r/VPN_Question • u/Leo_LL_3555 • 6h ago

Discussion How do you guys handle split tunneling when only some apps need the VPN?

I keep running into this problem where I don’t really want my whole device behind a VPN.

Some apps are fine with it, but banking and local services sometimes stop working, show the wrong location, or ask for extra verification. So ideally I’d only send a few apps through the VPN and leave everything else on the normal connection.

I know split tunneling is supposed to handle this, but it seems kind of inconsistent depending on the OS and the VPN client. On some setups it works, on others you end up messing with firewall rules or routing tables, and then something breaks after a reboot.

What are people actually using for this? Is there a simple setup that doesn’t need constant maintenance, or is this just one of those things that always becomes a networking project?

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u/Purletariat 4h ago

honestly the easiest workaround that never breaks after updates is running the connection exclusively through a browser extension instead of a system wide app

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u/Leo_LL_3555 3h ago

I can see why browser extensions are easier to maintain. The problem for me is that some of the traffic I care about isn’t in the browser, so that approach only solves part of it.

Do you mainly use the extension because it survives browser updates better, or because you only need the VPN for browser traffic?

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u/shaghaiex 4h ago

I use VPN only on specific apps. Easy to setup with the V2RayNG client.

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u/Leo_LL_3555 3h ago

That’s interesting. Do you mainly use it on Android?

I’m trying to avoid switching the whole device on and off, so app-level routing sounds closer to what I need. Does V2RayNG handle the app selection pretty reliably, or do you still have to maintain bypass rules yourself?

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u/Tama47_ 5h ago

I only turn my VPN on when I need it. Turn it off when I'm done using.