OpenVPN Support Forum

Is there any reason why I should be concerned about which kind of app I use to connect on Android?

I've used multiple trials for different VPNs on my Android phone. One that I was leaning towards based on lots of positive feedback here has its own custom app needed for connection, whereas several of the others I've tried just give you a user and password to use on the OpenVPN app. This is one of the bigger VPN companies so I'm not too concerned about malware or shady stuff happening with their app, although it does seem to drain my battery a bit faster and makes my phone run hot.

My use is just for general internet privacy, nothing heavy or against the law. Thank you for any feedback you can provide!

If it is making your phone run hot when it would not be doing that normally then it must be using one hell of a lot of cpu time constantly, which would drain the battery like theres no tomorrow (but you may find all the vpn clients do that if transferring a lot of data since the encryption will use a lot of cpu power). It should not be making the phone hot if you are not transferring a lot of data though.

No other reason I can think of not to use a providers client if its a reputable provider. I have found that the openvpn client usually connects virtually instantly though, and most of the provider clients i tried take a lot longer to connect. Unless the providers client offers features of some kind that you need, i would personally rather use openvpn client for less bloat.