The key advantage of using VPN split tunneling features is the ability to manage your digital life better. There are probably some apps or websites that you want to protect with advanced encryption protocols. For others, you may need an IP in a different country. With split tunneling, you can secure your sensitive traffic, and allow apps or sites that don’t need VPN coverage to connect straight to the internet.
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Whitelister: VPN split tunneling done right
Whitelister is Surfshark’s split tunneling feature that allows you to exclude specific apps or websites from connecting via VPN.
What is split tunneling?
Split tunneling (or Whitelister at Surfshark) is a technology that creates separate “tunnels”. One of them leads through a VPN, and the other bypasses it completely. You’re sending some of your traffic through an encrypted VPN tunnel, and the other goes through the usual passageways.
What are the advantages of split tunneling?
Is using Whitelister safe?
Using Whitelister is safe as long as you’re careful. If you opt to allow specific apps or websites to bypass the VPN connection, you have to take note that this traffic will not be secured by our industry-leading encryption. If you want to keep all your data encrypted, then it’s better to opt-out of using this feature. However, if you’re on a private connection (using your mobile data or password-protected, internal Wi-Fi/LAN at home or other trusted place), excluding a few apps or websites should be fine.
How to make Whitelister work for you
To benefit the most from VPN split tunneling, you should first work out which apps or websites should be sent via Surfshark. Then, you can allow a few others to bypass the VPN connection when you’re using a trusted Wi-Fi or mobile data.
Here are a few examples:
- Keep your sensitive data (like P2P downloads) secure via an encrypted VPN tunnel.
- Exclude data-heavy apps or websites that don’t need protection from connecting via VPN to improve speed.
- Access network devices – like a printer – with no hassle while the VPN is on.
So let’s say you’re at home, using a Windows computer. You want to protect all your traffic, except YouTube loads slower with a VPN on. That’s where split tunneling comes in! Allow www.youtube.com to bypass the VPN with Whitelister, and everything else will stay secure under our iron-clad encryption.
Surfshark features unique split tunneling options
Surfshark is not like your average VPN. Some other VPNs let you whitelist apps, but they provide no solution when you want to access specific websites outside your VPN connection (like your banking website) while keeping all your other traffic protected. Surfshark’s Whitelister gives you full control by making it easy to exclude any website from your VPN connection. No more hassle switching your VPN on and off. Just add the website url to Whitelister and you’re good to go.
How to use Whitelister in Surfshark?
- Sign up for Surfshark & create an account.
- Download our Windows or Android app (we’re adding Whitelister to others soon!)
- Go to your app, click Whitelister and start adding apps or websites. That’s it!
