Hi everyone, Sandra here - Product Owner for iOS at NordVPN.

If you’ve recently updated your iPhone or iPad to iOS 27, you may have noticed that NordVPN’s real-time protection (“Scam and phishing protection” in the app) isn’t blocking some ads, trackers, or malicious websites as expected. That’s because iOS 27 introduced Connectivity Assist, a new version of Wi-Fi Assist with expanded capabilities. If you had Wi-Fi Assist enabled before the update, Connectivity Assist is now on by default.

Scam and Phishing Protection in "Always" mode works by filtering your DNS traffic without a full VPN connection. This lightweight approach has always had trade-offs - without a full tunnel, we can't show you what was blocked, let you manage a block list, or explain why a site was flagged.

With iOS 27, this limitation becomes more visible. When Scam and Phishing Protection blocks a site, Connectivity Assist misreads it as a Wi-Fi problem and silently switches to cellular, bypassing our filtering - so the blocked content loads anyway.

For more information, you can check our recent blog post: https://nordvpn.com/blog/real-time-protection-ios-27/ 

This issue only affects "Always" mode. If you're connected to a NordVPN server, it does not occur.

Since Connectivity Assist is on by default, most of you are likely affected - which is why we recommend pairing protection with an active VPN connection.

How to stay protected:

• Turn off Connectivity Assist. Go to “Settings” > “Wi-Fi” and turn off “Connectivity assist.” Doing so stops your device from switching to cellular data when real-time protection blocks a site.
• Use real-time protection only with a VPN. In the NordVPN app, tap the shield icon (labeled “Protect”), select “Only with VPN,” and connect to a NordVPN server.

Still having trouble after trying the above? Our Support team is happy to help.

Hey r/nordvpn, Andrius here, I work on the product team. Wanted to drop this here before you see it secondhand somewhere else.

AV-Comparatives just ran 250 real phishing URLs and 250 clean URLs against 9 security products (plus 6 browsers) with Chrome's built-in SafeBrowsing switched off, so it's purely testing each product's own detection.

NordVPN Next-gen antivirus: 94% block rate, 0 false alarms.

Among the fully fledged AV providers, NordVPN was the only VPN provider certified as a reliable anti-phishing solution. Full table for reference:

Product	Block Rate	False Alarms
Avast One Free Antivirus	96%	0
Norton Antivirus Plus	96%	0
NordVPN Next-gen antivirus	94%	0
ESET HOME Security Essential	91%	0
Malwarebytes Premium	87%	1
Webroot SecureAnywhere	85%	1
Sophos Home Premium	82%	0
K7 Total Security	70%	0
Dr. Web Security Space	57%	0

If you want to check full report yourself: https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/phishing_comp_Q3-2026.pdf 

Ask me anything about how the detection works or what's coming next - genuinely happy to dig into it in the comments.

Hey everyone, Edgaras from the NordVPN team here.

The r/nordvpn community has always been a great place for discussions, feedback, and ideas, so we wanted to build something useful that we could share back with you.

At NordLabs we created NordBot - an experimental tool that helps communities take a closer look at suspicious comments, links, images, or content that may be AI-generated.

Once NordBot is installed in a community, you can mention u/asknordlabs when something looks questionable, and the bot will provide an analysis with insights to help you decide whether the content deserves a closer look before clicking or sharing.

The goal is simple: help people feel more confident navigating the content they see online and make safer choices across the platforms they use every day.

This is still an early experiment, and your feedback is what will help us improve it. If you try it out, we’d like to hear what you think: what’s useful, what’s missing, and where it could be better.

Thanks for being such an engaged community and for inspiring us to build tools like this. Looking forward to your feedback!

Hey all, I’m Rytis, Product Owner of NordVPN MacOS! 

With Apple's big event coming up, we want to stay ahead of any potential hiccups. We're testing things out and really excited about it, but honestly, community feedback is invaluable too. So, if you're already running NordVPN on OS 27 Beta, your input can help us spot compatibility bugs and push out fixes much faster.

If you’ve run into any trouble with NordVPN on OS 27 (iOS or MacOS), please drop a comment with these details:

1. Issue/Use Case — what's not working with as much detail as you can share. Both cases can be true – NordVPN app not working as expected and/or system (iOS/MacOS/tvOS) not working as expected due to NordVPN being used.

