Lantern: Fast & Private VPN
Lantern: Fast & Private VPN has 33,882,273 installs (+0.2% a week, measured over 12 days), rated 3.9 from 245,124 ratings, #388 of 237,216 in Tools.
Also in the last two weeksv10.0.5 on 2 Nov
Description
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Lantern is the fast, open source VPN built for the world's most heavily censored networks. Downloaded 250 million times over 12+ years. If it works there, it will work anywhere. Built by Brave New Software Project, a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and independently audited.
SMART ROUTING, BUILT FOR SPEED
Most VPNs route everything through their servers, slowing you down. Smart Routing uses region-specific rules to automatically send traffic that needs the VPN through Lantern. Everything else goes direct for speed and reliability. Prefer everything encrypted? Switch to full tunnel mode anytime.
SPLIT TUNNELING YOU CONTROL
Choose which apps or websites bypass the VPN. Split tunneling works on top of either routing mode, so you stay in control whether you are in Smart Routing or full tunnel.
CENSORSHIP-RESISTANT PROTOCOLS
Lantern supports 15+ obfuscation protocols, including WireGuard, Shadowsocks, Hysteria2, VLESS, and AmneziaWG, as well as several in-house protocols developed with leading internet freedom researchers. Adaptive routing learns which transport works on your network right now, so you stay connected when other VPNs fail.
PRIVACY WITHOUT COMPROMISE
When your users include dissidents and opposition journalists, the stakes are different. Lantern keeps absolutely no logs, and our fully open source stack has been independently audited. The same protection they rely on is what protects you.
PRIVATE SERVER
Your own VPN, no middleman. Run Lantern on your own hardware or cloud account. Deploy in minutes from inside the app, or bring your own server. Included with all plans, just pay your own server costs.
UNBLOCK WHAT MATTERS
Reach the apps and sites your network restricts:
Social: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Snapchat
Messaging: WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal
Streaming: YouTube and more
Information: Wikipedia, Google, news sites
Gaming: Steam and more
TESTED BY CRISIS, TRUSTED BY MILLIONS
Lantern kept millions connected during Iran's 2022 protests, Hong Kong's 2019 demonstrations, and Russia's crackdown after February 2022. When the stakes are highest, people choose Lantern.
USING LANTERN HELPS OTHERS
Lantern is for people who believe internet access is a human right. Every Pro subscription funds free access for people in censored regions. Protect your privacy and join a community fighting for a more open interenet.
WORKS EVERYWHERE YOU DO
Protect up to 5 devices with Lantern Pro across Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux.
FREE PLAN, NO ADS, NO ACCOUNT
The free plan is genuinely free. No ads, no signup, no email required. Pro unlocks unlimited data, server selection, and multi-device support.
WHY TRUST LANTERN
Open source: github.com/getlantern
Rigorously audited by independent security firms
Built by Brave New Software Project, a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit
No logs or trackers
Lantern uses Android VpnService to create an encrypted tunnel between your device and our servers. See lantern.io/privacy for details.
Reviews The reviews Google Play shows first (its most relevant), from the US store, in any language.
From 245,085 ratings · 1★ share 19% (was 21% four weeks ago).
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★★★★★ Morteza · 4 Oct 2026 · v10.0.0Please design the app's location feature to include both manual and automatic modes so we can select the location ourselves. Unfortunately, the app's only weakness is that we cannot manually set the location; it selects one automatically, and upon reconnection, it often switches to a location in a different country. This causes issues with our accounts on various apps. Please resolve this problem.Developer reply · 5 Oct 2026Thanks for the feedback. Automatic mode is designed to select the best working connection, so the location may change when you reconnect. If you need a consistent location, Lantern Pro allows you to manually select your preferred location. We appreciate you sharing this feedback.
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★☆☆☆☆ Mostafa Abbasi · 1 Oct 2026 · v10.0.0This app is extremely dangerous and can record video and take photos while in use. I do not recommend it at all.Developer reply · 2 Oct 2026Thanks for raising this concern. Lantern does not secretly record videos or take photos while you use the app. We take privacy seriously and want to understand what prompted this warning. Please email support@lantern.io and include #app-review so our team can look into it.
