ProtonVPN
Timeline on adding stealth protocol
We are happy to answer your questions about the code or discuss technical ideas.
Please complete the following checklist (by adding [x]):
- [x] I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates
- [x] This isn't a feature request
- [x] This is not a report about my app not working as expected
Countries like Iran and China deploy advanced firewalls and use things like DPI and DNS poisoning, among other things. Thus users in those countries need access to the Stealth protocol. On the linux client, it is non-existent, and currently makes the linux client unusable for me as a user in one of those countries. I would like to pay for ProtonVPN but I don't want to pay for a service knowing that it will not work properly on my main machine.
It's worse then that, if you use DNS over TLS, the VPN breaks. I can't even use it on a network that has the simple "block port 22" rule
I would agree that ProtomVPN's Linux app needs the Stealth protocol. The Android app has had the protocol for upwards of 5 years now and while Windows only got it in 2024, people in countries behind DPI-laced networks are using Linux, and many of them will try ProtonVPN to evade such packet inspection and logging to no avail.
As a Linux user myself who is behind a network daily which blocks typical VPN connections on OpenVPN and WireGuard, I would prioritise feature parity between versions, but particularly adding the Stealth (WireGuard-over-TLS) protocol.
When I visited China, I had to use my phone in order to access the outside world, and then hotspot my laptop so I could use my laptop. Is there any way to get the stealth protocol available on linux?
When I visited China, I had to use my phone in order to access the outside world, and then hotspot my laptop so I could use my laptop. Is there any way to get the stealth protocol available on linux?
Are you sure stealth can bypass the great firewall of China? Last time I checked only Tor and shadowsocks worked, and even then you have to use a bridge. I'd be very surprised if ProtonVPN could work there without using the Tor option, which is different than stealth
@Anonymous941 yes. I was over a hundred miles from the nearest border and I was accessing gmail/youtube/reddit . It only worked when I connected to the US servers though, hong kong and macau did not connect
I think many countries whose citizens require VPNs also have a high proportion that use Linux. It seems to me this is a rather urgent request.
Proton team, Please prioritize this!
@Anonymous941 yes. I was over a hundred miles from the nearest border and I was accessing gmail/youtube/reddit . It only worked when I connected to the US servers though, hong kong and macau did not connect
Wow, China's censorship isn't as good as I thought, because a simple IP ban would stop that. Maybe Hong Kong's geoblocked, that would explain why those servers don't work
Hello, In France you can't use ProtonVPN without stealth on the Eduroam WIFI networks (this is the largest wifi network available in all universities)
Would be nice to have some kind of response from the team after 4 months. I get that Linux gets no love, but yeesh, feels bad to pay for a service and just be left out in the cold. Meanwhile, Mullvad added QUIC.
I'd also like to point out that Windscribe has their Stealth protocol on Linux, even in their free client.