Traffic routing permissions

Learn the functionality of the traffic routing permission and how to manage it in the Meshnet permission menu.

Introduction

This article covers Meshnet’s traffic routing permission, how the feature works, and its limitations. Additionally, the article describes how to configure the traffic routing permission for each individual peer device in your Meshnet.

Permission overview

The traffic routing feature allows you to route internet traffic through compatible devices on your Meshnet. Traffic routing is only possible through Meshnet devices running on:

Windows
Linux
macOS (if you've downloaded your version of the app from the NordVPN website)

For more information, see Routing traffic in Meshnet.

What happens when traffic routing is enabled?

When the traffic routing permission is enabled, your Meshnet peers are allowed to route all of their internet traffic through your device. In essence, your device can act as a VPN server for your fellow user.

As illustrated in Figure 1, a mobile device routes traffic via a home computer and accesses the internet using the PC's public IP.

What happens when traffic routing is disabled?

With the traffic routing permission disabled, the peer cannot route their internet traffic through your device. Additionally, your device does not appear in the list of available host devices for traffic routing, even if it is capable of acting as a host.

Changing permissions

If you want to change the status of the traffic routing permission, you can do so for each device individually. The Meshnet permission view also indicates whether your peer has enabled or disabled the permission for your device:

Caution

Use traffic routing only with trusted devices to avoid potential misuse, as your browsing activity can be monitored on the device you are routing through.

Manage traffic routing

To manage the traffic routing permission, proceed with the following instructions:

Open the NordVPN app. Log in if necessary.
On the left-side menu, select the Meshnet tab.
Click the device that you want to alter the permissions for.
Under Traffic routing permissions, turn on or off the Traffic routing through your device toggle.

Open the terminal.
Run the following command to list all of your Meshnet peers:
```
nordvpn meshnet peer list
```
Note the Nord name of the peer you want to alter permissions for.
To either allow or disable the permission, use one of the following commands, replacing <NordName> with the peer’s Nord name or Meshnet IP:
```
nordvpn meshnet peer routing allow <NordName>
nordvpn meshnet peer routing deny <NordName>
```

If someone is routing their traffic via your device, you can see this information under their device name on the Meshnet page of your NordVPN application on Windows and macOS.

Traffic is being routed through your device

On Linux, currently, you can only check if traffic routing is allowed for any of the connected devices. To do this, run the following command:

nordvpn meshnet peer list