Proton releases new ‘stealth’ VPN protocol

Proton introduces a new protocol for its VPN service that allows users to hide that they are using a VPN service. Proton calls the new protocol “stealth” and stealth will be the first to be available to Android users.

The Proton VPN stealth protocol should also be available ‘soon’ on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Linux and Windows, writes Proton. At the moment, only the introduction to Android has been completed. There, users can set their connection protocol to ‘stealth’ under settings.

According to Proton, stealth ensures that the VPN connection is not recognized and looks like a ‘normal’ internet connection. This is in contrast to more standard protocols such as OpenVPN, IKEv2 and WireGuard, which are more likely to be recognized by networks as a VPN connection.

By using TLS instead of UDP, the connection with the stealth protocol should not be recognized as a VPN connection. According to Proton, this makes it virtually impossible to recognize that it is a VPN connection. This is useful for people who live in countries where using a VPN can be punishable or for services that try to block VPN connections.

In addition to Proton VPN, the company has several internet services. The Swiss company started with Proton Mail and recently also officially released Proton Drive as a cloud storage service.