---
title: "Split Tunneling and DNS Leaks: What Privacy Users Miss"
url: "https://astraguardvpn.com/blog/split-tunneling-and-dns-leaks"
description: "How split tunneling causes DNS and IP leaks, and when to use full tunnel instead."
updated: "2026-07-30T00:42:22.513Z"
---

# Split Tunneling and DNS Leaks: What Privacy Users Miss

Split tunnel is convenient, but excluded apps and broken DNS policies often expose your activity.

Split tunnel is convenient, but excluded apps and broken DNS policies often expose your activity. What split tunneling does Some apps use the VPN; others use the raw network. Great for local printers or latency — risky for privacy if mail/browser are excluded by mistake. DNS edge cases Excluded apps may still share a system resolver, or the OS may use different resolvers per interface. Results look like intermittent DNS leaks. Safer patterns Full tunnel for banking, journalism, travel networks. Split only for explicitly trusted local services. Never exclude the browser you use for sensitive accounts. Testing split setups Test while the excluded app is active. Leak tests in the browser do not prove the excluded app is safe. Recommendation Default to full tunnel with AstraGuard. Add exceptions sparingly and document them. Protect yourself with AstraGuard VPN AstraGuard VPN helps keep DNS inside the tunnel with strong encryption, kill switch options, and simple setup on desktop and mobile. Create an account , pick a plan on packages , then verify on privacy tools .

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