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Install Mullvad Browser

Mullvad Browser Windows Linux Installation macOS Desktop 

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This guide describes how to install the Mullvad Browser for Windows, macOS and Linux. You can read more about the Mullvad Browser on our website:

What this guide covers

Windows

Installing the Mullvad Browser

  1. Download the Mullvad Browser .exe file from the Downloads page.
  2. Double-click on the installation file to start the installation wizard.
  3. Select the Installation type:
    Standard - This is the recommended option. It installs the Mullvad Browser inside your user folder.
    Advanced - If you check Standalone installation then you can install the Mullvad Browser to the Desktop (like previous versions).
    We recommend that you don't change the default install location (Destination Folder), or you might run into errors. For example, updating or uninstalling the Mullvad Browser may not work if you install it to C:\Program Files.

Starting the Mullvad Browser

Standard installations

If you selected the Standard installation type then you can start the Mullvad Browser with the shortcut on the Desktop or the shortcut in the Start menu.

Standalone installations

If you selected Standalone installation (in the Advanced type) then you can start the Mullvad Browser with the shortcut inside the "Mullvad Browser" folder on the desktop.

Setting the Mullvad Browser as the default browser

Standard installations

It is only possible to set the Mullvad Browser as the default browser in Windows if you selected the Standard installation type.

Search for "Default apps" in the Start menu and select the Mullvad Browser. For more detailed instructions you can follow Mozilla's guide "Make Firefox your default browser on Windows", but change it to the Mullvad Browser instead of Firefox.

Uninstalling the Mullvad Browser

Standard installations

Step 1: Locate your profile folders

For Standard installations, when you uninstall the Mullvad Browser it won't delete your profile folders which contain your bookmarks, preferences etc. If you want to delete them then make a note of their locations before you uninstall the Mullvad Browser. Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Mullvad Browser.
  2. In the address bar, type about:profiles and hit Enter on the keyboard.
  3. Find the profile which says "This is the profile in use and it cannot be deleted".
  4. Click on the two Open Folder buttons.
  5. If you want to keep your bookmarks and preferences then do not delete these folders.
  6. If you want to delete your bookmarks and preferences then you can delete the folders after you uninstall the Mullvad Browser.

Step 2: Uninstall the Mullvad Browser

For Standard installations, you can exit/quit the Mullvad Browser and use "Add or remove programs" in the Windows Settings to uninstall the Mullvad Browser. Alternatively, find "Mullvad Browser" in the Start menu, right click on it and select Uninstall.

Standalone installations

If you selected Standalone installation (in the Advanced type) then you don't need to locate the profile folders, as they are included in the installation folder. There is no uninstaller for this type, instead do the following:

  1. Exit/quit the Mullvad Browser.
  2. Delete the Mullvad Browser folder on the Desktop.
  3. Empty the Recycle bin.

macOS

Installing the Mullvad Browser

  1. Download the Mullvad Browser .dmg file from the Downloads page.
  2. Double-click on the .dmg file and in the window that opens, drag the Mullvad Browser to the Applications folder.

Starting the Mullvad Browser

Start the Mullvad Browser from the Launchpad, or find it in the Applications folder.

Setting the Mullvad Browser as the default browser

To set the Mullvad Browser as the default browser follow these steps:

  1. Start the Mullvad Browser.
  2. Click on the menu button in the top right corner and select Settings.
  3. Click on Make Default... (under General in the left column).
  4. Click on Use "Mullvad Browser".

Uninstalling the Mullvad Browser

  1. Quit the Mullvad Browser from the top menu bar (or press command + q).
  2. Open the Applications folder.
  3. Right click on Mullvad Browser.
  4. Click on Move to bin.
  5. In the top menu bar, click on Go and then Go to Folder...
  6. Type ~/Library/Application Support.
  7. Right click on MullvadBrowser.
  8.  Click on Move to bin.
  9. Right click on the recycle bin (trash can) on the Dock and select Empty Bin.

Linux

Installing the Mullvad Browser (using the Mullvad repository)

If you use Ubuntu, Debian or Fedora then we recommend that you install the Mullvad Browser using the Mullvad repository. Note that it does not work with Linux Mint or other distributions.

If you have already installed the Mullvad VPN app for Linux using the Mullvad repository then you only have to use apt (Ubuntu/Debian) or dnf (Fedora) to install mullvad-browser.

