Turn off VPN on iPhone (iOS)

Here are the steps for turning off VPN through iPhone settings: 1. Go to **Settings** and click on **General.** 2. Find and select **VPN & device management.** 3. Toggle the VPN status to **Not connected.**

Turn off VPN on Android

Here are the steps for turning off VPN through Android settings: 1. Go to **Settings** > **Network & Internet** 2. Click the **VPN** option. 3. Change the VPN status to **Off**

If your VPN on iPhone keeps turning back on

If following the above steps didn’t work, try the following: 1. Under **VPN & Device Management**, tap the small ⓘ icon next to your VPN’s name 2. Switch off the **Connect On Demand** toggle.

Remove VPN on Android

1. Open the **Google Play Store** app. 2. At the top right, tap the **Profile icon**. 3. Tap **Manage apps** > **devices** > **Manage**. 4. Select the VPN app you want to delete. 5. Tap **Uninstall**.

Turn off VPN on iPhone (iOS)

Here are the steps for turning off VPN through iPhone settings: 1. Go to **Settings** and click on **General.** 2. Find and select **VPN & device management.** 3. Toggle the VPN status to **Not connected.**

Turn off VPN on Android

Here are the steps for turning off VPN through Android settings: 1. Go to **Settings** > **Network & Internet** 2. Click the **VPN** option. 3. Change the VPN status to **Off**

If your VPN on iPhone keeps turning back on

If following the above steps didn’t work, try the following: 1. Under **VPN & Device Management**, tap the small ⓘ icon next to your VPN’s name 2. Switch off the **Connect On Demand** toggle.

Remove VPN on Android

1. Open the **Google Play Store** app. 2. At the top right, tap the **Profile icon**. 3. Tap **Manage apps** > **devices** > **Manage**. 4. Select the VPN app you want to delete. 5. Tap **Uninstall**.

Tutorials VPN

How to turn off a VPN on Android and iPhone

Why you might need to turn off the VPN on your smartphone, and why you should be careful when you do

Dario RamponiSEO Manager

Casey Ford. PhDTechnical reviewer

April 19, 20249 mins read

For many people, smartphones have become the main means of accessing the world online. This is for the simple reason that they have combined almost all the basic functionalities of a computer with mobility and convenience.

We all probably feel the effect of this: we’re increasingly spending more and more time on our phones, becoming attached to them, and doing everything through them at the click of a screen. The thing we might not realize is how much data about our personal lives is becoming exposed by this fact.

What is a VPN on iPhone or Android, and why use it? Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are important online privacy tools that now can even be used on your smartphone. This ensures that we can use our iPhone or Android smartphone for everything we practically need without having to worry about our data being tracked or compromised.

However, there might be contexts in which you need to disable the VPN on your iPhone (slow connections, work communications, VPN blocking, etc.). This article will first walk you through how to disable a VPN on your iPhone if you need to, as well as the reasons for and risks of deactivating it.

Warning: disabling the VPN on your iPhone will remove any privacy protections it provides, potentially exposing your personal data.

Try NymVPN for free today

What is a VPN?

Here are the steps for turning off VPN through iPhone settings:

Go to Settings and click on General.
Find and select VPN & device management.
Toggle the VPN status to Not connected.

Here are the steps for turning off VPN through Android settings:

Go to Settings > Network & Internet
Click the VPN option.
Change the VPN status to Off

If following the above steps didn’t work, try the following:

Under VPN & Device Management, tap the small ⓘ icon next to your VPN’s name
Switch off the Connect On Demand toggle.

Simply click the circled x at the top right corner of the VPN app icon.

Open the Google Play Store app.
At the top right, tap the Profile icon.
Tap Manage apps > devices > Manage.
Select the VPN app you want to delete.
Tap Uninstall.

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Disable VPN on Android: FAQs

Disabling a VPN exposes traffic to local ISPs or captive portals, making users vulnerable to eavesdropping or tracking. Automatic protocols assistance may leak metadata temporarily until VPN reconnects.

Yes—mobile VPN disconnection might revert DNS or IPv6 traffic through carrier defaults. This can introduce silent leaks unless the VPN app enforces DNS/IP6 routing strictness.

System-level VPN clients typically pause all routing, while app-level clients may leave some traffic live (especially IPv6 or background services), potentially exposing metadata.

Android usually allows persistent firewall rules blocking non‑VPN traffic. iOS is more restrictive—some clients rely on On-Demand VPN rules or MDM policies to enforce kill switches reliably.

Regulated environments (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA, financial sector) often require continuous encryption. Some enterprise VPNs auto-reconnect or block apps when VPN is disabled to maintain compliance.

About the authors

Dario Ramponi

SEO Manager

Dario is a core member of NymVPN's Marketing team, responsible for crafting our general announcements and writing news related to privacy and VPNs.

Casey Ford. PhD

Technical reviewer

Casey is the Head of Communications, lead writer at Nym, and editorial reviewer at Nym. He holds a PhD in Philosophy and researches the intersection of decentralized technologies and social life.

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Why turn off your VPN on Android or iPhone?

Given all the privacy benefits of using a VPN on your smartphone, there are still many circumstances when a VPN might need to be deactivated. Here are a few to consider.

Troubleshooting your internet connection

Sometimes VPNs can create connection problems when coordinating with your ISP. Like restarting your computer or browser, a lot of glitches can be fixed simply by closing and reopening your VPN app, or by turning your data connection on and off on your smartphone.

Weak online connection

Slow internet connections and latencies can happen for many reasons, not all of which are the fault of the VPN. Routing your traffic through a VPN creates an obvious additional step in connecting with the public web. So when something like bad ISP connections and a VPN are combined, accessing the internet can sometimes be temporarily brought to a snail’s pace. Turning off the VPN can maybe help improve your connection at the cost of your privacy, but not if the problem is with your ISP.

Network firewalls

Firewalls can often be set to block VPN use. They can do this by identifying the public IP addresses of known VPNs or the ports their encryption protocols use. For instance, accessing a secured work network might require a user to deactivate their personal VPN.

Accessing location-based services

Some online services may block known VPNs from accessing their content, such as streaming services that provide specific content for certain countries. Many apps, like weather apps and clocks, also function according to the geolocation of your device. It might be necessary to disable your VPN to see what you want, or to get the information most relevant to you.

Battery is running low

Like any app running in the background all the time, users can experience increased battery consumption. If you’re really running low and don’t have a charger, deactivating your VPN can help. But this is a small change, and perhaps not worth the risk.

How to turn off VPN on iPhone and Android

If you need to turn off the VPN on your your iPhone or Android device, here are the steps:

Through the VPN app

Most mobile VPNs allow you to turn your VPN on and off on the homescreen of the VPN application. This is useful if you’re experiencing slow connectivity and need to speed things up for a particular task before reactivating it.

Through your iPhone or Android

If this doesn’t work, you can deactivate your VPN through your iPhone or Android's settings.