| Amnezia VPN | |
| Programming Language: | C++ |
| Language: | English, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Burmese |
| Repo: | https://github.com/amnezia-vpn/ |
| License: | GNU GPL 3.0 |
Amnezia VPN is a free and open-source application that allows users to create a personal VPN using their own server. It uses the OpenVPN, WireGuard, Shadowsocks, IKEv2 and Cloak protocols.
The setup takes place using a graphical user interface.[1]
Amnezia VPN is a project by Internet activists from Russia, who are searching for solutions to resist state censorship. The first version was designed during the Demhack hackathon in 2020,[2] held by digital human rights activists from Roskomsvoboda.
Amnezia VPN supports modern blocking bypass protocols and works even where other VPNs don't work - in China, Iran, and Turkmenistan. For countries with low internet censorship, Amnezia supports WireGuard and OpenVPN. In 2022, Amnezia VPN successfully passed the security audit conducted by 7ASecurity. Amnezia published free access to not only the source codes of the client part, but also the source codes of the server part.[3]
Amnezia introduced its own AmneziaWG protocol, a latest addition, which is an improved version of a popular WireGuard protocol and was designed to be used in the world’s harshest internet climates.[4]
Amnezia VPN does not require users to register, allowing all features to be accessed anonymously. It does not keep any logs of user activity and does not track users or use their personal data for any purposes.
AmneziaFree is a Telegram bot for free access to blocked media and social networks websites. The developers launched AmneziaFree in March 2022, when Russian authorities started blocking media and global social platforms based on military censorship.[5] [6] One year after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, AmneziaFree had almost 100,000 active users.[7]
In April 2023, Wired magazine featured Amnezia VPN as an open-source VPN out-maneuvering Russian Censorship. It described that Amnezia VPN being a service that allows users to set up their own servers, it is making it harder for Moscow to block this portal to the outside world.[8]
Mike Williams of TechRadar stated that Amnezia's website has simple and clear setup instructions, starting with some suggestions on where to buy your own server.[9]