10 Proton VPN Life Hacks Every User Should Know
A VPN— or virtual private network —is a useful tool for protecting your data while browsing the internet, and Proton offers one of the best VPNs on the market. Whether you’re using Proton’s VPN for privacy or to access geo-restricted content, here are a few tips you need to know.
Use split tunneling to ensure that only the most important applications are connected to your VPN.
Split tunneling allows you to route some internet traffic through the VPN while excluding other low-risk connections. The tradeoff is less privacy for faster speeds. In the Proton VPN app, split tunneling works at the device level, so you can choose to include or exclude apps and IP addresses from the VPN tunnel. For example, you can select “Exclude” to exclude a specific browser you use for online gaming, which will preserve speed and protect all other traffic from your device. Or you can select “Include” and include a browser you use only for important connections, such as banking, and exclude all other connections from the tunnel.
Install the Proton VPN browser extension, which provides split tunneling at the domain level.
Proton VPN has a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox , and you only need a free Proton account to use it. Unlike the VPN app, which protects all traffic on your device, the extension only protects traffic within your browser. If you enable split tunneling in your browser, the VPN will protect all websites by default, except for the domains (and subdomains) you specifically exclude. Alternatively, you can select “Enable” mode , which will use the VPN only for those websites. This domain-level option means you can reserve the VPN for important sites and exclude others if you don’t need the extra latency.
Create profiles in one click to bypass certain streaming restrictions.
Proton lets you create and save connection profiles with frequently used settings so you don’t have to manually select your location, protocol, and custom settings each time you want to use the VPN for a specific purpose (such as accessing restricted streaming content). After creating a profile, you can simply go to the “Profiles” tab and select the one you want to use for your connection. Recently used profiles will appear in the “Recent” section of the “Home” tab.
Combine preset profiles with incognito mode to bypass dynamic pricing.
Another potential use for VPN profiles: bypassing geographic price increases on flights and hotels. Travel prices can vary depending on the country of origin (and currency), so you can get a cheaper ticket or hotel by rerouting traffic through the destination country (for bookings in the local currency), the airline’s home region, or a region with a lower GDP. Incognito mode itself doesn’t hide your IP address, but it increases the likelihood that you’ll see current base rates.
Provide access to local devices over local networks while maintaining traffic security.
If you have printers, speakers, media servers, or hard drives on your home network, you can enable Local Area Network (LAN) connectivity so these devices don’t have to go through the VPN tunnel and can communicate directly with each other while keeping all other traffic secure. This feature is available to paid subscribers, and you can enable or disable it in Settings > Connection ( details vary by app ).
Enable Stealth Protocol to bypass restrictive firewalls.
Proton uses several well-established protocols to create a secure VPN tunnel, including OpenVPN and the faster (and open-source) WireGuard protocol. Proton also features its own Stealth protocol, designed to disguise your VPN connection so it appears as standard HTTPS web traffic. This allows you to use the VPN even in situations where VPN connections are blocked, such as by corporate firewalls and in countries with restrictive regimes attempting to censor internet access. You can choose which protocol Proton uses in the settings .
If you’re unsure which protocol to choose, let Proton’s Smart Protocol feature do it for you. This setting automatically switches between protocols, so if one is blocked or drops, it will switch to another to ensure your connection remains secure. This means you don’t need to know or remember which protocol is best for any given situation, as Proton will use the fastest and most stable connection first. Note that Smart Protocol is enabled by default, but if you’ve changed your settings—for example, by switching to Stealth mode—and find that your connection drops when switching networks, switching back to Smart Protocol mode may resolve the issue.
Enable Proton’s kill switch to prevent your connection from being exposed.
A kill switch is an important VPN feature that can prevent your data from being leaked if your connection is interrupted. Proton has a standard kill switch that triggers if the VPN connection is accidentally disconnected and blocks all internet traffic until the connection is restored. Windows users, the graphical Linux app, and iOS and iPadOS users can enable an enhanced kill switch that blocks all traffic unless you’re connected to Proton’s VPN. The kill switch can be especially useful on public Wi-Fi networks, which can be a target for hackers . The process of enabling the kill switch and configuring its settings varies by platform and generally can’t be combined with split tunneling.
Adjust NetShield settings to prevent ad blocking on sites that disrupt your service.
Proton includes the NetShield ad blocker, which blocks ads, trackers, malware, and, for Windows users, adult content. When enabled, Proton’s dedicated DNS server checks the domains you visit for known offenders and prevents them from loading. On most platforms , NetShield is configured to protect against all of these types of data by default, but blocking ads and trackers can sometimes disrupt websites or certain essential browsing features. You can choose to block only malware, which will prevent loading resources from domains known to host malware and spyware. Please note that NetShield is only available to paid subscribers. Ad blocking settings can be found on the main screen or in the NetShield tab.
Managing alternative routes to balance ISP restrictions and privacy concerns.
Proton VPN has an anti-censorship feature known as alternative routing, which detects when a government, ISP, or network administrator blocks Proton services and attempts to reroute traffic through an alternative route. This feature operates in the background and is only activated if Proton is blocked. The tradeoff is that traffic is rerouted through third-party infrastructure, which may be owned by AWS, Cloudflare, and/or Google. Proton notes that your actual data is not disclosed, but your IP address may be visible. If you prefer to keep this private, you can disable alternative routing in the app settings.
Set up shortcuts to automatically connect using specific VPN settings.
If you use Proton VPN on a mobile device, you can set up shortcuts to turn the connection on or off based on certain events, such as connecting to a specific network or with a single tap. On iOS, combining shortcuts with specific actions—such as leaving or returning home—can initiate a VPN connection or activate a specific VPN profile. You can also add shortcuts to your home screen or ask Siri to trigger an action. Proton has a guide to possible shortcuts for iOS . There’s no perfect native equivalent on Android, but you can use a third-party app like Tasker or add an Android widget to your home screen for one-tap access to Proton.