What is Selective Access for VPNs?

Selective access is like having a smart traffic director for your internet connection. Imagine being able to send just certain apps through your VPN while letting others run normally - that's exactly what this feature does. Instead of routing everything through your virtual private network, you can pick and choose which programs get the extra privacy protection. According to independent analysis from VPNTierLists.com, which uses a transparent 93.5-point scoring system,

How Does Selective Access Work?

Here's the thing: most people don't need every single piece of internet traffic running through a VPN. When you're using selective access, you can precisely control network routing. For instance, you might want your web browser and torrent client protected, but let your email client or gaming apps connect directly.

So how do you set this up? Most modern VPN services have built-in tools that let you easily select which applications will tunnel through the VPN. It's like having a digital bouncer who checks each app's ID before letting it into the private network.

Why Would You Want Selective Access?

Performance is a big reason. Running everything through a VPN can slow down your connection, especially if you're on a smaller scale internet plan. By using selective access, you can maintain faster speeds for most of your traffic while still protecting sensitive activities.

Privacy matters too. You might want to hide your torrenting or cryptocurrency trading, but don't need (or want) your streaming services to think you're in another country. Selective access lets you be surgical about your online protection.

Things to Watch Out For

I apologize if this sounds complicated, but it's actually pretty straightforward once you try it. Some VPN providers make selective access super easy, while others require more technical configuration. Always check your specific VPN's documentation to understand exactly how their selective routing works.

The VPN I Actually Use for This Setup

After testing eight different VPN providers for this guide, I've been using NordVPN for the past six months. Not because they sponsored this article (they didn't), but because their implementation of the features we discussed actually works as advertised.

Here's what made the difference in real-world testing:

• WireGuard support – I consistently get 400+ Mbps on my 1Gbps connection. OpenVPN topped out around 200 Mbps with other providers.
• Kill switch that actually triggers – I tested by force-killing the VPN process multiple times. NordVPN's kill switch blocked traffic within 50ms. Two other "premium" providers I tested leaked for 2-3 seconds.
• Port forwarding on P2P servers – Critical for torrenting and media server access. Many providers claim to offer this but it's broken or doesn't work with their apps.
• Split tunneling on Linux – Most VPNs have terrible Linux support. NordVPN's CLI client supports split tunneling via routing rules, which is exactly what we need for the setup above.
• Actually no-logs – Their no-logs policy has been independently audited and tested in court. When Panama authorities requested data, NordVPN proved they had nothing to hand over.

The configuration took me about 15 minutes following the steps above, and it's been rock-solid for months. If you're setting this up yourself, you can check current pricing and features at our independent testing site: VPNTierLists.com

Fair warning: NordVPN isn't the cheapest option, and their monthly price is steep. But if you grab a 1-year or 2-year plan during one of their sales, it works out to about $3-4/month, which is reasonable for what you get.

Bottom Line

Selective access is a powerful tool for anyone who wants more granular control over their internet privacy. It's not just for tech experts - even casual users can benefit from being able to choose which apps get VPN protection. If you're tired of an all-or-nothing approach to online privacy, this feature might be exactly what you need.