# Proton VPN privacy rating

VPN service from Proton in Switzerland with open-source apps on every platform and a free plan without ads.

## Summary

Proton VPN scores 83 out of 100 (grade B) on the VPN providers criteria. It meets 8 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, independent audit, transparency report, TLS configuration, audited no-logs policy, anonymous payment, open-source apps and modern protocols. It partly meets open source, no trackers or telemetry, tells users about requests and security headers. It is based in Switzerland: Not in the Five, Nine or Fourteen Eyes; GDPR-style data protection law. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade B.

- Website: https://protonvpn.com
- Source code: https://github.com/ProtonVPN/android-app
- License: GPL-3.0
- Jurisdiction: Switzerland. Not in the Five, Nine or Fourteen Eyes. GDPR-style data protection law.
- Home page trackers: none found
- Category: [VPN providers](https://privacyratings.com/vpns/)
- Also rated: [Proton Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/protonmail/) (Email providers), [Proton Pass](https://privacyratings.com/password-managers/protonpass/) (Password managers), [Proton Authenticator](https://privacyratings.com/two-factor-authentication/proton-authenticator/) (Two-factor authentication), [Proton Calendar](https://privacyratings.com/calendars/proton-calendar/) (Calendars), [Proton Docs](https://privacyratings.com/office-suites/proton-docs/) (Office suites), [Lumo](https://privacyratings.com/ai-assistants/lumo/) (AI assistants), [Proton Drive](https://privacyratings.com/cloud-storage/proton-drive/) (Encrypted cloud storage)
- Grade: B (83/100)

## Criteria

| Criterion | Answer | Note | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Partial | Apps are open source under GPL-3.0. The server side is not. | https://github.com/ProtonVPN/android-app/blob/master/LICENSE |
| No trackers or telemetry | Partial | Website analytics are self-hosted, and the apps send first-party crash reports that can be turned off in settings. | https://proton.me/legal/privacy |
| No ads or data sales | Yes | Funded by paid plans. The free plan has no ads. | https://protonvpn.com/pricing |
| Independent audit | Yes | Full Securitum no-logs audit report, repeated yearly. | https://drive.proton.me/urls/DZVEJZFYHM#FPSKdUEykprb |
| Transparency report | Yes | Yearly counts of legal orders received, contested and complied with, including a separate Proton VPN section. | https://proton.me/legal/transparency |
| Tells users about requests | Partial | Swiss law requires authorities to notify subjects of proceedings. Proton does not itself promise notice. | https://proton.me/legal/privacy |
| TLS configuration | Yes | Grade A+ | https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=protonvpn.com&hideResults=on |
| Security headers | Partial | Grade B (75/100+) | https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/observatory/analyze?host=protonvpn.com |
| Modern web standards | Not tested yet | Not tested yet. |  |
| Audited no-logs policy | Yes | Securitum audits the VPN servers each year and found no activity or connection logging. | https://drive.proton.me/urls/DZVEJZFYHM#FPSKdUEykprb |
| Anonymous payment | Yes | Cash and Bitcoin are accepted, and the privacy policy states no personal information is needed to create an account. | https://protonvpn.com/support/payment-options |
| Open-source apps | Yes | Apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS are open source. | https://github.com/ProtonVPN |
| Modern protocols | Yes | WireGuard is supported alongside OpenVPN and the Stealth protocol. | https://protonvpn.com/support/wireguard-privacy |

Source: https://privacyratings.com/vpns/protonvpn/
Edit: https://github.com/privacyratings/privacyratings.com/edit/main/ratings/vpns/protonvpn.md