- Mullvad VPN offered to sponsor servers and bandwidth for GrapheneOS
- Privacy-focused Android OS seeks 10+ Gbps European servers
- Mullvad’s proposed sponsorship reflects shared anti-surveillance goals
Privacy-focused Android project GrapheneOS recently revealed that it needed new dedicated 10Gbps (or faster) servers in Europe to host OS and app updates.
In a post on X, the project said its North American hosting was covered, but its European capacity had been exhausted. What followed was a brief but surprising public response from Mullvad VPN: “We can sponsor you.”
There hasn’t been any confirmation of a formal partnership yet, but the exchange shows a clear moment of solidarity between two privacy-first projects. In just a brief response, Mullvad, one of the The best VPN providers when it comes to anonymity have stepped up to help keep a well-established open source mobile operating system running smoothly, potentially strengthening Europe’s privacy infrastructure in the process.
Why GrapheneOS needs support
GrapheneOS is a privacy-focused, ruggedized Android-based operating system designed for users who want greater security and greater control over their data. Popular among security researchers, journalists, and privacy-conscious Android users, it removes unnecessary components and adds strong protections on top of the base Android framework.
However, building a secure operating system is only part of the challenge. Frequent distribution of application and operating system updates requires serious infrastructure. High-bandwidth dedicated servers, especially 10 GBps or faster, are essential.
GrapheneOS currently has sufficient sponsored infrastructure in North America, but has said it no longer has dedicated capacity in Europe, and its servers currently only support an average of 1 to 2 Gbps per month.
Mullvad steps in to help GrapheneOS
We can sponsor it. Contact us and share specifications with [email protected]February 13, 2026
After being contacted by TechRadar, a Mullvad spokesperson said the proposal to sponsor GrapheneOS infrastructure will involve covering the cost of dedicated servers and bandwidth in Europe. However, the company highlights that the sponsorship is not yet confirmed.
“We think GrapheneOS is doing a great job of providing the community with a privacy-focused operating system, and we want to help organizations that are trying to make mass surveillance and censorship impractical,” Mullvad told us.
The VPN provider confirmed that it currently sponsors open source and human rights initiatives without publishing the details, with the largest public partnership being with the Tor Project, the creators of the popular Tor Browser.
Mullvad also assured that the GrapheneOS sponsorship would have no impact on its VPN users. The proposal relates only to infrastructure financing, not product integration, data sharing or any service package.
At this stage, it is a financial offer to strengthen the hosting capacity of GrapheneOS, not any form of technical merger of the two platforms.
What this means for the privacy ecosystem
Both Mullvad and GrapheneOS are positioned as tools that make mass surveillance and censorship difficult.
Sponsoring infrastructure isn’t a flashy headline, but trusted servers are what keep privacy tools accessible and independent, and ultimately what keeps them running. By offering to fund European hosting, Mullvad is effectively betting on the resilience of an open source security project.
The exchange also received praise from members of the privacy community. in a In a post on
This offer is not about combining the two products in any way; It’s about servers and bandwidth. In the open source world, independent funding can make the difference between a platform’s growth and stagnation.
