According to TechRadar, 2025 was a watershed year for Proton VPN under General Manager David Peterson. The company doubled its number of free server locations to 10, aiming to provide better access during sudden internet restrictions in places like Afghanistan and Venezuela. In October, it released a new, foundational command-line interface (CLI) for Linux in early access and announced it had begun working on a completely new, in-house VPN architecture. This structural shift is meant to improve speed and reliability while creating a foundation for Post-Quantum Encryption (PQE) to guard against future attacks. The company also brought its NetShield ad blocker to Apple TV and saw its service move into TechRadar’s #3 spot for best VPNs.
The Free Tier Gamble
Here’s the thing about offering a legitimately free VPN: it’s really hard to do without selling user data. Proton’s whole identity is built on not doing that, which makes its expansion to 10 free server locations a significant, if calculated, move. It’s not just charity. It’s a user acquisition funnel. Get someone in a restrictive regime hooked on a tool that actually works when they need it most, and you might just convert them to a paying customer later. But let’s be real, the limitation stings: you still can’t pick your specific server on the free plan. For a company preaching control and freedom, that’s a pretty big asterisk. It’s a capable entry point, but it’s designed to leave you wanting more.
Betting on Infrastructure Over Flash
The most important news here isn’t a shiny new feature. It’s the boring, back-end stuff. Proton saying it’s “rapidly outgrowing” off-the-shelf protocols and building its own architecture is a major declaration of independence. This is where the real race is happening. Speed and reliability are table stakes, but the anti-censorship capabilities and the push for Post-Quantum Encryption are the real differentiators. That “harvest now, decrypt later” threat is no joke for their privacy-focused user base. They’re following ExpressVPN and NordVPN down the PQE path, which means soon it won’t be a luxury—it’ll be a requirement for any service that takes its long-term security promises seriously.
The Linux Play and Open-Source Edge
Rewriting the Linux CLI from the ground up is a direct love letter to its core tech audience. Linux users are often the canaries in the coal mine for privacy tools—if you win them over, you get credibility that’s hard to buy. The new CLI is on GitHub and built for scriptability, which is exactly what those users want. Sure, it’s bare-bones right now, missing a kill switch and NetShield. And yeah, NordVPN open-sourced its GUI. But Proton’s entire suite has been audited and open-source for years. That’s not just a feature; it’s a foundational philosophy. For the privacy-hardened, that transparency is the whole point.
The 2026 Litmus Test
So what’s next? 2026 is basically the rollout year for all this foundational work. The new architecture needs to spread across the network and actually deliver those promised speed and resilience boosts. The Linux CLI needs to mature fast. And the business product needs to grow. It’s a pivotal moment. Peterson isn’t wrong about the “urgent, growing threat” from both authoritarian blocks and regulatory overreach in democracies. Proton is positioning itself as a tool for a more hostile internet. If they can pull off this infrastructure transition smoothly and make good on the quantum-proofing promise, that #3 spot could get a lot more interesting. But it’s a big “if.” Building your own architecture is risky. Get it right, and you future-proof the company. Get it wrong, and you erode the very trust you’re built on.
