A VPN—or Virtual Private Network—is a useful tool for protecting your data when browsing the internet, and Proton has one of the best VPNs on the market. Whether you're using Proton VPN to maintain your privacy or access geo-restricted content, these are the tricks you need to know. Use split tunneling to include only the most sensitive apps in your VPN Split tunneling allows you to route some of your internet traffic through the VPN while excluding other low-risk connections. The trade-off is a little less privacy for better speeds. With the Proton VPN app, split tunneling operates at the device level, so you can choose to include or exclude apps and IP addresses from the VPN tunnel. For example, you could opt for Exclude mode to exempt a specific browser that you use for online gaming, which would preserve speeds and protect all other traffic from your device. Or you could go with Include mode and add a browser you use only for sensitive connections, such as banking, and leave all other connections out of the tunnel. Install Proton VPN's browser extension for domain-level split tunneling Proton VPN has a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox, and all you need to use it is a free Proton account. Unlike the VPN app, which applies to all traffic on your device, the extension only protects traffic inside your browser. If you enable split tunneling in your browser, the VPN protects all websites by default except domains (and subdomains) you specifically add for exclusion. Alternatively, you can select Include mode, which will use the VPN on those websites only. This domain-level option means that you can reserve the VPN for sensitive sites and leave others out when you don't want any added latency. Create one-click profiles to bypass specific streaming limitsProton allows you to set up and save connection profiles with settings you use often so you don't have to manually select your location, protocol, and customized settings each time you want to use the VPN for a specific purpose (such as accessing restricted streaming content). Once you have a profile in place, you can simply go to the Profiles tab and select the one you want to use to connect. Recently used profiles will appear under Recents on the Home tab. Combine preset profiles with incognito browsing to beat dynamic pricingAnother potential use for VPN profiles: getting around geo-targeted fare hikes on flights and hotels. Travel can be priced differently depending on where the purchase originates (and in what currency), so you may be able to get a cheaper ticket or stay by routing your traffic through the destination country (to book in the local currency), the airline's home base, or a lower-GDP region. Incognito mode itself doesn't hide your IP address, but it does make it more likely that you'll see current baseline rates. Allow LAN connections to access local devices while keeping traffic secureIf you have printers, speakers, media servers, or drives on your home network, you can enable LAN (local area network) connections so these devices aren't routed through the VPN tunnel and can talk directly to one another while keeping the rest of your traffic secure. This feature is available to paid subscribers, and you can toggle it on or off via Settings > Connection (specifics vary by app). Turn on Stealth Protocol to bypass restrictive firewallsProton uses a handful of well-regarded protocols that govern how the secure VPN tunnel is created, including OpenVPN and the faster (and open-source) WireGuard protocol. Proton also has its own custom protocol known as Stealth, designed to disguise your VPN connection by making it look like standard HTTPS web traffic. This can allow you to use a VPN even when VPN connections are blocked, such as by corporate firewalls and in countries with restrictive governments that attempt to censor internet access. You can select which protocol Proton uses in your Settings. If you aren't sure which protocol to choose, let Proton's Smart Protocol do it for you. This setting automatically switches between protocols, so if one is blocked or dropped, it will move to another to keep your connection secure. This means you don't necessarily have to know or remember which protocol is best for any given situation, as Proton uses the fastest and most stable connection first. Note that Smart Protocol is on by default, but if you have changed your settings—such as to Stealth—and find that your connection drops when you switch networks, going back to Smart can eliminate this issue. Turn on Proton’s kill switch to prevent your connection from being exposedThe kill switch is an important VPN feature that can prevent your data from being exposed if your connection drops. Proton has a standard kill switch, which triggers if your VPN connection drops by accident and blocks all internet traffic until the connection is reestablished. Users on Windows, the Linux GUI app, and iOS and iPadOS can enable an advanced kill switch, which prevents any and all traffic unless you are connected to Proton VPN. A kill switch can be especially useful on public wifi that may be targeted by hackers. The process to turn on the kill switch and adjust its settings varies across platforms and typically cannot be combined with split tunneling. Adjust NetShield settings to prevent ad blocking from breaking sitesProton has a built-in ad-blocker called NetShield, which can be used to block ads, trackers, malware, and, for Windows users, adult content. When enabled, Proton's dedicated DNS server checks domains you visit against known offenders and prevents them from loading. On most platforms, NetShield is set to protect against all of the data listed by default, but blocking ads and trackers can occasionally break websites or certain features you need when browsing. You can opt to block malware only, which will prevent your browser from loading resources from domains known to host malware and spyware. Note that NetShield is available only to paid subscribers. You can find ad block settings on the Home screen or under the NetShield tab. Manage alternative routing to balance ISP restrictions and privacy concernsProton VPN has an anti-censorship feature known as alternative routing, which detects when a government, ISP, or network administrator has blocked Proton services and attempts to send traffic through another path. This runs in the background and kicks in only if Proton is being restricted. The trade-off here is that traffic is rerouted through third-party infrastructure, which may belong to AWS, Cloudflare, and/or Google. Proton notes that your actual data isn't exposed, but your IP address may be visible. If you prefer to keep this private, you can opt out of alternative routing in your app settings. Set up shortcuts to automatically connect with specific VPN settingsIf you're using Proton VPN on mobile, you can set up shortcuts to turn your connection on or off based on certain triggers, such as joining a specific network or with a single tap. On iOS, combining Shortcuts with certain actions—like leaving or arriving home—can trigger a VPN connection or enable a specific VPN profile. You can also add Shortcuts to your Home screen or ask Siri to launch an action for you. Proton has a guide to possible iOS Shortcuts. There's no perfect native analogue on Android, but you can use a third-party app like Tasker or add an Android widget to your Home screen for one-tap access to Proton.