Some time ago, I noticed something which I have now been observing for several months; to be honest, I do not fully understand it, and I find it very distasteful.
The Proton VPN app for Android can be installed and kept up to date in two ways:
1. Google Play Store
2. F-Droid APK Store
The newest version 5.20.39.0 of the Proton VPN app has been available on the Google Play Storesince16 September 2026.
In the F-Droid APK Store, however, version 5.20.21.0 (605202100) has been available since9 September 2026.
Whilst this is just a snapshot, this discrepancy in the app’s up-to-date status has been evident for months!
Now to my questions:
Does anyone have any idea, why it’s taking so much longer for the latest version to become available here in the F-Droid Store?
Is this approach an attempt from Proton to influence users, or to encourage them to download the VPN app from the Google Play Store?
Can anybody from F-Droid confirm that the Proton VPN app is uploaded to the F-Droid Store directly by Proton?
The developers do generally not upload their packages to f-droid directly. Instead f-droid builds from source. There is usually an automatic update check that checks for new releases being available and which then updates the metadata in the froiddata repository. Then the next build cycle (see the FAQ) will build the app and build apps will be signed. This entire process can take a couple of days.
There is nothing malicious from the Proton developers here.
Actually, they do prefer Google Play Store, thus also utilizing Google Play Services. If you use the F-Droid version or from Source, you MUST use a Proton account to use it. But with the Google Play version it allows you to bypass that check and use it as a guest.
Lately I started moving towards f-droid versions. Few months back, telegram was banned at my place and I noticed guest login was missing from the proton version we have here
I do think they prefer Google Play for the moment but not in like a bad way or even in the literal sense.
As by everything Google Play literally harms everything they are fighting for.
However unfortunately in the same light they are a business. And the majority of people are going to use Google Play above all else whether it’s by choice or force. So from a business perspective it makes complete sense to cater to the majority party first and making sure everything works well for them and then worrying about the rest after the fact.
This is sort of reflected in Linux too actually. They don’t have wide linux support and only for a select few applications. Windows and MacOS however?.. yeah…
That’s not to say us Linux and F-Droid users won’t ever get a more mutual experience i am sure we will. We simply just aren’t as high on the priority list as other things. And mind you they would have to make a seperate build for some of these apps to not include the propietary blobs aswell which takes even more time.
For now until the situation improves i use the Aurora Store to get the Play versions of all Proton applications (i don’t entirely see the point in mixing different flavors for applications all made by the same entity)
And to be clear i am not tring to downplay Proton’s efforts at all i am sure they are trying their best to balance their priorities out. Nor am i trying to defend them either cause in the same light other privacy focused companies and products like Ente, Notesnook, Tuta, Standard notes and probably a whole lot more actually do support F-Droid and Linux to a rather large extent in terms of application availability so sometimes i do wish i’d see more of Proton’s applications here. Here’s hoping that’ll eventually change. Especially for the mail application cause no GMS means no notifications in it’s current state…
