Google has known about a bug that breaks VPN apps for 7 months, leaving users exposed with no warning or error, just a VPN app that stopped working in the background.
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@protonprivacy I thought grapheneos still depends on google to fix bugs in the underlying AOSP, I'm talking a Linux OS that can run android apps
@semitones @protonprivacy as far as I know, not in AOSP, because this is open source and I have read or heard that gos is fixing things Google doesn't fix.
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@protonprivacy @mullvadnet Since you are saying that only Google can inspect the issue, can one correctly assume that in projects as @GrapheneOS VPNs are not affected?
Because on personal anecdote, I cannot recall an issue forcing a reboot in the last months regarding VPN use.

@raisondetredev @protonprivacy @mullvadnet @GrapheneOS happens very frequently. It's a real bug. And both reinstall and reboot are required.
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The bug corrupts Android's network stack at the system level after a VPN update, causing users to blame their VPN provider.
Restarting the app doesn't help, with the only fix being a full device reboot or VPN app reinstall, something which most users never figure out.
This affects several VPN providers on Android 16, and only Google has the access to diagnose it properly.
After 7 months of waiting, we're now asking publicly: Google, when are you fixing this?
@protonprivacy I've had this happen to me on Mullvad, Proton, and my Wireguard link to my home router. And honestly, from the description, I think the issue may be even older, as I'm almost positive the DDG local tracker blocker used to do this.
I had no idea it was an known issue in Android itself.
Thanks for bringing it to light.
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Google has known about a bug that breaks VPN apps for 7 months, leaving users exposed with no warning or error, just a VPN app that stopped working in the background.
If you're using ANY VPN on Android, you can help us by getting Google's attention to fix it.
We first reported this bug to Google in September 2025.
Others like @mullvadnet and Wireguard reported it even earlier, in August.
Google's response? "I don't see anything unusual."
Here's what's actually happening
️As someone who's done plenty of Android testing in IPv6-mostly/only environments, this is not even slightly surprising, Android's networking state machine is a huge mess
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The bug corrupts Android's network stack at the system level after a VPN update, causing users to blame their VPN provider.
Restarting the app doesn't help, with the only fix being a full device reboot or VPN app reinstall, something which most users never figure out.
This affects several VPN providers on Android 16, and only Google has the access to diagnose it properly.
After 7 months of waiting, we're now asking publicly: Google, when are you fixing this?
Making sure I'm reading this correctly:
If you're running Android (or an Android variant) and your VPN app updates, the only way to stop this issue is to:
1. Reboot your phone after the VPN update
OR
2. Keep the phone on, delete the VPN app, and reinstall the app
Am I correct in reading that one or the other approaches will fix this?
IE, restarting your phone after an update eliminates the need to delete and reinstall the app?
(and thank you, and Google wtaf)
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Or we could stop the grift & circle jerk. Release your source code so we can make secure email a real standard. Stop releasing to the play store entirely & teach people to install their own apps safely.
Start initiatives to teach children about public private keys, identity verification, trust, & best practices.
Be a man proton.
Or are the normie dollars making you salivate? With fascism on their doorstep, you do have more customers, better bank on their ignorance…
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Making sure I'm reading this correctly:
If you're running Android (or an Android variant) and your VPN app updates, the only way to stop this issue is to:
1. Reboot your phone after the VPN update
OR
2. Keep the phone on, delete the VPN app, and reinstall the app
Am I correct in reading that one or the other approaches will fix this?
IE, restarting your phone after an update eliminates the need to delete and reinstall the app?
(and thank you, and Google wtaf)
@funnymonkey @protonprivacy @mullvadnet can confirm that the second worked for my Samsung phone, and not the first. Yes, wtaf.
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MF J6 on a raft, this is why I see ads where I didn't expect them as VPN (Wireguard) is connected to a router using PiHole DNS.
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Or we could stop the grift & circle jerk. Release your source code so we can make secure email a real standard. Stop releasing to the play store entirely & teach people to install their own apps safely.
