The record at a glance
Facts as Proton and reputable press published them, checked on 30 October 2026.
| Question | What the record shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal home | Swiss law governs terms for business users and non-US consumers; US consumers under their state law with arbitration | [4] |
| VPN logging duty | Proton says Swiss law does not oblige Proton VPN to save activity logs | [1] |
| Legal orders 2025 | Proton VPN: 59 received, 59 denied | [1] |
| No-logs audits | Securitum, yearly 2022 to 2026 | [2] |
| App code | Android, iOS/iPadOS, macOS, Windows, browser extension published | [3] |
| 2021 IP case | Involved a Proton Mail account, not reported as Proton VPN | [5][6] |
Swiss jurisdiction as Proton describes it
Proton's transparency report says that under Swiss law Proton VPN is not obligated to save any activity logs, that the only legally binding requests are ones from Swiss authorities through official Swiss channels, and that it cannot legally comply with foreign requests not backed by Swiss authorities. [1]
Its terms say that for business users worldwide and consumers outside the United States, the terms are governed by Swiss law; US consumers are covered by the law of their state of residence, with arbitration. [4] Jurisdiction does not make a service immune to orders; it decides which authorities can issue them and what the law lets them demand.
Audits and open-source apps
Proton's no-logs audit page, first published 22 April 2022 and updated 16 June 2026, says Securitum has audited the server infrastructure every year from 2022 to 2026, including configuration files, server settings, operating procedures and staff interviews. The 2026 report concluded that the examination did not indicate that the examined server infrastructure logs browsing activity, and that Securitum did not identify persistent records allowing Proton to link a specific user to activity. Each report is linked from that page. [2]
Separately, Proton says its Android, iOS and iPadOS, macOS, Windows and browser extension apps are open source, with repositories on GitHub, and that independent researcher Ruben Santamarta audited the apps, with the latest report linked from the article updated 1 December 2025. [3]
What audits do and do not prove: they describe what the auditor examined during the engagement. Reading the scope section of each report tells you exactly which servers and procedures were in view.
Transparency report numbers
Proton publishes legal order counts by product. For 2025 it lists 59 orders for Proton VPN, all denied, and 9,301 for Proton Mail, of which 988 were contested and 8,313 complied with. For 2021 it lists 121 VPN orders, all denied. Proton says VPN requests sought to identify who was connected to a specific server at a specific time, and that it cannot provide that because it does not keep activity logs. [1]
The gap between Mail and VPN figures is the point to take away: an email service holds account data that can be ordered, while Proton states that its VPN holds no activity logs to hand over.
The 2021 Proton Mail case, separated from the VPN
TechCrunch reported on 6 September 2021 that French police obtained the IP address of a climate activist who used a ProtonMail account. French police sent a request through Europol, and Swiss authorities then sent a request to ProtonMail, which was required to respond under Swiss law. The article does not say the activist used Proton VPN, and quotes CEO Andy Yen saying Swiss law provides no legal basis for logging VPN users and that VPN or Tor users would only have exposed a VPN server or Tor exit IP. [6]
Proton's own post the same day says it received a legally binding order from Swiss authorities it could not appeal, that it could not hand over message contents because of encryption, and that Proton VPN cannot be compelled to log user data under current Swiss law. It committed to clarify its legal obligations on its website and privacy policy, and later added that in October 2021 it won a Swiss court ruling that email services are not telecommunications providers. [5]
Practical checks before you rely on it
Steps a cautious traveler can take, based on Proton's own pages.
- Read the latest Securitum report linked from Proton's audit page rather than a summary. [2]
- Check the transparency report for the latest year's VPN order count. [1]
- Remember Free is limited to one device and servers in 10 countries; Secure Core and NetShield are not included on Free. [7]
- Treat a VPN as protecting network traffic, not account data you give to email or other services.
Questions before you decide
Has Proton VPN's no-logs policy been audited?
Yes. Proton's no-logs audit page lists Securitum audits for every year from 2022 to 2026. The 2026 report says the examination did not indicate that the examined Proton VPN server infrastructure logs users' browsing activity and did not identify persistent records linking a specific user to activity.
Did Proton hand over a user's IP address in 2021?
TechCrunch reported on 6 September 2021 that French police obtained the IP address of an activist using a ProtonMail account after a request routed through Europol to Swiss authorities. The reporting does not say the activist used Proton VPN, and Proton's CEO said VPN users would only have exposed a VPN server IP.
How many legal requests does Proton VPN receive?
Proton's transparency report lists 59 legal orders for Proton VPN in 2025, all denied, and 121 in 2021, all denied. Proton says the requests asked who was connected to a specific server at a specific time, which it says it cannot answer.
Are Proton VPN apps open source?
Proton says its Android, iOS and iPadOS, macOS, Windows and browser extension apps are open source, with code published under the ProtonVPN organisation on GitHub. Its article on this was first published in January 2020 and updated on 1 December 2025.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- Proton transparency report Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Proton VPN blog: no-logs audit Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Proton VPN blog: Proton VPN apps are open source Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Proton Terms and Conditions Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Proton blog: Important clarifications regarding arrest of climate activist (6 September 2021) Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- TechCrunch: ProtonMail logged IP address of French activist after order by Swiss authorities (6 September 2021) Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Proton VPN Support: Proton VPN plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
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