2. Device — iPhone/iPad/Mac/tvOS and its model.

3. OS Version — OS 27 version and whether it’s a developer beta or public beta. But not older than: macOS 27 (Golden Gate) Developer Beta 6/Public Beta 4; iOS/tvOS 27 Developer Beta 6/Public Beta 4

How to find OS version:

• On Mac click Apple Icon → About This Mac
• On iOS go to Settings → General → About → Click on iOS version (opens new screen) → Click on iOS 27.0

4. NordVPN App Version — for MacOS 10.9.0 / iOS 9.11.0 / tvOS 1.16.0 and above.

5. Country/Server Location — where are you connecting from and trying to connect to? Optional: VPN protocol, ISP/network provider.

6. Enabled features — let us know if you have any additional features enabled (e.g. Call Protection/Scam and Phishing Protection/etc.).

Extra troubleshooting:

Also, if you are up for it, sharing connection logs over our support is great too. Here’s how:

• Go to the app NordVPN Profile → Help → Diagnostic Logs.

 

Step by step guide for getting logs on MacOS and iOS.

• Send it to our support at support@nordvpn.com with the title “OS 27 beta feedback”.

Thanks a lot for your contributions!

Hi everyone, Dominykas from the NordVPN product team here.

You may have noticed that Nord is evolving from a VPN provider into a cybersecurity suite, offering protection across multiple aspects. As the digital threat landscape continues to change, so do we. In this effort, we recently launched Transaction Monitoring, and I wanted to jump in here to explain what it does, how it works, and where its limits are.

The idea is simple: to help people spot fraudulent transactions sooner. Transaction Monitoring is designed to watch linked financial accounts and alert you when something looks unusual.
The system reviews your transaction history (roughly the past year) and runs statistical analysis to build a baseline spending profile: typical amounts, frequencies, and merchant types. New transactions are checked against that baseline, and anything falling outside it triggers an alert.

Here’s how it works:

1. You connect supported bank or credit card accounts through MX, our third-party bank-connection provider.
2. The system reviews roughly the past year of transaction history.
3. It builds a baseline from your usual spending patterns, including amounts, frequency, and merchant types.
4. New transactions are checked against that baseline.
5. If something looks unusual, you get an alert and can decide what to do next.

You can set it up in NordAccount under the Monitor dashboard. From there, go to Asset management and Transaction monitoring, connect through MX, choose your financial institution, log in to its online banking and select which accounts you want to monitor. Once the accounts appear in your monitored assets list, monitoring is enabled. You can turn it off or back on with a toggle.

A few important details:

• The connection is read-only. It can retrieve/receive transaction details and send alerts, but it cannot move, withdraw, or transfer money.
• NordVPN does not store your bank account details. Account linking happens through MX’s secure integration with your bank’s own portal.
• The feature currently works only with supported financial institutions in the United States. If your bank is not supported by MX, you will not be able to link your accounts yet.
• The feature is currently available on Android, iOS, and Windows, with macOS coming soon.
• This is part of the premium NordVPN service package and complements Dark Web Monitor Pro™, but it is a separate feature.

While the feature is still in beta, every report and piece of feedback is valuable. You can submit it anonymously through the feedback form in the feature interface. After trying it, I’d be interested to hear how it goes. The most useful feedback would include:

• Whether the alerts felt useful, too noisy, or too slow
• Any false positives or transactions that were flagged unexpectedly
• Bug reports and edge cases

I’ll keep an eye on the thread and answer what I can.

Hi everyone,  I’m Roman, the product owner for scam, phishing, and malware protection, and I wanted to share a recent update.

We’ve added an optional cookie banner hider to NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus in the Windows and macOS apps.

When enabled, the feature detects supported cookie consent banners and handles them automatically, reducing interruptions while you browse. It also prevents banners from reappearing when you switch to private or incognito mode or clear your cookies.

Technically, the feature uses third-party open-source filter lists to identify supported banners. Depending on the website and the available options, it may emulate an “Accept,” “Reject,” or another supported selection without requiring manual input.

