Proton VPN

Proton VPN is the VPN service of Proton, the Swiss company behind Proton Mail; its Android app has more than 100 million downloads on Google Play. The app’s code is open source under the GPL-3.0, while the servers it connects to are Proton’s own. This file is the version F-Droid builds from that code: no Google Play services, no Google billing and no in-app update check.

The free plan

Proton’s own words on the free plan: “Secure 1 device at a time · Medium VPN speed · Connect to servers in 10 countries (randomly selected)”, with “No credit card required”. The pricing FAQ adds that it has “no data limits, no artificial speed limits”; the privacy policy reserves “the right to impose speed restrictions in cases of excessive consumption”. The free page lists a kill switch and the Stealth protocol among free features, and says the plan has “no advertisements” and “Does not log your online activity”.

The paid plan adds more devices, servers in more than 140 countries, streaming and peer-to-peer servers, and NetShield, a filter for ads, trackers and malware. In this build you upgrade through Proton’s website, not Google Play.

Protocols and settings

• Protocols: Smart, the default, picks one for you; or choose WireGuard, WireGuard over TCP, or Stealth, which, in the app’s words, “Overcomes VPN blocks by hiding your VPN connection from censors” and is “exclusive to Proton VPN”. Proton’s own newer protocols are in beta. OpenVPN is gone: Proton removed it in version 5.15.70.0 (February 2026), saying “WireGuard and Stealth protocols now handle all connections.”
• Kill switch: the app points you to Android’s own Always-on VPN and Block connections without VPN settings.
• Alternative routing, on by default: if Proton’s servers are blocked on your network, the app tries other routes to reach them, including public DNS-over-HTTPS services, and as a last resort a short connection to one of five Proton servers listed in the app.
• A disguised app icon (calculator, notes, weather and others), a Quick Settings tile, widgets and an Android TV interface.
• Android runs only one VPN at a time, so Proton VPN can’t be used together with Rethink in its firewall mode or Tailscale. From the code change in 5.20.74.0, the home-screen widget in earlier versions could take over that slot when it refreshed, stopping another VPN; Proton’s notes for this version say the widget no longer interferes with other VPNs.

What goes online

Besides the VPN traffic itself, the app talks mostly to Proton’s API: for the server list and loads, your plan, certificates for the connection, notifications and offers. Not all of it goes to Proton, though: when Proton’s servers seem blocked, Alternative routing (see above) also asks public DNS-over-HTTPS services run by others, such as Google and Quad9, to find them. You can turn it off in the advanced settings.

Usage statistics are on by default, which is why F-Droid labels the app Tracking. When you connect, the app records, among other things, your country and internet provider, the server, the protocol and whether the connection worked, and sends this to Proton. The setting says: “These statistics do not contain your IP address, and they cannot be used to identify you. We’ll never share them with third parties.” Proton’s support page says the data “is permanently deleted after 30 days”. To turn them off, open Settings › Help us fight censorship. One user reported on GitHub that the app still sent statistics after opting out; Proton hasn’t replied. In this version’s code the statistics upload is skipped when the switch is off; a separate set of performance metrics sent by Proton’s shared account code may not follow it, but that code isn’t public, so we couldn’t check.

The crash-report switch is on by default as well, but F-Droid’s build contains no address to send reports to, so none are sent. Our scan lists the Sentry library because its code is in the app.

About this file

• This is F-Droid’s build of version 5.20.98.0, released by Proton on 22 October 2026 and added to F-Droid on 27 October, signed with F-Droid’s key. Proton’s download page gives a signing fingerprint for its own builds; this file won’t match it. The release note for 5.20.98.0 says only that it fixes a bug.
• The earlier 5.20.74.0 release prevented logs from being sent in one rare case, stopped its widget from interfering with another VPN and improved start-up and interface performance.
• If Proton decides a version is too old, its servers can sign you out until you update. F-Droid received this version five days after Proton released it.
• The 60.5 MB file runs on Android 8.0 and later, on ARM and x86. Its 12 permissions include running the VPN, starting at boot (used only by the Android TV auto-connect option), listing your installed apps for split tunnelling, and the camera, for scanning a QR code to sign in on another device.
• One bundled library, Proton’s payment component, is labelled GPL-3.0, but we couldn’t find its source code published anywhere; the rest of the app’s code is public.
• The screenshots are Proton’s own, from 2024.
• Proton VPN is a trademark of Proton AG. This site isn’t affiliated with Proton. The source of this exact build is at https://f-droid.org/repo/ch.protonvpn.android_605209800_src.tar.gz.

Flagged by F-Droid:

• NonFreeNet: Relies on or promotes a proprietary network service.
• TetheredNet: Uses a network service run by the developer.
• Tracking: IzzyOnDroid flags this app for tracking or reporting user activity.

CPU types in this build: arm64-v8a (64-bit ARM, almost every phone since 2017); armeabi; armeabi-v7a (32-bit ARM, older and budget phones); mips; mips64; x86 (32-bit Intel, emulators); x86_64 (64-bit Intel, emulators and Chromebooks).

Versions currently kept in the F-Droid repository. We host and check only the newest one. Full changelog.