Start initiatives to teach children about public private keys, identity verification, trust, & best practices.
Be a man proton.
Or are the normie dollars making you salivate? With fascism on their doorstep, you do have more customers, better bank on their ignorance…
@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones
Proton: "hey google is ignoring this issue, lets make them fix it"You: "you are not 1000% perfect, Proton! Man up! Greedy fucks!"
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Google has known about a bug that breaks VPN apps for 7 months, leaving users exposed with no warning or error, just a VPN app that stopped working in the background.
If you're using ANY VPN on Android, you can help us by getting Google's attention to fix it.
We first reported this bug to Google in September 2025.
Others like @mullvadnet and Wireguard reported it even earlier, in August.
Google's response? "I don't see anything unusual."
Here's what's actually happening
️@protonprivacy and why didn't you inform your users and paying customers? because I don't recall any email from Proton on this topic...
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@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones
Proton: "hey google is ignoring this issue, lets make them fix it"You: "you are not 1000% perfect, Proton! Man up! Greedy fucks!"
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@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones
Dont let perfection be the enemy of good.
Or something like that.
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@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones
Dont let perfection be the enemy of good.
Or something like that.
@ItsePerkele @protonprivacy @semitones
Or, and this is a wild concept... we can hold everyone accountable. Crazy, I know.
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@rusty__shackleford ...but they don't and never will. The best options we have are making things very simple to use, and secure by default. No knowledge needed.
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@rusty__shackleford ...but they don't and never will. The best options we have are making things very simple to use, and secure by default. No knowledge needed.
*spoon feeds people
You: I wish people knew how to do more
*creates tools to remove friction
You: It seems like people don't want to learn
*makes algorithms reinforcing bias & ignorance
You: People seem so tribalistic in this post truth age
*refuses to teach because of "human nature"
You: This is a realistic view
How's that clown makeup look?
If someone is incompetent, they shouldn't use it. It isn't our job to make it accessible for those who are ignorant. Teach & Learn.
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@ItsePerkele @protonprivacy @semitones
Or, and this is a wild concept... we can hold everyone accountable. Crazy, I know.
@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones
Sure. But cant do everything at once.
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Google has known about a bug that breaks VPN apps for 7 months, leaving users exposed with no warning or error, just a VPN app that stopped working in the background.
If you're using ANY VPN on Android, you can help us by getting Google's attention to fix it.
We first reported this bug to Google in September 2025.
Others like @mullvadnet and Wireguard reported it even earlier, in August.
Google's response? "I don't see anything unusual."
Here's what's actually happening
️@protonprivacy @mullvadnet I had decided long ago not to use VPNs on Android because it didn't actually help. Connecting to the onion network and using Tor tools does kind of help but only solves half of the problem. far better to work from Linux instead of Android where you have the option but in my case that means not using the cell phone for that particular traffic or anything that requires real security.
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@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones
Sure. But cant do everything at once.
@ItsePerkele @protonprivacy @semitones
Skill issue
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ -
@protonprivacy Will Proton ever create / sponsor a cell phone OS to be a true google replacement?
@semitones @protonprivacy To be a true Google replacement, all of the vendors would have to write their drivers so that they could be incorporated into either Android or this new probably Linux-based phone operating system. We already have solutions that work for one or two or twelve different models or vendors, but all of the rest of the cell phone ecosystem is currently out of reach. I propose an alternative, a version of Android that belongs to the community, but will use the vendor's drivers and can replace Google Android with the community android. Google will, of course, attempt to make that technically impossible and illegal if they can, because that's what monopolies do.
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Google has known about a bug that breaks VPN apps for 7 months, leaving users exposed with no warning or error, just a VPN app that stopped working in the background.
If you're using ANY VPN on Android, you can help us by getting Google's attention to fix it.
We first reported this bug to Google in September 2025.
Others like @mullvadnet and Wireguard reported it even earlier, in August.
Google's response? "I don't see anything unusual."
Here's what's actually happening
️We need an android alternative we the people own.