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Protocol

VLESS Reality: a VPN that looks like web traffic

Networks that block VPNs recognise common VPN protocols such as OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2 by the way their traffic looks. With Reality, your connection looks like ordinary website browsing, which makes it harder to spot and block.

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Person on a laptop, connection passing a network filter

The protocol

What is VLESS Reality?

VLESS carries your data to the server. Reality encrypts the connection with TLS 1.3, just as secure websites do. The connection looks like ordinary website browsing, which makes it harder to spot and block.
  • TLS 1.3 encryption
  • No VPN-specific certificate to spot
  • A probed server answers like the site it imitates
Diagram: device, FaroVPN server and the imitated site

How it works

How Reality avoids filtering

Deep packet inspection (DPI) looks for signatures: an unusual port, a recognisable handshake, a certificate with no website behind it. Reality shows none of the ones known VPNs have.
  • Your app opens a TLS connection to our server, naming a well-known site.
  • The server recognises your key and opens the tunnel.
  • A connection without the key is passed to the real site and sees nothing else.
Network filter letting through a connection that looks like a website visit

When Reality helps

  • Office and school networks

    Laptop on an office network

  • Hotel, airport and station Wi-Fi

    Traveller on airport Wi-Fi

  • Countries that filter the internet

    Map with a digital border crossed by a connection

Connect with VLESS Reality

  1. Choose a plan

    You pay on Stripe’s secure checkout page.

  2. Download the FaroVPN app

    For Windows, macOS, Linux, Android or iOS, from the Download page.

  3. Sign in to your account

    The app gets the settings for each server.

  4. Turn on the VPN

    Pick a country. Every server uses Reality, so there’s nothing to configure.

Try FaroVPN for 30 days

If the service isn’t right for you, write to support within 30 days of your first payment and we refund the full amount.

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Secure payment via Stripe, VAT included

Frequently asked questions

Is Reality undetectable?
No, no protocol is. Reality makes detection harder and more expensive, but a network can still block a specific server’s address or throttle any traffic it doesn’t recognise.
Does Reality slow the connection down?
Very little: there is only one layer of encryption, TLS 1.3. Speed depends mostly on the distance to the server and on your own network.
Do I need to configure anything?
No. Once you sign in, the app gets all the settings for each server.
Can I use WireGuard or OpenVPN?
No. FaroVPN runs VLESS with Reality; WireGuard and OpenVPN aren’t offered.
Which systems can I use Reality on?
All the systems the FaroVPN app runs on: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
Do the browser extensions use Reality?
No. The extensions are HTTPS proxies. For Reality, install an app.
Is it legal to use a VPN?
In France and the rest of the EU, yes. Some countries restrict VPNs, so check the law where you are.