Proton VPN and Windows location data

On Windows 11, you may notice that the Proton VPN app appears to make frequent location access requests, which can prompt Windows to ask you to enable Location Services for the Proton VPN app. There is no need for you to do this. Proton VPN is not actually making location requests, and there is no threat to your privacy.

This happens because Windows 11 treats WiFi(new window) access as location data(new window). So what you’re seeing is Proton VPN accessing your WiFi (which it will do continuously), not your location.

Additional detail

The Proton VPN app will warn you when your device connects to an insecure WiFi network. To do this, it queries your device’s network interfaces, the SSID of available networks, and whether the connection is secure or not. The API we use for this fully open source(new window). Since Windows treats WiFi scans as location requests, it will ask you to enable Location Services.

This is explained in Microsoft’s official documentation(new window):

“When location services are turned off, Windows and apps will not have access to device location, and some apps may not be able to access information about Wi-Fi networks…

You can turn off location services and control and view which apps have access to your location at any time on the Location page in the Settings app. Apps that request access to certain Wi-Fi APIs which can be used to determine your location will also appear on this page….

Apps can request access to your location even when Location services is turned off. When this happens, a prompt is shown the first time an app requests location on the device. You can choose to turn off these prompts so you will not be notified. However, some apps such as those that access Wi-Fi APIs may not work as expected, and you will no longer receive notifications explaining why they are blocked…”