NymVPN gives you two privacy modes, and the choice is a straight speed-versus-protection trade-off. Fast mode is a decentralized 2-hop WireGuard VPN built for everyday speed. Anonymous mode routes through a 5-hop mixnet with added noise for maximum privacy.
When to use each
Use Fast mode for daily browsing, streaming, downloads, anything where speed matters; you get strong decentralized privacy with no real slowdown. Use Anonymous mode for messaging, email, crypto, and anything where privacy beats speed: it runs your traffic through the full mixnet, which adds latency but makes your activity virtually untraceable. Try to stream in Anonymous mode and you'll feel the delay, so switch to Fast for that.
How Fast mode works
Fast mode is the default: a decentralized 2-hop, tunnel-in-a-tunnel WireGuard setup using two independent Nym nodes as entry and exit servers. Its protections:
- Decentralized routing keeps you unlinkable to your traffic: no node can connect your IP to your destination.
- WireGuard delivers speeds close to a mainstream 1-hop VPN, with decentralized protection.
- AmneziaWG adds decoy packets before the handshake, so connections resist censorship without losing speed.
How Anonymous mode works
Anonymous mode routes you through the 5-server Nym Noise Generating Mixnet: an entry server, three mix nodes that shuffle your packets with everyone else's along randomized routes, and an exit server. Its "network noise" includes identical packet sizes, multi-layer onion encryption, cover traffic, packet mixing, and timing delays, all of which defeat traffic analysis. It adds significant latency, so it's best for messaging, email, and crypto. Learn how Anonymous mode works and why it's the most private network available.