X-VPN (Икс ВПН): what it is, how to download it for PC and does it work in Russia

X-VPN is a VPN service with a free mode and a Premium subscription. It has existed since 2017; it is now operated by the Singapore company LIGHTNINGLINK NETWORKS PTE. LTD., and until autumn 2025 it was operated by Hong Kong's Free Connected Limited. For free, you can connect to 26 locations without registration; Premium costs $11.99 a month on the official website. There are apps for phones, Windows, Mac, Linux and TVs. But X-VPN isn't in the Russian App Store or on RuStore, and Roskomnadzor announced restrictions on it back in December 2021.

If you need a VPN for your phone, tablet, Mac or TV that openly names its protocol, we recommend BessyConnect: VLESS with Reality camouflage, more than 100 servers, optional registration. Below we go through X-VPN on the facts and compare honestly: on Windows it is more convenient than we are.

What is X-VPN and who is behind it?

X-VPN is an ordinary commercial VPN service with its own servers and apps, not a Telegram bot or a "people's" one-button app. It has a legal entity, an address, a privacy policy and terms of use.

The service changed hands over the past year. In a PCWorld review of November 21, 2018, the owner is named as Free Connected Limited of Hong Kong, and the same is stated in the xvpn.io privacy policy in archived copies up to September 1, 2025. In the copy of October 14, 2025, the operator is already listed as LIGHTNINGLINK NETWORKS PTE. LTD. of Singapore, and the same company is now listed as the publisher in the App Store and on Google Play. Under the terms of use of August 14, 2026, disputes are heard by the courts of Singapore under Singapore law.

A Top10VPN review (updated June 29, 2026) writes about the company's past ties to mainland China through its ownership structure and doubts whether the owner changed in substance or only on the signboard. X-VPN itself doesn't comment on this, and we couldn't verify the registry data.

Lookalikes. X-VPN has nothing to do with the social network X (formerly Twitter), although in the Russian App Store a search for "x-vpn" returns the X app from X Corp first. The same search also turns up «ВПН: X Fast Super VPN» (VPN: X Fast Super VPN) from Free Super App Limited, released on September 15, 2026 — a different product. In Yandex suggestions, "Plato X VPN" (in the App Store this is PlatoVPN from MogoTech) and "X Rocket VPN" appear next to X-VPN: they aren't related to X-VPN either. How to tell a real app from a fake is covered in our article on fake VPN apps.

X-VPN free and Premium: how much does it cost?

X-VPN's free mode is permanent, not a trial: no registration, no traffic or time limit. In exchange, you watch ads on your phone and get fewer locations. Premium on the website costs $11.99 a month, $47.99 for the first year or $69.99 for the first two years.

What the free mode includes, according to the App Store description and the website as of October 26, 2026:

• 26 free locations in 15-plus countries, 13 of them US cities, selected manually;
• no account, no limit on speed or traffic volume;
• a Kill Switch that blocks the internet if the VPN drops (so says the App Store description; the FAQ on the pricing page, however, lists it under Premium);
• ads in the mobile apps; on a computer, according to the company, there are no ads.

Premium unlocks more than 10,000 servers in 80-plus countries, servers for streaming, gaming and P2P, a static IP, split tunneling, Double VPN, and an ad and tracker blocker. The subscription covers 5 devices at once, but the terms of use add a qualification: no more than three devices of the same platform can be linked to one account.

On the website you pay by card, via PayPal or with cryptocurrency through CoinPayments. Russian payment methods, such as Mir cards or SBP (Russia's Faster Payments System), aren't on the list. The first purchase is covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee, but cryptocurrency payments aren't refunded. When buying through the App Store, there is a 7-day trial, and refunds for store subscriptions are decided by Apple and Google.

Download X-VPN for Android, iPhone and PC: where is the official version?

There are three official sources: Google Play, the App Store and the xvpn.io website. Anything found in software catalogs and on forums labeled "X-VPN Premium mod" is a third-party build.

