For nearly two decades, OpenVPN was the default answer when you asked what the “gold standard” VPN protocol was. In this video, I break down why that era is ending fast—and why two privacy-heavy hitters, Mullvad and Proton VPN, are actively distancing themselves from OpenVPN as we head into 2026. Mullvad is taking the most aggressive route: they’re removing OpenVPN entirely, with a hard cutoff on January 15, 2026. Proton’s move is more targeted, but still a big deal: they’re deprecating manually downloaded OpenVPN config files issued before September 2023, and those older files stop working after February 28, 2026. I explain what’s really driving this shift: OpenVPN’s “bloat” and maintenance burden (roughly 70,000 lines of code) versus WireGuard’s lean design (around 4,000 lines). That difference matters for auditing, attack surface, and long-term security confidence. I also cover the real-world performance angle—OpenVPN tends to be heavier on CPU, slower, and worse for battery life—while WireGuard is faster, more efficient, and better suited for modern devices. My takeaway: OpenVPN isn’t inherently unsafe when configured correctly, but complexity is the enemy of security. If you’re a power user running manual configs or router setups, you need to audit your setup now and plan your migration before those early-2026 deadlines hit.