21 Mullvad VPN Statistics You Need to Know in 2024

Here’s a kicker:

Mullvad VPN was the first commercial VPN to integrate the WireGuard protocol into its service. Not only that, this VPN accepts both Bitcoin and Monero cryptocurrency payments. 

While Mullvad does not publicly disclose detailed usage statistics, I was able to scrape together some interesting information about this VPN provider.

Check out these Mullvad VPN stats for all the necessary information you need to know about this service.

Mullvad VPN statistics you probably didn’t know  

Before we start digging deep, here’s a quick overview of some impressive Mullvad VPN stats:

• It supports multiple VPN protocols including OpenVPN and WireGuard. 
• The United States is at the top of the list of countries with the highest traffic on the Mullvad website. 
• Available in 43 countries, Mullvad VPN has 667 servers.
• It accepts anonymous payment methods such as Bitcoin and cash.
• Mullvad VPN has been in operation for about fourteen years now.
• With <25 employees, Mullvad hired more males than females.
• Mullvad VPN was founded in March 2009 by Fredrick Strömberg and Daniel Berntsson

Mullvad VPN background facts and statistics 

Let’s dive into the origin, creators, and some important features of Mullvad VPN.

1. Fredrick Strömberg and Daniel Berntsson founded Mullvad VPN March 2009

Source: [Mullvad VPN]

This commercial VPN which has its headquarters in 400 14 Gothenburg, Sweden launched in March 2009. It is owned by the parent company Amagicom AB.

Its location is great for privacy.

That’s because Sweden abides by General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which ensures that organizations are fair and transparent with users when processing their data. 

Hence, Mullvad VPN customers are in luck as this provider would not sell or misuse their information without consent.

Users sign up using a random number known as your account number, no emails or personal information is needed. The company believes in a digital space where everyone has the right to privacy.

2. Mullvad VPN has 19 employees in 2023 

Source: [Growjo]

Mullvad VPN decreased its employee count by -5% in 2022.

In addition, the company’s estimated annual revenue is $2.9m, and the estimated revenue per employee is around $150k/year.

So far, the company has no funding from external sources.

3. Mullvad VPN added the SOCKS5 proxy as an extra layer of protection in 2023

Sources: [Cybernews, Mullvad official website ]

SOCKS5 masks your IP address, hides your identity from the government, and helps you bypass geo-restrictions. It creates an additional layer of protection when combined with the military encryption on Mullvad servers.

The SOCKS5 proxy also helps limit captchas’ appearances on websites for its users. You can find it on IP 10.8.0.1 (OpenVPN) or 10.64.0.1 (Wireguard), port 1080.

4. Mullvad was among the first commercial VPNs to start using the Wireguard protocol in 2017

Source: [Camparitech, Mullvad news]

WireGuard is a VPN protocol that has a smaller code base and simpler structure when compared to previous options like OpenVPN or IKEv2. Thanks to this, it is significantly faster and less susceptible to security vulnerabilities.

Mullvad first integrated WireGuard in 2017 as a test service but got the full option soon after.

Since then, many other VPN services started using it due to its speed, security, and simplicity.

5. Mullvad has 667 servers in 43 countries and 73 cities worldwide 

Sources: [Mullvad official website, Mullvad blog]

Currently, Mullvad VPN has 2 types of servers: rented and owned.

To give users freedom and full transparency, Mullvad updated its apps on October 25th, 2019. Ever since the following information is available for each server:

• Provider – The name of the hosting provider that the server or server space is rented from.
• Ownership – A flag describing if Mullvad rents or owns the server.

6. Mullvad VPN launched IPv6 support in September 2014

Source: [Mullvad blog]

Since 2014, users can connect to the IPv6 internet through Mullvad even without IPv6 support from their Internet Service Providers.

However, the feature is not enabled by default as it does not work on some Windows PCs.

For anyone to use it, they’ll have to download the latest version of the VPN and turn on IPv6 on the Settings tab.

In the past, the Mullvad client program used to simply block IPv6 on the computer as a measure to prevent leaks. However, it has been enhanced to enable the routing of all IPv6 traffic through the VPN server. 

7. Atredis partners conducted Mullvad VPN’s most recent audit in 2022

Source: [Mullvad VPN blog]

After completing the independent penetration test and source code audit of Mullvad VPN in 2022, Atredis partners did not find any severe issues or concerns with the VPN.

