(Image credit: Proton)

The VPN industry faced significant challenges in 2025, navigating age verification, AI and increasing internet censorship. According to Himmat Bains, Product Lead for Norton VPN, it was a “turning point where online privacy shifted from a niche concern to a mainstream expectation.

With that in mind, I spoke to NordVPN, Proton VPN and Norton VPN to find out the biggest events of the past 12 months and to hear what they’re excited about in 2026.

The rise (and risk) of AI

AI may have become a staple of everyday life for many, but it’s not without its risks. “There is growing concern about large language models (LLMs) being hacked or used in large-scale cyberattacks,” said Marijus Briedis, NordVPN Chief Technical Officer.

He warned that criminals are now using “AI to create convincing impersonations of customers or employees, making scams more difficult to detect.”

There is growing concern about large language models (LLMs) being hacked or used in large-scale cyberattacks.”

Marijus Briedis, NordVPN Chief Technical Officer

To counter this worrying trend, NordVPN added a scam email checking tool to its Threat Protection Pro feature in 2025, alongside new crypto wallet address checking, hijacked session alerts, and adult site blocking. It also launched its new call protection service, providing another layer of protection against scam phone calls.

Norton VPN is also tackling AI scams as part of its quest to challenge the very best VPNs – a sign of how big this issue could become in 2026.

Mike Healey, Norton VPN’s Comms Lead, said that around 90% of the threats they detect are scams, so the company is focusing on developing the tools necessary to help people stay protected.

Despite these renewed efforts, expect AI to continue to pose a threat to people’s privacy in the coming months – from AI-enabled scams, to LLM-enabled cyberattacks.

The spread of age verification measures

Online age verification measures became nearly as commonplace as AI in 2025, as countries scrambled to protect children from accessing harmful content.

However, critics warn that this approach may have a negative impact on people’s privacy. As NordVPN’s Briedis explains, “these laws are very fragmented and in some cases, force customers to disclose sensitive personal information to third-party processors.”

“The effects of these developments are not yet clear for minors and adults alike."

Marijus Briedis, NordVPN Chief Technical Officer

“The effects of these developments are not yet clear for minors and adults alike, and we sincerely hope it won’t turn out to become a cybersecurity or privacy disaster,” Bredis added.

The biggest risk stems from potential data breaches. Surfshark data shows that in the third quarter of 2025 alone, 90 million accounts were subject to a data breach, or roughly 700 accounts per minute.

If companies involved in age verification were affected by similar breaches, the exposure of sensitive data could be catastrophic.

Age verification is far more difficult for VPNs to tackle since it’s a legislative issue, rather than mere technology. That said, continuous improvements to protocols and server networks ensure that no matter where age verification next appears, users will have a secure tunnel they can use throughout the process, even if VPNs aren’t able to circumvent it entirely.

The lingering threat of internet censorship

While VPNs can’t always help people bypass age verification measures, they remain a vital tool in bypassing internet censorship. With internet freedoms declining for the 15th straight year according to Freedom House, they’ve never been more important.

David Peterson, General Manager of Proton VPN said there is a “growing threat from both authoritarian regimes and regulatory overreach in open societies,” pointing to the dramatic internet shutdowns and social media restrictions seen during elections in the past 12 months.

Cameroon saw a huge spike in VPN signups in November amid a heavily contested presidential election (Image credit: Proton)

While VPNs cannot help with full-scale internet blackouts, they are an effective means of accessing social media and blocked websites when more targeted restrictions are enforced.

Proton VPN focused on building tools capable of overcoming internet censorship throughout 2025. It doubled the number of servers available on its free service to improve speeds and reliability, while its paid service benefited from greater feature parity across platforms, including improvements to its NetShield threat protection system and support for split tunneling and port forwarding.

Looking ahead

While age verification, AI and internet censorship aren’t going away, the VPN industry is preparing for significant changes in the next 12 months.

Proton VPN is rolling out a new in-house architecture that promises to deliver better speeds and enhanced anti-censorship capabilities. According to Peterson, this update is also a major step toward "post-quantum encryption to future-proof user privacy."

Meanwhile, Norton VPN is focusing on becoming "the best all-around VPN for the masses” according to Bains. It will bring the WireGuard protocol to Apple platforms in early 2026, alongside other UI developments to cement its status as an accessible option.

NordVPN is taking a different approach by expanding its threat protection tools. It is also currently investigating the use of AI and LLMs to help people identify fake content online.

“We will continue to move from just securing your connection to protecting users from a wide range of online threats, including hijacked sessions on the dark web and advanced scam attempts,” Briedis explained.

However, as VPN providers shift their focus from straightforward connection security to AI-based threat detection and enhanced anti-censorship tools, users will be better equipped than ever to navigate the modern web.

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Rob is TechRadar’s VPN Editor. Coming from a background in phones and technology, he’s no stranger to the risks that come with putting yourself online. Over years of engaging with different platforms, testing the limits of his online persona, and feeling the brunt of several data breaches, Rob has come to gain a keen understanding of cybersecurity and the benefits of services such as VPNs in providing a secure online experience. He uses this to not only advise on the best ways to stay secure online but also share his own experiences and especially how to avoid trouble. Outside of work, you’ll find Rob on the tennis courts, in the gym, or diving into the biggest and best games of the year.

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