Key points in a minute
- iOS doesn’t let regular VPN apps exclude individual apps — that’s available only on devices managed through MDM.
- Instead, you set up routing: Russian domains and IP addresses go direct, and everything else goes through the VPN.
- In Happ, the rules are defined by a routing profile, which you can build at routing.happ.su.
- Routing changes in Happ take effect after you reconnect.
Why you can’t exclude an app on iPhone
On Android, a VPN client can choose which apps to send into the tunnel. On iPhone and iPad, only devices that an organization manages through MDM have this option. The system doesn’t offer it to a regular VPN app from the App Store.
So guides that promise to “exclude Sberbank from the VPN on iPhone” usually describe something else — routing by website. It solves the same problem in a different way.
How routing by website works
The VPN client checks where each connection is headed. If the address belongs to Russian websites or Russian IP addresses, the connection goes direct. Everything else is sent through the VPN.
To decide, the client uses geo files: lists of domains (geosite) and IP address ranges (geoip) grouped by country and category. A banking app usually connects to Russian domains and servers, so its traffic falls under the “direct” rule.
Setting it up in Happ
For iPhone, your Byte VPN account recommends Happ (in the App Store, it’s called Happ Plus). Routing in Happ is configured with profiles, and each subscription has its own set of profiles.
- Open the profile builder at routing.happ.su and create a routing profile.
- Add geosite:category-ru to the list of direct sites, and geoip:ru and geoip:private to the list of direct IP addresses.
- Import the profile into Happ via a link, a QR code, or the clipboard.
- Turn on routing for your subscription and select the profile you created.
- Reconnect the VPN: Happ applies routing changes only after you reconnect.
How to check the result
Open your banking app or Gosuslugi (Russia’s public services portal) and try signing in. Then, in Safari, open an IP check website hosted outside Russia: it should show the VPN server’s address.
If Happ shows an error loading geo files, wait a couple of minutes with your internet connection on. Geo files download in the background, and the profile won’t activate until the download finishes.
If an app still doesn’t work
Some Russian apps load data from foreign servers or check whether a VPN is active on the device. In that case, routing by website may not help.
The most reliable option for these apps is to turn off the VPN while you use them. You can do this in Happ or with the VPN switch in the Settings app.
FAQ
FAQ
Can I choose which apps work without the VPN on iPhone?
Not with regular VPN apps: iOS allows this only on MDM-managed devices. Use routing by website and IP address instead.
Will banking apps work with routing?
In most cases, yes, as long as the bank’s traffic goes to Russian domains and IP addresses. If the app checks whether a VPN is turned on at all, you’ll have to turn off the VPN for the duration of the transaction.
Why doesn’t my Happ routing profile work right away?
Happ applies changes after you reconnect, and a new profile activates only once the geo files have downloaded. Wait for the download to finish, then reconnect.
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