Norton VPN: 2025’s milestones and the roadmap for 2026

Norton’s VPN strategy in 2025 reflects a shifting security landscape, where consumer expectations, regulatory pressures, and technological change are converging at unprecedented speed.

According to Himmat Bains, Product Lead for Norton VPN, 2025 was the year "online privacy shifted from a niche concern to a mainstream expectation."

While the VPN industry often focuses on enthusiasts, Norton has had to adapt to a broader, more volatile digital environment. The rapid spread of Generative AI has fundamentally changed the nature of online threats, while governments and ISPs have become more aggressive regarding data access.

Let’s look back on Norton’s progress over the last year to see how the antivirus giant is positioning its VPN to meet these modern challenges, and what its roadmap looks like for 2026.

Major performance upgrades

For years, VPNs bundled with antivirus suites have struggled to compete with standalone providers on pure speed. In 2025, Norton tackled this disparity with significant infrastructure investments.

"In 2025, we significantly boosted our performance and infrastructure," Bains said. This wasn't just a minor patch; it involved a physical overhaul of their server network to support high-throughput connections.

Specifically, Norton introduced "25 Gbps servers in major cities like New York, London, and Tokyo." For the end user, this upgrade is critical. As streaming quality increases and internet speeds rise, the VPN layer can often become a bottleneck. By deploying higher capacity servers in these high-traffic hubs, Norton is aiming to offer "faster connection speeds" that rival the dedicated competition.

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Strengthening privacy

Trust is the currency of the VPN market, and 2025 saw Norton push for transparency to validate its privacy claims. The company moved to verify its architecture through third-party scrutiny, a standard practice among top-tier providers that Norton has now fully embraced.

"We pushed incredibly hard on ensuring that our commitment to privacy is the best it can be with two independent audits," Bains explained.

The audits covered two distinct areas: the company's backend infrastructure and its proprietary Mimic Protocol. While many providers use off-the-shelf protocols like WireGuard, those using proprietary technology bear a higher burden of proof to demonstrate security. These audits, combined with an "updated data collection policy," represent a concerted effort to offer customers what Bains calls "a top tier privacy stance."

A changing digital landscape

Norton’s strategy in 2025 was heavily influenced by external forces. According to Bains, the "rapid spread of generative AI fundamentally changed the threat landscape."

The rise of AI has made "impersonation, phishing, and data misuse more scalable and harder to detect," creating a hostile environment for the average user. Simultaneously, the regulatory landscape has fractured. Bains noted that while some regions pushed for "stricter age-verification," others expanded "online censorship and surveillance."

Furthermore, the commercialization of user data by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) has become more brazen. "ISPs and platforms became more explicit about monetizing user data and metadata," Bains observed.

These factors combined have pushed VPN usage away from being a tool for tech-savvy hobbyists and toward a "form of basic digital hygiene." The focus for Norton has shifted to providing "default, always-on privacy protection" to counter these pervasive threats.

What's planned for 2026

Looking ahead, Norton is focused on platform parity and ease of use. The immediate goal for early 2026 is to bring the industry-standard WireGuard protocol to Apple devices.

"We are excited about bringing WireGuard to Apple platforms in the first few weeks of the year," Bains revealed. This update is expected to provide significant "speed and performance improvements" for macOS and iOS users, who have previously relied on other protocols.

Beyond protocols, the roadmap points toward a continued refinement of the user experience. Bains emphasized a mission to build the "best all around VPN for the masses," with further UI enhancements planned throughout the year.

The road ahead

Norton VPN closes 2025 having made substantial strides in infrastructure and trust. By upgrading to 25Gbps servers and subjecting its proprietary Mimic protocol to independent auditing, it has addressed the two biggest criticisms often leveled at bundled VPNs: speed and transparency.

As we move into 2026, the integration of WireGuard on Apple platforms will be a key test of its ability to deliver a seamless, high-performance experience across all devices. If Norton can combine this technical performance with its mass-market accessibility, it is well-positioned to serve a public that now views privacy not as a luxury, but as a necessity.