Previously, in 2020, Mullvad had an audit done on its VPN apps ( Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android) by six testers from Cure53 over the course of 20 days. The result of the test was also positive.

Mullvad carries out external security audits every two years.

8. In April 2023, Mullvad VPN was subject to a search warrant 

Source: [Mullvad official website]

On the 18th of April 2023, at least six police officers from the National Operations Department (NOD) of the Swedish police visited the Mullvad VPN office in Gothenburg with a search warrant.

They intended to seize computers with user data. However, due to policies put in place by Mullvad VPN, such information did not exist. 

The Swedish Police had no reason to expect to find what they were looking for and any seizure would have been illegal under Swedish law. So they left.

That was the first time Mullvad company would experience such an invasion by the authorities in its 14 years of operation in Sweden.

Mullvad VPN development and growth statistics

Mullvad, just like any other business, has experienced growth and hit certain milestones since its launch in 2014. Let’s now discuss this VPN’s development and achievement.

9. In 2010, Mullvad VPN started accepting Bitcoin payment 

Source: [Mullvad official website]

In July 2010, Mullvad VPN started accepting Bitcoin payments and by September 2010, customers could start paying in cash. 

For the cash payment, you put the money and payment token (which you can generate on the VPN’s official website) inside an envelope and send it to Mullvad.

These methods further enhanced user privacy by allowing customers to subscribe to Mullvad services without revealing their personal information. 

Before this, Mullvad VPN made use of recurring payments such as PayPal and credit cards. These methods could link a user’s identity to the VPN account, thereby compromising privacy.

10. In April 2023, the Tor project collaborated with Mullvad to release the Mullvad browser 

Sources: [Mullvad official website, Tor project blog]

Mullvad has been part of the Tor community for many years now and they are a Shallot-level member (highest membership tier) of the Tor project membership program.

On the 3rd of April 2023, Mullvad VPN and the Tor project presented the release of the Mullvad browser.

The browser has similar features to the Tor browser, but instead of the Tor network, it uses a VPN connection.

11. Mullvad VPN added experimental post-quantum safe VPN tunnels on the 11th of July 2022 

Source: [Mullvad official website]

Mullvad’s latest beta (app version 2022.3-beta1) and some Wireguard servers now support VPN tunnels that protect against attackers with access to powerful quantum computers.

The encryption used by Wireguard has no known vulnerabilities. However, it could be crackable with a strong enough quantum computer (which is yet to be demonstrated). 

So you might be wondering what is the use of these safe tunnels.

Having a post-quantum secure tunnel protects against attackers that record encrypted traffic with the hope of decrypting it with a future quantum computer.

12. Mullvad VPN started accepting payments in Monero on May 3rd, 2022 

Sources: [Mullvad official website]

This is a cryptocurrency that uses a blockchain with privacy-enhancing technologies to make transactions unclear.

It is designed to be anonymous and untraceable so observers cannot decode addresses trading Monero, balances, or transaction history.

Therefore, Monero cryptocurrency fulfills the goal of privacy admirably, making it a good match for Mullvad’s privacy-focused VPN service. 

13. On the 11th of March 2022, Mullvad VPN added another layer of malware DNS blocking

Source: [Mullvad official website]

DNS blocking has become a well-received addition to the Mullvad VPN. This service is an extension of Mullvad’s other blocking services where it blocks lists of known websites that serve malicious content. 

These lists are available and viewable via the company’s GitHub page and Mullvad updates it regularly.  

Furthermore, the Malware DNS blocking feature can work alongside the advertising and tracker blocking features.

14. Mullvad VPN has over 500k downloads on Google Play Store

Sources: [Google Play Store, Apple App Store ]

With over 1.84k reviews on Google Play Store and a 3.2-star rating, it shows that to an extent, this VPN has proved itself worthy to its users around the world.

Even though most of the feedback from Mullvad VPN Android users on the Google Play Store is not entirely positive, the developers assure users of a better and more reliable app.

On the other hand, the Mullvad VPN has 500+ reviews and a 4.7 rating on the Apple App Store which therefore shows the satisfaction of its customers.

