Click Save when you’re done. You can create multiple profiles.

How to use connection profiles

Simply go to the Profiles tab and click on the Connect button next to a profile that you have created. Proton VPN will then connect using the parameters you defined for it.

How to manage connection profiles

To manage your connection profiles, Profiles tab → Manage Profiles.

From here you can Connect, Edit, or Delete profiles you have created. You can also Create Profile from here if you wish.

Simply close the window when you’re done.

Android

How to create a connection profile

1. Open the app and go to the Profiles tab → Create profile.

Give your profile a Name and choose a Color and Icon to help identify it. Tap Next when you’re done.

Select the Type of connection you want (Standard, Secure Core, P2P, or Gateway for organization users) and the Country you wish to connect to.

Configure the type of connection and where to connect to

When you select a specific Country, you can also choose a city and server. If you don’t specify a server, you’ll be connected to the fastest server in the country or city you selected.

Select a country, city and server (as desired)

If you’re part of a Proton VPN organization that has Gateways, you’ll also have the option to select a Gateway and a server within it.

To select a Secure Core connection, first choose your destination country. The app will select a middle country from Iceland, Switzerland, or Sweden. You can change the middle country, but just be aware that some destination countries aren’t compatible with all middle countries.

Select your prefered Secure Core routing

Tap Next when you’re done.

Now, decide which settings to enable for your profile. At the moment, these settings can be customized:

NetShield — Whether or not to use NetShield Ad-blocker
Protocol — Select Smart (protocol)(new window), WireGuard, IKEv2, or OpenVPN
NAT type — Select Strict NAT (type 3) or Moderate NAT (type 2)
LAN connections — Whether or not to let your Android device connect to other devices on your local network (such as a printer or NAS).

Connect and Go — Allows you to specify a Website URL that will automatically open in your device’s default browser when you connect using this profile.