What Split Tunneling Is
Split tunneling lets you route some of your internet traffic through the VPN while letting the rest go directly to the internet without encryption. Without split tunneling, all traffic goes through the VPN -- every app, every website, every connection. With split tunneling, you choose: route only your browser through the VPN (to protect web traffic) while letting your video calls go directly (to avoid latency), or route only a specific app through the VPN while everything else connects normally.
Why Split Tunneling Is Useful
Speed: VPN connections add latency. For latency-sensitive applications (video calls, online gaming, real-time collaboration tools), routing them outside the VPN improves performance while you still protect sensitive browsing. Bandwidth: if your VPN has data limits or your VPN server has limited bandwidth, routing high-bandwidth applications (Netflix, YouTube) outside the VPN preserves capacity for traffic that actually needs protection. Local network access: some corporate VPNs block access to local network devices (printers, NAS drives) when all traffic is tunneled. Split tunneling lets you access local devices while keeping work traffic encrypted.
Two Types of Split Tunneling
App-based: specific applications are routed through the VPN; everything else goes direct. URL/domain-based (inverse split tunneling): specific domains are routed outside the VPN; everything else goes through it. Inverse split tunneling is useful when you want to protect most traffic but exclude a specific service (like your banking app, which may block VPN IPs).
When Split Tunneling Is a Privacy Risk
Split tunneling creates a weaker privacy posture than full-tunnel mode. Your ISP can see all traffic that bypasses the VPN, including the apps and domains you are accessing. If you are using a VPN specifically because you do not trust your ISP or network, split tunneling undermines that protection for the bypassed traffic. For maximum privacy: use full-tunnel mode. Use split tunneling only when you have a specific performance or compatibility reason, not as a default setting.
Which VPNs Support Split Tunneling
ExpressVPN: app-based split tunneling on Windows, Mac, Android, and routers. NordVPN: split tunneling on Windows and Android. Surfshark: on Windows, Mac, and Android. Mullvad: does not offer split tunneling (consistent with their strict privacy posture). ProtonVPN: available on Windows and Android. iOS: Apple's VPN framework restricts true split tunneling on iOS. Most VPNs have limited or no split tunneling support on iPhone -- this is an Apple platform limitation, not a VPN choice.