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Split Tunneling.
Per-App Routing.
Free.

Pick which apps run through the encrypted tunnel. Pick which apps stay on your regular network. Both happen at the same time. No paid tier required — most VPNs lock this behind one.

🤖 Get The Free App
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🎪 What's Actually Happening

Your phone has one internet connection. Without split tunneling, ALL apps share it: either all through the VPN, or none. Split tunneling lets two parallel "lanes" exist on the same device.

🔒 ENCRYPTED LANE (VPN)
📱 ClownVPN App
↓
🔒 Encrypted Tunnel
↓
🤡 ClownVPN Server
↓
🌐 Internet

Browser, social apps, messaging, etc.

🌐 DIRECT LANE (LOCAL)
📱 Your App
↓
📶 Your WiFi / 5G
↓
🌐 Internet

Banking apps, local Chromecast, printer, etc.

🎪 Why People Actually Use It

🏦
Banking apps

Many banks geofence to your home country. Keep your bank outside the tunnel so it sees your normal IP, while everything else stays encrypted.

📺
Local services

Chromecast, local printer, smart-home devices, NAS. They need to see your real LAN. Keep them direct.

🎮
Latency-sensitive games

Games where every ms counts can stay direct, while background apps (Discord, browser, system updates) tunnel through.

🔋
Battery saving

Only tunnel the apps where privacy matters. Stop the radio from doing extra crypto for app traffic you don't care about.

🔒
High-sensitivity apps

Force your most sensitive apps (password managers, personal email) through the tunnel. Let everything else decide for itself.

📊
Captive portal hopping

Some hotel WiFi captive portals break with a VPN. Keep the browser direct until you're past the login screen, then turn the tunnel back on.

🎪 How To Set It Up (Android)

1
Open ClownVPN → Settings → Split Tunneling

The full list of your installed apps shows up, sorted alphabetically.

2
Choose mode: "Tunnel selected" or "Exclude selected"

"Tunnel selected" = only these apps go through VPN (everything else direct). "Exclude selected" = everything goes through VPN except these (everything else tunneled). Pick the mental model that fits.

3
Tap to toggle each app

Apply. New traffic from each app routes according to your setup. Existing connections stay where they are until they reconnect.

🎪 Free Tier Split Tunneling — Who Actually Offers It

VPN Split tunneling on free tier? Per-app on Android?
🤡 ClownVPN✓ Yes✓ Yes
ProtonVPN Free✗ Paid tier only—
TunnelBear Free✗ Not offered at all—
Windscribe Free✓ Yes✓ Yes
Hotspot Shield Free✗ Paid tier only—
Hide.me Free✗ Paid tier only—
Atlas VPN Free✗ Not offered—

Verified on each provider's pricing/features page in 2026. Windscribe and ClownVPN are the only options with genuine free-tier split tunneling on Android.

🎪 FAQ

What exactly is VPN split tunneling?
A feature that lets you choose which apps (or destinations) send their traffic through the encrypted VPN tunnel, and which keep using your regular network connection. Both happen simultaneously, on the same device.
When would I use it?
Banking apps that geofence to your home country and break behind a VPN. Streaming a local service while keeping the rest of your traffic tunneled. Connecting to a local printer or Chromecast while the VPN is on. Saving battery by only tunneling traffic that needs it.
Is split tunneling per-app or per-destination?
On Android, ClownVPN supports per-app split tunneling. Pick which apps go through the tunnel from the in-app list. Per-destination (route specific IPs/domains) is on the roadmap.
Does split tunneling weaken security?
For the apps you choose to keep outside the tunnel, yes — their traffic is unencrypted on your local network. That's the trade-off. For everything inside the tunnel, security is identical.
Why don't other free VPNs offer this?
Split tunneling is typically a "paid tier" feature on freemium VPNs because it adds engineering complexity and competes with their pressure to upgrade. We just shipped it in the free tier because we don't have a paid tier.

🎪 Pairs Well With

🪓 Kill Switch →

The kill switch covers your tunneled apps. Split tunneling decides who's "tunneled".

🚫 No Logs →

Tunneled apps inherit the no-log policy. Direct apps don't (they're not on our network at all).

⚡ Protocols →

Tunneled traffic uses WireGuard or OpenVPN. Direct traffic uses your normal stack.

🎪 Try Per-App Routing

Free on Android. No paid tier upsell.

🤖 Get It On Google Play