Nym Technologies has released a major update to the NymVPN iOS app, adding several new connectivity and convenience features.
At the heart of the update are new features designed to put users in control of the balance between privacy and performance.
NymVPN is one of the most technical VPNs on the market. At the heart of its operation is the Nym Mix network, or mixnet, which hides user metadata by routing traffic through a network. blend of servers, scrambling the IP addresses on both sides of the connection.
At the same time, a mixture of traffic from other users and decoy traffic is sent through the same mixnet, making it effectively impossible to trace your actions.
NymVPN has seen several notable improvements in recent times, adding post-quantum encryption as standard in June this year, split tunneling for Windows users in April, and an ad blocker earlier in 2026.
It now looks a little more like a typical VPN, although the new features and fixes included in the iOS 2026.11.0 update are a little more complex than your typical VPN update. Read on to learn about the new features (based on the information NymVPN gave us, anyway).
Main features
The update introduces Server Families, a new alert system that lets users know when their chosen mixnet servers may belong to the same carrier or subnet. This allows users to maintain decentralization by choosing servers from different operators for each node in the mixnet.
All Nym servers are community-run and decentralized using blockchain technology, but using different operators for each node maximizes possible obfuscation of network traffic.
Additionally, the update adds a new Mixnet Tuning feature in beta, allowing users to adjust the balance between anonymity and privacy.
Mixnets operate via a number of “hops,” referring to individual nodes between the origin and destination of network traffic. Nym uses a five-hop mixnet as standard, with one input, one output, and three connection points in between.
This creates latency – according to Nym, its mixnet adds 15ms of delay per hop by default, totaling 75ms over five hops.
This is an intentional measure intended to hide the timing of your network traffic, as well as its origin and destination, but could be annoying for streaming video or playing online games, where latency needs to be as low as possible to maximize performance.
Mixnet Tuning adds two settings that allow users to adjust NymVPN’s default instructions while maintaining the connection. These are the “Send Traffic Continuously” setting, which provides a range of 0.7 Mbps to 2 Mbps for decoy traffic, and the “Packet Mixing Profile,” which changes the length of time each mixing node keeps your traffic, from 0 ms to 200 ms.
Keeping it practical
NymVPN’s latest iOS update also brings quality-of-life improvements to the app, and while it’s still a long way off our list of the best VPNs, it’s good to see that the app will now be easier to use on the best iPhones and the best iPads.
These improvements include the ability to replace the app icon with a calculator or notepad to avoid prying eyes, a bug fix for an issue that incorrectly displayed subscription data after a fresh install, and stronger ad blocking.
Nym’s blog states that the app’s daily amount of data has been increased, but at the time of writing the company has not confirmed the total amount or by how much it has been increased.
Likewise, Nym did not expand on its claim that the update makes NymVPN easier to use in areas and territories that restrict VPN use.
TechRadar has contacted NymVPN for more information on these areas, and we will update this article once we know more.
