Proton VPN Launches Native Apple TV App, Adds Vision Pro Support

[heretiq]

use it for what? watching youtube?

I use Proton VPN configured to block malware and ads along with Private Relay on all my Apple devices. I think it is an essential utility to protect against viruses, malware and what I consider to be an amoral surveillance-advertising economy. I subscribe to ad-supported sites like MR that I frequent regularly.

 

[svish]

Good to see VPN app for Apple TV

 

[MacBH928]

sounds useless. does it mean you can watch shows from other regions? What benefit does vpn have for appletv?

I am very surprised Apple allowed this into the store. Wouldn't this essentially mean users can change locations to access different streaming services offerings?

1-Yes you can switch locations

2-Not all VPN services are able to do this as it requires special setup that I do not know. Some VPN services are exposed and blocked by streaming services. I have Mullvad VPN and AFAIK Netflix won't work with it.

3-Switching locations should break the terms of service and not sure if that means its illegal or not

4-I am too surprised Apple allowed this, but now when I think about it, Apple owns all the media in Apple TV so they can stream any where in the world meanwhile their competitors have all kinds of legal contracts on where they can or can not stream their content. Looks like Apple wants to get their competitors into trouble and exhaust their energy in legal battle and network monitoring.

 

[Adora]

does it allow tunneling? i use safeshell vpn for this specific need - works great

I am not sure. It is running on my Mac together with AdGuard and it also worked together with AdguardVPN on top but there were problems. Those could also be beta problems. On iOS it only works alone until now. But it has an integrated DNS-Ad- and tracking and malware blocker, what can also be set to block malware only or just don't turned on.

 

[zecal]

sounds useless. does it mean you can watch shows from other regions? What benefit does vpn have for appletv?

Great feature. You were able to watch the full Olympics streams in Ireland or Germany from the UK for free, while in UK it was only available on PayTV. Or the choice of content is different in other countries. Or some content is blocked in your country fro whatever reason...

 

[heretiq]

I installed ProtonVPN for AppleTv. It’s a basic VPN and allows you to select either the fastest connection or a specific country connection. It works, but is lacking the ability to choose a specific server in each country and the Adblock feature available with ProtonVPN for Mac, iOS and iPadOS. These missing features are the ones that make the app indispensable for me, so I’m hoping they are added to the AppleTV version soon.

 

[StanleyOmar]

Does simply using AppleTV as my interface hide my use from Samsung? Or, would I also have to enable a VPN?

Are you talking about a Samsung TV? A lot of people use the AppleTV box exclusively and never connect the TV itself to the internet or install anything directly on it, and some for this exact reason – to avoid having their usage tracked or sold. Aside from that, the AppleTV interface is generally much better than the interface of your TV.

 

[Sully]

Are you talking about a Samsung TV? A lot of people use the AppleTV box exclusively and never connect the TV itself to the internet or install anything directly on it, and some for this exact reason – to avoid having their usage tracked or sold. Aside from that, the AppleTV interface is generally much better than the interface of your TV.

Yes. Just wondering if using ATV exclusively hides my activity from the manufacturer. I do want to connect to Samsung for firmware updates.

 

[MacBH928]

Yes. Just wondering if using ATV exclusively hides my activity from the manufacturer. I do want to connect to Samsung for firmware updates.

I do not think so, because samsung can still see what you watch on their tv.

Perspective | You watch TV. Your TV watches back.

In our latest privacy experiment, we tracked how four of the most popular TV brands record everything we watch.

www.washingtonpost.com

 

[StanleyOmar]

I do not think so, because samsung can still see what you watch on their tv.

Perspective | You watch TV. Your TV watches back.

In our latest privacy experiment, we tracked how four of the most popular TV brands record everything we watch.

www.washingtonpost.com

I'm pretty sure it would hide it from Samsung, because you're doing everything on the Apple TV (Netflix app, etc). You never really engage with the Samsung Interface, except to adjust TV settings, and maybe to launch. the ATV.

On my TV, which isn't Samsung, my ATV remote turns on the TV and ATV at the same time, so I never really do anything in the TV interface.

 

[Sully]

I'm pretty sure it would hide it from Samsung, because you're doing everything on the Apple TV (Netflix app, etc). You never really engage with the Samsung Interface, except to adjust TV settings, and maybe to launch. the ATV.

On my TV, which isn't Samsung, my ATV remote turns on the TV and ATV at the same time, so I never really do anything in the TV interface.

You’re right.

I checked my router and there are no flows from the Samsung TV when I’m watching on the AppleTV box.

 

[StanleyOmar]

You’re right.

I checked my router and there are no flows from the Samsung TV when I’m watching on the AppleTV box.

Ya, the TV's basically just a giant monitor for the ATV when used this way. I've never even connected my TV to the internet or signed in to any of its apps.

 

[MacBH928]

I'm pretty sure it would hide it from Samsung, because you're doing everything on the Apple TV (Netflix app, etc). You never really engage with the Samsung Interface, except to adjust TV settings, and maybe to launch. the ATV.

On my TV, which isn't Samsung, my ATV remote turns on the TV and ATV at the same time, so I never really do anything in the TV interface.

You’re right.

I checked my router and there are no flows from the Samsung TV when I’m watching on the AppleTV box.

AFAIK , TVs can capture whats on the screen even if you use a appletv box because it records whats on the display.

