Nym VPN has released a huge i OS update adding Mixnet Tuning, Server Families, and app icon disguises — but some questions remain around the scale of some improvements | Tech Radar

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Nym VPN has released a huge i OS update adding Mixnet Tuning, Server Families, and app icon disguises — but some questions remain around the scale of some improvements

An i OS refresh for a technical VPN, but with some ambiguity around exactly what's improving

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Nym Technologies has released a major update to the Nym VPN i OS app, adding several new connectivity and convenience features.

At the core of the update are new features designed to give users control over the balance between privacy and performance.

Nym VPN is one of the more technical VPNs on the market. Central to its operation is the titular Nym mix network, or mixnet, which hides user metadata by routing traffic through a mixture of servers, scrambling IP addresses on both sides of the connection.

At the same time, a blend of other users’ traffic and decoy traffic is sent through the same mixnet, making it effectively impossible to trace any actions back to you.

Nym VPN has seen several notable improvements of late, adding post-quantum encryption as standard in June this year, split tunneling for Windows users in April, and an ad-blocker earlier in 2026.

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It now resembles a typical VPN a little more closely, though the new features and fixes included in the 2026.11.0 i OS update are a bit more complex than your typical VPN update. Read on for a breakdown of the new features (based on the information Nym VPN has given us, anyway).

The update introduces Server Families, a new alert system that lets users know when their chosen mixnet servers may belong to the same operator 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 maximises the 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 through 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 an entry, exit, and three connection points in between.

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This creates latency – according to Nym, its mixnet adds 15ms of delay per hop by default, totalling 75ms across five hops.

This is an intentional measure designed 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 should be as low as possible to maximise performance.

Mixnet Tuning adds two settings that allow users to adjust the Nym VPN’s default instructions while maintaining connection. These are the ‘Send traffic continuously’ setting, which offers a range of 0.7 Mbps to 2 Mbps for decoy traffic, and ‘Packet mixing profile’, which changes how long each mix node holds onto your traffic, from 0ms to 200ms.

Nym VPN’s latest i OS update also brings some quality-of-life improvements to the app, and while it’s still a fair way from our list of the best VPNs, it’s good to see that the app will now be easier to use on the best i Phones and best i Pads.

These improvements include the ability to change the app icon to a calculator or notepad to avoid prying eyes, a bug fix for an issue that displayed subscription data incorrectly after a fresh install, and stronger ad blocking.

Nym’s blog says that the app’s daily data allowance has been increased, but at the time of writing the company hasn’t confirmed the total allowance or by how much it’s been increased.

Similarly, Nym has not expanded on its claim that the update makes it Nym VPN easier to use in areas and territories that restrict VPN use.

Tech Radar has reached out to Nym VPN for more information on these areas, and we'll update this article once we know more.

Jamie is freelance journalist who has written for Tech Radar and Music Radar as well as various specialist news outlets and music blogs. A lifelong tech-obsessive, Jamie began his writing career as a music blogger before studying journalism at Goldsmiths College, and worked at Tech Radar between 2024 and 2026. He thinks the i Phone 5S is the greatest phone of all time, but is currently an Android user.

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