Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Many popular VPNs like Nord, Surfshark, and others already offer split tunneling on Android, but implementations vary widely.
- The feature is often inconsistent, hidden in the settings, or missing entirely in some VPN apps.
- Android 17 will standardize split tunneling at the system level, making it easier and more reliable for all users.
Google is quietly addressing one of the biggest frustrations of using a VPN on Android. With Android 17 Beta 3The company is introducing a standardized, system-level way for VPN apps to offer split tunneling, aka the ability to exclude specific apps from the VPN connection.
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This may seem like a niche feature, but it could solve a surprisingly common headache that arises when using VPN on Android devices.
If you’ve ever used a VPN on Android, you’ve probably come across apps that don’t work properly while you’re connected. Banking, streaming, and other location-based apps often block access or behave erratically when a VPN is activated.
Many VPN apps like Nord VPN, Proton VPN, and others support split tunneling, allowing you to exclude specific apps from the VPN. However, each VPN application handles split tunneling differently. With this new change, you’ll get a cleaner, more predictable experience, regardless of which VPN you use.
Instead of leaving split tunneling entirely in the hands of individual VPN applications, Android 17 presents a system-managed configuration screen. From there, users can select which apps should bypass the VPN.
“Android 17 is introducing a standardized way for VPN apps to offer app exclusion (split tunneling) capabilities,” Google noted in its change log for Android 17 Beta 3 update.
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
Those apps will use your regular Internet connection, while all other apps will continue to route traffic through the VPN. The changes take effect immediately if the VPN is active, or the next time you connect, without you having to manually adjust them again.
It is important to note that this is currently a change for the developer. So it looks like your VPN app developer will need to configure your app to invoke this system-managed configuration screen for you to use.
The advantage is that once VPN apps start implementing this, you won’t have to deal with how different VPN developers provide split tunneling within their own apps. VPN apps that don’t have split tunneling would also benefit from the feature built into Android itself.
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