Android. On Google Play the app is called "X-VPN: Fast VPN & Secure Proxy", and the publisher is LIGHTNINGLINK NETWORKS PTE. LTD. The website's download page also has an APK for Android 9.0 and later, in case the store is unavailable.

iPhone and iPad. X-VPN isn't in the Russian App Store: a query to the store on October 26, 2026, returned an empty result. The app is available on the Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and US storefronts, where it is called "X-VPN: VPN Fast & Secure". You need an Apple ID from one of those countries and iOS 15 or later.

Windows. This is X-VPN's strong point. The website has an official installer for Windows 11 and Windows 10, on x64 and ARM64 computers; as of October 26, 2026, the link points to version 78.1.0 of August 27. The free mode works on a PC, but according to Top10VPN's review, manual server selection on a computer is Premium only. You don't need Android emulators for X-VPN on a PC: there is a native client. If you are choosing a VPN for your computer more broadly, see our breakdown of VPNs for PC.

Mac, Linux, TV and consoles. xvpn.io has separate download pages for macOS, Linux, Chromebook, Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, routers and game consoles.

About "cracked X-VPN Premium" and APKs from catalog sites: such a build gets no updates, may contain someone else's code and ads, and a VPN sees all your traffic. We covered the risks in detail in the article on VPN mod APKs.

Does X-VPN work in Russia in 2026?

That can't be guaranteed. On December 2, 2021, Roskomnadzor announced that it would restrict X-VPN along with Betternet, Lantern, Cloudflare WARP, Tachyon VPN and PrivateTunnel (reported by Interfax and Novaya Gazeta). We found no independent measurements of X-VPN's performance on Russian networks in 2026.

The overall picture isn't in the service's favor either. On February 26, 2026, ComNews, citing RIA Novosti, reported that Roskomnadzor had restricted access to 469 VPN services. X-VPN isn't in the Russian App Store or on RuStore, and the website has no Russian payment methods. We couldn't check whether the app is available on Google Play for Russian accounts.

The protocols are what give it a chance to connect. According to the store descriptions, X-VPN supports 11 protocols, and if one doesn't connect, the app switches to another on its own:

• Everest — its own set of protocols with obfuscation, running over UDP, TCP, HTTP and TLS;
• Talaria — a new proprietary protocol; on October 16, 2026, X-VPN open-sourced it on GitHub under the AGPL v3 license, and from September 8 to 24 it was reviewed by the Singapore firm Vantage Point Security;
• WireGuard, OpenVPN and QUIC, and since 2025 also V2Ray, according to the company;
• TLS and TLS-2 modes, which the developer advises switching to when there are connection problems.

X-VPN's camouflage goes back a long way. As early as June 26, 2019, researchers at Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 described how the client disguises its traffic as requests to google.com and bing.com and as other protocols, and called it one of the hardest VPN clients to detect. That was seven years ago, and it says nothing about how it works in Russia today.

X-VPN not working: what to do?

Most often, X-VPN won't connect because the network recognizes the selected protocol or server. Changing the protocol and server helps; if it doesn't, the restriction is on the network side, not a fault in your phone.

User complaints on Google Play are similar. In a review of July 10, 2026, a person writes that connecting works only after several attempts, the app shows "connected" when there is no connection, and shows an ad on every attempt. On July 13, the developer replied with advice to change the server and switch the protocol to TLS or TLS-2.

What to try, in order:

1. Update the app from an official source: Google Play, the App Store or xvpn.io.
2. In the protocol settings, choose TLS or TLS-2 and reconnect.
3. Change the location, and on Premium turn on automatic selection of the fastest server.
4. Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data: blocking differs between providers.
5. Turn off other VPNs, proxies and "boosters", and on a PC, any antivirus with its own web filter.
6. If it says "connected" but websites won't open, turn off the VPN and connect again: judging by reviews, the status in the app doesn't always match reality.

General reasons why a VPN stops connecting are covered in the article why a VPN isn't working.

Is X-VPN safe?

On paper, X-VPN has one of the most detailed policies among free VPNs. The service claims it doesn't keep traffic logs and published audit results on June 1, 2026. However, the full report is available only after logging in to an account, and the free version shows ads.

