Proton VPN has announced a series of updates to its Windows and Android apps to help users combat censorship, circumvent blocks, and protect themselves from authoritarian governments due to using forbidden tools.

One of the standout features is ‘Discreet Icon,’ a new setting allowing users to disguise the Proton VPN app icon and make it appear as a weather, notes, or calculator app.

In countries governed by oppressive authoritarian regimes where many VPN tools, including Proton VPN, are banned, random physical checks performed by law enforcement on people’s devices could get them into trouble if a VPN app is found on their apps list.

By masking the VPN client as a non-suspicious tool, Proton VPN allows users to safely carry their smartphones without fearing prosecution in places where digital freedom is actively suppressed.

The second highlighted feature is the addition of the ‘Stealth‘ anti-censorship protocol to Proton VPN’s Windows client. This protocol allows users to disguise VPN traffic as regular internet traffic. Previously, the protocol was available on iOS, macOS, and Android.

In many countries where VPN use is heavily restricted, internet service providers (ISPs) block users preemptively just for using VPNs or, even worse, report the use to the police for investigation.

‘Stealth’ landing on Proton VPN for Windows is expected to significantly enhance people’s capability to improve their privacy and censorship bypassing capabilities, allowing them to communicate freely even in heavily monitored environments.

The third major update announced by Proton VPN concerns its server infrastructure, which benefits all users, regardless of app and platform.

Specifically, Proton VPN will start providing new servers in the twelve countries at the bottom of the Freedom House Index and Democracy Index lists, where people need a trustworthy VPN more urgently.

These countries are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Yemen.

By having more servers in these countries, Proton VPN says it will be able to uphold its promise to users to help them maintain their security and privacy in any situation.

“This further underlines our commitment to free speech and means that in these countries, Proton VPN will have local servers available to protect users in the event of government crackdowns and censorship” – Proton VPN.

It is clarified that these servers won’t be located in the mentioned countries but will instead be located in nearby countries and simulate an IP address of the target country, a system Proton VPN calls ‘Smart Routing.’

The above features are immediately available to all Proton VPN users, so you only have to update to the latest app version for your platform and enable them through the settings menu.