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★★☆☆☆ farsi game · 11 Aug 2026 · v9.1.18i used to like this vpn it was fast and ez to connect but right now the speed and connection is a bit underwhelming.Developer reply · 14 Aug 2026Thanks for the feedback. We’re sorry the speed and connection haven’t been as reliable lately. A new version of Lantern will be rolling out shortly and may help with these issues. Please update when it becomes available. If the problem continues afterward, please submit an in-app support ticket and include #app-review.
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★☆☆☆☆ Charles Holloman · 9 Jul 2026 · v9.1.13It used to work well. just updated and now it sucks. it constantly runs out of data in an attempt to force you to buy the pro version. There are many better options.Developer reply · 11 Sep 2026Just wanted to circle back and let you know that we heard you. We’re increasing the free data allowance to 512 MB per day so Lantern remains useful for free users. Please update to the latest version when it becomes available to you. We appreciate your feedback!
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★☆☆☆☆ GMV MAKERZ · 2 Jul 2026 · v9.1.13It was good vpn but now everything is paid and you get so mb to use. Even before they had ads but now they want you to empty your wallets. 1 star.Developer reply · 11 Sep 2026Just wanted to circle back and let you know that we heard you. We’re increasing the free data allowance to 512 MB per day so Lantern remains useful for free users. Please update to the latest version when it becomes available to you. We appreciate your feedback!
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★★☆☆☆ Res Nate · 31 May 2025 · v7.2.3 (20230119.225739)Simpliest as possible. Was glad it is available in some regions with serious censorship. But last week I'm getting notification "Hands-free call is in progress" from Lantern, but no more info is avaible, sounds very scary about mic recording throught the app. In my country it could be fatal. 2025: app doesn't work anymore.
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★★☆☆☆ SajWho · 2 Jul 2024 · v7.8.8 (20240612.214844)Stopped opening yesterday suddenly. Just immediately crashes now. Rebooting the phone and redownloading and updating the app doesn't help. Been working absolutely amazingly for over two years now, easily the best VPN app otherwise. I hope it's a bug that can be fixed soon.
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★☆☆☆☆ Xiaofei Ma · 3 Jul 2023 · v7.4.9 (20230514.205520)DO NOT BUY IT!!! It worked well enough a couple of months ago, but is dying now. One out of 5-6 tries may get you connected, if you are lucky, and that is for the PAID customers. The status display says your phone is connected, but you cannot go anywhere! What is worse, any complaint is answered by an autoreply message, there is simply no support. Do not even try to get a refund, either, you will get the same reply message.
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★★☆☆☆ Рена Микаилова · 30 Jun 2023I'm very disappointed. The Pro version doesn't cost it. Well, Lantern was one one the most stable apps when I started using it. That's why I decided to pay for Pro, and that was one of the most meaningless things I've ever done. The connection error appears everyday. I'm lucky that it disappears for some time. Another this is there's only automatic reply. The support never responded. Moreover I'm not able to cancel the subscription once I paid.
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★★★★★ Veli Yaşar · 7 May 2023 · v7.3.9 (20230314.212315)I had found Lantern when it was recommended by a magazine years ago. I had first loved it because how it connects with one click and zero ads or delay. But I had stopped using it because of the small data limit for free users. Now I get back to my old fellow, as good as before, and I don't see the data limit anywhere. Right now it's too good to be true.
Search Android reviews - every stored review from the store, not only this listing's.
Growth change in installs
| Per | Growth | Growth % | Actual change | Measured over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| day | Not enough history yet | |||
| week | +81,997 | +0.2% | +137,596 | 11.7 days |
| month | Not enough history yet | |||
| year | Not enough history yet | |||
How these figures are measured
Change in installs, scaled to each window from the real gap between crawls. A window needs a full period of history before it reports anything.
Ratings were removed in Oct 2026; shown as 0.
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