The cookie banner hider is part of our next-gen antivirus suite, alongside the ad and tracker blockers.

If you’re on a premium NordVPN plans, you can enable it by going to:

Scam, phishing, and malware protection → Advanced settings → Cookie banner hider

A few important limitations to be aware of:

• The feature activates only when a supported cookie consent banner is displayed.
• It may not work on every website because consent banners are implemented differently.
• It suppresses and handles consent prompts; it does not guarantee blocking of all cookies.
• On some websites, suppressing the banner may affect site functionality or your ability to make a specific consent choice.

The feature is disabled by default and can be turned on/off at any time.

More information about how it works is available here: https://nordvpn.com/blog/cookie-banner-hider/  

For those who have already enabled it, I’d be interested to hear about your experience.

Hi everyone, Rytis from the Quality of Service team here.

We often hear concerns about NordVPN’s impact on mobile battery life. Since Android and iOS can show NordVPN near the top of the battery usage list, we asked West Coast Labs to independently test the actual impact on phones battery life.

In May 2026, they tested NordVPN across six Android and iOS devices, using direct hardware measurements rather than relying only on the operating system’s battery usage attribution, and here are the main findings.

The battery screen can be misleading

During one test, the phone attributed approximately 49% of the session’s battery usage to NordVPN.

However, direct hardware measurements showed that NordVPN’s actual overhead during one hour of streaming was only around 1.6–2.1% on both Android and iOS.

The reason for this difference is because all internet traffic passes through the VPN and mobile operating systems may attribute the battery use from streaming, browsing, and other activity to NordVPN. This can make the app appear to consume more power than it actually does.

Network switching added a small, temporary cost

The researchers also simulated a two-hour stress-test with repeated switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data.

Reconnecting a VPN tunnel requires some additional processing, but the measured impact was limited. NordVPN used around 5% more battery than the same test without a VPN, which represented less than 1% of the device’s total battery capacity.

NordVPN also maintained a reconnection success rate above 99% during network transitions on both Android and iOS.

NordLynx was more efficient than OpenVPN

The tests compared NordLynx, our default protocol, with OpenVPN.

NordLynx used:

• 31% less battery per unit of data on Android
• 24% less battery per unit of data on iOS

NordLynx is built around WireGuard® and is designed to move data using fewer device resources than older VPN protocols.

The impact over a full day was minimal

West Coast Labs also ran a scripted 24-hour test covering sleep, commuting, work, and home usage.

Keeping NordVPN connected continuously increased total daily battery use by:

• 1.4% on Android
• 1.8% on iOS

That does not mean every device, network, or usage pattern will produce exactly the same result. Battery performance can also be affected by signal strength, temperature, screen brightness, background apps, and device condition.

However, testing found no significant battery impact from keeping NordVPN enabled all day.

You can read the full summary here.

We’re sharing these results for transparency, especially since mobile battery reports can be misleading. I’ll be monitoring the thread, so feel free to leave any questions about the testing, NordLynx, or battery usage.

Hi everyone, I’m Andrius - Senior Product Owner for Call and Message Protection at NordVPN.

I noticed this feature sparked some discussions here previously. That kind of feedback is very useful, especially for surfacing concerns about unintended disruptions. Discussing it openly allows us to make  better decisions for product improvement.

Call and Message Protection is now available for Android users. The Message Protection helps Android users spot spam, scams, and phishing attempts in texts by detecting common cybercriminal patterns. 

More information about the feature and why we build it, can be found here: https://nordvpn.com/blog/nordvpn-message-protection/ 

Users with eligible NordVPN premium subscription plans can try it starting today. The setup steps may differ slightly depending on your device, so we’ve included detailed instructions in our Help Center article here: https://support.nordvpn.com/hc/en-us/articles/37488442107025-NordVPN-Call-protection-feature-for-iOS-and-Android

I’d appreciate feedback from anyone who tests it, especially on the following:

1. Is the setup flow clear on your device?
2. What Android device are you using, and which Android OS version is installed?
3. Does the feature behave as expected?
4. Did you notice any false positives, missed detections, or edge cases?
5. Is anything unclear, intrusive, or in need of improvement?

I'll be around in the comments if anyone has questions. Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to test it and share feedback.