Are you noticing a small key icon on your Android status bar? Well, it's not a warning sign but an indicator that a VPN connection is active on your Android phone. If you are using a VPN app on your Android, then it's fine. However, if you have no idea about setting up a VPN, you should remove the VPN app immediately. As a result, the key icon will automatically disappear from your Android phone. Follow our tutorial below and learn how to remove the key icon on Android phones.
What's That Key Icon on Your Android Phone?
The key icon appears in the Android status bar when your phone is connected to a VPN (Virtual Private Network). It basically means that your internet traffic is being routed through a VPN tunnel. A VPN encrypts your connection and hides your real IP address, which is useful for privacy.
However, if you didn't set up the VPN yourself, it likely means an app has automatically set up a VPN on your Android phone and is routing all the traffic through its tunnel, which may compromise your privacy and security. In such cases, you should immediately uninstall the VPN app and remove the network profile.
Note that some other categories of apps also come with built-in VPN functionality. For instance, ad blocker apps, firewall apps, Android antivirus apps and security apps also turn on the VPN automatically to monitor the traffic. In addition, parental control apps often use VPN-based filtering for safe browsing and content filtering.
To sum up, the key icon on Android phones is not a warning but an indicator that a VPN is active on your device. You need to find the app and uninstall it. We have listed all the methods below that will let you identify the VPN app and then remove the key icon from your Android phone.
How to Remove the Key Icon (VPN) on an Android Phone
The straightforward way to remove the key icon on Android is through the Settings page. This way, you can quickly find out which app has set up the VPN profile on your phone. Here is how to do it on Samsung phones or Stock Android phones.
Remove the Key Icon from Android Settings
If you own a Google phone like the Pixel 10, Pixel 10a, or any of the older models, you can follow these instructions to get rid of the key icon from the status bar. The method is more or less the same on most other Android phones as well.
- Launch the Settings app on your Android phone and select Network & internet.
- Here, tap on VPN on the next screen.
- Now, you will see all saved VPN profiles installed on your Android phone. Select the VPN app with the "Connected" label.
- Here, tap on Disconnect.
- To prevent Android from connecting back to the VPN, tap on the gear icon next to the VPN and select Forget VPN.
- Now, confirm this action by tapping on Forget in the dialogue box.
That's it. The key icon should no longer appear on your Android phone. On Samsung phones, you can also disable the key icon from One UI settings, but the process of accessing the VPN page is slightly different. To get to this screen, open the Settings app and move to Connections > More connection settings > VPN. From here, you can follow steps 3–5 from earlier in this section to disable and forget the VPN service.
Uninstall VPN App to Remove Key Icon Permanently
Some pesky VPN apps like TurboVPN automatically start in the background even when you have not opened them. If you have identified this app, it's recommended that you uninstall it to completely remove the key icon from your Android phone.
- Search for the VPN app on your Android phone's app drawer.
- Long-press the app icon and select App info.
- In the App info screen, select Uninstall and then tap on Uninstall in the prompt box to confirm.
Now, the key icon will be permanently removed from your Android phone.
Reset Network Settings
If, for some reason, the key icon is stuck on your Android status bar, you can choose to reset network settings. It will wipe all VPN configurations. However, it will also delete all saved Wi-Fi passwords, paired Bluetooth devices and mobile data settings. Your files and apps will remain untouched.
- Open the Settings app on your Android phone and go to System > Reset options.
- Here, select Reset mobile network settings or Reset Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to erase your preferred option.
- Now, tap on Reset to confirm.
And that's how you can remove the key icon on your Android phone. While VPN apps add some layer of privacy and security protection, if you did not set up the VPN yourself, it could mean a rogue app is trying to monitor your internet traffic and routing all the connections through its own network tunnel. That is a serious red flag, and in such cases, you should uninstall the VPN app altogether.
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