What is split tunneling and do you need it in a VPN?

A VPN, or virtual private network, is one of the best ways to boost your privacy online. Not only does it hide your IP address and activities from prying eyes, but it also encrypts your connection for extra security. Unfortunately, a VPN has the drawback of slowing down your internet speeds and limiting some local functionality.

The solution to these problems may be a VPN feature called split tunneling. It allows you to choose which internet traffic you wish to send through a VPN and which to keep separate. This can help speed up your connection and optimize access, but it may also create unintended privacy vulnerabilities. It’s worth taking a closer look at this helpful feature to understand better how split tunneling works and whether or not you need it.

Split tunneling is just one of the great features that the top VPNs provide. Check out my list of the best VPNs to see how all the best services compare.

Further reading: 5 VPN features you need to start using today

How does split tunneling work?

When you connect through a VPN, all of your internet traffic is rerouted through a secure, encrypted VPN server. Rather than directly connecting to the internet with your home IP address, the VPN server will access the internet on your behalf instead.

Because all of your data is sent through an encrypted VPN server, it is completely anonymized and private. The drawback is that this process of rerouting your traffic usually slows down your internet speed, sometimes considerably.

Split tunneling works by simultaneously “splitting” your connection to send some traffic through the secure VPN connection and some through your open connection to the internet. So you can keep your sensitive data safely behind the secure VPN connection without slowing down your other less sensitive internet activities. I call that a win-win.

Different types of split tunneling

There are three types of split tunneling, each of which allows you to implement the feature in different ways. Note that while standout providers such as Private Internet Access offer all three types of split tunneling, some VPNs may not have the feature at all, or more likely come with only one type.

App-based split tunneling

App-based split tunneling is the most common form of split tunneling. It allows you to choose which apps on your device you wish to route through the VPN, and which remain on your regular network.

A very common way to implement this is to route your browser apps (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) through the VPN while leaving apps that require fast connection speeds such as games to continue unimpeded on your home network.

URL-based split tunneling

URL-based split tunneling, rather than designating whole apps, allows you to choose specific URLs you want to run through your VPN connection and which you wish to leave separate. This type of split tunneling is most commonly found in browser-based VPNs or browser addons. 

With URL-based split tunneling you can customize your connection to privately connect to sensitive websites such as banks or even spoof your location to get around geo-restricted streaming content on Netflix. All of this while keeping the rest of your browsing locally based outside of the VPN.

Inverse split tunneling

Inverse split tunneling works in the opposite way of the other two. Instead of cherry picking which apps or URLs to run through the VPN like the above types, with inverse split tunneling you instead specify which to keep outside of the VPN. 

Inverse split tunneling is extremely useful if you want the majority of your apps to run through a VPN connection, but only want a single app or URL to run outside of it. This way, rather than manually selecting all of the apps to run through the VPN individually, you can just choose the app you wish to exclude instead.

Do you need split tunneling in a VPN?

The answer to whether you need split tunneling will come down to your intended use of a VPN. If you simply want total privacy across all apps and websites, then it’s not worth bothering with split tunneling. However, if you’re concerned about a VPN slowing down an app or site which doesn’t need the extra privacy or security benefits, then split tunneling is worth taking the time to set up.

Split tunneling truly shines in scenarios where optimizing the performance of your internet while maintaining security to the most crucial apps and sites is critical. For example, users who want their browsing to remain private can choose to run their browser traffic through a VPN, while their online gaming or file sharing is kept separate to avoid any ping or latency issues.

Alternatively, a remote worker might use split tunneling to securely access company resources via a VPN while simultaneously streaming music or video over their open connection in order to keep from compromising speeds.

Overall, split tunneling is a powerful and handy feature to have in a VPN. I personally use split tunneling to optimize both the privacy and speed of my connections while I’m online. It might not always be necessary, but it can make your VPN experience a whole lot better.