What the primary documents confirm:

• Privacy policy (September 16, 2026). The company writes that it doesn't collect IP addresses, DNS queries, visited websites or connection times. It stores your email and a password hash if you created an account, order data and aggregated statistics, which it deletes within 48 hours.
• Audit. The audit was conducted by one of the "Big Four" firms in Singapore under the ISAE 3000 standard; X-VPN doesn't say which one. The auditors confirmed the absence of logs and that the servers run in RAM only. There were two findings, which, according to the company, have been fixed.
• App Store listing. The developer states that the app may collect approximate location, usage data and advertising data for third-party advertising, as well as user and device identifiers, without linking them to your identity.
• Google Play, "Data safety". Data isn't shared with third parties; personal and financial info and four other data types may be collected; data is encrypted in transit; there is an independent security review badge.

Reviewers' opinions differ. Macworld in 2026 praises the free plan and the audit but notes speed drops on distant servers. Top10VPN gives the free version's privacy 4 out of 10 and the paid version 5 out of 10 because of ads and the ownership history. The conclusion is simple: X-VPN is fine for public Wi-Fi and changing your region, but for tasks where anonymity matters we wouldn't choose it.

What to replace X-VPN with: alternatives and comparison

If X-VPN won't connect for you or the ads bother you, there are two kinds of replacement: a service with traffic camouflage for your phone and TV, such as BessyConnect, or another free VPN with a clear legal entity. Below is a comparison on verifiable parameters as of October 26, 2026.

Where X-VPN is stronger than us: it has clients for Windows, Linux, routers and consoles, an indefinite free mode and a published logs audit. Where BessyConnect is stronger: a single protocol disguised as ordinary HTTPS that you don't have to pick manually, and registration is optional, whereas buying Premium on the X-VPN website requires an email address. More about similar free services in our review of Turbo VPN, and about how "people's" VPNs differ in our hub of popular VPNs in Russia.

Why we recommend BessyConnect

We recommend BessyConnect to those who need a VPN every day on an iPhone, Android, Mac or TV and value predictable results. It runs on VLESS with Reality camouflage: the traffic looks like an ordinary HTTPS connection. There are more than 100 servers, no logs are kept, registration is optional, and there is a trial period.

BessyConnect apps:

• iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV — App Store
• Android — Google Play
• Android TV — Google Play
• All platforms — download page

What neither BessyConnect nor any other VPN solves. BessyConnect has no Windows app: if you need a VPN on a Windows PC, X-VPN is more convenient there. BessyConnect, like X-VPN, isn't in the Russian App Store; on an iPhone you need an Apple ID from another country. When mobile internet is restricted to whitelists, a VPN as a rule won't help. And no protocol is insured against new waves of blocking forever: resilience depends on how quickly a service updates its settings.

If X-VPN connects for you and the ads don't bother you, especially on a computer, there is no reason to switch. But if it hangs while connecting, drops out or you need a VPN for your TV, try BessyConnect: all versions are on the download page.

Frequently asked questions

Is X-VPN free? Yes, the free mode is permanent: no registration, no traffic limit, with 26 locations and ads on the phone. Premium costs from $11.99 a month on the official website (as of October 26, 2026).

Which company owns X-VPN? The operator is LIGHTNINGLINK NETWORKS PTE. LTD. of Singapore. Until autumn 2025, the service's documents listed Hong Kong's Free Connected Limited.

Is there X-VPN for PC? Yes, xvpn.io has an official free client for Windows 10 and 11 (x64 and ARM64), as well as versions for macOS, Linux and Chromebook. You don't need an Android emulator for this.

Why isn't X-VPN in the App Store in Russia? The app isn't on the Russian App Store storefront, and it isn't on RuStore either. You can download X-VPN on an iPhone with an Apple ID from another country, such as Kazakhstan or Armenia, where the app is available.

What can I replace X-VPN with on my phone and TV? We recommend BessyConnect: VLESS with Reality camouflage, more than 100 servers, no mandatory registration, with a trial period and apps for iPhone, Android, Mac, Apple TV and Android TV. BessyConnect has no Windows app; there, X-VPN remains an option.

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