Split Tunneling Lets VPN Users Choose What Gets Protected and What Doesn't
A feature found in most VPN apps allows people to route some apps or websites through the encrypted connection while leaving others outside it, helping balance privacy with speed and convenience.
By News Media House Staff ·
Many people use virtual private network apps, but fewer take advantage of a feature built into a lot of them: split tunneling. The setting lets users decide which apps or websites travel through the VPN's protection and which connect to the internet directly.
The case for a VPN is well established. It can foil trackers, spoof a user's location and stop an internet provider from seeing browsing activity. But the protection carries trade-offs, notably some loss of speed. Split tunneling is meant to ease those compromises.
Online gaming is one example. A player after the fastest possible connection might keep games outside the VPN. Location is another. Because VPNs typically mask where a user actually is, someone checking local movie showtimes may want ticketing apps to bypass the VPN. A VPN can also get in the way of reaching other devices on a home network, such as smart home gadgets and printers.
A VPN works by creating an encrypted bridge for data moving to and from the web. That bridge keeps internet providers, law enforcement agencies and others on the same Wi-Fi network from seeing what a person does online. Split tunneling sends selected traffic around the bridge, so users don't have to keep switching the VPN on and off.
The most common version is app-based. Certain apps use the VPN and others don't. A user might keep a banking app protected for maximum security while letting a weather app run outside the VPN, so forecasts reflect the real location rather than the one the VPN is spoofing.
Some services also offer URL-based split tunneling, which sets rules by domain name. A user could keep the VPN active for a search page where sensitive information is being typed, but turn it off for a local news site. Route-based tunneling, which relies on specific IP addresses, and policy-based tunneling, which applies a broader set of rules, also exist. Both are less common in consumer software and are mostly relevant to people managing other users.
The steps to turn the feature on differ by product, though most VPN programs now include some form of it, particularly on paid tiers. In ProtonVPN for Windows, a split tunneling link appears on the right side of the main console, alongside options such as a kill switch and port forwarding. Once enabled, users can pick apps to include, with everything else excluded, or apps to exclude, with everything else included.
In NordVPN on Windows, users click the cog icon in the bottom left of the main interface, choose Split tunneling and flip the toggle. They can then select which apps receive VPN protection.
Mobile devices follow a similar process through the VPN app's settings. iPhones, however, give VPNs less freedom than Android devices and desktop platforms. On an iPhone, users are typically limited to excluding websites and IP addresses rather than apps.
For most people, the setup is a one-time task. Users can revisit the settings and change which apps are covered, but it generally doesn't require ongoing attention, leaving VPN protection in place where it matters and out of the way where it doesn't.
Source: Wired
