Mullvad VPN
Mullvad VPN encrypts your Mac’s internet connection to Mullvad’s servers and hides your IP address from websites. It’s made by Mullvad VPN, based in Sweden.
Criminals have used its name in fake downloads or scams, so get it only from mullvad.net.
What it is
Mullvad routes your internet traffic through an encrypted connection to a server you choose. People use it to hide their IP address, reduce monitoring by their internet provider and reach blocked websites. It requires a paid account.
The app handles your Mac’s network traffic and changes DNS and firewall settings to keep traffic inside the VPN. Optional split tunnelling lets selected apps connect outside it. On macOS, this needs Full Disk Access so Mullvad can track running processes. Mullvad says it does not log traffic, DNS requests, IP addresses or connection times.
Its source code is public, and an independent audit in 2024 assessed the app as having a high security level. A VPN still requires trust in its provider. Mullvad explains that cookies and browser fingerprints can identify you even when your IP address is hidden.
Who makes it
Mullvad is a Swedish VPN provider launched in 2009, owned through Amagicom AB by founders Fredrik Strömberg and Daniel Berntsson. Its legal name is Mullvad VPN AB. Its website is mullvad.net.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
HARD hasn’t yet recorded the signature on a real copy of Mullvad VPN. Its Mac app shows who signed the copy you have.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is net.mullvad.vpn. Download it only from mullvad.net, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
Fakes. In April 2026, a report described lookalike Mullvad download sites distributing a malicious PowerShell script to Windows users.
What it connects to
In normal use, Mullvad VPN talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.
| Address | Why |
|---|---|
api.mullvad.net | VPN service API |
am.i.mullvad.net | IP location and connection checks |
releases.mullvad.net | Installer downloads |
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Full Disk Access | Optional split tunnelling uses this to track running processes and send only selected apps outside the VPN. |
Security record
Problems with Mullvad VPN or Mullvad VPN in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A startup flaw could let a local user bypass a configured restriction on VPN controls; it was fixed in 2026.4-beta1. | ↗ | |
| Server IP allocation could help websites link activity across VPN servers; Mullvad reported its mitigation on 96% of online servers on 7 October 2026. | ↗ | |
| An attacker who had compromised the app’s interface could make its updater launch an unverified local installer; this was fixed in 2026.3. | ↗ | |
| The Mac installer could run attacker-controlled code with full system privileges during installation or upgrades; this was fixed in 2026.2. | ↗ | |
| An audit found two serious flaws in the background service’s crash handling that affected macOS; both were fixed in desktop version 2024.8. | ↗ |
References
- Mullvad VPN desktop packaging configuration raw.githubusercontent.com
- About Mullvad mullvad.net
- Mullvad VPN for macOS mullvad.net
- What is a VPN? mullvad.net
- No-logging of user activity policy mullvad.net
- Install app on macOS mullvad.net
- Split tunneling on macOS mullvad.net
- Using the Mullvad VPN app mullvad.net
- Mullvad app architecture github.com
- Mullvad installer download script github.com
- Mullvad VPN releases github.com
- Fake Mullvad VPN site distributes Windows malware privacysavvy.com
- Management interface socket access advisory github.com
- Exit IP fingerprinting between VPN servers mullvad.net
- Exit IP VPN servers mitigation rollout mullvad.net
- Updater installer path advisory github.com
- macOS installer privilege escalation advisory github.com
- 2024 app security audit findings and fixes mullvad.net