Urban LinkX delivers up to 5x faster connections in lab tests, with 2x to 4x faster speeds in real-world testing. Protocol Control lets users select their VPN protocol directly from the app.
DELAWARE, USA, May 7: Urban VPN, one of the largest free VPN services globally, today launches Urban LinkX & Protocol Control. Urban LinkX is an in-house developed VPN protocol built on a WireGuard foundation, delivering approximately 5x faster connections in lab tests compared with Urban VPN’s previous protocol stack. Real-world testing on Android in the United States shows 2x faster mean download speeds and 4x faster mean upload speeds. Protocol Control is a new in-app feature that lets users select which protocol to use, with Urban LinkX as the default and the previous protocol stack available as an option for specific use cases.
Urban LinkX is now active on 394 of Urban VPN’s 692 servers globally, currently available to Urban VPN’s premium users on Android and iOS, with macOS and Windows scheduled for May 2026. Following the Windows rollout, Urban LinkX will be available to all Urban VPN users.
Urban LinkX operates in three stages. When the user taps Connect, the client selects a server from the available pool based on weights, requests an Urban LinkX configuration from the backend, and establishes the connection, automatically falling back to the next available server if the connection fails. If a connection fails for some technical reason (switching from Wifi to 4/5G) the app seamlessly reconnects to the same or a different server as needed to maintain a smooth user experience. When the connection ends, the client unregisters its session, with the backend automatically cleaning up any session not closed by the client within a few minutes as a safety net.
In internal testing comparing Urban LinkX with Urban VPN’s previous protocol stack, lab tests showed approximately 5x faster connections, while real-world testing on Android with U.S. servers showed 2x faster mean download speeds and 4x faster mean upload speeds. Urban LinkX is engineered to deliver improved connection stability through more resilient tunnels with faster reconnection and better handling of intermittent networks. Its lightweight protocol design reduces CPU and memory consumption on both servers and clients, while key-based authentication and a smaller codebase support simpler configuration, faster troubleshooting, and faster deployment as new server locations can be added quickly using simple key pairs. State-of-the-art cryptography by default reduces the risk of misconfiguration, and seamless roaming maintains connections across IP address changes, including transitions between Wi-Fi and mobile data.
Urban LinkX delivers strong performance in scenarios such as streaming services in regions where single-protocol traffic is filtered, competitive online gaming with mid-session network changes, and travel scenarios switching between hotel Wi-Fi, mobile data, and home networks.
Protocol Control is a new in-app feature that gives users direct choice over which protocol their VPN connection uses. Urban LinkX is the default for most use cases. Users can switch to Urban VPN’s previous protocol stack from the app interface when their specific connection conditions call for it. The selection is made in the app, with no manual reconfiguration required.
Urban LinkX is currently active for 100 percent of premium users on Android by default, and 33 percent of premium users on iOS, with iOS ramping to 100 percent by Thursday, May 7, 2026. macOS is targeting mid-May 2026, and Windows is targeting late May 2026. Urban VPN operates 692 servers in 88 countries globally and has surpassed 100 million downloads since launch.
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“Urban LinkX is faster, simpler, and more efficient than the protocol stack it replaces,” Urban VPN said. “Protocol Control gives users direct choice over which protocol to use, since the right answer depends on the use case.” |
