Introducing Shadowsocks Obfuscation for WireGuard

We are excited to introduce Shadowsocks obfuscation for WireGuard, aimed at helping users bypass firewalls and censorship. This new feature is available on the desktop and Android apps and will come to iOS later.

Shadowsocks is a fast and lightweight protocol that obfuscates traffic, making it harder for firewalls to detect and block. With this update, our app will become more usable in countries and networks where WireGuard traffic is restricted or blocked.

Proxying via Shadowsocks is not new to the app; it has been the default setting for OpenVPN bridges since version 2019.2! With this update, users who had previously needed OpenVPN to bypass network restrictions can switch to the faster and more efficient WireGuard protocol whilst maintaining a similar level of obfuscation.

How to Enable Shadowsocks Obfuscation

To use the new Shadowsocks obfuscation, make sure you have the latest version of the Mullvad app, at least 2024.6 for desktop and 2024.7 for Android.

On Desktop:

• Go to Settings → VPN Settings → WireGuard Settings → Obfuscation → Shadowsocks.
• Or run the following terminal command: mullvad obfuscation set mode shadowsocks

On Android:

• Go to Settings → VPN Settings → WireGuard Obfuscation → Shadowsocks.

With the default configuration, the app will automatically switch to WireGuard proxied via Shadowsocks after failing to reach a server three times.

This update brings together the best of both worlds: WireGuard's speed and Shadowsocks’ stealth. We hope this feature enhances your experience, especially in restrictive networks. Give it a try, and see if it works for you!

We are aware of some connection stability issues mainly present when using Shadowsocks and switching between networks. We are currently working on addressing those as part of an upcoming release. None of these issues are security-related nor exposes you to any risk of data leaks.