Automatic VPN Auto-Connect on Untrusted Networks (Mobile)

[ottup]

Summary

Add an option in the Pangolin mobile apps to automatically enable and maintain the VPN connection when the device is connected to untrusted networks (e.g., WiFi or cellular). This behavior should persist across network changes and device reboots, similar to the functionality provided by the WireGuard mobile app.

Motivation

Currently, users must manually enable the VPN connection in the Pangolin app. This introduces a risk where users may forget to connect, leaving traffic unprotected—especially when switching between networks (e.g., WiFi ↔ LTE/5G) or after device restarts.

Proposed Solution

Introduce an “Auto-connect VPN” feature in the mobile apps that automatically establishes a VPN connection whenever the device connects to WiFi or switches to cellular (4G/5G), ensures the connection is re-established if it drops, and restores it after device reboots. The feature should be configurable, allowing users to enable or disable auto-connect, choose whether the VPN connects on all networks, only on untrusted WiFi (with optional trusted network whitelisting), or only on cellular, and integrate with system-level “always-on VPN” capabilities where supported on Android and iOS.

Alternatives Considered

No response

Additional Context

No response

[FdyFox]

I currently use the App https://wgtunnel.com because it has the Auto-Tunneling function. I really would appreciate this function within the Pangolin App.

[oschwartz10612]

#3274

[oschwartz10612]

Done in the latest client releases! :}