According to TechRadar, Surfshark has launched a new Multi IP feature that assigns different IP addresses to each website, app, or service within the same VPN session. The feature works alongside their existing IP rotation capability, which automatically changes IP addresses every five minutes. Both features operate through Surfshark’s Nexus infrastructure, using equal-cost multi-path routing to distribute traffic across available connections. While Multi IP and Rotating IP can’t be used simultaneously, they both change IP addresses on the server side without interrupting the VPN connection. This approach makes it much harder for third parties to correlate user activities across different platforms and services.
The technical magic behind the scenes
So how does this actually work? Basically, Surfshark’s Nexus infrastructure lets their VPN servers communicate with each other directly rather than forcing everything through a single tunnel. Karolis Kaciulis, their chief systems engineer, explains that they use equal-cost multi-path routing to split your traffic across all available paths. Each website connection gets a potentially different route and IP address. This means when you’re browsing Google Search and then jump to Google Maps, they might see you coming from completely different IP addresses. Pretty clever, right?
privacy”>Why this matters for your privacy
Here’s the thing about online tracking – most of it relies on correlating your activities across different sites and services. When you use the same IP address everywhere, data brokers can easily build a detailed profile of your interests and behavior. But with Multi IP, your Instagram browsing might come from one IP while your Facebook activity comes from another. This seriously messes with their ability to connect the dots. Kaciulis says it “severely limits profile building and the reach of targeted ads.” And honestly, who wouldn’t want that?
The reality of using Multi IP
Now, there are some trade-offs you should know about. Multi IP isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. When you enable the global IP option, you might experience websites logging you out unexpectedly or certain services not working properly. Some platforms get suspicious when they see the same user connecting from multiple IP addresses across different regions. Kaciulis warns that “if you have different domains on the same website from multiple IP addresses, the platform might flag you as a suspicious actor.” So while this is fantastic for privacy, it might be frustrating for everyday browsing. You’ll need to decide what matters more – convenience or maximum privacy protection.
Surfshark is clearly pushing hard to stay competitive in the crowded VPN market. Features like Multi IP and their five-minute IP rotation show they’re thinking seriously about advanced privacy needs. But is this overkill for most users? Probably. For the average person, a standard VPN connection provides plenty of protection. But if you’re genuinely concerned about sophisticated tracking and profiling, Multi IP offers an interesting new approach to staying anonymous online.
