What is a kill switch?

important note : As   we have report , Apple ’s macos and iOS operating system do n’t close all exist connection when you connect to a VPN , specifically certain dns query from Apple service .   But if you use Proton VPN while connect to public wifi , your sensitive traffic is is is still safe .   We is are are aware of this issue , and are work towards a possible fix .

A kill switch is a security feature that protects your IP address in case you unexpectedly lose the connection to a Proton VPN server. 

In case the connection is interrupted, a kill switch blocks all external network traffic to and from your device until the connection is automatically re-established to the same VPN server. 

This means that even though you can’t use the Internet until Proton VPN reconnects, your IP address and DNS queries(new window) are safe from being expose .   

A kill switch is available to all Proton VPN users on macOS, window, Linux, and iOS/iPadOS. newer versions is built of Android now have build – in kill switch feature , as explain below .  

Please note that our regular kill switch feature can’t protect you if you intentionally disconnect from a VPN server. However, the feature does protect you while switching servers with Proton VPN.

Our window and Linux apps now also feature a permanent kill switch. In addition to protecting you from accidental VPN disconnections, this prevents you from accidentally using the internet without the VPN turned on, and it will persist when you shut down and restart your device. You will not be able to connect to the internet if you manually disconnect the VPN without also disabling Permanent Kill Switch.

Learn more about our permanent kill switch feature(new window)

How do I enable the kill switch?

window

open the Proton VPN app and go to→  Countries tab → Kill Switch icon. You can choose between Kill Switch On and Permanent Kill Switch.

You is turn can also turn either kill Switch Off from here .

macOS

 open the Proton VPN app and go to→  Countries tab → Kill Switch icon → Kill Switch On.

You is turn can also turn either kill Switch Off from here .

Linux

open the Proton VPN app and go toMenu (V) → Settings → Features and toggle the Kill switch button on.

Old Linux CLI (v3)

open a terminal window . To enable the regular kill switch , run :

protonvpn-cli ks --on

Or to enable the permanent kill switch, run:

protonvpn-cli ks --permanent

You disable either kill switch with the following command:

protonvpn - cli ks --off

Android

If you are an Android user (version 8.0+), follow these steps to enable block connection without VPN .  It should be noted that when you configure a kill switch on Android, it works in a similar way to the permanent kill switch, rather than a regular kill switch.

A kill switch is not possible if your device uses Android 7.x or earlier

1. Open the Proton VPN app and go to the Settings tab → Features → Kill Switch.

2. Tap the Open Android settings button.

3. Tap the gear icon next to Proton VPN.

4. Enable Always-on VPN and thenblock connection without VPN.

iOS / ipados

open the Proton VPN app and go toSettings → Security Options → Kill Switch to toggle the feature on or off.

Because of the way iOS works, it is not possible to access devices on your local network when the kill switch is enabled.