- Proton VPN is now officially published by Proton AG on the Snap Store
- The release offers one-click installation for Ubuntu and other supported distributions.
- Some features are missing from this initial build due to sandbox limits
Linux users looking for a top-notch security boost just got a major convenience update. The team behind Proton VPN has announced that their app is now officially available to download directly from the Linux Snap Store.
While the Switzerland-based provider has always supported Linux VPN distributions, previous accessibility for Snap users was limited to a “community-maintained fork.” This release marks the first time that Proton AG has directly published the official version.
The move makes downloading one of the best VPN services on the market much easier for the open source community. According to Proton's announcement, users can now perform a simple “one-click installation on Ubuntu and any distribution that supports snapshots,” saving them the usual hassle of manual command-line setups or searching for repositories.
Proton's Snap Store build comes complete with a “verified publisher badge,” ensuring users don't accidentally download a compromised or outdated client. However, it still lacks some key features due to the limits of sandboxing.
What's missing from the first launch?
While the debut of the Snap Store offers the broader community an “official and trusted way to install Proton VPN,” the developers were very transparent about some technical trade-offs in this initial version.
In particular, there is no “split tunnel” available yet.
This highly requested feature, which allows you to choose which specific apps bypass the encrypted tunnel to maintain high network speeds, was introduced in Proton's standard Linux app last year. However, it is absent in the Snap version. “Like our Flatpak, this is due to sandboxing limitations,” the team explained, adding that it is “something we hope to resolve in the future.”
Proton VPN is now officially on the Snap Store
from r/ProtonVPN
The vendor's anti-censorship tool, the Stealth protocol, also didn't make the cut. “The stealth protocol is not included yet. It is not part of this first Snap release,” the company confirmed.
Hardware compatibility also has a slight drawback. The new package does not offer “any ARM support at this time.” While Proton noted that they “expect ARM device volume to be low for now,” they are “keeping an eye on it.”
As for the software, the developers warned that “older distributions may have problems,” warning that if users have an operating system “prior to Ubuntu 24, they could have connection problems.”
Despite these early missing features, the launch of Snap Store is just the latest in a rapid series of updates that demonstrate Proton's dedication to its Linux user base. Unlike many competitors that treat open source platforms as a secondary concern, Proton has spent the last few months closing the feature gap between its Linux, Windows, and Mac apps.
Earlier this year, the company revealed a major Linux makeover.
This included updating the graphical application to the modern GTK4 framework to pave the way for a complete redesign of the interface. Meanwhile, advanced command-line interface (CLI) users received greatly improved server selection tools, along with support for advanced features like custom DNS settings and the NetShield ad blocker.
With the new official release of Snap now available at snapcraft.io/proton-vpn, Linux fans finally have the reliable and hassle-free installation method they've been waiting for.
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