A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is like a secure tunnel between your device and the internet. It makes your online actions private and secure by hiding your location and protecting your information from anyone trying to snoop on you or limit your internet use. Making a VPN is a complicated task that will require a lot of technical knowledge including UI/UX design, UI extraction, application development, web application, VPN protocols, Software QA, and many more. A lot of tech entrepreneurs are focusing on the VPN business as it has a high potential for future growth. If you are one of them, this blog is for you. Let’s discover how to make a VPN app with technical details.

Define the Features

Though the primary goal of a VPN is to pass your data through a secure tunnel and mask your IP it’s not limited to this. It is not just about connecting and disconnecting the VPN, other features are crucial for a VPN including Kill Switch, Split Tunneling, DNS Leak Protection, Protocol Switching, Multiple Device Login, Adblocker, and many more. So, before you start making your VPN, first define the features that you want to offer your customers.

Select Operating Systems

Selecting operating systems is crucial when you are making a VPN application. Your VPN app has to be built differently for different operating systems and different types of tech expertise are needed for each OS. For example, you need Kotlin and Java for Android VPN, Swift and Objective-C for iOS VPN, C++ and Qt for Windows VPN, C++ and Objective-C for macOS, etc.

Choose Business Model

VPN is not just about a VPN app, it’s a full-cycle business ecosystem. So, before you start making a VPN, you need to choose your business model. There are two popular business models, one is subscription-based and the other is ad mob-based. You can also combine both of the models like the subscription model for paid users and the ad-based model for free users. After choosing your business model, you will start the design and development process. Learn more about VPN business models here.

Design User Interface

Once your features and business model are ready, you can start designing your VPN app and admin panel. There will be multiple pages in your VPN app, like sign-up page, Login Page, Purchase Page, Feature Page, and many more. You need to design your VPN in such a way that users can easily access all the features and functionalities easily. We recommend you to use Figma to design the UI as it will make further UI extraction and development easier.

Extract UI

UI extraction is a process of converting your design into code. This process is done by the app developers after getting the design. This is the beginning of app development. For iOS and macOS VPN apps, it is done with SwiftUI and Storyboard, for Android apps it is done with XML and Jetpack Compose, and finally, for the Windows app, it is done with QML.

Build APIs

API is required for connecting your app to any existing software or system. It makes your app development easier and faster. VPN is quite a complicated app and you need different APIs for different operations. It includes sign-up API, Login API, Payment API, Admin Panel API, etc. You need to build these customized APIs based on your features and requirements.

Develop Admin Panel

The admin panel is one of the core backend parts of a VPN. It is a Panel where you can manage your subscribers, protocols, servers, payments, and everything you need as a VPN owner. Your APIs will be integrated with the admin panel to control these operations. Discover our VPN admin panel features here.

Configure Servers

The ultimate goal of a VPN is to connect a device to a server in different locations. To connect your VPN to the desired location, you need to have a server in that location. You can rent servers from different data centers or you can have your own data centre. Discover more about VPN servers here.

Integrate Protocols

Protocols are required to connect your VPN with the servers. It creates a private tunnel, masks your IP, and connects your device to your desired server. There are several protocols for VPN including OpenVPN, OpenConnect, Shadowsocks, WirGuard, IKEv2, etc. The efficiency and speed of your VPN are primarily dependent on the protocols. Discover more about different VPN protocols here.

Add Other Features

Apart from the VPN app, a VPN has other features based on your requirements that include Admob, payment integration, split tunneling, server switching, protocol switching, etc. Once you are done with the basic VPN, you have to start working on these features. Discover more about essential VPN features here.

Final Thoughts

Making a VPN app is not just about developing an app, it is about building a full ecosystem. You need both technical and business knowledge to make a fully-functioning VPN. In order to minimize the cost, time, and other operational hassles, we recommend you choose a white-label VPN solution. At Kolpolok Limited, we make VPN apps with multiple protocols and premium features. We have worked with 108+ VPN brands so far including Symlex VPN, Start VPN, Noon VPN, Octo Vault VPN, etc. Along with that, We have 55+ VPN experts with more than 7 years of experience in the VPN industry. Our team will assist you to build the best VPN with your desired features and functionalities.