Lantern

An open-source censorship-circumvention app that gives access to blocked websites and apps.

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About Lantern

Lantern is designed for places where the internet is heavily restricted. The developers argue that traditional VPNs are easy to detect and depend on a limited set of IP addresses that can be blocked. Lantern aims to be harder to detect and block than a conventional VPN.

Apps are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, and the source code is on GitHub. The project is funded partly by donations. It suits people in censored regions who need consistent access to blocked sites.

Strengths

  • Built specifically to resist blocking in censored regions
  • Apps for all major desktop and mobile platforms
  • Source code published on GitHub

Limitations

  • Aimed at circumvention more than anonymity
  • Traffic relies on Lantern's own infrastructure

Details

Pricing
FreeFree to download and use; the project asks for donations.
License
Open source, license not stated
Developer
Lantern
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
How it runs
Downloadable app
Works offline
No
Best suited for
People in censored regions who need reliable access to blocked sites
Categories
VPN, Privacy tools
Last verified
Added
Provenance
Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.

Alternatives to Lantern

Compare all

Software that can replace Lantern for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.

  • Psiphon

    A censorship-circumvention app that combines several blocking-resilient transports to reach sites blocked in your country.

    Psiphon combines several blocking-resilient transports and is free to use, but its free tier shows ads at lower speeds and no macOS or Linux app is listed.

  • VPN Gate

    A free academic VPN network of volunteer-run public relay servers from the University of Tsukuba.

    VPN Gate is a free network of volunteer-run relays usable with standard OpenVPN and L2TP clients, but privacy depends on each operator and it keeps connection logs.

  • Outline VPN

    Self-run VPN server built on Shadowsocks, made for censored networks.

    Outline VPN uses Shadowsocks on a server you pay for and run yourself, so traffic no longer relies on a provider's infrastructure.

  • AmneziaVPN

    Sets up your own VPN server on a machine you rent, then connects to it, with obfuscated protocols for networks that block ordinary VPNs.

    AmneziaVPN installs obfuscated protocols like Cloak, Shadowsocks and AmneziaWG on a server you rent, which means paying for and trusting your own server.

  • Astrill VPN

    A commercial VPN service with a proprietary StealthVPN protocol for restrictive networks.

    Astrill VPN is a paid, closed-source service with a proprietary StealthVPN protocol for restrictive networks, plus port forwarding and multi-hop options.

  • VPN.ac

    A commercial VPN service with WireGuard, OpenVPN and obfuscated protocols and servers in many countries.

    VPN.ac is a paid proprietary service offering WireGuard, OpenVPN and obfuscated protocols, with most of its locations in Europe and North America.

  • Shadowsocks

    A fast encrypted tunnel proxy for getting past firewalls, with implementations for most platforms.

    Shadowsocks is a lightweight self-run encrypted proxy for getting past firewalls, but it is a proxy rather than a full VPN and needs your own server.

Similar software

Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.

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