iOS 26.3/26.3.1: VPN apps drain iPhone battery

As per Lawrence Finch,

When you install VPN it configures itself to the specific hardware, OS version and network that the device uses. If any of those change it can break the VPN. So any time you change any of these you may need to delete the VPN app and profile, restart your iPhone, iPad or Mac (or PC) then add them back (if you still want to use VPN) so it can configure itself to the new environment.

By the way, VPNs are designed to run constantly in the background as they have to route all your internet traffic through it. Not to mention the risk of privacy there. The only secure VPN's are private ones issued by schools or works. Consider fully deleting them off your iPhone.

Yes, those specific VPN's you identified are going to give you problems, not only with the battery draining that you experienced. Turning them off is not the answer, and removal will be necessary to compare your results. You should realize that Express VPN had received an update 1 week ago with the prior one being a month earlier, and you may not have even realized that had been installed as there is no notification alerting you other than the small blue dot that appears on the app icon until it is launched again.

When you did a complete reset, did you restore the apps from a backup? That will just result in the same state as before your reset. To truly test if the battery drain is due to the installed apps, you would first need to archive a backup using a computer and perform a Factory Reset from there without restoring.

No, the VPN is not protecting your privacy, in fact it opens a huge hole that leaves you more vulnerable to your data being compromised. If you fell for their marketing tactics claiming they are protecting your privacy, you may want to review these well sourced articles:

• https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250008854
• https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29
• https://overengineer.dev/blog/2019/04/08/very-precarious-narrative/

If you want to further troubleshoot your battery draining issue, first remove the VPN then post your Battery Health percentage along with a screenshot of Settings > Battery > View All Battery Usage, and include the green battery graph along with the top 5 apps that are consuming your battery.

It is not up to Apple to make sure that other apps run correctly on new software releases.

Instead, is up to the app developers to update their products to run correctly with any new release.

Might be another discussion, but unless your school or company requires that you use a VPN, there are valid reasons for not installing a VPN on your iPhone.

For what reason are you using these VPN apps? There's a very good possibility they are not necessary.

Have you tried deleting them and then reinstalling?

VPNs: What You Need to Know

BicycleWilliam wrote:

Finally, for those that really want to protect their privacy, a VPN is needed.

That's not nearly as true as you think it is.

Don't use VPN services.

Finally, you would be shocked at the user monitoring that is automatically turned on for Apple Intelligence & Siri with iOS 26.3.

There's really no need for fear-mongering.

Apple Intelligence and privacy on iPhone

It seems to me that you can choose to continue to use these VPNs and have battery issues for very little (if any) benefit. Or, you can try the advice provided here by some extremely knowledgeable people. But, in the end, it is your choice.

Contact the developer of the applications.

Nothing to do with Apple, as the don’t make the application or provide the service.

BicycleWilliam wrote:

…Finally, for those that really want to protect their privacy, a VPN is needed.

Yes, because Big VPN offers their legendary Pinky Promise™ security.

I’d be more likely to believe VPN vendor focus on privacy — and not on metadata collection — when more vendors are implementing privacy-focused services akin to iCloud+ Private Relay, I2P, or Tor.

But then I learn that various VPN vendors that claimed no logging were caught logging when the “non-existent” logs were found on the ‘net.

If you need a “coffee shop” VPN and privacy, Algo or similar means you have some control of the server and of the VPN server logs.

Finally, you would be shocked at the user monitoring that is automatically turned on for Apple Intelligence & Siri with iOS 26.3.

Apple does a pile of monitoring, yes. The add-on AI tools are also seriously invasive, yes. And the “coffee shop” VPN services are sitting on an immense and personally-identified goldmine too, but for their legendary Pinky Promise™ security.

KiltedTim wrote:

You can believe what you like, but using a VPN to access the Internet will do absolutely nothing to protect your privacy or secure your data.

Publications like pcmag, Macworld, etc, get significant revenue from vpn providers advertising with them. Don't believe everything you read.

• One might want to read news from the from the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency The Feds Have Some Advice: Don't Use a VPN. The reasons they give:

• Why not use a VPN to encrypt all of your online traffic? “Personal VPNs simply shift residual risks from your internet service provider (ISP) to the VPN provider, often increasing the attack surface,” CISA’s guidance fairly explains. “Many free and commercial VPN providers have questionable security and privacy policies.”
• (Plus, almost all sites now encrypt data flowing between them and a visitor’s browser. Either your ISP or your VPN can tell you’re visiting PCMag.com, but not that you’re reading this post.)

BicycleWilliam wrote:

Finally, for those that really want to protect their privacy, a VPN is needed. Finally, you would be shocked at the user monitoring that is automatically turned on for Apple Intelligence & Siri with iOS 26.3.

Really not. Your iPhone already comes with a lot of privacy, and using a VPN routes all your network traffic through their public servers which they can monitor and sell to advertisers. By the way, computing for Apple Intelligence happens on device and is encrypted, rather than most other large language models which happen in the cloud.

You can believe what you like, but using a VPN to access the Internet will do absolutely nothing to protect your privacy or secure your data.

Publications like pcmag, Macworld, etc, get significant revenue from vpn providers advertising with them. Don't believe everything you read.

BicycleWilliam wrote:

I would encourage everyone to read the following about VPNs, and those that really do protect your privacy and those that don't. https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/is-your-vpn-really-protecting-you-heres-how-to-tell?utm_source=copilot.com

For me, a paid, audited, reputable VPN service is an essential part of maintaining my anonymity and online privacy, which I believe is now even more essential.

You do realize that is a sponsored article and they get commissions on referrals. While PCMag claims they offer independent reviews, I would consider that a conflict of interest when they are also paid by the products that are reviewed.

I would also pay attention to the comment on the bottom of the page about Express VPN now being owned by Kape Technologies. While this is one of the VPN's that you have used, Kape has a long history of being a major Malware distributor and not a company that is trusted by many. They have been gobbling up ownership of many VPN providers, and also corner the market in paid reviews.

Before you trust all your data with a company you know little about, I would recommend reading a little bit about the history of Kape Technologies. Do you think they suddenly had a change of heart and decided instead of stealing your data through Malware, they are now in the business of protecting your data?

https://windscribe.com/blog/what-is-kape-technologies/

BicycleWilliam wrote:

I would encourage everyone to read the following about VPNs, and those that really do protect your privacy and those that don't. https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/is-your-vpn-really-protecting-you-heres-how-to-tell?utm_source=copilot.com

Unlike the article you linked to, the ones I linked to have no sponsors to placate. The are the advice of people with decades of experience.

For me, a paid, audited, reputable VPN service is an essential part of maintaining my anonymity and online privacy, which I believe is now even more essential.

Protecting your privacy is a great idea (unless it drifts into paranoia). But it should be done based on knowledge, not advertising and internet scaremongering.

BicycleWilliam wrote:

I would encourage everyone to read the following about VPNs, and those that really do protect your privacy and those that don't. https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/is-your-vpn-really-protecting-you-heres-how-to-tell?utm_source=copilot.com

For me, a paid, audited, reputable VPN service is an essential part of maintaining my anonymity and online privacy, which I believe is now even more essential.

Then you are on your own. If you think your iPhone is defective then take it to an Apple Store or authorized Apple service provider for examination. Otherwise just learn to live with your decisions and limited battery life. Not Apple’s problem.