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The kill switch blocks all internet traffic on your device the moment the VPN connection drops. Without it, your device automatically falls back to your regular internet connection when the VPN disconnects — briefly exposing your real IP address and sending traffic outside the encrypted tunnel. The kill switch prevents this by cutting off connectivity entirely until the VPN is restored. This matters most during:
  • Automatic VPN reconnections after a network change (switching from Wi-Fi to mobile data, or between networks)
  • Server failovers when the VPN protocol retries on a different server
  • Brief outages in your internet connection

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How to enable the kill switch

Proton VPN’s kill switch on Android works through Android’s built-in Always-on VPN and Block connections without VPN options. There is no separate kill switch toggle inside the Proton VPN app itself — you enable it through Android’s VPN settings.
Once Block connections without VPN is enabled, your device will have no internet access whenever Proton VPN is not connected. This includes when the VPN is disabled intentionally. Make sure you are comfortable with this behaviour before enabling it.
1

Open the kill switch screen in Proton VPN

In the Proton VPN app, go to Settings and tap Kill switch. The screen explains the feature and provides a button to open Android’s VPN settings directly.
2

Open Android VPN settings

Tap Open Android VPN settings. This takes you to your device’s VPN management screen (the path varies slightly by Android version and manufacturer, but is typically under Settings → Network & internet → VPN).
3

Open Proton VPN settings

Tap the gear icon next to Proton VPN in the list of VPN apps.
4

Enable Always-on VPN

Toggle Always-on VPN on. This makes Android automatically launch and maintain the VPN connection on startup and after network changes.
5

Enable Block connections without VPN

Toggle Block connections without VPN on. This is the kill switch. Android will drop all internet connectivity any time Proton VPN is not connected.

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Always-on VPN and Block connections without VPN

These are two distinct Android system settings that work together: You can enable Always-on VPN without enabling Block connections without VPN. In that case Android will try to keep the VPN running, but will fall back to a direct connection if it cannot reconnect immediately. Enabling both together gives you the full kill switch behaviour.

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Impact on local network access

When Block connections without VPN is active, Android blocks all traffic that is not routed through the VPN tunnel. This includes traffic to devices on your local network — printers, smart home devices, network-attached storage, and similar. If you need to maintain access to local network devices while the kill switch is enabled, you can use split tunneling to exclude specific apps or IP ranges from the VPN tunnel. Traffic excluded from the tunnel is not subject to the kill switch block.
The kill switch does not affect emergency calls. Android exempts cellular emergency services from VPN and network blocking rules.