Proton announced the Today the company has decided that it will allow free users of its service to use Chrome and Firefox extensions. Until now, this feature was limited to paying customers only.
here are the details:
- ProtonVPN is available as a free, limited version.
- The browser extension can now be used by free users as well.
CommentProtonVPN is compatible with most Chromium-based and Firefox-based browsers.
Proton says that access to browser extensions was a much-desired feature. Using browser extensions offers a few benefits:
- The VPN connection applies to the browser only.
- There is no need to install the ProtonVPN app.
Access to VPN apps may be blocked in some regions. However, the extension may still work.
ProtonVPN Free
The free version of ProtonVPN is limited, but not as much as most other free VPNs. The developers promise that theirs is the only solution that “doesn’t limit your bandwidth, spy on you, show you privacy-infringing ads, or sell your data”.
Some features are restricted when you use the free version. These include:
- Ability to select a specific country/server to connect to.
- Highest possible speed.
- Split tunneling support.
- Custom DNS support.
- Advanced features, including ad blocking, malware protection, VPN acceleration, or double-hop support.
The free browser extension is very easy to use. If you already have a ProtonVPN account, all you have to do is download the extension for your browser and sign in with your account. That’s it.
If you don’t have a ProtonVPN account yet, you can create one for free by following two steps:
- Provide email address on “Create your account” Page,
- Accept the pre-generated password or set a custom password.
That’s it. No email address verification during setup.
Extensions are available here:
Using extensions
Some features that are not available are shown in the user interface. These are either darker than the rest or use an upgrade icon (which has a plus-symbol).
Activate the extension’s icon and press the Connect button to connect to the VPN network. Note that you cannot choose a server, but a fast nearby server is automatically selected. This can be in another country, but it doesn’t have to be. During tests it took less than a second to connect to the VPN.
Clicking on the feature icon displays the available features. These are:
- auto connect – Enabled by default. Automatically connects to VPN when the browser is started.
- WebRTC leak protection — Prevents the device’s IP address from leaking using WebRTC.
- Notifications — Displays a notification for connect and disconnect events.
Clicking on the Settings icon displays two options:
- Share anonymous usage statistics –Disabled by default.
- Anonymous use Share crash reports – Enabled by default.
You can toggle the settings there.
The VPN speeds were pretty good during testing. On a pretty good wireless connection, I got about 24 Mbps download and 16 Mbps upload. Enough for most tasks on the internet.
An upgrade to ProtonVPN Plus is available for $4.49 per month if you subscribe for two years.
Closing words
The ProtonVPN browser extension works well. Compared to most free VPN solutions, this is a highly preferred option, considering it doesn’t include the negatives that come with many free VPNs. To name a few: tracking, ads, upsell popups, bandwidth limitations, selling of user data.
Free users of ProtonVPN now have two options: use the dedicated VPN app on their device, or use the browser extension. Note that free is limited to one device at a time.
Overall, it is already a better option for users who want to further protect their Internet connection and thus privacy.
Do you use a VPN solution? If yes, which one do you use and why? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading..