15. Mullvad VPN had a total of 188k downloads in the United States between January – June 2023

Source: [Similarweb]

The highest number of downloads within these months in the United States happened in May which was over 40k. Then March recorded the lowest at 10k+.

Then in June, Mullvad VPN was downloaded 31.9k times in this country. However, this number fell to 32.77% short of the month of May.

Mullvad VPN Demographic statistics 

The Mullvad VPN has covered a wide range of acceptance and approval around the globe over the years due to its numerous feats. 

These statistics explore the characterization of the Mullvad VPN’s user population. 

16. About 78.74% of Mullvad VPN website visitors are male

Sources: [Similarweb, Dataprot]

The majority of visitors on the Mullvad website are men with 78.74% and women 21.26%. 

And with the 2023 general VPN use survey by Dataprot, respondents were 62% male and 38% female. This, therefore, means that men are more invested in VPN services altogether.

17. The largest age group of desktop visitors to the Mullvad website is 25-34-year-olds at 32.20% 

Source: [Similarweb]

This is followed by 18-24-year-olds at 27.12%.

18. The United States and Sweden send the most traffic to the Mullvad website

Source: [Similarweb]

In June 2023, the United States was the top country sending desktop traffic to Mullvad.net. The top five locations with the most traffic are:

• United States (26.16%)
• Sweden (8.26%)
• Germany (7.37%)
• France (48.58%). 

19. St. Helena residents searched for Mullvad VPN the most between April – June 2023

Source: [Google Trends]

With a 100% report, St. Helena visited the Mullvad VPN the most within the months of April to June. Sweden followed closely at 94%, Denmark at 33%, Russia at 30%, and Norway at 23%.

The countries that recorded the least search for the Mullvad VPN include Ukraine (3%), Indonesia(2%), Spain (2%), Brazil (2%), India (2%), Japan (2%), and Mexico (1%). 

Then, in the United Kingdom and the United States citizens, Mullvad VPN did not trend so much within these months as both regions had a 10% and 13% search volume respectively.

Mullvad VPN security statistics

This section of Mullvad VPN statistics covers the company’s intervention and extra feats that make it a trustworthy VPN provider today. 

Let’s dig right into it:

20. In 2014, Mullvad VPN assessed and mitigated the Heartbleed vulnerability 

Source: [Mullvad VPN About Us]

Heartbleed is a security bug in the OpenSSL cryptography library that allows an attacker to read up to 64KB of memory from a vulnerable server. 

This memory can include sensitive information such as private keys, session keys, and other data that can compromise the security of the server.

Thankfully, in 2014, Mullvad VPN reduced the risk of this vulnerability for its users. It also proved its hypothesis that the Heartbleed virus impacts OpenVPN critically as the protocol uses OpenSSL.

21. In September 2014, the VPN demonstrated that OpenVPN is vulnerable to Shellshock

Source: [Mullvad VPN About Us]

Shellshock is a serious vulnerability in the Bash shell that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Mullvad VPN responsibly disclosed the weakness to OpenVPN’s developers and to their competitors before making it public. 

This allowed OpenVPN to fix the bug in a timely manner and mitigate the risk of exploitation.

Mullvad VPN’s actions were in line with the responsible disclosure guidelines published by the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). 

These guidelines recommend that security researchers disclose vulnerabilities to affected vendors before making them public. 

Mullvad VPN statistics – summary

Mullvad is a secure VPN you can trust to hide your torrenting activity from your internet service provider, you can torrent on all 667 of its p2p-optimized servers.

The service goes to great lengths continually to ensure that it puts security and privacy first, making its services extra reliable.

Weighing the efforts it seems to put in order to satisfy its users, this VPN is sure to become a huge brand in the industry in years to come. I hope you got to know a lot about the Mullvad VPN from these statistics.

Sources

1. Cybernews 
2. Mullvad official website 
3. CloudStorageInfo 
4. Comparitech 
5. Mullvad blog 
6. Mullvad blog 
7. Mullvad blog
8. Allaboutcookies
9. Mullvad bog
10. Mullvad blog
11. Tor project blog
12. Mullvad official website
13. Mullvad official website
14. Mullvad official website
15. Similarweb
16. Similarweb
17. Dataprot
18. Google Play Store
19. Mullvad official website
20. Similarweb
21. Google Trends
22. Growjo

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