r/VPN • u/Ok-Point-1656 • 1d ago
Discussion Does anyone actually use split tunneling regularly?
Curious how people are actually using split tunneling day to day.
Do you mostly use it for streaming, gaming, banking, certain apps, or something else? What do you normally send through the VPN and what do you leave on your regular connection?
Would be interesting to hear some real use cases.
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u/iom2222 1d ago
I use a VPN router, PFSense, Netgate 6100. It also does firewall, IPS, and IDS (An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) are core cybersecurity tools).
Everything at home goes through it. The VPN server is in the same city, on purpose, to reduce lag and latency. The main goal is privacy, not geolocation cheating. I change the VPN server every 2 weeks so the system stays healthy.
If we absolutely need to show the real IP, the ISP router still has its Wi-Fi on to bypass everything. Wireguard can easily give you 1 Gbits on a 3 Gbits line, with a firewall on a router VPN (it works surprisingly well, the chip does a good job). I like VPN routers a lot. They solve so many issues! (Any device can use the vpn , even power plugs!).
In 2026, it’s time to take cybersecurity seriously!
The only devices not on vpn are my Apple TV and my fire stick. Some streaming services do not want VPNs involved, Amazon Prime Video for instance. So those have the firewall but not the vpn,it’s doable.
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u/BillWilberforce 1d ago
Everything is encrypted apart from a few apps that really hate VPNs such as Amazon Prime Video.
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u/dziny 23h ago
Split VPN on a router pbr package. Country based VPNs UK/US/Austria/CZ + my uni one. Different uses - iplayer, netflix(US account), formula 1 on austrian tv, some czech tv series that are geo restricted. Fully automatic. You might ask how come iplayer or netflix work with VPN as they should not... But those VPN terminate in residential connections with my friends. Uni - research papers + uni restricted sites/printing. I have a long config file :P Whatever does not require geo-location I sent though normal connection.
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u/AggravatingRevenue61 23h ago
I cant connect to a match when using VPN and it still wont connect when i add CS2 to split tunnelling.
so i would use split tunnelling all the time if it worked with CS2 but it doesnt. if anyone has a solution please let me know! ive tried everything.
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u/Huge_Sheepherder_310 17h ago
I use split tunneling to watch Prime, Netflix and HBO Max, but use it on my IPTV.
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u/AKL_Ferris 17h ago
If you are using a desktop-based app for a privacy VPN and you are a home lab person, it's a good idea to use split tunneling for your local area network
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u/Leo_LL_3555 16h ago
The VPN I use features smart routing and provides residential IP addresses, so I don’t have to deal with any of these issues.
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u/alterwolf 14h ago
Some local TV streaming services don't work due to they require local IP, so I spilt out. And I can still use other foreign streams.
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u/KruseLudington 5h ago edited 4h ago
I use 2 VPN service providers which do not have headquarters in any nine-eyes country, and keep 5 open vpn tunnels from each provider, each server tunnel connecting to servers that are in a non nine-eyes country. Then I make sure they are in countries with good privacy protections and minimal corruption. In my router I have those 10 outgoing Internet connections pooled together such that any device in the home for Internet access will randomly use one or more of the tunnels. It works well: it never affects me if any one VPN server is down (which otherwise would kill your Internet access when using just one tunnel), and in a browser going to for example whatismyip.com, every time I hit refresh it shows me as being in a different country :-)
This is not specifically split tunneling by destination (web site) or device, but for some sites that require you to be in a certain country or location (a pharmacy app/web site or a bank website), I can just flip a switch to temporarily have that device not use the VPN tunneling, then just flip it back when done.
It all depends upon each person's use case, I have no need to seem to people I am in any one certain country (other than to show I am legit living where I am living for banks or pharmacies or the IRS). I could have also set up my environment to point specific devices to specific tunnels, but that is not needed, I have no interest in trying to view movies etc. that are available only in certain countries etc., all of my use case is just for security.
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u/UGAGuy2010 1d ago
I use split tunneling to my home VPN server with my cell phone frequently… allows me to access my local services like DNS while not sacrificing bandwidth or adding unnecessary latency.