What a VPN Kill Switch Is and How to Set One Up

Should something go wrong with your VPN server or your device, even if it’s a temporary blip, that extra layer of privacy and security goes away in an instant. Your browsing and app use is then exposed—which is probably not something you want if you’ve taken the trouble to install a VPN to begin with.

A kill switch—as it does on machinery—shuts everything down. Your internet access will be automatically cut off when the VPN connection is lost: So while you’ll have the inconvenience of suddenly being offline, you won’t be sending and receiving data that other people are going to be able to get at.

Without a kill switch, the site or app you’re connected to would suddenly have access to your IP address, for example, and from there perhaps your location and more information about you. The more serious your reasons for using a VPN—to avoid censorship restrictions, perhaps, or to protect sensitive information—the more important it becomes to have a kill switch in place.

How to Enable a VPN Kill Switch

How you make use of a kill switch will depend on the VPN provider you choose and the features available in the software you get. Some VPNs don’t offer a kill switch, and those that do vary as to whether it’s enabled by default. If this is definitely a feature you want to make use of, find a VPN service that offers it.

The feature should be somewhere in the settings of the VPN apps you’re using on your computer, tablet, or phone—though you may have to dig into the advanced section of the settings to find it. In the case of the Proton VPN desktop app, for example, the kill switch button can be found on the Countries tab on the main dashboard.

If you use NordVPN on your computer, click the gear icon on the top toolbar, then choose Kill Switch from the list of options on the left. For ExpressVPN users with the desktop client installed, the kill switch can be found by clicking the menu button (top left), then Options and General: You can then check the box marked Stop all internet traffic if the VPN disconnects unexpectedly.

It’s in different places for different VPN apps on different platforms—and it sometimes has different names—but the basic idea is the same. In addition, some VPNs offer a kill switch that gets activated only when you’re using certain programs and apps, so it’s not a blanket rule that applies to all internet access.