Open-source, cross-platform VPN client built with Rust that provides true privacy through decentralized mixnet technology and multi-hop censorship-resistant WireGuard tunneling.

🚀 What is NymVPN

NymVPN is a privacy-focused, decentralized VPN application that goes beyond traditional VPNs by leveraging:

🔀 Mixnet Technology: Anonymous 5-hop routing through Nym's decentralized network
⚡ WireGuard + AmneziaWG: Fast, secure tunneling with built-in censorship resistance
🛡️ Metadata Protection: Unlike traditional VPNs, protects both content AND traffic patterns (in mixnet mode)
🔐 Zero-Knowledge Credentials: Private authentication using zero-knowledge zk-nyms
🌍 No Single Point of Failure: Fully decentralized infrastructure

✨ Key Features

🎯 Dual-Mode Privacy Architecture

Anonymous Mode (5-hop mixnet): Maximal anonymity thanks to Nym's Noise Generating Mixnet with added noise to protect users against even AI surveillance
Fast Mode (2-hop WireGuard): Decentralized 2-hop mode for faster connections and less latency thanks to WireGuard

🔧 Developer-Friendly

100% Open Source: Fully auditable codebase
Rust-based: Memory-safe, high-performance implementation
Cross-platform: Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI

⚙️ Power User Features

Split Tunneling: Choose per-app routing (mixnet vs WireGuard) (coming soon)
Custom Entry/Exit Selection: Choose your preferred node operators
Kill Switch: Automatic connection protection with data leak prevention
Multi-language Support: 10+ localizations with crowdsourced language support

🛡️ Advanced Privacy and Security

Multi-hop by Default: No server views both your IP address and online activity
zk-nyms: Private zero-knowledge credential system to unlink payments data from online activity
No Centralized Logging: Cryptographically impossible to track users
Advanced Cryptographic Stack: Cure25519, AES, ChaCha20-Poly1305, BLAKE2/BLAKE3, Lioness Wide Block Cipher, Pointcheval-Sanders Signatures, Pedersen Commitments, NIZK Proofs, BLS12-381 Curve, post-quantum readiness (coming soon)
Independent Security Audits: JP Aumasson (2021), Oak Security (2022), Cryspen (2023-2024), Cure53 (2024)

🌐 Censorship Resistance Technologies

AmneziaWG Integration: Bypass barriers to information access with AmneziaWG (censorship-resistance WireGuard fork)
Adaptive Protocols: Pluggable transport, QUIC (coming soon)

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│                 │ -> │   Mixnet     │ -> │   Destination   │
│                 │    │  (5 hops)    │    │                 │
│    NymVPN App   │    └──────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
│    (Rust Core)  │    ┌──────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│                 │ -> │  AmneziaWG   │ -> │   Destination   │
│                 │    │  (2 hops)    │    │                 │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

🌐 Use Cases

For Privacy Advocates

Personal privacy: Protection from ISP/government surveillance
Journalist protection: Secure communication in hostile environments
Whistleblowing: Anonymous document sharing

For Developers

Decentralized app integration: Privacy layer for dApps
Research projects: Privacy-preserving network protocols
Security auditing: Open-source cryptographic implementations

For Organizations

Corporate security: Enhanced privacy for remote teams
Censorship circumvention: Access blocked content and services
Compliance: GDPR-friendly privacy infrastructure

🔬 Research Foundation & Academic Partnerships

Peer-Reviewed Research (50+ Publications)

Academic Partnerships

KU Leuven (COSIC Research Group): Privacy, performance, and hardware optimization
EPFL (SPRING Lab): Network security and sophisticated attack analysis
Cryspen: Formal verification and post-quantum cryptography

Advisory Board with multiple industry awards (Levchin Prize, BCS Lovelace Medal)

📚 Documentation & Resources

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers passionate about privacy, decentralization, and open-source software! This monorepo contains all of our source code for our NymVPN client apps (iOS / Android / Linux / macOS / Windows / CLI), separate from the Nym network monorepo.

Development Areas

Rust core development: Networking, cryptography, protocols
Mobile development: Kotlin (Android), SwiftUI (iOS)
Desktop applications: SwiftUI (macOS), Tauri (Linux, Windows)
Protocol research: Mixnet improvements, censorship resistance
Security auditing: Code review, vulnerability research, pen tests

Check our Contribution Guide.

🏷️ Topics & Keywords

Privacy & Security: privacy-tools privacy-enhancing tech security encryption zero-knowledge anonymity surveillance-resistance cryptography
Networking: vpn dvpn wireguard amneziawg mixnet decentralized-network censorship-resistance
Development: rust open-source kotlin swiftui
Protocols: sphinx onion-routing distributed-systems network-privacy

©2018-2026 Nym Technologies SA (contact@nymtech.net). Nym Technologies SA. Nym and NymVPN is made possible by Adblock-rust and other open source and free software.

😍 Acknowledgements

Mullvad open source libraries to handle setting up local routing and wrapping wireguard-go.
AmneziaWG wg-go open source library to help prevent censorship of WireGuard.
WireGuard
ablock-rust to power our ad-blocking features.