“We don't want to be in the feature game,” said Gen Digital's Martin Budak when asked what's next for Norton VPN.
During a recent visit to the company's Czech office, Norton and its parent company Gen Digital gave TechRadar unprecedented access to their newly updated product.
It wasn't until 2025 that the service saw a wave of improvements, the latest of which included new 25 Gbps servers and improvements in OpenVPN configurations.
But despite these rapid changes, the introduction of new Capability is not the company's most pressing concern. Instead, the company is looking to double down on the core features Norton is already known for.
“Bells and whistles are the wrong approach”
That's how Himmat Bains, product lead at Norton VPN, puts it. “It’s easy to fall into the trap of just throwing things in there.”
But that doesn't mean Norton VPN doesn't have its own features. Although VPN is separate from Norton's antivirus products, it now includes several important features. These include parental controls, cloud backup, dark web monitoring, and a password manager.
Such features are offered individually by several leading VPNs, although Norton is among a very select few that offer several, let alone all, of these features.
“More or less 90% of the threats we see are scams.”
NortonVPN doesn't use Norton's full 360-degree antivirus protection, but it does give users access to its AI-powered anti-malware, phishing, and anti-fraud tools.
We haven't tested the tool yet, but we're particularly interested in testing its AI fraud protection capabilities given how common Norton says these scams are.
Its inclusion is another example of Norton's targeting features that have practical applications for everyday users. As Budak said, the company's main goal is to “protect the customer in a way that they benefit from it, and not just add an arbitrary feature.”
So while we may not see advanced features like Surfshark's alternate identities or NordVPN's Meshnet anytime soon, the features Norton prioritizes could make a real impact on a day-to-day basis.
Maintaining consumer trust
Despite recent developments, Norton VPN app retains the classic and simple look of Norton. And there's good reason for that: “The Norton brand stands for trust,” Baines said.
But that doesn't mean Norton is resting on its laurels. “We innovate in the background,” Baines added.
The Norton brand means trust.”
Himmat Bains
Budak echoed that sentiment, noting that the team is focused on “creating a product that we want to use ourselves.”
Having reviewed Norton VPN earlier this year, I'm looking forward to seeing how the product develops in the coming months.
Keeping an eye on
2026 could be a huge year for Norton VPN. While the service still suffers from a few small bugs, these are unlikely to persist given the speed at which the product has evolved this year.
Norton aims to be the iPad of VPNs.”
It has already removed confusing device restrictions to create a simpler, more universal experience. In addition, the integration of OpenVPN DCO along with the TCP and UDP protocols has significantly expanded its customization options. Meanwhile, new features like parental controls and password management have added real depth to its value packages.
The next steps she needs to take to compete with the best are small by comparison.
It feels like Norton aims to be the iPad of VPNs: easy to set up, easy to use, and powerful enough for a superuser, but affordable enough for your grandma. If he continues on this trajectory, he may reach that goal sooner than you might expect.
