VPN Split Tunneling Explained

Split tunneling lets you choose which apps or traffic go through the VPN tunnel and which connect directly to the internet. For example, you can route Slack and your browser through the VPN for security while letting Spotify and your smart home apps connect directly for better performance.

Traffic that bypasses the VPN is not encrypted by the VPN. This is fine for non-sensitive activities (streaming, music) but anything work-related should go through the tunnel. The key is being intentional about what bypasses.

Apple's iOS does not allow VPN apps to implement traditional split tunneling due to platform restrictions. On iOS, all traffic either goes through the VPN or doesn't. Some VPN providers offer 'Bypass VPN' for specific websites as a partial workaround.

Yes — it's ideal. Route work apps (email, Slack, cloud drives, company tools) through the VPN while letting personal apps (streaming, music, gaming) connect directly. This gives you security where it matters and performance where it doesn't.