Surfshark is a relative newcomer to the VPN scene, having only just been founded in 2018. Now, it’s owned by the same people who brought us NordVPN. Surfshark didn’t make an appearance in my Guide to the Best VPNs, although it’s at the top of my list to review next time the guide is due for an update.
Despite its youth, Surfshark just vaulted itself above the impossibly crowded field of VPNs by enabling a feature that few VPNs—even established veterans—have been able to offer to Macs: split-tunneling.
Split-tunneling is a feature that allows you to pick and choose which websites connect through the protected VPN service and which ones you want to bypass the VPN and connect via your own IP address.
They’re calling it Surfshark Bypasser, and it’s included at no extra cost now in Surfshark subscriptions.
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a long time coming
Why you’d want to designate certain websites as off-limits to your VPN comes down to the way some websites behave when you connect to them via a VPN. It’s becoming increasingly common for some to detect a VPN and block you from accessing them when connected to one.
In other cases, you may prefer that certain websites know your location and not just the location of the VPN server you’re connected to. If you live in Nashville and connect to a VPN server in Washington, DC, you might just get a little sick of all your Yelp restaurant recommendations centering you 700 miles away.
Split-tunneling removes the necessity of having to manually toggle your connection on and off when you visit those certain sites. It becomes automatic.
What’s newsworthy about a VPN adding split-tunneling to Macs is that while it’s been a staple feature for Windows and Android apps, it’s been missing almost entirely from Mac products. As good as it is, my overall favorite VPN, NordVPN, doesn’t have it for Macs.
Neither does Proton VPN, another favorite of mine and what I consider to be the best free VPN. Mullvad VPN is one other major VPN service that enables split-tunneling on Macs.
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Why I’m overlooking Private Internet Access, which also enables it, relates to its purchase years ago by Kape Technologies.
Kape’s shadowy origins are as a company called Crossrider that, as CNET put it, “produced software which previously allowed third-party developers to hijack users’ browsers via malware injection, redirect traffic to advertisers and slurp up private data.” So even as a pre-Kape subscriber of PIA, I’m hesitant about it.
Surfshark, even though I haven’t yet gotten a chance to review it thoroughly, is an openly audited, vetted service with a clear no-logs policy, making it one of the better options for a VPN out there.
The post Surfshark VPN Adds Split-Tunneling Support to Macs. Here’s What That Means. appeared first on VICE.
