Mullvad VPN: Outstanding Privacy, Underwhelming Streaming

Mullvad’s privacy policy is clear: it does not log traffic, user bandwidth, or your originating IP address. It previously logged some server usage metadata but has since stopped doing so.

Mullvad does not ask for an email address or any personal details to create an account. Instead, it generates a random account number that you use to activate the VPN.

Mullvad also no longer runs subscriptions. It uses a one-time payment model so it never needs to retain user billing data.

This approach is unique and shows how much Mullvad values privacy. Just don’t lose your account number.

Proven No-Logs In Server Seizure

Mullvad’s privacy promise was tested in May 2023 when Swedish authorities raided its offices, and no user data was found.

Mullvad has also made its entire VPN and DNS server infrastructure diskless, meaning no data is stored on physical hardware.

Sweden (EU) Jurisdiction Is Not Ideal

If you pay by bank wire, your Mullvad account number will be linked to personally identifiable information. Mullvad warns against bank wire for this reason:

“Please avoid making payments through bank wire if you do not want your Mullvad account to be traceable to you.”

For maximum privacy, you can pay with Bitcoin or even cash. We appreciate that Mullvad is transparent and offers these options.

The only other data Mullvad collects is the content of emails and problem reports you send, including the email address you use. Mullvad advises against sharing personal data when contacting support.

While Mullvad does receive information requests, it has no activity logs to provide. Mullvad says:

“We frequently get requests regarding IP-addresses and if we know which user was using it at a certain time. Since we do not have any VPN activity logs, they get very similar responses […] that we have no information that could help their investigation, and that all our IP-addresses are shared by our users.”

Who Is Behind Mullvad VPN?

Mullvad VPN is owned by the Swedish company Amagicom AB and led by CEO Jan Axel Jonsson. The owners and sole shareholders of Amagicom AB are Fredrik Strömberg and Daniel Berntsson, who describe themselves as “idealists.” The company is based at Engelbrektsgatan 28, 411 37 Göteborg, Sweden.

As many VPNs are acquired by larger companies like Kape Technologies (owner of ExpressVPN and CyberGhost), Ziff Davis (IPVanish, StrongVPN), and Cyberspace (NordVPN, Surfshark, AtlasVPN), Mullvad remains independent, and its owners say they have no interest in selling.

Mullvad doesn’t claim to unblock streaming sites, and it no longer works with Netflix. It also hasn’t developed streaming-optimized servers or an Amazon Fire TV Stick app.

Across major streaming platforms, we found very limited success. Only Amazon Prime Video (US) and HBO Max were accessible outside their regions. Hulu remained blocked.

Despite this, Mullvad is one of the best VPNs for streaming Sky Go. It almost always worked in our testing and maintained 720p quality.

Like Astrill VPN, Mullvad prioritizes privacy. Still, a VPN can do both. We’d love to see Mullvad improve its ability to unblock streaming sites, especially Netflix, so we can recommend it more broadly.

Mullvad offers strong AES-256 and ChaCha20 encryption, plus an always-on kill switch, double VPN, split tunneling, and a tracker blocker.

Mullvad continues to invest in security and privacy, adding features and commissioning regular penetration tests and audits.

Offers the Safest Protocols

Mullvad supports OpenVPN and WireGuard on almost every platform—Android has WireGuard only. We like that it omits outdated, unsafe protocols like PPTP and SSTP.

Mullvad donated to WireGuard’s development and was among the first VPNs to adopt it, which has since become industry standard.

Each protocol has configurable options. With WireGuard, you can enable multi-hop, change ports, and choose IPv4 or IPv6. With OpenVPN, you can select UDP or TCP and enable Bridge Mode, Mullvad’s obfuscation tool.

It’s unfortunate that Bridge Mode isn’t available on WireGuard and multi-hop isn’t available on OpenVPN.

Split tunneling lets you choose which apps use the VPN and is available on Windows, macOS, Android, and Linux.

Automatic Kill Switch

Mullvad has warned about potential DNS leaks on Android, even with “Block connections without VPN” enabled (Android’s native kill switch), due to an Android OS bug.

Avoid Mullvad on Android for sensitive tasks until a fix is deployed.

