ProtonVPN should be removed from recommendations as its kill switch for MacOs is known to not work:
When switching to another ProtonVPN server
On computer boot up
→ In both of these instances, the user’s real IP becomes exposed to any online service it is connected to prior to re-connection to new ProtonVPN server.
On ProtonVPN’s official website they claim that “[regular kill switch] does protect you while switching servers with Proton VPN” : What is a kill switch? | Proton VPN
However, this is false for MacOs, and is confirmed to be false according to ProtonVPN themselves : Reddit - The heart of the internet - “Kill Switch on Mac will not prevent your device from connecting to the internet during manual disconnection events as you’ve described above.”
This is further validated by multiple people in an original reddit post (see first link) that ProtonVPN deleted. In that post, multiple people responded saying that their IP is indeed being exposed during server switches. A reddit post from one month ago also complains of the same issue: Reddit - The heart of the internet
Privacy Guides clarifies the acceptable standard a ‘kill switch’ should meet for the VPN to be recommended.
Privacy Guides removes ProtonVPN from recommendations for misleading customers OR at the very least actively recommends against it for MacOs due to their “kill switch” failing to protect users’ IP during server switching.
I am no longer using Proton VPN on Mac but anyone who is, can you please test this on your end to share your views either to invalidate or corroborate this issue? Please share your views and experience.
Yes. This is expected behavior and has always been the case. I think you’re misunderstanding one thing to mean the same for another situation too. Sorry, I can’t see the reddit page because it’s not opening on my end on Mullvad. But your quote has always stood true. If you manually disconnect, kill switch does not work. Kill switches are meant for between server switches or an automatic disconnection of the VPN to the server.
Furthermore, the original article linked in the OP’s post you have linked to is from 2022 and is more than 3 years old. I doubt if it’s still factual. Plus, they’re talking about Linux and you’re talking about Mac. They are not the same, obviously so you linking this makes doesn’t meant anything and to me makes no sense. You can’t attribute a problem on one OS for an issue you’re facing on another.
Furthermore, can you explain how you are even testing this? Are you manually disconnecting your Proton VPN connection to then test your IP using your browser or via your terminal?
Some time has passed since then to now. Perhaps no longer an issue. Also, we are talking about macOS here. But OP has linked to posts talking about Linux. Hence my first comment.
Also, WireGuard is now default on Linux. Issue with OpenVPN may not even apply which is what the original article says.
Please read the reddit post this quote from ProtonVPN is coming from (I’m sorry it is currently blocked for you).
The post clearly articulates that the kill switch is not working when switching between ProtonVPN servers. ProtonVPN responds to this by claiming that these are “manual disconnection events” - this is what they are referencing when they say “as you’ve described above”. I am not misunderstanding anything.
When I was subscribed to ProtonVPN I saw this occur by refreshing a "What’s my IP” webpage. It would consistently show my real IP during the ProtonVPN network switches - and again, in the reddit post, ProtonVPN themselves say this is true.
100%. What is the point of a kill switch being one of the minimum requirements if we don’t remove a service when the kill switch is demonstrably broken on multiple platforms?
No, Privacy Guides already makes note of this in their recommendations page and this problem is specifically noted as being a Mac Intel problem (not silicone). I am describing a different issue.
I disagree and reject the arguments made in this post. Just because there may be an issue with a VPN on one operating system does not mean that it cannot be fixed in a future software update, and therefore should not be a reason for removal. ProtonVPN is reputable enough and has yet to do anything that betrays the trust of their users.
After reading their reddit comment, it still sounds like an upstream issue.
There are technical limitations to being able to implement permanent/advanced Kill switch on Mac, however, that is not to say that our team isn’t looking into the possibility of making this a reality at some point.
If technical limitations are truly the reason for the issue I do not think that is a good basis for removal.
As for the Linux issue, my opinion remains unchanged from the original comment.
I do agree with @Anvil that Proton does not technically meet the criteria but I still do not see the issue meeting the bar for removal. Thats just my opinion.
I do think the criteria could be changed to be more broad as I don’t see why the client itself needs to provide the kill switch if the functionality can be obtained in a different method (ie such as using the wireguard client instead of protons).
The again I am of the belief that VPN connection should be done on the router level and not on a specific device, which avoids this issue altogether.
What’s your case for removing Proton VPN as the recommendation? Posting a link to an article does’t say much more than talking about Proton. There’s no new info there.
Well, at least people falling for misinformation and believing in misguided info bring it up here to be corrected. Better than them trying to explain and convince others of what they believe.