Ya, the TV's basically just a giant monitor for the ATV when used this way. I've never even connected my TV to the internet or signed in to any of its apps.

if you do not connect it to the internet you should be safe

 

[SnowPenguin]

Good news! It's the VPN I personally use, after all

 

[Sully]

AFAIK , TVs can capture whats on the screen even if you use a appletv box because it records whats on the display.
View attachment 2445704

I have a router (Firewalla) that shows all of the activity leaving my network. When I’m connected using the AppleTv there are no flows shown leaving the TV. Zero. But, I can see the flows leaving the AppleTV appliance. That’s the basis for my thought that Samsung can’t log that traffic. My ISP can and Apple can, but not Samsung. The VPN would protect the traffic from all three, but at the expense of my content provider blocking local channels.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Surely if you use the TV, you display a picture with sound or without. So the TV can always see it. If you are bothered by it, then don’t connect the TV to the internet.

Either way this has nothing to do with the Apple TV app of the Proton VPN.

 

[Sully]

Surely if you use the TV, you display a picture with sound or without. So the TV can always see it. If you are bothered by it, then don’t connect the TV to the internet.

Either way this has nothing to do with the Apple TV app of the Proton VPN.

The connection is that one of the uses of a VPN is privacy ( to hide your activity from the TV manufacturer, your isp, or your streaming appliance manufacturer).

If ATV handles that, then the VPN isn’t necessary for privacy. I’d prefer not to connect my Tv through a VPN if I can handle the privacy aspect in another way because there are also downsides to a VPN.

Sorry that I provoked you enough that you felt you had to chide me for asking the question and I hope you have a good weekend.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

The connection is that one of the uses of a VPN is privacy ( to hide your activity from the TV manufacturer, your isp, or your streaming appliance manufacturer).

If ATV handles that, then the VPN isn’t necessary for privacy. I’d prefer not to connect my Tv through a VPN if I can handle the privacy aspect in another way because there are also downsides to a VPN.

Sorry that I provoked you enough that you felt you had to chide me for asking the question and I hope you have a good weekend.

Not for a TV, that just doesn’t make any sense. A VPN encapsulated the network traffic, not the picture and images. The HDMI connection to a TV or inbuilt path remains open (albeit encrypted, but ultimately not) so it can be displayed. Then you just fingerprint that image. This has nothing, or very little to do with privacy.

 

[Sully]

Not for a TV, that just doesn’t make any sense. A VPN encapsulated the network traffic, not the picture and images. The HDMI connection to a TV or inbuilt path remains open (albeit encrypted, but ultimately not) so it can be displayed. Then you just fingerprint that image. This has nothing, or very little to do with privacy.

If the network traffic is encrypted by the VPN isn’t everything going through the VPN and invisible to the TV manufacturer? What do you mean when you say that “you can just fingerprint the image?”

I’m not understanding something in this discussion.If I look on my router when I’m connected to a VPN, all of the traffic is going to the VPN and then to the ultimate destination, in my case a content provider. Are you suggesting that Samsung can still see this traffic because of an open HDMI connection?

Feel free to message me directly if this is getting too off the subject.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

If the network traffic is encrypted by the VPN isn’t everything going through the VPN and invisible to the TV manufacturer? What do you mean when you say that “you can just fingerprint the image?”

Network traffic goes via WiFi or Ethernet. The connection to the TV is via HDMI. HDMI will have HDCP - aka High Definition Content Protection. However the TV will have to decode the signal as otherwise it couldn't display anything on the screen for you to watch. At that moment they can see exactly what you are seeing. It doesn't require the data/internet stream when they have the image (and sound) stream itself. You can easily fingerprint content based on that.

I’m not understanding something in this discussion.If I look on my router when I’m connected to a VPN, all of the traffic is going to the VPN and then to the ultimate destination, in my case a content provider. Are you suggesting that Samsung can still see this traffic because of an open HDMI connection?

No, but they don't need that. And HDMI isn't open either as it has content protection. But ultimately you want to watch something so that chain is broken and guess what, it is the TV doing that, that is its core job. So it can 'see' at all times what you are watching.

Now whether they actually do something with that data beside automatically adjusting the picture quality, or ambilight (Philips does that), or phone home to keep a database of all the programs you watch. That is a whole different matter, they can, but are they really? Nah...Eitherway, having your source on the VPN isn't going to stop that.

Feel free to message me directly if this is getting too off the subject.

 

[MacBH928]

Network traffic goes via WiFi or Ethernet. The connection to the TV is via HDMI. HDMI will have HDCP - aka High Definition Content Protection. However the TV will have to decode the signal as otherwise it couldn't display anything on the screen for you to watch. At that moment they can see exactly what you are seeing. It doesn't require the data/internet stream when they have the image (and sound) stream itself. You can easily fingerprint content based on that.

No, but they don't need that. And HDMI isn't open either as it has content protection. But ultimately you want to watch something so that chain is broken and guess what, it is the TV doing that, that is its core job. So it can 'see' at all times what you are watching.

Now whether they actually do something with that data beside automatically adjusting the picture quality, or ambilight (Philips does that), or phone home to keep a database of all the programs you watch. That is a whole different matter, they can, but are they really? Nah...Eitherway, having your source on the VPN isn't going to stop that.

no problem if the tv decodes things locally, the problem is if it sends information back home

 

[cyb3rdud3]

no problem if the tv decodes things locally, the problem is if it sends information back home

Well, only a problem if they don't tell you. I'd recommend getting a proper brand, and not having it connected to the internet.