Ubuntu/Debian

Install curl, download our key and add the repository with the following commands:

sudo apt install curl

sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/mullvad-keyring.asc

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc arch=$( dpkg --print-architecture )] https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/stable $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list

Install the Mullvad Browser:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install mullvad-browser

Fedora

Add the repository with the following command:

sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://repository.mullvad.net/rpm/stable/mullvad.repo

Install the Mullvad Browser:

sudo dnf install mullvad-browser

Installing the Mullvad Browser (without the Mullvad repository)

If you use an unsupported Linux distribution then you can install the Mullvad Browser without the Mullvad repository.

Download the file

Download the Mullvad Browser .tar.xz file from the Downloads page, or run the following command in a Terminal (as a normal user, not root):

wget --trust-server-names https://mullvad.net/en/download/browser/linux-x86_64/latest -P ~/Downloads

Decompress the file

Option 1: Using the Terminal

(replace "X.X" with the downloaded version number)

cd ~/Downloads

tar -xvf mullvad-browser-linux-x86_64-X.X.tar.xz

Option 2: Using GNOME

  1. Open the Downloads folder.
  2. Right click on mullvad-browser-linux-x86_64-X.X.X.tar.xz.
  3. Click on Extract Here (Ubuntu) or Extract (Fedora).

Starting the Mullvad Browser

Repository installations

If you installed the Mullvad Browser using the repository then you can start the Mullvad Browser from your Applications grid. Alternatively, use the mullvad-browser command in the Terminal.

Non-repository installations

If you installed the Mullvad Browser without using the repository then there are three ways to start the Mullvad Browser:

Option 1: Using the Terminal

Use the following commands:

cd ~/Downloads/mullvad-browser

./start-mullvad-browser.desktop

Option 2: Add a Dock / Dash shortcut

Copy the .desktop file to the right location:

cp ~/Downloads/mullvad-browser/start-mullvad-browser.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

Then start the Mullvad browser using the instructions in Option 1 above, right click on it in the Dock (Ubuntu) or Dash (Fedora) and select Add to Favorites (Ubuntu) or Pin to Dash (Fedora).

Option 3: Using the Desktop (GNOME)

Note that this does not work on all Linux distributions and desktop environments.

  1. Open the Downloads folder.
  2. Open the decompressed mullvad-browser-linux-x86_64-X.X.X folder.
  3. Open the mullvad-browser folder.
  4. Open the Browser folder.
  5. Right-click on start-mullvad-browser.
  6. Click on Run as a Program.

Setting the Mullvad Browser as the default browser

Repository installations

This requires that you have installed the Mullvad Browser using the repository.

Ubuntu/Debian

Open the Settings app and click on Default Applications in the left side. If you can not select the Mullvad Browser in the Web menu then run the following command in the Terminal:

xdg-settings set default-web-browser mullvad-browser.desktop

Fedora

Open the Settings app and click on Apps in the left side and then Default Apps. If you can not select the Mullvad Browser in the Web menu then run the following command in the Terminal:

xdg-settings set default-web-browser mullvad-browser.desktop

Non-repository installations

This is unsupported and may not work if you have installed the Mullvad Browser without using the repository.

Ubuntu/Debian

Open the Settings app and click on Default Applications in the left side. If you can not select the Mullvad Browser in the Web menu then run the following command in the Terminal:

xdg-settings set default-web-browser start-mullvad-browser.desktop

Fedora

This is not supported in Fedora if you have installed it without the repository.

Uninstalling the Mullvad Browser

Repository installations

Step 1: Locate your profile folders

When you uninstall the Mullvad Browser it won't delete your profile folders which contain your bookmarks, preferences etc. If you want to delete them then make a note of their locations before you uninstall the Mullvad Browser. Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Mullvad Browser.
  2. In the address bar, type about:profiles and hit Enter on the keyboard.
  3. Find the profile which says "This is the profile in use and it cannot be deleted".
  4. Click on the two Open Folder buttons.
  5. If you want to keep your bookmarks and preferences then do not delete these folders.
  6. If you want to delete your bookmarks and preferences then you can delete the folders after you uninstall the Mullvad Browser.

Step 2: Uninstall the Mullvad Browser

To uninstall the Mullvad Browser and the repository, exit/quit the Mullvad Browser and then use the commands below.

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt purge mullvad-browser

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list

Fedora

sudo dnf remove mullvad-browser

sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/mullvad.repo

Non-repository installations

If you installed the Mullvad Browser without using the repository then you don't need to locate the profile folders, as they are included in the installation folder. Do the following:

  1. Exit the Mullvad Browser.
  2. Open the Downloads folder.
  3. Delete the mullvad-browser folder.
  4. Empty the trash can.