Norton VPN adds split tunneling for Mac users in platform parity push

Norton VPN has added support for split tunneling on MacOS as part of a wider push for feature parity across platforms and operating systems.

The feature allows users to specify the websites and apps they’d like to use Norton VPN for, while leaving the rest of their traffic untouched.

This can be useful for, say, accessing a website based in another country while streaming video content from your home region. Furthermore, some mobile banking apps or streaming services may block access entirely if a VPN is detected.

To use the new feature, open the Norton VPN app, head to the Settings tab, head to Connection Settings, and then select Split Tunneling to exclude specific apps and websites from the VPN connection.

As Norton VPN Product Lead, Himmat Bains, explained: “With Split Tunneling now available on Norton VPN for Mac, our customers have full control over which apps and websites travel through the VPN and which stay on their everyday connection.”

“This brings Mac users the same flexibility we already offer on Windows and Android,” he added.

Split tunneling is a staple feature across the best VPNs, but, despite MacOS officially supporting split tunneling, Mac users have seen slower rollouts for the feature, with some VPNs even removing split tunnel capability for years at a time.

Norton also shared that more updates are on the way for NortonVPN across various platforms, such as post-quantum encryption for its WireGuard protocol and manual IP shuffling for its iOS app.

Split tunneling and MacOS: issues and integration

The MacBook Neo at an Apple event — MacOS has a fraught history when it comes to support for split tunneling (Image credit: Future)

Split tunneling has long been a point of contention for VPN users on macOS. While Apple’s desktop operating system does technically support split tunneling, user reports suggest that Apple services like FaceTime won’t work when a split tunnel is active.

What’s more, support for split tunneling on Mac has been inconsistent from many VPN service providers. Private Internet Access pulled split tunneling support from its MacOS VPN app between 2021 and 2024, after Apple removed Network Kernel Extension APIs from macOS Big Sur.

While split tunneling capability returned to MacOS in 2022, VPN providers have been cautious in rolling out the feature. ExpressVPN, for example, only introduced split tunneling at the end of 2025.

Where split tunneling is implemented, it may have limitations not present on Windows or Linux computers. Mullvad VPN introduced split tunneling in 2024, with the caveat that it could not exclude Safari or Apple’s WebKit API from VPN connections.