Proton VPN set to bring Split tunneling for Linux and macOS this summer – and many more features you'll love

Proton VPN Hero Showing Multiple UIs

  • Proton VPN has released a roadmap for all the features the team plans to release over the summer
  • Crucially, the provider is set to add split tunneling also on its Linux and macOS apps
  • These updates follow the April major revamp of Proton VPN Windows, iOS, and Android apps

Proton VPN has just released a roadmap outlining all the features and enhancements it plans to introduce this summer.

Notably, what's already rated among the best VPN services on the market is set to bring a long-awaited feature to its Linux and macOS apps – split tunneling. This is a handy functionality that allows you to choose specific websites and apps to reroute outside the VPN connection.

Split tunneling and all the other updates (more details below) follow the April major revamp of Proton VPN's Windows, iOS, and Android apps.

Split Tunneling for Linux and macOS

Proton VPN in use on a smartphone

(Image credit: Proton VPN)

Every time you connect to a virtual private network (VPN), your traffic gets encrypted and routed through one of the many international VPN servers. This boosts your online privacy by preventing unauthorized access to your online activities and spoofing your real IP address. Such a protection, however, can cause friction with how certain websites and applications operate.

That's where split tunneling comes in. The tool allows you to split your connection and choose to route some traffic through the VPN tunnel while excluding others.

As Proton VPN's Product Lead, Antonio Cesarano, explains in a blog post, this lets you bypass censorship using a VPN connection for your browser while allowing your banking, streaming, and government services apps to access the local internet. You can also choose to use it for specific purposes, such as torrenting or gaming, without needing to turn it on and off frequently.

While Windows, Android, and Android TV users already have the option to use split tunneling, you'll soon be able to activate this option on macOS and Linux VPNs by heading to the app settings.

More customization for all Apple users

Custom DNS is set to land on Apple devices, too, adding even more customization options.

As mentioned before, when connected, Proton VPN encrypts and resolves your internet traffic. This includes Domain Name System (DNS) queries, meaning the request your device automatically sends to your Internet service provider's DNS to connect to the IP address associated with a specific domain name of the website you want to visit.

"Custom DNS lets you choose one or more third-party DNS resolvers instead, allowing you to access their advanced DNS filtering features, such as parental controls and customized blocklists," explains Cesarano.

Another long-awaited feature, already available on Windows and Linux, port forwarding, is also coming to the Mac VPN app very soon.

When enabled, this functionality allows external devices to access specific services or applications on your local network by routing traffic through your VPN server. This is advantageous, as it can, for example, boost your speed when downloading and sharing files while torrenting.

Guest mode is also coming to iOS and iPadOS apps, meaning you can get instantly connected without a Proton account.

Overall boost of performance

While these are the features users are likely to be most excited about, Proton VPN is also set to get an overall boost in performance over the summer – so, make sure not to miss out on any updates over the next few weeks.

Here's more info on what's coming:

  • Boost in anti-censorship capabilities. While Proton VPN is already among the top tools to bypass censorship, the provider is set to expand on these skills even further to fight back against ever-evolving internet blocks.
  • More customization on Windows and Android. Proton VPN connection profile option on Windows and Android is also set to get a boost to let you build even more customized profiles.
  • Expanded IPv6 support. The most recent version of the Internet Protocol is available on all Proton VPN platforms. This will ensure full compatibility as increasingly more internet providers use IPv6-only connections.
  • More ways to pay. Another long-requested feature from the Proton community, the provider expands on the ways to buy their services. This includes additional cryptocurrency payment options.
  • Better Android TV experience. Proton is also pleasing their Android TV users by adding some long-awaited features to give more control over how to watch their favorite content on the big screen.
  • Improved support for F1 TV. Formula 1 fan? Good news, you’ll soon be able to watch your favorite Formula 1 racing channel safely and securely in even more countries worldwide.

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Chiara Castro
News Editor (Tech Software)

Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life – wherever cybersecurity, markets, and politics tangle up. She believes an open, uncensored, and private internet is a basic human need and wants to use her knowledge of VPNs to help readers take back control. She writes news, interviews, and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, tech policies, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar and TechRadar Pro. Got a story, tip-off, or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to chiara.castro@futurenet.com

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