Quick answer: turn a VPN off on iPhone in the VPN app itself, or in Settings → General → VPN & Device Management → VPN → toggle off. If it keeps turning itself back on, that's the profile's "Connect On Demand" rule — open the ⓘ next to the VPN in that same Settings screen and switch off Connect On Demand. To remove it completely, tap Delete VPN.
Yes, we're a VPN company explaining how to switch a VPN off. You should be in control of your own device — and half the searches for this question come from people fighting some other app that won't let go.
The three ways to turn it off
1. In the VPN app (the clean way)
Open the app and tap disconnect. This ends the session properly and — in well-behaved apps — won't fight you afterwards.
2. In Settings
Settings → General → VPN & Device Management → VPN, then flip the status toggle off. Works for any VPN, even when the app misbehaves or was deleted without cleanup.
3. From Control Center
If you added the VPN toggle (Settings → Control Center → add VPN), it's one swipe away. Handy for quick off/on when a captive portal needs a moment of direct connection.
Why does the VPN keep turning itself back on?
One mechanism: Connect On Demand. A VPN profile can register rules telling iOS "re-establish the tunnel whenever the network is up." That's a feature — it's what keeps you protected after reboots and network switches — but when you want out and the app won't respect it, it feels like malware.
The override lives one level deeper than the on/off switch:
- Settings → General → VPN & Device Management → VPN.
- Tap the ⓘ next to the VPN's name.
- Switch Connect On Demand off.
Now the toggle stays where you put it.
How to remove a VPN completely
On the same ⓘ screen, tap Delete VPN, then delete the app itself. Order matters less than doing both — the app without its profile can't tunnel, and the profile without its app is dead weight. If profile changes are blocked, check Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions, or ask whoever manages the device (school and work devices often lock this).
Should you leave a VPN on all the time?
Our honest take, covered in more depth in the battery guide: an established tunnel costs almost nothing, while reconnecting is the expensive part — so if you use a VPN at all, leaving it on beats toggling it. Turn it off when a service demands your real location (some banks), when a captive portal needs to load, or when you're troubleshooting — our 9-fix guide covers that scenario.
And if the VPN you're trying to escape is fighting you with dark patterns — endless re-enables, no visible disconnect, guilt-trip screens — that tells you something about the vendor. FREE VPN FAST has a disconnect button that just disconnects. Radical stuff.