Samsung officially discontinued its Max VPN & Data Saver app on June 15, 2026, ending a service exclusive to Galaxy devices that had been running for several years, according to SamMobile’s reporting. Samsung told users the shutdown was coming as far back as April 2026 through an in-app notification, and the deadline held with no last-minute reversal.
What Samsung Max VPN was
Samsung Max VPN & Data Saver was a repackaged VPN service, bundled into Samsung’s own software ecosystem and available exclusively on Galaxy devices. It offered a free basic tier with in-app ads and limited features, alongside a paid plan for users who wanted more control over server region and connection limits. It was never one of the more widely used VPN options and functioned mostly as a convenience layer for Galaxy owners who wanted basic protection without installing a third-party app.
Why Samsung pulled the plug
Samsung hasn’t given a detailed public explanation beyond confirming the shutdown proceeded as scheduled. The practical read is straightforward: as a white-label, repackaged service with limited adoption relative to dedicated VPN providers, Max VPN likely wasn’t generating enough usage or revenue to justify continued maintenance, particularly as Samsung has been investing more heavily in its own Galaxy AI and software ecosystem elsewhere.
This mirrors a broader pattern of built-in or bundled VPN features getting quietly discontinued when they don’t reach meaningful adoption, a different trajectory from the bundled VPN trend elsewhere in the industry, where Google One VPN just expanded to desktop and Apple continues investing in iCloud Private Relay. Bundled VPNs aren’t disappearing as a category, but not every one of them survives.
What to do if you were using Samsung Max VPN
If Max VPN was your only VPN, you now have zero protection on public Wi-Fi, and your ISP can see your unencrypted browsing activity again. The good news is that switching to a dedicated provider takes only a few minutes and gets you meaningfully better protection than a basic bundled app ever offered.
NordVPN scores 4.63/5 in our full comparison, the highest of any provider we track, with a native Android app that installs in minutes on any Galaxy device and includes features Max VPN never had: a full kill switch, obfuscated servers, RAM-only infrastructure and six completed independent no-logs audits.
If you specifically want a free replacement, since Max VPN’s basic tier was free, Proton VPN’s free tier is the closest equivalent worth using. It’s permanently free, covers one device, includes servers in three countries, and carries no data cap, unlike most free VPN apps that throttle speed or limit monthly usage.
Want to compare all VPNs side by side? Check our full VPN comparison table with scores across 18 criteria.
How to actually switch without a gap in coverage
Install your new VPN app before uninstalling Max VPN, so you’re never briefly without protection. Our Android VPN setup guide walks through the full process for both NordVPN and Proton VPN, including manual WireGuard configuration if you’d rather not use a provider’s app at all. Once the new app is installed and you’ve confirmed it connects properly, uninstall Max VPN and its data saver components to free up the storage and background permissions it was using.
It’s also worth running a quick IP leak test after switching, standard practice any time you change VPN providers, to confirm your new app is actually routing and encrypting traffic the way it claims to.
The bigger lesson: bundled VPNs aren’t guaranteed to last
Samsung Max VPN’s shutdown is a reminder that a VPN tied to a single hardware ecosystem carries a risk dedicated, standalone providers don’t: if the parent company decides the feature isn’t worth maintaining, it can disappear with a few months’ notice, regardless of how many people relied on it. A dedicated VPN provider’s entire business is the VPN itself, which gives it a stronger incentive to keep the service running and improving rather than folding it when a broader corporate strategy shifts. If you’ve been burned by this shutdown, that’s the strongest argument for picking a standalone provider next time rather than whatever comes bundled with your phone.
Was Max VPN actually any good while it lasted?
For context on what you’re actually losing, it’s worth being honest about where Max VPN stood. It was never independently audited to the standard the top providers in our database maintain, its free tier ran ads and offered limited server choice, and its paid tier, while functional, never competed with dedicated providers on speed, streaming access, or privacy verification. y tool, and the shutdown mostly confirms that positioning rather than contradicting it. If you relied on it for genuine privacy rather than basic data-saving convenience, this is a good moment to upgrade rather than simply replace it with another free bundled option.
Other Samsung and manufacturer-bundled apps worth watching
Samsung Max VPN isn’t the first phone-manufacturer VPN feature to get discontinued, and it likely won’t be the last. Manufacturer-bundled software tends to survive only as long as it aligns with the parent company’s broader strategy, and VPN features specifically are vulnerable because they require ongoing infrastructure costs, server maintenance, bandwidth, and periodic security updates, that a phone maker’s core business doesn’t otherwise need. Contrast this with dedicated VPN providers, whose entire revenue model depends on keeping the service reliable, since a provider that lets its network degrade loses subscribers immediately rather than absorbing the cost as a minor line item in a much larger business.
If you own other Samsung or manufacturer-specific software tied to your device, particularly anything bundled rather than sold as its own subscription, it’s worth treating Max VPN’s shutdown as a signal to check whether you have a real backup plan if that software disappears too. A password manager, cloud backup tool, or security feature tied exclusively to one phone brand carries the same structural risk a bundled VPN does.
How NordVPN and Proton VPN compare for former Max VPN users specifically
Since Max VPN offered both a free ad-supported tier and a modest paid tier, the two replacement paths map differently depending on what you actually used. If you paid for Max VPN’s premium features, mainly broader server region choice and higher connection limits, NordVPN at $3.47/mo over two years replaces that functionality several times over: 5/5 speed and streaming scores, six completed audits, and a server network spanning 104 countries versus Max VPN’s much narrower regional options. If you only used Max VPN’s free ad-supported tier and don’t want to start paying for a VPN, Proton VPN’s free plan is the more direct equivalent: no ads, no data cap, and unlike Max VPN, an independently audited no-logs policy backing it, at the cost of a smaller free-tier server selection covering three countries rather than Max VPN’s fuller (if ad-funded) regional list.
Either way, the actual functionality gap between Max VPN and its replacements runs in one direction only: both NordVPN and Proton VPN offer meaningfully more than Max VPN did, whether or not you end up paying for the upgrade.
Samsung Max VPN's June 15, 2026 shutdown leaves Galaxy users who relied on it with zero VPN protection and a genuine opportunity to upgrade. NordVPN is the strongest replacement for anyone who paid for Max VPN's premium tier, with a native Android app, six completed audits, and a far larger server network. Proton VPN's free tier is the closest match for anyone who only used Max VPN's free, ad-supported plan. Install either before uninstalling Max VPN to avoid a gap in coverage.