Mullvad’s built-in kill switch is always on. It blocks your internet if the VPN disconnects, preventing accidental exposure of your real IP.

Many VPNs ship with kill switches off by default, so we appreciate Mullvad’s default-on approach.

Mullvad’s iOS kill switch runs continuously in the background.

On Android, you must enable both Always-on VPN and Block connections without VPN in system settings. Ideally, this would be integrated directly in the app.

A Range of Additional Security Initiatives

Mullvad provides an ad blocker, IPv6 support, and ongoing protocol improvements.

Regular Security Audits

Mullvad conducts frequent audits and penetration tests on its servers and apps.

These external assessments help identify and fix bugs and vulnerabilities, improving security over time.

Here are some of Mullvad’s recent security audits and their results:

Open-Source Apps

All of Mullvad’s desktop and mobile apps are fully open-source.

Anyone can view the code on GitHub and report issues.

While other privacy-focused VPNs like PIA and IVPN have also open-sourced their apps, it’s still relatively rare in the industry.

Full IPv6 Support

Many VPNs block IPv6 and risk leaks by forcing IPv4 only. Mullvad supports IPv6 properly, making it a strong option if your ISP offers IPv6.

Improving WireGuard

Mullvad is at the forefront of VPN security innovation and continues to future-proof its service.

For example, its DAITA feature on Windows (Defense against AI-guided Traffic Analysis) adds random background traffic to obscure patterns from mass surveillance, such as the FBI’s methods.

Note that DAITA increases data usage and can reduce speeds.

Mullvad also implemented quantum-resistant WireGuard connections in 2023.

Mullvad’s 44-country coverage is smaller than some competitors. ExpressVPN, for example, is in 109 countries. Still, most users should be happy with the selection, and server congestion is not an issue.

Good City-Level Server Options

Mullvad offers strong city-level coverage in several countries.

Examples include:

EXPERT TIP: Some city locations change with protocol. For example, Osaka and Marseille aren’t available with OpenVPN. Choose the automatic protocol for the widest city selection.

The US leads with 18 city options—better than many top US VPNs, though still behind PIA’s 50-state coverage.

Australia is also strong, with Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. Even top competitors often offer only three or four Australian cities.

Other regions are less well covered. Africa has just one country (South Africa), and Asia and the Middle East are limited.

Mullvad Rents Most of Its Servers

Mullvad is transparent about its infrastructure, including whether servers are owned or rented, their speeds, and whether they support WireGuard or OpenVPN.

Most servers are rented. This is fine if providers are trustworthy and thoroughly vetted. Mullvad says they are, and that rented servers are not shared.

Because Mullvad is so transparent, you can choose to connect only to Mullvad-owned servers. These may be the most secure, but privacy risk is low on rented servers as well.

All-Physical Server Network

Mullvad operates only physical servers, which explains the smaller country list.

Virtual servers can provide an IP from one country while being located in another, enabling near-global coverage for some VPNs. With Mullvad, every server is where it claims to be.

Neither approach is inherently better, but physical servers are generally considered less vulnerable to certain attacks.

No Static IP Addresses

Mullvad does not offer static (dedicated) IP addresses. You won’t be assigned the same IP twice, which is good for privacy.

However, this can hurt streaming access, as static IPs often appear more like typical residential traffic.

Installation & Setup

Interface & Ease of Use

Day-to-Day Experience

Mullvad is a top torrenting VPN. All servers are P2P-friendly, with no restrictions like those some providers (e.g., TorGuard) have introduced.

Testing with clients like qBittorrent, we saw fast, stable downloads and an excellent average bitrate of 9.8MiB/s.

While not the absolute fastest, Mullvad is still a quick and private choice—helped by its kill switch and safe logging policy.

SOCKS5 Proxy Is Available, But Port Forwarding Has Been Removed

SOCKS5 is available on all Mullvad servers once activated for the app you’re using. It’s great for torrenting and can also reduce CAPTCHAs.

However, citing “avenues for abuse,” Mullvad no longer supports port forwarding. While useful for faster P2P and gaming optimizations like NAT type changes and lower latency, this feature has been discontinued.

Obfuscation Technology

Working Ad, Tracker & Malware blocker

Mullvad Browser