Mullvad's new WireGuard implementation brings faster speeds and improved performance – and it's available now on Android

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The protocol has been written in Rust

Mullvad VPN app on iPhone screen
(Image credit: Kenneth Cheung / Getty Images)

Mullvad has announced a new implementation of WireGuard for its Android app. Known as GotaTun, WireGuard has been written in Rust and aims to bring speed, efficiency, and reliability to VPN connections.

When it comes to privacy, Mullvad is one of the best VPNs out there. Privacy features such as Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis (DAITA) and Multihop have been integrated into GotaTun and it has been rolled out on Mullvad's Android VPN apps.

"The future of WireGuard at Mullvad VPN"

In a blog post, Mullvad described GotaTun as "the future of WireGuard at Mullvad VPN." The name is a mixture of the original WireGuard in Rust project – BoringTun – and Götatunneln, a physical tunnel located in Mullvad's home city of Gothenburg.

Prior to GotaTun, Mullvad utilised wireguard-go, "a cross-platform userspace implementation of WireGuard in Go." It has also been maintaining a fork of wireguard-go to support its Multihop and DAITA features. Go is an open-source, general-purpose programming language, initially designed by a team at Google in 2007.

However, wireguard-go has posed some challenges on mobile. Crash reports collected by Google – for Android apps distributed via the Google Play Store – showed that over 85% of all reported app crashes stemmed from wireguard-go.

Mullvad said it has solved some of these issues but others remain. Releasing GotaTun on Android before other platforms allowed Mullvad, and its Android users, to see an immediate positive impact.

It is also hard for Rust and Go to work effectively together. A majority of Mullvad VPN's apps are written in Rust and operating Rust and Go in conjunction can be complex. Mullvad said it often has "limited visibility insight into crashes stemming from Go." It added that this makes "troubleshooting and long-term maintenance tedious."

Mullvad on a laptop

(Image credit: Future)

The outcome

GotaTun was rolled out on Android with version 2025.10 at the end of November. Mullvad has said the impact of its switch has been "immediate." The provider reported no crashes have been caused by GotaTun and user feedback has been positive.

In our most recent round of testing, Mullvad's regular WireGuard protocol recorded an incredibly fast average speed of 2,140 Mbps – making it one of the fastest VPNs we've ever tested. Its Lightweight WireGuard Obfuscation (LWO) and QUIC speeds were significantly slower, but these are not the provider's default protocols.

Mullvad's desktop and iOS VPN apps will receive GotaTun in 2026. The provider said a third-party security audit of GotaTun "will take place early next year" and its performance will be improved.

Mullvad is seemingly putting all of its eggs in the WireGuard basket. It will be removing support for OpenVPN on January 15, 2026.

Disclaimer

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

George Phillips
George Phillips
Staff Writer

George is a Staff Writer at Tom's Guide, covering VPN, privacy, and cybersecurity news. He is especially interested in digital rights and censorship, and its interplay with politics. Outside of work, George is passionate about music, Star Wars, and Karate.

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