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What is VPN split tunnelling

09.06.2023
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Split tunnelling is a VPN feature that divides your internet traffic, sends some of it through an encrypted virtual private network tunnel, and routes the rest through a separate tunnel on the open network. Typically, split tunnelling will let you choose which apps to secure and which can connect normally. The feature is useful when you must keep some of your traffic private while maintaining access to local network devices.

There are a few different ways to implement VPN split tunnelling. URL-based split tunnelling lets you choose exactly which URLs you want to be encrypted while App-based split tunnelling lets you choose which app you want to be routed through the VPN. Inverse split tunnelling, unlike the first two examples, will let you choose what URLs and apps you don’t want through the VPN route. The first thing to do is to download VPN that offers a split tunnelling service.

Advantages associated with VPN split tunnelling are:

  • it improves internet speed by alleviating bottlenecks and conserving bandwidth because all your internet traffic isn’t being forced through a VPN server
  • It lets you access more than one network at the same time. You can access restricted sites or content while still remaining connected to your local network.

Disadvantages associated with split tunnelling are:

  • it bypasses the security measures put in place by your VPN, leaving some of your online activities vulnerable to hackers
  • it takes time to set up the right split tunnelling permissions for what you want
  • Not all VPNs come with split tunnelling features, and even then, not all of them are available on all operating systems.

If you must use VPN split tunnelling feature, make sure to set it right. To access it, go to the Settings, Options, or Preferences menu of your VPN. There, you will see the options to manage your VPN on a per-app or per-URL basis. You can then choose which app or URL will use the VPN and which will be on the open network.

A good way to test your VPN split tunnelling is to try out some of the apps or URLs you choose to see if they pass through the VPN. You can do this by checking to see if you can still access region-restricted content or by looking up your IP address. Beware of emergency VPN disconnect.

Using VPN split tunnelling is much more secure than not using a hide VPN at all. The only risk associated is for you to set it up correctly and make the right choice of URLs or apps less important to you. It is false to believe that split tunnelling weakens the overall encryption of your VPN. Hide expert VPN maintains encryption prowess while giving you additional security without slowing down your internet.